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.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Today's SOAP
S - James 2:10-14 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adulter, " also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement.
O - We are all sinners because we are guilty. Guilty of many, many, things. Guilty of 1 thing or 100,000 things doesn't matter, we need his grace to cover us and save us. We need to realize there is no hierarchy in faith - we are justified by him and all brought onto the same playing field. You are no better than I am and vice versa. I am a sinner...period.
A - These verses take me in two different directions - 1. Pride - (again with the pride? this is obviously a big issue for me...Lord) Just because I have been a christian since I was 9 years old and in most people's eyes haven't done anything that bad, I AM A SINNER. I am prideful, I am arrogant, I am lazy, I am deceptive, I gossip and that is generally before noon. I am no more deserving of Christ's love than anyone. Figure it out DeLynn! You are no better than anyone else.
2. Grateful - It is his mercy that saves us. I don't deserve it and neither do you. We should show others the same mercy that he is showing us. If we were all living our faith and showing that faith to others, people would truly be falling all over themselves to find our inner source of strength. They aren't. What are we not doing? I'm not showing enough concern and mercy for others. I am scoffing that they don't see the truth, when I am not even showing them a light. I am not grateful enough for my faith to show it to others because I don't realize the depths it is saving me from. I've mostly played in the shallow water of sin. But I've played.
P - Lord, please help me to show your mercy to others daily. Help me to be truly merciful and loving to your flock - both current and future. Allow me to be a light to others. Forgive me for my pride and disdain. Let your love flow through me so that I can truly reach out to those that are hurting.
O - We are all sinners because we are guilty. Guilty of many, many, things. Guilty of 1 thing or 100,000 things doesn't matter, we need his grace to cover us and save us. We need to realize there is no hierarchy in faith - we are justified by him and all brought onto the same playing field. You are no better than I am and vice versa. I am a sinner...period.
A - These verses take me in two different directions - 1. Pride - (again with the pride? this is obviously a big issue for me...Lord) Just because I have been a christian since I was 9 years old and in most people's eyes haven't done anything that bad, I AM A SINNER. I am prideful, I am arrogant, I am lazy, I am deceptive, I gossip and that is generally before noon. I am no more deserving of Christ's love than anyone. Figure it out DeLynn! You are no better than anyone else.
2. Grateful - It is his mercy that saves us. I don't deserve it and neither do you. We should show others the same mercy that he is showing us. If we were all living our faith and showing that faith to others, people would truly be falling all over themselves to find our inner source of strength. They aren't. What are we not doing? I'm not showing enough concern and mercy for others. I am scoffing that they don't see the truth, when I am not even showing them a light. I am not grateful enough for my faith to show it to others because I don't realize the depths it is saving me from. I've mostly played in the shallow water of sin. But I've played.
P - Lord, please help me to show your mercy to others daily. Help me to be truly merciful and loving to your flock - both current and future. Allow me to be a light to others. Forgive me for my pride and disdain. Let your love flow through me so that I can truly reach out to those that are hurting.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Why does she always have to be talking to me!!!!
"If our liberty in Christ is going to be a reality in life, we are going to have to learn to walk in the freedom of Christ, independent of everyone else we know." Beth Moore - Breaking Free
I read for my lesson today some in Isaiah and Luke, but this quote from Beth jumped out at me probably because it is what I needed to hear and have been struggling with. (yes, I ended that sentence in a preposition. I know better - I'm just lazy.)
I have been feeling a little sorry for myself. I admit it. I have made choices over the past few years that weren't always popular. I have lost friends. I have lost aquaintances. I have people who change aisles at the grocery store not to talk to me. I attended a church that "split" more than once. Brian and I made decisions that we felt were honorable and "right". (hopefully not at the expense of someone else) We tried to take the high road on each of these situations, but I'm sure we have failed.
Although I don't regret the decisions that we made, I have been a little bit bitter about the lost relationships. If we had just compromised our "convictions" we could still be part of the group. Well we're not, and the kids aren't, and guess what - it's ok.
I need to remember who my faith is following. It's not a man, or a group of people. It's my leader, Christ. Follow Him. Trust Him. Put the blinders on and ignore the others. Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are by yourself. Make sure you are standing up for biblical principles and not just your sinful pride, but stand up. It's important, it matters, and your children are watching!!!
I read for my lesson today some in Isaiah and Luke, but this quote from Beth jumped out at me probably because it is what I needed to hear and have been struggling with. (yes, I ended that sentence in a preposition. I know better - I'm just lazy.)
I have been feeling a little sorry for myself. I admit it. I have made choices over the past few years that weren't always popular. I have lost friends. I have lost aquaintances. I have people who change aisles at the grocery store not to talk to me. I attended a church that "split" more than once. Brian and I made decisions that we felt were honorable and "right". (hopefully not at the expense of someone else) We tried to take the high road on each of these situations, but I'm sure we have failed.
Although I don't regret the decisions that we made, I have been a little bit bitter about the lost relationships. If we had just compromised our "convictions" we could still be part of the group. Well we're not, and the kids aren't, and guess what - it's ok.
I need to remember who my faith is following. It's not a man, or a group of people. It's my leader, Christ. Follow Him. Trust Him. Put the blinders on and ignore the others. Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are by yourself. Make sure you are standing up for biblical principles and not just your sinful pride, but stand up. It's important, it matters, and your children are watching!!!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Breaking Free
I have always been scared of this Breaking Free study. I don't like emotional stuff. I don't like getting in touch with my feelings. If you ignore things long enough they go away, right? This is going to be an interesting journey for me. I'm not sure I am ready.
I am ready, though, to hear what God wants me to learn with this study. I struggle with the self discipline to stick to a bible study or daily reading. Combining bible study and time on the computer (which I already do too much of) is going to be a great combination.
Today's lesson that I was reading talked about Uzziah and his pride. Pride...now there is a subject I know a lot about. I have it. I suffer from it. I don't always see it. I recognize and judge others for it. I scorn it. I have it. I suffer from it. I need a cure.
Lord, help me to recognize and remove pride from my life. Help me to discern the differences in pride and self confidence. Help me to know when I have righteous anger, and not offended pride. Help me to show your humility and love.
I am ready, though, to hear what God wants me to learn with this study. I struggle with the self discipline to stick to a bible study or daily reading. Combining bible study and time on the computer (which I already do too much of) is going to be a great combination.
Today's lesson that I was reading talked about Uzziah and his pride. Pride...now there is a subject I know a lot about. I have it. I suffer from it. I don't always see it. I recognize and judge others for it. I scorn it. I have it. I suffer from it. I need a cure.
Lord, help me to recognize and remove pride from my life. Help me to discern the differences in pride and self confidence. Help me to know when I have righteous anger, and not offended pride. Help me to show your humility and love.
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