Actions Speak Louder Than Words

By Dan Wilt

Change is an action away.

Today, I’m just going to let two quotes sit with us, from a favorite academic book that was part of my doctoral research, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church.

As we go deeper into our Christian habitus formation, and begin to get practical, we’ll need to get these two ideas in our bloodstream.

“When challenged about their ideas, Christians pointed to their actions. They believed that their habitus, their embodied behavior, was eloquent” (Kreider 2).

“Above all, habitus is formed by repetition, by the sheer physicality of doing things over and over so that they become habitual, reflexive, and borne in our bodies” (Kreider 39-40).

Take a moment to re-read both of those quotes again, slowly.

Then think about your way of life right now.

Here are two questions to guide you.

1. Can I point to my actions as the evidence of my faith? Which of my actions are most showing I depend on Jesus as my loving Lord and Master?

2. What habits are you doing, over and over, that are in sync, in flow, with the Spirit of Jesus at work in you to make you like him?

Pray about your answers to these this week, and next week, we’ll begin some habit renewal work together.

Dan +

P.S. Consider joining me in mastering the Daily Examen if you haven’t already.

1 Kreider, Alan. The Patient Ferment of the Early Church. Baker Academic, 2016.

Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms

Sheltering Mercy, along with its companion volume, Endless Grace, helps us rediscover the rich treasures of the Psalms—through free-verse prayer renderings of their poems and hymns—as a guide to personal devotion and meditation.

The church has always used the Psalms as part of its prayer life, and they have inspired countless other prayers. This book contains 75 prayers drawn from Psalms 1-75, providing lyrical sketches of what authors Ryan Smith and Dan Wilt have seen, heard, and felt while sojourning in the Psalms. Each prayer is a response to the Psalms written in harmony with Scripture. These prayers help us quiet our hearts before God and welcome us into a safe place amid the storms of life.

This artful, poetic, and classic devotional book features compelling custom illustrations and foil-stamped hardcover binding, offering a fresh way to reflect on and pray the Psalms.