Daily Devotional for August 15, 2015

James 2:21-24
Don’t you remember that even our father Abraham was declared good because of what he did when he was willing to obey God, even if it meant offering his son Isaac to die on the altar? You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to; his faith was made complete by what he did—by his actions, his good deeds. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say, that Abraham trusted God, and the Lord declared him good in God’s sight, and he was even called “the friend of God.” So you see, a man is saved by what he does, as well as by what he believes.

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Yesterday, Timothy wanted me to play “Spiderman” with him.  What this amounted to was that I pretended that a “villain” was after me…and Timothy pretended to be Spiderman and rescued me with his “webs” that he “shot” from his hands to capture the bad guy.  He thought of several villains for me to pretend were attacking…and then he said, “Now, you think of one.”  I chose Cat Woman.  He said, “No, no!  Cat Woman goes with Batman.  Well, okay…I’ll be Batman.”

So Timothy pretended to be Batman (and he changed his “voice” to fit the character). I told him that Cat Woman was bothering me, and he looked a little frustrated and said, “Well…she’s kinda my wife, so I can’t really do anything about that!  But I guess I could talk to her and see if she will leave you alone.”

So often, we are like the Timothy/Batman character.  We tell God…I hear you calling for me to do XYZ…but my hands are tied.  There’s really not much I can do.  (Insert excuses here!)  We claim weakness of some sort…lack of time…desire to pursue other interests…feelings of inferiority, and more.  We blame our family, our job, and our studies. Sometimes, we like how things are going…even when we know that what we are doing is not really what God wants. And sometimes, we just simply are not willing to do what God asks, whether we readily admit this or not.

Do these sound like the actions of someone who has unwavering faith in God to handle every single detail?  Does this reflect the confidence of someone who truly believes that when God calls us to do something, He will adjust our schedules, smooth out the rough spots, and fully equip us to do it?  Is our trust in God as strong as that of Abraham?  Could we place our child upon an altar, draw a sharp knife, and prepare to sacrifice him/her because we “heard” or “felt” an unseen God tell us to do this?

Just how big is our faith, anyway?!  When we claim to trust in God for all things, are we making a point…or are we making a difference?  Do our words and actions demonstrate our confidence and obedience…or have we tailored a Christian “faith” that suits our timetable and personal desires?  Do our excuses sound about as lame as those of a six-year-old “Batman” who claims he has little control over a villain?

Look…true Christian faith is scary sometimes.  God calls us to step up – and out – and to do some pretty daunting things.  Speaking up is hard for some of us, while others find it a stretch to give up control – of lots of things!  But all we have to do is think about Jesus…how He obeyed God…how he suffered and sacrificed – and stood up for you and me, in amazing, incomprehensible ways. 

Now I ask you again…how big is your faith…and are you ready to show it? 

©2015 Debbie Robus

Daily Devotional for August 14, 2015

James 2:19-20
Are there still some among you who hold that “only believing” is enough? Believing in one God? Well, remember that the demons believe this too—so strongly that they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that “believing” is useless without doing what God wants you to? Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith.

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Our little ones shower us with demonstrations of love and affection.  We get hugs, kisses, and lots of “I love yous!”…and we are grateful for every single gesture.  As they get older, they are learning that acts of respect demonstrate love, also…things like helping without being asked, picking up toys and responding right away to a summons, and showing kindness and consideration to each other do not go unnoticed.  We see their efforts to prove their love to us…and while we would love them anyway, these endeavors are not without merit – and we make sure the children know that we have taken note of them.

The point is that God would love us whether we ever publicly lived out our faith in Him or not.  Certainly, the thief on the cross had neither the time nor the means for demonstrating his faith in Jesus…but I have no doubt that he is in Paradise today, just as Jesus promised him.  Still, Jesus commanded us to demonstrate our faith.  He used words like “go”…”make disciples”…”teach”…”heal”…”minister”…”baptize”…and “share the Good News.”

Jesus did not follow this up with, “If you don’t do this, I won’t love you.”  I believe that He gave these directives with the understanding that we would surely want to serve in the name of One who had given so much on our behalf…that we would want to tell others about Him, and give them the opportunity to have Jesus as their Savior, too!

So don’t serve Jesus out of fear…serve Him out of faith!  Serve because you love Jesus so much and want others to know about His incredible message and gift.  Serve in His name because it’s the only thing that makes sense.  To accept His suffering and death for our sins and then do nothing in return seems incredibly preposterous…and downright ungrateful.

People who are truly faith-filled act like it.  They “walk the walk” to reinforce their claim of unfailing love for Jesus Christ…and others know their true position by not only their words, but also their actions.  People who are truly full of faith in Jesus Christ are busy serving Him as the Holy Spirit leads them.  Are you one of them?
  
©2015 Debbie Robus