IS YOUR FAITH “WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE?”

SCRIPTURE:
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
(James 2:26)

MEDITATION:
The basic message from James is, “Faith that does nothing is dead!”
 
Faith is not the belief that God will do what we want;  
faith is the belief that God will do what is right.
He loves to see our faith in action, and He is always near and available.
When we are unsure how to exercise our faith, He is there coaching us.
He gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us as we obey Him and serve Him.
   
We need to let Him see our faith by showing our devotion to Him.
We need to also do things that demonstrate our faith.
Faith without effort is no faith at all.
God responds to our show of faith.
He does not reject genuine gestures of faith.

So.....
    Write a letter or send a text to encourage someone.
    Ask the Lord for forgiveness.
    Pray daily.
    Read God’s Word every day.
    Share your testimony with someone.
    And above all, worship Him (alone, and in corporate worship at church).

Jesus inconvenienced Himself by going to the cross for us.
Too often we fail to inconvenience ourselves in return, 
by going to His house to worship Him.
This causes us to miss out on the fellowship with other believers 
and more importantly, we miss out on many of God’s blessings.

When we faithfully worship Him, 
we are saying "Thank You for giving Your all for me!"
Worship should always be at the top of our priority list.
Expressing our faith through actions should be close behind.

ACTION:
How are you showing the Lord your faith?
Are you doing 'anything' as a child of His?
Can you name the last time you did something for the Lord?

Think about your faith from His viewpoint.
If you died an agonizing death for someone and they failed 
to show their appreciation, how would you feel about them?
What if they wouldn’t read any book written about you?

If they wouldn’t even faithfully meet with others to praise and worship you, 
how would it make you feel?
I have witnessed some who say they have committed their lives to the Lord,
actually get offended when reminded that He commands us to meet together.

Thankfully, He doesn’t treat us 
as we might treat others who fail to show us any appreciation.
However, we can miss out on many of His blessings when we fail  
to obey His commands, and are doing nothing for His kingdom.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, Thank You for saving me! Thank You for the 
gift of the Holy Spirit to help me show my appreciation for what 
You did for me, and for guiding me in expressing my faith through 
action. Forgive me for being disobedient to Your commands. Teach 
me how to use the spiritual gifts You have given me to express my 
faith to You and to others.”