Your Actions

Thanks be to God!  We who trust Jesus and call Him Lord receive, by grace, the gift of salvation.  "For it is by grace we are saved . . ." 

Followers of Jesus need to remember that boasting deserves no place for our actions fall short while grace reaches quite far enough, and beyond.  What place, therefore, do actions hold within faith, if any?  A significant one!  Enter James.

If there ever was a man whose conversations with the apostle Paul were filled with "yes, but" numerous times, James is the one. 

Paul:  "Salvation is a gift of grace."
James:  "Yes, but it is important to do good acts for people."
Paul:  "Yes, but those acts don't save you."
James:  "Yes, but faith without action is worthless."

I imagine this spiritual conversation in which both men spoke truth.  We need not pick sides.  I will, however, pick a subject for today.  The subject of actions (works, deeds).

James 2:14-20 (NIV)
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 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? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
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. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

James, the half-brother of Jesus, had faith.  He also had a strong conviction that actions were extremely important.  They, James held, are the proof of a living faith.  His half-brother agreed.  Jesus taught His disciples to believe and to serve, to use their feet to step out in faith and their hands to assist people in need. 

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Matthew 25:37-40, 45 (NIV)
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" . . . 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’"

"Whatever you did."  People who believe in Jesus do the things Jesus calls them to do.

James 2:18b-19 (NIV)
18 . . . “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.

Head knowledge that moves hands sets us apart from "the demons that believe."  I desire to be like Jesus, not like demons.  Therefore, I need to believe in Jesus and be a doer of His word.

In Matthew West's song "Do Something," we hear a person calling out to God in frustration asking God why He doesn't do something to remedy the poverty and pain on this earth.  Then we hear God's response:
"I did . . . I created you."

God did something when He created you.  He created you to do something as your faith fuels you.  Go do something today for someone.  Show your faith through your actions.  

#ordinarylives