Faith in Action

071808
James 2:24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

This book is believed to have been written by James, Jesus’ half brother. James talks about faith and deeds. Both work hand in hand. If a person has faith but doesn’t put that faith into action, it is dead. Essentially, faith is useless if it isn’t applied in works. James 2:24 says that people are justified by what they do and not by their faith alone. The way I interpret this is that if I were to stand before God and say, “Lord, I believed in You my whole life,” but I never told anyone about God, then I would not be justified by my faith. It is only by my living out what I believe in that I am justified and my faith is complete.

Yesterday, I was talking with Elise and she kept telling me that she wants to see faith in action. I was so moved by that. I agreed with her that there is a lot of head knowledge about the Bible but to see people living it out is rare. So, what can I do today to put my faith into action? I know I should love my neighbor, but what have I done today to show my neighbors that I love them? Nothing! I texted a bunch of my friends, and they responded back, but those are not my neighbors, those are my friends. I hope to put action to what I believe in today. I don’t want a dead faith. I’m going to listen to what God wants me to do today so that I can really place works to my faith.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your Word. I thank You for Your Son and the promise of new life. Please forgive me for being a complacent Christian. Lord, show me how to be more and more like Jesus. Lead me in my thoughts, words, and actions. Lord, today may my faith be justified by my works. I love You, Lord, and I pray all these things in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.