James 2: 14-26
In review, James has been speaking and encouraging the believer rather than trying to proclaim the gospel message to nonbelievers. So, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, God's son this message is for you.
The first week was a statement to the believer that your life will be polka dotted with trials. You can count on it! The second week we talked about the fact that those trials will be beneficial to our character and be used in the lives of those around us. Last week we were encouraged to not be arrogant in our faith and to love everyone, never showing personal favoritism.
This week our faith is to lead us to action. As Christians we can not be just people that sit still and not let our faith put our feet walking. In other words faith works. You can look at it as a head, heart and feet matter. You can take what you know in your mind (that Jesus died for you and when you came to Him you became a new person), what your have experienced in your heart( the way you view life now versus how you used to look at it), and let it set your feet in motion ( responding to the needs around you as God prompts you).
We all know people that talk about God and faith but their actions might indicate that their heart has not been changed by Him. In other words the saying, "what you do speaks so loud I can not hear what you say," rings true. The scripture here is saying, show me a man whose faith has not affected what He does and I will show you a man of no faith or dead faith.
That word dead is mentioned twice in this passage and it means ineffective. It is not enough to just go about works or good deeds, we need to pray that God take our every moment and lead us and show us the situations He wants us to be involved in. That will be an effective life and work.
This week our group took on the challenge of individually praying and asking God about a specific need He would want us involved in. As we went around the table to share what had happened it was clear that each work performed was different and unique to the life that each woman lived. I did my act of service yesterday and I was humbled and blessed as I did it. It was nothing complicated but it was God directed and the results are up to Him.
The person that James uses as an example is Abraham.
Read Genesis 22. What does it say about Abraham and what made him a friend of God.
Here are a few things we saw.
He responded to what God told him.
He knew when God spoke because he had a personal relationship with Him.
Did what God said.
God saw His faithfulness.
He recieved reward and blessing.
He was a man of faith - acted in faith - God rewarded his faith.
He made himself available.
He was obedient.
He could not possibly see what was going to save him or his son.
Can you see that Abraham was a picture of Jesus Christ. God sent His Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for you and me because we could not save ourselves. He was the perfect Lamb and His blood covers our sins. Praise His Name.
Faith does not sit idle.
Lastly, look at Romans 4:1-8
Galatians 3: 6-9
Until next week let your faith transform your heart and keep your feet moving.
The first week was a statement to the believer that your life will be polka dotted with trials. You can count on it! The second week we talked about the fact that those trials will be beneficial to our character and be used in the lives of those around us. Last week we were encouraged to not be arrogant in our faith and to love everyone, never showing personal favoritism.
This week our faith is to lead us to action. As Christians we can not be just people that sit still and not let our faith put our feet walking. In other words faith works. You can look at it as a head, heart and feet matter. You can take what you know in your mind (that Jesus died for you and when you came to Him you became a new person), what your have experienced in your heart( the way you view life now versus how you used to look at it), and let it set your feet in motion ( responding to the needs around you as God prompts you).
We all know people that talk about God and faith but their actions might indicate that their heart has not been changed by Him. In other words the saying, "what you do speaks so loud I can not hear what you say," rings true. The scripture here is saying, show me a man whose faith has not affected what He does and I will show you a man of no faith or dead faith.
That word dead is mentioned twice in this passage and it means ineffective. It is not enough to just go about works or good deeds, we need to pray that God take our every moment and lead us and show us the situations He wants us to be involved in. That will be an effective life and work.
This week our group took on the challenge of individually praying and asking God about a specific need He would want us involved in. As we went around the table to share what had happened it was clear that each work performed was different and unique to the life that each woman lived. I did my act of service yesterday and I was humbled and blessed as I did it. It was nothing complicated but it was God directed and the results are up to Him.
The person that James uses as an example is Abraham.
Read Genesis 22. What does it say about Abraham and what made him a friend of God.
Here are a few things we saw.
He responded to what God told him.
He knew when God spoke because he had a personal relationship with Him.
Did what God said.
God saw His faithfulness.
He recieved reward and blessing.
He was a man of faith - acted in faith - God rewarded his faith.
He made himself available.
He was obedient.
He could not possibly see what was going to save him or his son.
Can you see that Abraham was a picture of Jesus Christ. God sent His Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for you and me because we could not save ourselves. He was the perfect Lamb and His blood covers our sins. Praise His Name.
Faith does not sit idle.
Lastly, look at Romans 4:1-8
Galatians 3: 6-9
Until next week let your faith transform your heart and keep your feet moving.
posted by Glenda at
8:58 AM
2 Comments:
Good points to bear in mind and put into action! They nurture me even here.
Love, Glenda's first husband(well, actually, I'm the same one she's always had)
This is EXCELLENT. I saw even more and different things than when we did this on Wed. Thanks for shedding light on the food. You're a great teach! Love you!
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