"Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."
~ James 2:15-18
Here, James is trying to draw a comparison for us.
We can say compassionate things all we want, like "I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but if we don't act out of that compassion, is it really compassion? If we say to someone, "Gosh, I wish you didn't have to walk around in those awful tattered clothes," but we don't provide them with the clothes even if we have the money to help them out, do we really care about them?
In the same way, if we claim to have faith in God and love Him, but we don't do anything about it, what kind of faith is that? If we really believe that God is the Creator of the universe and the Savior of mankind, why aren't we doing more to further His will? The Gospel is not the kind of thing you can just sit back and listen to and smile about, you know? We're to be doers of the Word of God, and not hearers only (James 1:22).
Faith demands a response, demands action.
What have you done as a result of your faith lately? How have you served the Lord?
Showing posts with label Book: James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book: James. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
August 24: Thoughts on James 4:13-14
"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
~ James 4:13-14
Our lives aren't endless. Because we are young, it is likely that we will wake up tomorrow morning and the sun will rise on another day of our lives, but it's not guaranteed.
There's only a small percent chance that you will die tomorrow. However, there is a 100% chance that you will die. It's what we all have in common. Everybody dies.
A lot of people, particularly young adults, think they can live their lives however they want to because they're young, and that they'll give their lives to Christ when they're older. This isn't such a good idea, for a couple of reasons.
First, it's not a good idea because you don't know for sure that you'll make it to be an old person. Death is relatively rare among young adults, but it does happen. The death rate per year of people between the ages of 20 and 24 is 101 deaths per 100,000 people. That's about a .1% chance of dying in any given year, which doesn't sound like much. And it isn't - unless you happen to be one of those 18,000 Americans between 20 and 24 who pass away every year. For them, it's everything.
Ask yourself - and I'm not trying to be morbid, but it's an important question - if you went to sleep tonight and didn't wake up in the morning, where would you spend eternity (and why)? If you got to the pearly gates and the Lord asked you why you deserved to be let into Heaven, what would you tell Him?
Certainly, I don't think there's anything I've done that makes me worthy of entering into His glory, so my only answer would be that I've been washed in the Blood of Jesus, and the God's Word says that's enough (a whole bunch of Scriptures). God's not a liar, and His Word won't return void (Isaiah 55:11), so I know that He'll have to let me in. But what would you say? Do you truly have a personal relationship with Jesus? Have you accepted His sacrifice for your sins?
The second reason it's a bad idea to wait until later in your life to turn to God is that it's not always possible for you to do so. The longer that you're apart from God, the harder your heart becomes against Him. Let's take, for instance, Ephesians 4:17-19: "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more."
The longer you are in sin, the longer you're away from God, the more you forget about and the less you desire the things of God, until eventually your heart becomes hard and foolish and you begin saying things to yourself like, "God doesn't really exist" or "there's a God, but He can't care about me after all I've done" or "yeah, God is real, but I'd rather spend my life having a good time than serving Him" or "maybe Hell is a real place, but the future isn't important; right now is what matters."
That's utter foolishness. Think about it. You are going to be dead a lot longer than you are going to be alive. We live but for a season, 120 years at the absolute maximum. But after we die, what is there? Eternity. And eternity, by its very definition, is eternal - it lasts forever. So isn't concerning ourselves with what we're going to be doing forever and ever and ever a little more sensible than trying to have a very short good time while we're here on earth? Isn't it worth considering eternal things, considering God?
We're a mist that appears for a little while on the earth and then vanishes. A million years from now, it won't matter where you went to school, what your grades were like, who you dated, what fraternity you joined - but it will matter whether you loved and served the Lord of all creation and who you shared the Gospel with.
As young adults, we have this sort of overwhelming tendency to think about what makes us happy right now, but maybe we should stop for a moment and just ponder the eternal meanings of our everyday lives. Are we giving our all to God and sharing Him with others, or, in being busy busy busy, are we barely managing to acknowledge Him at all?
~ James 4:13-14
Our lives aren't endless. Because we are young, it is likely that we will wake up tomorrow morning and the sun will rise on another day of our lives, but it's not guaranteed.
There's only a small percent chance that you will die tomorrow. However, there is a 100% chance that you will die. It's what we all have in common. Everybody dies.
A lot of people, particularly young adults, think they can live their lives however they want to because they're young, and that they'll give their lives to Christ when they're older. This isn't such a good idea, for a couple of reasons.
First, it's not a good idea because you don't know for sure that you'll make it to be an old person. Death is relatively rare among young adults, but it does happen. The death rate per year of people between the ages of 20 and 24 is 101 deaths per 100,000 people. That's about a .1% chance of dying in any given year, which doesn't sound like much. And it isn't - unless you happen to be one of those 18,000 Americans between 20 and 24 who pass away every year. For them, it's everything.
Ask yourself - and I'm not trying to be morbid, but it's an important question - if you went to sleep tonight and didn't wake up in the morning, where would you spend eternity (and why)? If you got to the pearly gates and the Lord asked you why you deserved to be let into Heaven, what would you tell Him?
Certainly, I don't think there's anything I've done that makes me worthy of entering into His glory, so my only answer would be that I've been washed in the Blood of Jesus, and the God's Word says that's enough (a whole bunch of Scriptures). God's not a liar, and His Word won't return void (Isaiah 55:11), so I know that He'll have to let me in. But what would you say? Do you truly have a personal relationship with Jesus? Have you accepted His sacrifice for your sins?
The second reason it's a bad idea to wait until later in your life to turn to God is that it's not always possible for you to do so. The longer that you're apart from God, the harder your heart becomes against Him. Let's take, for instance, Ephesians 4:17-19: "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more."
The longer you are in sin, the longer you're away from God, the more you forget about and the less you desire the things of God, until eventually your heart becomes hard and foolish and you begin saying things to yourself like, "God doesn't really exist" or "there's a God, but He can't care about me after all I've done" or "yeah, God is real, but I'd rather spend my life having a good time than serving Him" or "maybe Hell is a real place, but the future isn't important; right now is what matters."
That's utter foolishness. Think about it. You are going to be dead a lot longer than you are going to be alive. We live but for a season, 120 years at the absolute maximum. But after we die, what is there? Eternity. And eternity, by its very definition, is eternal - it lasts forever. So isn't concerning ourselves with what we're going to be doing forever and ever and ever a little more sensible than trying to have a very short good time while we're here on earth? Isn't it worth considering eternal things, considering God?
We're a mist that appears for a little while on the earth and then vanishes. A million years from now, it won't matter where you went to school, what your grades were like, who you dated, what fraternity you joined - but it will matter whether you loved and served the Lord of all creation and who you shared the Gospel with.
As young adults, we have this sort of overwhelming tendency to think about what makes us happy right now, but maybe we should stop for a moment and just ponder the eternal meanings of our everyday lives. Are we giving our all to God and sharing Him with others, or, in being busy busy busy, are we barely managing to acknowledge Him at all?
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
August 1: Thoughts on James 5:16
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
~ James 5:16
Are you ever afraid to ask for prayer? Afraid that someone will judge you because of a prayer need? That they'll know whatever sin you've committed and not hang out with you anymore, or that they'll spread gossip about you? Yeah, me too.
Because, on some level, we're all a little bit fake (aren't you fake at church, even just a little bit?). It's not on purpose, but we feel that we need to put on a different face when we're around "church people" than we do when we're in the real world. But the truth is that we all live in the real world. Nobody's perfect, no matter how much we try to pretend we are.
But the altar (or the prayer meeting) is a place where we can get past all that fakeness and just come before God and be honest, be who we really are.
"confess your sins to each other"
We only need to confess our sins to God. We don't need someone else to be involved in order for God to forgive our sins. There is only one mediator between people and God, and that's Jesus Christ, but (and this is a big but) confessing to other believers can be helpful in several ways.
First, it breaks the fakeness. When we confess that we've done wrong to a fellow Christian, it sends the message, "Hey, you know what, you're not the only person who struggles with sin." It serves as an encouragement to the other person.
Second, it allows us to get things off our chest. Though God can forgive us, sometimes we benefit from confirmation from other people that God really does forgive us if we confess and repent (1 John 1:9).
It also gives us a little bit of extra accountability, because our friends who pray for us know what kind of sins we are susceptible to and thus they can help us stay away from temptation and pray for us more effectively.
"pray for each other so that you may be healed"
Do you believe God still heals? I do. If God can create our bodies, He can certainly set them back into working order. If he made the four chambers of our heart, He can comfort us in our emotional pain. If He can send His Son to die for us, He can heal us from the stain of sin.
In His time here on earth, Jesus healed a blind man (Mark 8:25), a woman with an issue of blood (Matthew 9:22), lepers (Luke 17:11-19), and people with paralysis (Mark 2:5; Matthew 8:13), just to name a few. The Bible tells us God doesn't play favorites (Acts 10:34, The Message), so if He healed those people, He can heal us too, if we believe He can.
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
But, you say, I'm not righteous! Not on your own, you're not, but through the obedience of Jesus unto death, we are made righteous (Romans 5:19).
So, as people made righteous through Christ's obedience, our prayers are powerful and effective. Powerful means "having or exerting great power or force." Our prayers exert our power over the Enemy. Effective means "adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result." Our prayers accomplish what we set them out to accomplish.
Prayer is a wonderful gift to us from God, and it is a gift whose worth is multiplied when we pray with others. As a church body, we exist to win the lost and build one another up. One of the best tools we have to grow closer to one another is prayer.
Father in the Name of Jesus, please bless the reader of this blog. Show them that You love them, that you are there and want to take care of them. If they are struggling, just hold them in your arms and be a comfort to them. If they are ill or in danger, protect them, Lord. If they need a friend, help them find a friend, Father. If it is Your will, let that friend be us. If they are broken, help them become whole. If they are weak, help them be strong. If they are alone, be with them, Lord. If they are lost, help them find themselves in You. You know their needs, Lord, and only You can fill them. We thank you for everything that you've given us, for homes and families and jobs, for strong brothers and sisters in Christ, for a church family that shows its love, and most of all for giving Your life only to save ours. We love you, Lord, and we ask that you bless these readers and all those we pray for. We ask it in the Name that is above every other name, the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
~ James 5:16
Are you ever afraid to ask for prayer? Afraid that someone will judge you because of a prayer need? That they'll know whatever sin you've committed and not hang out with you anymore, or that they'll spread gossip about you? Yeah, me too.
Because, on some level, we're all a little bit fake (aren't you fake at church, even just a little bit?). It's not on purpose, but we feel that we need to put on a different face when we're around "church people" than we do when we're in the real world. But the truth is that we all live in the real world. Nobody's perfect, no matter how much we try to pretend we are.
But the altar (or the prayer meeting) is a place where we can get past all that fakeness and just come before God and be honest, be who we really are.
"confess your sins to each other"
We only need to confess our sins to God. We don't need someone else to be involved in order for God to forgive our sins. There is only one mediator between people and God, and that's Jesus Christ, but (and this is a big but) confessing to other believers can be helpful in several ways.
First, it breaks the fakeness. When we confess that we've done wrong to a fellow Christian, it sends the message, "Hey, you know what, you're not the only person who struggles with sin." It serves as an encouragement to the other person.
Second, it allows us to get things off our chest. Though God can forgive us, sometimes we benefit from confirmation from other people that God really does forgive us if we confess and repent (1 John 1:9).
It also gives us a little bit of extra accountability, because our friends who pray for us know what kind of sins we are susceptible to and thus they can help us stay away from temptation and pray for us more effectively.
"pray for each other so that you may be healed"
Do you believe God still heals? I do. If God can create our bodies, He can certainly set them back into working order. If he made the four chambers of our heart, He can comfort us in our emotional pain. If He can send His Son to die for us, He can heal us from the stain of sin.
In His time here on earth, Jesus healed a blind man (Mark 8:25), a woman with an issue of blood (Matthew 9:22), lepers (Luke 17:11-19), and people with paralysis (Mark 2:5; Matthew 8:13), just to name a few. The Bible tells us God doesn't play favorites (Acts 10:34, The Message), so if He healed those people, He can heal us too, if we believe He can.
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
But, you say, I'm not righteous! Not on your own, you're not, but through the obedience of Jesus unto death, we are made righteous (Romans 5:19).
So, as people made righteous through Christ's obedience, our prayers are powerful and effective. Powerful means "having or exerting great power or force." Our prayers exert our power over the Enemy. Effective means "adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result." Our prayers accomplish what we set them out to accomplish.
Prayer is a wonderful gift to us from God, and it is a gift whose worth is multiplied when we pray with others. As a church body, we exist to win the lost and build one another up. One of the best tools we have to grow closer to one another is prayer.
Father in the Name of Jesus, please bless the reader of this blog. Show them that You love them, that you are there and want to take care of them. If they are struggling, just hold them in your arms and be a comfort to them. If they are ill or in danger, protect them, Lord. If they need a friend, help them find a friend, Father. If it is Your will, let that friend be us. If they are broken, help them become whole. If they are weak, help them be strong. If they are alone, be with them, Lord. If they are lost, help them find themselves in You. You know their needs, Lord, and only You can fill them. We thank you for everything that you've given us, for homes and families and jobs, for strong brothers and sisters in Christ, for a church family that shows its love, and most of all for giving Your life only to save ours. We love you, Lord, and we ask that you bless these readers and all those we pray for. We ask it in the Name that is above every other name, the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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