S - 14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 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? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 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. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:14-25 NIV
O - Faith is the most important part of our walk. It is interesting to me that even in the old testament when it looked like a works system, it was still faith that got them to the finish line. Rahab wasn't saved for the work that she did saving spies, but for the faith that allowed her to do that. I can't even imagine the faith that Abraham showed when taking Isaac to sacrifice him. The trip took 3 days! It wasn't just an hour or afternoon of faith! It was more than a weekend! How do we get the faith factor to envelope the good deeds we think we are doing for Christ, and not just do what we think are good deeds to make ourselves look good. Faith without works is dead....no fruit, no faith...but the faith will make the fruit come forth.
It scares me to think that without fruit I may not have faith. I know that deeds alone are not going to get me to heaven. Mercy and grace are going to cover my sins. I believe it, now let me live it!
A - How do you acquire more faith? I think that is what we are doing by trying to read and study more. Scripture will increase our faith. But trying to live out our faith will do so even more! How do you learn to listen to the nudge that is telling you to do something you don't want to do? Show kindness to strangers in this scary world. I've tried to ask someone if I could help them and blunder the words to the point they were offended. How do we keep on living our faith! We do it purposefully. Yes we will fail, make mistakes, and ignore the voice inside of us. We will also succeed, do it right, and feel the rush when we do what the little voice was telling us and NOBODY else knows! We need to do things for our own satisfaction and not our reputation!
P - Lord - please help me to increase my faith daily! Help me to not be afraid of the consequencees of my faith, for I know that anything you ask me to do will be for my benefit. Help me to show your love to others and be a true light among men. Help me to be such a witness for you that everyone knows I am your child. I want to follow you. With live faith. Faith that isn't dead. With lots of works. Works for your glory and not for mine. Thank you so much for your son who died for me and saved me. Thank you that there is truly nothing else I have to do for your salvation. Help me to do it anyway to show my love for you.
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