Faith Without Works

 Happy Saturday! and Happy 58 years on this earth to me. I wish I felt better but I am grateful that God brought me home safe and I got to sleep in my own bed last night, even if it was with several needy cats. I wanted to run 3 mile this morning but I can tell you, that isn't going to happen. I have put in 36 miles this week and so with my head cold, or sinuses or whatever is going on, I am giving myself permission to just get the things done today I need to get done and doing a lot of resting in between. I don't remember being this tired in a long time. I came home with new insight on several tech issues and I have signed up for about 20 hours more classes that needs taken just to keep me caught up with what is going on in the world around us so I can keep my promise to my boss not to let us get behind in technology. This AI thing is the most double edged sword thing I have seen come out of progress in a long time and trying to learn how to use it to the fullest and at the same time, protect our systems against it is a little mind-boggling.  

So, on to today's lesson. I am going to share with you a couple of things I saw this week because it just goes with the lesson. I mentioned on my own fb page yesterday morning about our Uber driver handing out meals. I don't know where they came from but it wasn't McDonald's. It was big white to-go boxes. When we got in the car, I could smell food and I saw the boxes in her floorboard. My first thought was she had picked up food and when she dropped us off, she was probably heading home but at the first stop light we came to, there was a homeless man walking and she rolled down the window and yelled at him. I was wondering what we had just gotten ourselves into. And as he walked to the car, she grabbed a box and handed it to him. We go a little further and she pulls over to the side of the road and hands a woman a box. She didn't speak English but we were pretty sure she was saying thank you. She continued this until all the boxes were gone. I told her I work with low income folks and so this warmed my heart, she said she buys 10 meals a day because that is what she feels she can afford. 

Then I am going to tell on my husband. Andrew is bad about not eating lunch and when we travel, I turn on all the alerts on our credit cards just to keep an eye on them. I was sitting in meetings one day and I got an alert that money had been spent at Chick-fil-a which is right down from our hotel. So, that evening, I asked him if he enjoyed his chicken. He looked at me funny and said he didn't have any chicken and then he said, Oh, the Chick-fil-a bill. I was out for a walk and met a man that asked me for food, he said he hadn't ate in 3 days and we were not far from Chick-fil-a so I took him there and bought him lunch. 

We have all heard the saying, actions speak louder than words, and honestly, works speak louder than faith to those around us. I always find it sad when someone has to tell me they are a Christian for me to know it. I am honestly more shocked to find out someone doing good things is not a Christian than if they are. We had a friend one time that told me they figured they would know people no matter what place they ended up and it really threw me for a loop. It made me realize I needed to take every opportunity to minister to them but it also made me wonder why they did good things. My entire life I have tried to do the right thing to please God. Of course, I also want to please my parents, my family and my friends but I always thought I wanted to do those things because it ultimately pleased God. 

We are going to spend a couple of weeks on James 2:14-24 and even though I didn't use the HEAR method, I think I have gotten the point across that I wanted to make this week. 

Here is the actual passage:

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without [f]your works, and I will show you my faith by [g]my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is [h]dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made [i]perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was [j]accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

So, if you are a Believer, I have some homework for you, every evening before you go to bed, look at what you have done that day that makes that outward showing that you love Jesus. We all know works doesn't save us but works should be a natural part of our love for God. And, we are going to get to the heart of the verse that faith without works is dead next week. 

I hope you have a great week!