James 2: 14-26
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their 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 my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father 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,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do 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.
We have to act on our faith; we cannot continually see a need and do nothing. Sometimes we have to step out in faith, out of our comfort zone and be the hands of Jesus to those around us. Works is not how we get saved; we are saved by asking Jesus in our heart and having a personal daily relationship with Him. Works are part of the growth in our walk. I believe we all struggle with this at times; we get so busy working for Him we forget to serve Him. You have to find a balance of both doing work and serving. Our relationship with God should be the most important relationship in our life.
Do you know there are many people who attend church every Sunday and do not have a relationship with God? They go out of habit or obligation, not of passion or surrender. The example of Abraham should speak volumes to us, Abraham waited for this child of promise yet God was asking him to sacrifice his son. Without hesitation Abraham obeyed and of course God stepped in and provided the sacrifice. Sometimes God asks us to step out and do something and we hesitate or question what He is asking us to do, when the reality is we just trust and obey the leading of the Lord. The final example is Rahab. This just shows me that God can and will use anyone regardless of their past.
Today examine your heart: Do you struggle with helping others? Do you struggle with obeying the voice of God? Do you struggle with your past?
Take some time to ponder and answer these questions honestly.
In your reflection did you discover something’s you don’t really like? How can you change these things in your life?
Lord help my life to become a reflection of you, in everything I do and say. Lord help me to trust you and obey even when I am unsure of the direction or plan. I commit my life to walk with you and not turn.
