14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
[bold emphasis added]
I think these verses are hard for us to swallow sometimes. [At least, I’ve had difficulty on occasion… 🙂 ]
{And there’s a bit of Old Testament here… because it’s just as relevant today as it was then! But that’s another post…}
Is James telling these Jewish Christians to maintain keeping the law in order to be saved?
NO. He isn’t.
But he is telling them, and us, that after we have confessed Jesus there WILL be a mark of works that show our faith to a lost world [and even to other Christians].
There is not really any explanation necessary:
We show our Christianity to others by
the works we do in our daily lives.
It’s that simple… ~ ~ ~ ~ and it’s that hard.
I’d love for you to share your thoughts on these verses!
Patty was one of my dormitory supervisors in college and was a great inspiration to me. I learned some valuable lessons watching her then, and I have greatly enjoyed learning of her life on the mission field of Ghana through her blog.
She is doing a series of posts of encouragement to moms about…
This is not exactly a “spiritually or Biblically-inspired” post.
It is more a “I wonder if anyone else has ever thought about it this way” post.
And it’s been sitting in my “draft” folder for a while now…
I had a conversation with a sweet new friend last night that prompted me to truly articulate this thought I’ve had for a while now:
Somedays, I truly feel as though motherhood may have given me a split personality {and I am not trying to belittle those with actual mental disabilities here!}.
I realize my children need ME.
But they need ME differently among them. They are each so individual and unique. Yes, I must be consistent in rules and discipline; but things they need, things they forget and need me to remind them of, things they have not yet learned, are ALL different for each one.
My poor oldest child, she is nearly a young woman, and yet I continue to remind her of things that, really, only her younger sisters need help with. I know that frustrates her. She’s so grown up and the others are still “babes”.
My middle daughter has some food and environmental allergies that sometimes means our whole family just misses out on stuff like… peanut-butter pie… because I just can’t chance it being around and her wanting a taste or being sad that she can’t have it. And she’s trying to grow up as quickly as her big sister, but she really isn’t there yet.
My third… a whirlwind of a girl. She plunges head-long into EVERYTHING she does. She has gusto! 🙂 And thinks very little, if ever, before acting. But her little heart is so tender and pliable, I must be restrained when calling a warning at her to not sit on her brother, or some other situation that could cause harm to one or multiple people. lol. She will just loose it, and the whole situation will disintegrate before our eyes.
My youngest is a boy. After 3 girls we have a boy. ‘Nuff said.
To those with more children, I am not trying to ‘prove’ my life is as hard or harder than yours… just stating some observations. 🙂
And then, my husband needs a WIFE, not a mother {he already has an awesome mother!}. And apart from “child of God”-which is my identity at its core- this is where I find my primary role in life – to be the best wife for him. If I’m an awesome mom and a lousy wife, I’ve not become what God created me to be!
And I do have a few friends… who like to speak to me as adult in my own right, not as a mother or a wife….
And so, maybe this is a little bit to be encouraging spiritually
… I need God! You need God! 🙂
If God does not help us in relating to all the most important people in our lives, we are a people most undone!
If I cannot be Christlike to my own family, how can I expect those outside my family to see Christ in me?
I’m not saying I loose it every day, but there is at least a portion of most days where I struggle really hard not to! And there have even been a few hours all strung together that I feel I {MIGHT} have it all together–HAHAHAHA. nope. not really!
And only bending my knee before His throne will help me be “ME”–a child of God–to those around me, whether I feel SPLIT or not. 🙂
Again, there has been a song “stuck in my head” recently that has been encouraging to me… I pray it can encourage someone else out there, too. 🙂
“Be Still, My Soul”
by Catharina von Schlegel, 1697-? Translated by Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897
verse 1 Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend –Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
verse 2 Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake –To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know –His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
verse 3 Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart –And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay –From His own fulness all He takes away.
verse 4 Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on –When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
and here is a beautiful rendition I found on youtube:
Friends, we must BE STILL… and let God.
Below is a recording I did during a time of very deep grief… I pray either is a blessing to you.
Again, there has been a song “stuck in my head” recently that has been encouraging to me… I pray it can encourage someone else out there, too. 🙂
“Be Still, My Soul”
by Catharina von Schlegel, 1697-? Translated by Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897
verse 1 Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend –Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
verse 2 Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake –To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know –His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
verse 3 Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart –And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay –From His own fulness all He takes away.
verse 4 Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on –When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
and here is a beautiful rendition I found on youtube:
Friends, we must BE STILL… and let God.
Below is a recording I did during a time of very deep grief… I pray either is a blessing to you.
I cannot help but PRAISE THE LORD for HIS goodness!
Recently my family endured some unexpected and abrupt changes. In searching out God’s direction for us, we have listened to several different preachers in the last few months.
It has been amazing to have God teach me a truth personally and then go to a church service [or listen online] and have it re-iterated to me from a different persepective.
God is just GOOD like that!
One such truth is that….
God’s delays are NOT the same as God’s denials;
the IMPOSSIBLE is done in a DIVINE timing!
God knew what would happen. He knew why and allowed it.
{{Sometimes He allowes things that no one understands just to try our faith.}}
God has become more real to me in the last 6 months than I have ever known… and, honestly, I felt close to Him before that. I talked to Him daily, hourly, as if He were actually right there with me–since He is. 🙂
But I still occassionally worried about little things, like money 🙂 desiring more space for my kids to grow in our house, eating healthier… just little things, that require money.
Then we had no income.
Bam.
And there had never been ‘enough’ before, so there was no savings to fall on… we lived paycheck-to-paycheck, with God filling in the gaps… somehow… every month a miracle.
But God’s timing ISdivine.
All that previous stretching pennies proved to me that He could take care of us…
And He did.
There is absolutely no way around saying that.
He —GOD ALMIGHTY—literally paid our bills for 4 months.
Sometimes the words that come from my children truly convict me in my parenting. Recently has been no different, but it has been a particular something… more than just random willfulness or selfishness.
The other day 2 of my girls were playing nicely, politely… and then I heard one utter something like: “but do you PROMISE” to do or not do such/such…
I took this opportunity to instruct, though I am not sure how much stuck. 🙂
What are we teaching our children when they have to ‘promise’ in order for another to believe what they have said to be true?
We are teaching them to lie.
Sadly, but plainly and simply, we are telling them that you do not have to speak the truth unless you make it a promise!
We are taught in Scripture: …but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. James 5:12
Indeed, this phrase is prefaced by a plea to NOT swear/promise by anything. Then it states that our word should simply be kept, thus reliable.
I do not make it a habit of asking my children to “promise” to do anything… but they have frequently asked me to promise that what I tell them is true. I try to make sure they realize that if what I am telling them were not true… it makes my words lies.
I rarely promise them anything.
I either speak truth, or I speak a lie.
We must instruct our children to only speak truth.
If it is unkind, then it is best left unsaid, something we are still learning/teaching! 🙂
But if someone is asking them to promise, they need to know how to let them know that “you do not practice lying to your friends, but you will not promise.”
There are several ways our Lord speaks of lying, but mostly it is called lying, deceitful or false lips or speaking falsely.
And here are some verses to help our children and us understand how God views lying:
Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing [lies]: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. Psalm 5:6
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. Psalm 101:6,7
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 [mentioned twice in this list!]
Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight. Proverbs 12:22
God does not want us to speak lies!
And some verses to help our children understand how God views truth:
LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. Psalm 15:1,2
The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Proverbs 12:19
Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight. Proverbs 12:22
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. I Peter 3:10
These are just a few thoughts I’ve had recently when teaching my own precious babes on the importance of speaking truthfully!
We are ALL a work in progress 🙂 I would encourage you to study it out a bit on your own, as there are a myriad of other verses in which we are told how much God hates lying and loves the truth!
Yesterday, my husband preached in the stead of a pastor who was out of town.
His message came from Daniel 2-which is quite a familiar passage to most people who have “grown up in church”: King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream which troubled him, but he cannot remember it when he awakes. When none of the wise men of Babylon can give him the answers for which he seeks, the king decrees that ALL the wise men of the land be killed.
All of them.
Daniel and his companions are among these wise men, and this concerns Daniel.
With the upmost confidence Daniel tells the king that he will surely give the king his answer, with time. And then Daniel meets with his 3 closest friends, and they pray.
Something pointed out that I had never truly considered before was that they did not have some discussion about what the answer could be… they did not call on any other people to see if they had any ideas… they did not begin making plans for escape if no answer was found.
They prayed.
They prayed first.{So important… but not my main point today.}
They had confidence in God to bring glory to Himself.
Did you get that?
They had confidence in God to bring glory to Himself.
And this brings me to the crux of what I took away from the message.
Daniel realized that his problem was not what was sitting right in front of him.
Daniel’s problem was NOT the king’s decree to kill him.
Daniel saw THE Problem.
This problem that is actually THE problem at the crux of alldifficulties that come our way.
How can God be glorified through this?
My problem is not that the bathroom needs cleaning.
The problem is that I do not think that the chore can glorify God.
My problem is not that I lost my temper… again.
The problem is that God wants to glorify Himself THROUGH my downfalls... and I don’t always humble myself before Him so that He can.
My problem is not ever that our vehicle does not start or has an issue with its engine.
The problem is ALWAYS: How can THIS bring glory to my God?
My problem is that I am not willing to take my hands OFF and just simply let God… BE God.
Let me pray. But let me take my hands off the problem as I see it.
And let God.
Let God bring Himself glory.
His workings ALWAYS reveal Himself, bringing glory to Himself.
Did you ever just find yourself humming a tune or singing a few words of a song, and it just won’t stop?
Sometimes it’s annoying…. tonight, it’s a comforting reminder that:
God’s Been Good
Verse 1
Lately I’ve been looking back, along this winding road
To the old familiar markers of the mercies I have known
I know it may sound simple but it’s more than a cliche
There’s no better way to tell you, than to say
Chorus
God’s been good in my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams when I go to sleep each night
And though I’ve had my share of hard times, I wouldn’t change them if I could
‘Cause through it all, God’s been good
Verse 2
Times replay and I can see that I’ve cried some bitter tears
But I felt His arms around me, as I faced my greatest fears
You see I’ve had more gains than losses and I’ve known more joy than hurt
As His grace rolled down upon me undeserved
Bridge
For God has been my Father, my Savior and my Friend
His love was my beginning, and His love will be my end
I could spend forever trying to tell you everything He is
But the best that I can say it is this
Chorus
God’s been good in my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams when I go to sleep each night
And though I’ve had my share of hard times, I wouldn’t change them if I could
‘Cause through it all, God’s been good
