Tag: todd shupe

Posted on

Living Your Faith

Living Your Faith

Living Your Faith

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2 14-17)

Living Your Faith

I think I can speak for most of us when I say that we typically have an easy time “living our faith” on Sunday mornings. As the week goes on however, it’s clear that we tend to look less and less like Jesus. So, how can we live our faith? How can we seek His face and His will each day of the week?

Below are five tips that are useful in my life and I pray that you find them useful also.

1. Be Caring:
Caring is all about being physically present to a brother or sister in Christ who needs help. We 

acknowledge that we are not someone who takes the pain away, but rather someone who is willing to share it.

Matthew 11:29: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

2. Be Confident:
Confidence is not arrogance, but rather it is a confidence that the best is yet to come. It is the realization that I am a child of God and I have a covenant relationship with Him. He will work good out of all situations

Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

3. Be Courageous:
Courage is the ability to fight giants with the knowledge that you are wearing the armor of God. “Your giant may be drugs or alcohol or depression. Regardless if God is with you, who can be against you?” Read Joshua 1 for a good lesson on courage.”

Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

4. Be of Action:
There is an old song called “They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love.” Your love for others will speak volumes. A natural manifestation of this love is to be of service to others. Jesus wants us to feed his sheep and this takes action.

James 2:17: In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

5. Be Blessed:
God loves to bless those who are obedient and faithful. We see a perfect example of this in Luke 8. Jesus is in a crowd that nearly crushed him. A woman who has been bleeding for 12 years touches his cloak and is immediately healed. The woman believed in Jesus Christ by faith, and He rewarded her for it. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)

Prayer: Dear God, Help us to live our our faith as Your hands and feet each day of the week. Amen.

Meet the Author

Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We welcome your comments below.

Thank you for visiting. We trust that you have enjoyed reading our articles.

Posted on

What Does The Bible Teach About Race Relations?

What Does The Bible Teach About Race Relations?

What Does The Bible Teach About Race Relations?

“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26 KJV).

What Does The Bible Teach About Race Relations?

We have had problems in this country with race relations for many years. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark civil rights and federal labor law in the United States, which outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. In recent years, untold news reports have documented the civil unrest in New York City, Los Angeles, Ferguson, Missouri; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Atlanta, Georgia and numerous other cities across our country. This unrest is often associated with police brutality against young black men or other young men of color.

What’s more, such instances have occurred repeatedly with seemingly no plan to curb them. If we turn to the Bible, however, it’s clear that such divisions were never intended by our creator. The

way we should treat each other as evidenced by scripture.

Any time one human dehumanizes another through racism, sexism, ageism, religion or more, it breaks my heart. There is truly one race of people — the human race. Throughout history, the enemy has used his weapons of fear, jealousy and greed to develop hatred and mistrust of the races.

St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body.” Acts 17:26 tells us, “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth.” In other translations, the wording is “from one blood.”

We are all children of God and we all seek to enter His kingdom through the narrow gate. We are all commanded to love and respect one another. A Christian seeks to be a disciple and a disciple is known by their actions.  “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Be blessed!

Prayer: Dear God, Help us to follow your example and look at the heart and not the outward appearance of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Meet the Author

Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We welcome your comments below.

Thank you for visiting. We trust that you have enjoyed reading our articles.

Posted on

The Biblical Roots Of Trust

The Biblical Roots Of Trust

Trust is an essential component to any relationship. Trust is essential for a relationship to move past a superficial level to a more intimate and personal basis. Our relationship with God is based on our trust that first, He lived and died for our sins and second, He has our best interests at heart and loves us unconditionally.

The actual phrase “Jesus loves me,” cannot be found in the Bible but there are examples that support this fact. In John 13:34 Jesus said, “As I have loved you, you must love one another” and in John 15:9 He said, “As the Father has loved me so have I loved you.” In John 15:13, we read, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  While He spoke these words to His disciples, it’s clear He was speaking through them to us.

My favorite example of trust comes in Matthew 14 when Jesus walks on the water. After Peter sees Jesus, He tells him to “come.” Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and as he was beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

The message of this story is clear. We can do great things if we have faith in God. Recall Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” But if we let doubt, worry, fear or anxiety control us then we become weak, self-reliant and are living in the flesh and our ability to accomplish great tasks is severely limited.

There is an old saying that anybody can be the captain of the ship when the water is calm, but the true character of a captain is revealed during bad weather. The same is true of our Christian walk. It is easy to be a good Christian when all is well with yourself, your family and friends. However, how do we respond when the winds of adversity inevitably come? Do we keep our focus and faith in Jesus and stand steadfast on His promises of health and prosperity?

Faith is essential in our Christian walk. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Have faith and be blessed as you bless others.

Meet the Author

Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We welcome your comments below.

Thank you for visiting. We trust that you have enjoyed reading our articles.

Liked this post?

Read more below or search for more topics...

  • Wrestling With God

    Wrestling With God “Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’” (Genesis 32:26 NLT). I love the visual image of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32:22-32. This is a powerful story, and it raises many questions.  Obviously, God could have overpowered Jacob and ended things instantly. Why did God let the struggle go on? Here’s the lesson: When God allows, note-He does not create the crisis, a crisis into your life, He doesn’t solve it immediately. He uses the crisis as an opportunity to see if...
    Read More

  • Sin Is Never Private

    Sin Is Never Private “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.  What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs” (Luke 12:2-3 NIV). One thing we all have in common is that we are sinners and all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).   Most people work very hard to keep their sin a secret.  Indeed, we may be successful at keeping most, or even all, of our...
    Read More

  • Return to the Father

    Return to the Father “If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me” (Jeremiah 15:19 NLT). All of us that follow Jesus have many things in common.  One of which is that we are all sinners.  As we become a believer in Christ, we are born again into God’s family.  Once you are born again you cannot be unborn.  Our relationship with God can, and will be, damaged by sin.  However, read this closely – no matter the sin- the relationship is still there.  The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the Two Brothers, Lost...
    Read More