by David Brenneman
What things do you intentionally do with regards to your faith?
Do you keep your ways separated from your walk with Jesus? Why?
I'm reading in James this week on top of my regular reading in my Bible.
Would you trust a person claiming to be a Mechanic if there wasn't any evidence that they knew what they were doing?
Would you trust a person claiming to be a Doctor if you never saw them with any patients?
Just the same, faith without any works is dead. As one devotional writer said, faith without any works is like a dead body in a morgue.
A tree that's supposed to bear fruit that doesn't typically gets cut down and thrown in the fire.
People claiming to be Christians should have evidence to support their standing in Christ.
The Pharisees and Sadducees had a reputation of being the spiritual leaders...yet the evidence said otherwise.
In our lives in Christ we should have such a grateful heart that obedience to the leading of the Spirit in our lives takes precedence.
As the old hymn says "where He leads me I will follow. I'll go with Him, with Him all the way".
Sure we have the must do's of our day. I must get up for the day. I must get dressed. I must prepare myself a lunch for later. Must show up to complete my agreement to work for someone who agrees to pay me for my services. We must take care of our bodies. We must abide, to the best of our ability and baring violations of the Word of God, by the laws of the land.
Our commitment to that working relationship between employee and employer is God given. Therefore that work should be as unto the Lord. Regardless of what we feel about it. I often must ask for forgiveness of God because of my grumbling about my employer.
Ok, so after work. This time too, in the life of a Believer, belongs to God in Christ Jesus. We aren't off of hook at any waking moment.
We come to Christ, we become permanent Ambassadors of Jesus Christ until He calls us home. The position and title is irrevocable. No retirement program until we breathe no more.
We are to live a life of gratitude for all that Jesus has done for us. Regardless of what life sends our way.
The great temptation is to be distracted by self. Our sin nature will do whatever is possible to get us to think about self over service to others. Our sin nature will convince us of how to live in harmony with idolatry. You cannot get through 15 minutes of video online or television without commercials to that extent.
Where does your time go?
Would you have to convince someone that you are a Child of God or would the evidence of your life already show it?
Does your speech, love, and conduct support the claim that you are saved in Christ Jesus?
How much of what you say, what you decide, is peppered why "I"?
On the merits of evidence, could you be arrested or convicted of being a Christian? Would people know you are who you claim to be?
A person claiming to be a Christian who doesn't live it out, is the same as that one earlier claiming that they are a Doctor without any patients.
Look around at what you hold close to your heart. I didn't say who you hold close to your heart, but what.
Our culture proudly displays idolatry everywhere and in the name of recreational this or that. We take the free gift of salvation and set it aside rather than give it away. We take what feelings, aspirations, desires that ought to be poured into a life in Christ and give those to the world...and convince ourselves that it's ok. God understands.
If the culmination of your life were tried by fire, and the resultant gold produced was to make a gift to give back to Jesus...would there be enough to do so?
Faith, without works, is dead.
Faith with no evidence of it, produces nothing to show for it.
Do you commit time to reading your Bible?
Do you commit time to songs of praise that glorify our God?
Do you commit time to His will being done on Earth as it is in Heaven?
Do you commit time towards others in Jesus's name?
The things that you do should backup your life in Christ.
Jesus said this: "And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:23-26.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment