Faith and Deeds
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:14-17 (The Message)
The Message (MSG)
Faith in Action
Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
I never knew that the thoughts I had were actually biblical. I thought I just had a bad attitude, and I probably do. Prayer is a WONDERFUL, wonderful thing. And I do believe that God can work miracles, and I do believe that praying can change things. I am also living on the other side of these verses....and needing help. There are people who say, "Julie, I'm praying for you!" That is WONDERFUL. But, there is also times when humans need that physical helping hand, or emotional support.
There have been a couple people who have helped me feel guilty for needing help for so long. I have really been blessed by the 4 people that have come regularly for months, once a week to help me. I have been told that people need their time to themselves and that it's asking a lot of them. After reading these verses, I really believe that they are just doing what they feel called to do. I am so blessed that they are listening to that calling and helping me. I honestly don't know what I would without these people.
As hopeless and as helpless as I sometimes feel, God had ALWAYS supplied all our needs. We are definitely not rich in money, and I am not rich in health, but our family is rich in so many other ways. Compared to people in other countries, we really have a lot. And for that, I feel blessed.
Thank You Lord, for all you have done and given to me. Thank You for the people You have put in my life that show me Your love. Thank you for supplying all of my needs. Thank You for the wisdom to distinguish between needs and wants. Jesus, please help me with my attitude. Help me be more like You. I pray that Your Light and Your Love shine in my life so others might see You.
I know that others can't possibly know what life is like for me, because they have not been in my shoes. I guess the best I can explain it is for them to envision how they felt when they had a bad case of the flu....the extreme exhaustion, the body aches. I have that every day, but I don't have the light at the end of the tunnel that my illness will just last 24 hours or a week to 10 days and then I will be better. It's an invisible illness and I may look just fine on the outside. But what people can't see is how it rages and takes over my life. I may be still breathing, walking and talking, but have lost the life that I once knew.
