James 2:14-24
Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Have you ever said to someone, “Call me if you need me!” and then secretly whispered, “Oh, LORD, please don’t let them really call!”? Or maybe you have told someone, “If there is anything I can do for you,” and hoped they wouldn’t take you up on the offer. When they DID, you griped and groaned (at least secretly) because you had to make good on your promise. I’m afraid we are all guilty of some form of this response at one time or another.
When someone makes some form of these statements to me, I generally discard their comments. I assume that the person who made this offer was providing “lip service” and walked away feeling like, “My work is done here… I’m off the hook!” However, there are a few people I know who say this and mean it. I have seen their faith in action. When they tell me they are ready and willing to help me, I know they truly are! Do you know people like this? I hope so!
So what can you do if you are one of these people who “talk the talk” and don’t “walk the walk?” Start by making sincere offers to help others. Say…“Can I give you a ride… cook you a meal or go through a drive-thru and pick up lunch…come over and visit with you for a while (as you recuperate or because you are lonely)…help you with your house work or yard work… serve in XYZ ministry at church?” (You fill in the blanks!) Think of concrete offers to make… and stand behind them. As your reputation grows for keeping your word and your “works of faith,” people will begin to trust that you mean it when you offer to do something for them.
By the same token, James reminds us in this scripture passage that we cannot say we trust God to care for us and then “trouble our troubles” to death! We cannot ask God to help us with such-and-such and then tell everyone we meet how worried we are about this situation. It is one thing to say, “Would you join me in prayer over a concern”… believing that God is listening and will handle the situation. It is quite another to ask others to pray out of fear and apprehension that your prayers are not sufficient on their own merits!
On his Facebook page, Pastor Rick Warren (Saddleback Church – author of The Purpose Driven Life) said…” Every time you make a bad choice, it becomes harder to make a good one.” Today, start making good choices… faith-filled choices that bring you the peace and joy of a complete relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t just offer Him “lip service”. Go “all in” with your mindset and your acts of faith!
How “fruitful in works” is your relationship with Jesus? Is it time for an attitude adjustment? Isn’t today a good time to begin?
©2013 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label meaning what you say and saying what you mean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meaning what you say and saying what you mean. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for March 19, 2013
March 19 ~ Luke 16:10-13
For unless you are honest in small matters, you won’t be in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s money, why should you be entrusted with money of your own? “For neither you nor anyone else can serve two masters. You will hate one and show loyalty to the other, or else the other way around – you will be enthusiastic about one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
When you get your credit card or utility bills… or your bank statement… you probably go over every line with a fine-toothed comb – or you should! I often hear people talk about hidden charges they discovered – and had removed. Or maybe you have discovered a charge on your bill that you did not authorize. Sometimes, we simply didn’t read the “fine print.” But there are times when I have to wonder whether some corporations figure you will never notice that little surcharge buried in the details. Over time, these amounts add up! Let’s say you or I had a small business where we tucked in little “incidental” charges that we did not disclose to our clients. Do you think we would have repeat customers if this were discovered? Could our reputation for honesty, fairness and integrity be compromised?
I think we understand the ramifications of cheating on a large scale. Most of us get it that we cannot borrow money from a bank, or even a friend or relative – and fail to repay the loan, without some serious consequences. But we fail to recognize that the impact of our failures to follow through on the smaller things in life can be just as critical. A local news station has been sponsoring a multi-week fitness program for a group of out-of-shape moms. Each week, a news report charts their progress. This week, the headline was a report that several of the moms are not showing up for the workouts. They are not honoring their commitment to the program. Not only are they failing to reach their goals and achieve the desired level of fitness, but their lack of commitment has been “outed” to their families, friends and co-workers on state-wide television! One has to wonder how these women treat other commitments if they fail to meet one with such a public view!
Do you see where I am headed with this? Jesus tells us in this passage that we “cannot serve two masters.” I would suggest that those of us who are unable to keep our word… or to be honest and honorable in seemingly small and insignificant things… are probably not capable of doing any better with big matters. If you lie (even to yourself) and say, “Nobody else will know if I eat this extra piece of cake”… or “Sue will forget that I owe her that $50”…how likely are you lie to your spouse about the new pair of shoes you bought, where you really went when you said you were having dinner with a friend, or how committed you are to your marriage?”
If you can pick up pens and paper clips at work and carry them home for personal use… or “borrow” a friend’s t-shirt and keep it to wear as your own… how will others ever believe that you can be trusted not to help yourself to their personal property - as an employee, or even as a friend or acquaintance? If you say one thing and do another, how will anyone ever believe you when you profess to be a faith-filled disciple of Christ?
This passage is about so much more than money. Jesus used this as His example, because so many of us do seem to worship the almighty dollar, so He knew we would easily relate to this analogy. But we all have moments each and every day to make a choice about whether to be honorable and trustworthy with seemingly insignificant issues and situations that have substantial and widespread ramifications… and speak directly to our moral and spiritual character.
What about you? Are you faithful in the small stuff? Are you honest and aboveboard in all things… are you truly honest with yourself? Do you understand how important integrity is in the life of a Christian? How authentic are you? Which “Master” will you serve today?
©2013 Debbie Robus
For unless you are honest in small matters, you won’t be in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s money, why should you be entrusted with money of your own? “For neither you nor anyone else can serve two masters. You will hate one and show loyalty to the other, or else the other way around – you will be enthusiastic about one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
When you get your credit card or utility bills… or your bank statement… you probably go over every line with a fine-toothed comb – or you should! I often hear people talk about hidden charges they discovered – and had removed. Or maybe you have discovered a charge on your bill that you did not authorize. Sometimes, we simply didn’t read the “fine print.” But there are times when I have to wonder whether some corporations figure you will never notice that little surcharge buried in the details. Over time, these amounts add up! Let’s say you or I had a small business where we tucked in little “incidental” charges that we did not disclose to our clients. Do you think we would have repeat customers if this were discovered? Could our reputation for honesty, fairness and integrity be compromised?
I think we understand the ramifications of cheating on a large scale. Most of us get it that we cannot borrow money from a bank, or even a friend or relative – and fail to repay the loan, without some serious consequences. But we fail to recognize that the impact of our failures to follow through on the smaller things in life can be just as critical. A local news station has been sponsoring a multi-week fitness program for a group of out-of-shape moms. Each week, a news report charts their progress. This week, the headline was a report that several of the moms are not showing up for the workouts. They are not honoring their commitment to the program. Not only are they failing to reach their goals and achieve the desired level of fitness, but their lack of commitment has been “outed” to their families, friends and co-workers on state-wide television! One has to wonder how these women treat other commitments if they fail to meet one with such a public view!
Do you see where I am headed with this? Jesus tells us in this passage that we “cannot serve two masters.” I would suggest that those of us who are unable to keep our word… or to be honest and honorable in seemingly small and insignificant things… are probably not capable of doing any better with big matters. If you lie (even to yourself) and say, “Nobody else will know if I eat this extra piece of cake”… or “Sue will forget that I owe her that $50”…how likely are you lie to your spouse about the new pair of shoes you bought, where you really went when you said you were having dinner with a friend, or how committed you are to your marriage?”
If you can pick up pens and paper clips at work and carry them home for personal use… or “borrow” a friend’s t-shirt and keep it to wear as your own… how will others ever believe that you can be trusted not to help yourself to their personal property - as an employee, or even as a friend or acquaintance? If you say one thing and do another, how will anyone ever believe you when you profess to be a faith-filled disciple of Christ?
This passage is about so much more than money. Jesus used this as His example, because so many of us do seem to worship the almighty dollar, so He knew we would easily relate to this analogy. But we all have moments each and every day to make a choice about whether to be honorable and trustworthy with seemingly insignificant issues and situations that have substantial and widespread ramifications… and speak directly to our moral and spiritual character.
What about you? Are you faithful in the small stuff? Are you honest and aboveboard in all things… are you truly honest with yourself? Do you understand how important integrity is in the life of a Christian? How authentic are you? Which “Master” will you serve today?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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