sorry this is over an hour late :(
i got back from san francisco this morning and i've been sleeping on and off throughout the day while battling jetlag.
as i was reading through james 2:14-26, i just kept on thinking about how this was so applicable to my life at the moment. i know i've been living in the world this past week while not exercising spiritual discipline. this verse really brings me back to God and motivates me to do outreach.
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.
it's one thing to say i believe in God but those words and my faith are worth nothing if i don't act on them. this verse is so fundamental in a "duh" kind of way and yet i find myself struggling to act on my faith sometimes. those chances i get when hanging out with friends to talk about God - why don't i ever seize them? it makes me think twice about how cautious i am about talking about Him with other people. that and it makes me ashamed that i can claim to love God and yet do nothing spiritual this past week when He has given me so much grace and so many blessings.
so i pray for all of us. that our faith can be made genuine by the acts that we commit for Him. may we continually lift up God's name through prayer and more importantly, actions so that we may be alive in Him and the Holy Spirit.
can't wait to see you all on tuesday!
-julia
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