Sermon from the “Living Like Christ” series.
Sermons
The TRUTH that Leads to Freedom
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. . . . So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'”
John 8:31-32, 36 (NIV)
I had the privilege of sharing a sermon this morning from John 8:31-59 as I chose to address the topic of freedom on this Fourth of July holiday weekend. I opened by reading a poem, Freedom, that God had put in my mind to write yesterday morning. Then, as my custom is, I used a word of the sermon title as an acrostic to outline my sermon. God calls His followers to know, live, and share a freedom that can only be found in the truth of Jesus who claims, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
As we unwrapped “The TRUTH that Leads to Freedom”, we first looked at the Teaching that leads to freedom. Jesus stated that by holding fast to His teachings we show that we are His disciples and will be set free by the truth of them. Jesus made it clear in the story of the wise and foolish builders, that there is a difference between knowing the teachings of Jesus and actually putting them into practice. It is by being a “doer of the word and not a hearer only” that we find the Teaching that leads to freedom.
The second point of the message addressed our need to practice a Repentance that leads to freedom. Repentance is a word, and practice, that most of us tend to avoid because it requires an admittance that there is something not right in our life. Often lost in a culture that loves to quote “judge not”, is the clear message of Jesus that He came not to call the righteous but to call sinners to repentance. The real excitement in that last sentence ought to be the realization that Jesus came to call you and I to a Repentance that leads to freedom!
Through Jesus, we also gain an Understanding that leads to freedom. Some of my favorite passages in the Bible are when Jesus addresses His disciples and refers to them as “dull” or asks them, “do you not understand?”. I love these because it shows that Jesus knows that my understanding of who He is and the freedom He offers is a growing process. In one of those passages there is an expressed concern about the keeping of some Jewish ceremonial practices to be considered clean. Jesus explains that it is what is inside of a person that makes them clean or unclean It is knowing, and trusting, the promises of Jesus to wash away my sins that gives me an Understanding that leads to freedom.
Perhaps the most difficult part of the message was this fourth point as I addressed the Traditions that lead to freedom. I must make it very clear, it is not the traditions themselves that lead to freedom rather an examination and understanding of why I practice them. Jesus made it clear to those accusing Him of forsaking the Law of God, as found in the Old Testament, that His intention was not to abolish the law, but rather to fulfill it. He was keeping and fulfilling the law not for the sake of tradition but because he understood and believed the purpose behind it. When we seek the old paths, paths founded in the truth of God’s Word, and walk intentionally in them as part of our relationship with God, we discover Traditions that lead to freedom.
Finally, we considered the Honor that leads to freedom. Jesus could do and say the things He did while on earth because He wasn’t concerned about bringing honor and glory to Himself. He was despised, ridiculed, rejected, and crucified all while living in complete freedom. His stated goal was to not bring glory to Himself but to honor His Father. It is so easy to get caught in the trap of compromise as we become afraid of what people will think of us. Most of us want people to speak well of us and to honor us for our accomplishments and for who we are. The problem is not so much in honoring people or being honored by people — God tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. What keeps us from experiencing freedom is our desire to bring honor to ourselves. It is when we make the focus of our life all about bringing glory to God that we can experience the Honor that leads to freedom.
Like the Jewish listeners in the days of Jesus, I think many people are disgusted with the idea that someone would set them free. That original audience believed they were already free and had never been enslaved to anyone or anything — sounds rather familiar and contemporary to today’s culture, at least to me. As much as we like to fight for our freedoms and shout to be heard, it doesn’t appear to be working all that well. Perhaps it is time we turn to The TRUTH that Leads to Freedom!
In prayer,
Tom
Seeking the LOST!
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Luke 19:10 (NIV)
I’ve been preaching a sermon series through the book of Luke with a focus of looking at the life and teachings of Christ to see how we ought to live as Christians. Tonight we reached chapter 15 which contains the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost (prodigal) son. As I looked at this chapter, I was reminded of the importance that seeking and saving the lost is to Jesus.
I’m guessing that most, if not all, of those reading this would agree about the importance of the lost to Jesus. The bigger question for those of us wearing the name Christian is if the lost are that important to us. I’m afraid far too often we are more concerned with seeking people just like us than we are about seeking the lost — if we even think about seeking anyone!
So, what do the lost look like that Jesus would be seeking . . . and because of that, we ought to be seeking as well? I share the following outline as a starting point in our work of seeking the LOST!
- Seek the Lonely
- Seek the Objectified
- Seek the Sinner
- Seek the Tired
I am confident that no one would have to look very far to find a person that is in each of those categories . . . we may just need to look in the mirror! As we realize that these describe people who Jesus came to seek, we must make it a priority of our life to seek them as well. To live like Christ means we must also seek like Christ. To seek like Christ means that we must seek the LOST that are all around us with the message of hope through the good news of Jesus.
In prayer,
Tom
Talk FIRST to God
One of my spiritual discipline goals that I have had posted on my office wall since 2006 is to talk to God first about all of my needs, desires, complaints, etc before I even think about talking to anyone else about them. I don’t always do that, but I continue to grow in that aspect of prayer. I preached a sermon at a recent seminar with the title, “Talk FIRST to God”, that was assigned to me as it fit a series the church was doing. It fit well with this goal I’ve worked on for eight years and I addressed that topic using the model prayer that Jesus gave as an example on how we ought to pray.
The outline went like this:
Talk . . .
Faithfully to God.
Intentionally to God.
Respectfully to God.
Submissively to God.
Truthfully to God.
In this context, talking faithfully to God has to do with frequency — keeping at it on a regular basis. “Give us today our daily bread” makes no sense unless I am praying it daily — unless I don’t mind going hungry on days I don’t ask. 🙂 I need consistency — faithfulness — in my prayer life in order to build and maintain a vibrant relationship with the living God.
When I ask God to “lead me not into temptation”, I need to talk intentionally about the things that I know are a temptation in my life and look to God for instruction and strength to not give in. For me, temptation gets the best of me when I am not admitting that a particular issue or situation is a temptation. My intentional conversations with God helps me to know more clearly when I need to stand and when I need to flee.
When I address God as my “Father in heaven” or pray “hallowed be your name”, I am going to God respectfully. Sometimes I think we have settled for “formal” ways of prayer instead of focusing on respectful ways of prayer. For me, my word choice and formality isn’t nearly as important as my attitude and internal tone. As a parent, I know when a child is using the right formal words but there is absolutely no respect being given. God deserves our utmost respect even, and perhaps especially, when we don’t understand or agree.
When I talk submissively to God, I’m giving up control of things being done my way. When I pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”, I have to assume God’s will is done perfectly in heaven so I have to submit to that being the case in my life. This way my prayers for others don’t focus so much on what I want or even what they want, rather they focus on what I know God’s will to be. I know from scripture that God’s will is that no one should perish but all would come to repentance. Because it is commanded, I know it is God’s will that believers would be His witnesses to the uttermost parts of the world. When I spend time in scripture, I understand more of God’s will and it helps me to pray more submissively.
Probably the hardest part of prayer is to talk truthfully to God. When I ask God to “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”, I need to be truthful about the sin that is in my life and truthful about the lack of forgiveness that I harbor. It is a lot easier to be generic when I pray about sin rather than be truthful when I pray about sin. I can easily pray, “forgive my sin”, but it is much more difficult to pray, “forgive my greed, my lust, my apathy, my selfishness, etc”. Talking truthfully with God makes us feel more vulnerable but it also greatly deepens our relationship with Him when we realize that this truthfulness does not cause us to be rejected.
I pray that you have a desire to talk first to God about everything. I pray that God’s instruction in my life is a help to you as I share about His work in me.
Never Too SMALL
Windows of Heaven
“parable” — “An earthly story with a heavenly meaning.”
Never Too SMALL (Matthew 13:31-35)
Our main text this week is a series of two parables that Jesus tells to the crowds about things which are small yet yield great results. The first is about the mustard seed which was known as the smallest of all seeds. When this seed is placed in the ground and allowed to do what it was created to do, a huge bush grows up that even the birds of the air can nest in. The second is a story of a woman who took a small amount of yeast and mixed it into a large amount of dough. As the woman did her work and the yeast did what it was created to do, the entire batch of dough was leavened by the yeast.
Jesus wants us to know that small things can yield big results when we place them in God’s hands. What do you have that you think is too small? If you place it in God’s hands, it is never too small.
Something to think about . . .
. . . Daily readings and questions to help you prepare for the August 24 AM message at Deer Run.
Monday (August 18) Read Matthew 13:31-32.
What did Jesus compare the mustard seed to? Where does it rank among seed size? What happens when it is planted? Would you expect that simply by looking at the seed? How is the kingdom of heaven like that? What seeds have been planted to cause the kingdom to grow? What seeds are you currently planting to cause the kingdom to grow? How big are they? Does it matter? What does God want to do with that which seems small to you?
Tuesday (August 19) Read Exodus 4:10-17.
What was God wanting Moses to do? How did Moses describe his speaking ability? What did God say about the speaking ability of Moses? How did Moses respond to God’s instruction? What was God’s response? Who did He send to help? How often do you pass up opportunities to share the gospel message because you feel too slow in your speech? What would God say to you about that? What does God want to do with that which seems Slow to you?
Wednesday (August 20) Read 1 Kings 17:12-14.
What does the woman in the text tell Elijah that she has? What did she plan to do with it? How much extra did she think she had? What is Elijah’s instruction to her? What happens? When God presents a need to you, what do you consider is your inventory to meet it? Do you ever say, “I only have enough for myself and my family”? Is that ever true? What does God want you to do with that which seems Meager to you?
Thursday (August 21) Read Judges 6:11-13.
Who pays a visit to Gideon in the text? What is Gideon doing? Where is he at? Why? How does this visitor address Gideon? What did Gideon think of the greeting? Are there times that you are fearful to do what God says? Do you have a hiding place where you hope no one can find you? How can you find courage when it feels like the enemy is winning? Who is greater, the One that is in you or the one that is in the world? What does God want you to do when you feel too Afraid?
Friday (August 22) Read Luke 19:1-6.
Who wanted to see Jesus? What physical characteristic made that difficult? How did he try to compensate for his size? Who was looking for him? What did Zacchaeus receive? Do you ever feel too little in some way to make a difference? How do you try to compensate? Do you think Jesus knows where you are? What does God want you to do when you feel Little?
Saturday (August 23) Read Acts 22:6-10.
What is Saul doing when he sees a bright light and hears a voice as he travels? What did the voice ask? Did Saul recognize who was speaking? Who did the voice identify himself as? What is Saul told to do? What message will Saul be given when he goes into Damascus? How lost is too lost? Have you ever felt you were too far removed from God to do any good? How do you respond to God’s Word telling you all that you should do? What does God want you to do when you feel that your are too Lost?
Sunday (August 24) Read Matthew 13:33.
What does Jesus compare yeast to in this parable? What is done with the yeast? Do you think she had much yeast? Where does it end up? What would have happened had the woman not mixed the yeast in with the flour? What has God given you to cause the kingdom to grow? What are you doing with it? What does God want you to do with that which seems small to you?
PRAY Like a Mom!
Study guide to prepare for the Deer Run Church of Christ Mother’s Day sermon.
If you have, or have had, a godly mom, you were given one of the greatest gifts a person can receive! What lessons have you learned from your mom? What do you wish you had learned? What do you hope to still learn? What character qualities do you think are most important for a mom to have? What “Mom” from the Bible do you learn the most from? What is it about her life that helps you to grow in your faith? In our study this week, we will look at several Bible moms as we consider lessons we can learn from them about prayer.
Something to think about…
Monday (May 5) Read 1 Samuel 1:9-20. Who was Hannah? What was causing so much sorrow in her life? What did she request from God? What did she promise to do in return? What did Eli the priest think of her prayer time? How does she explain what was noticed? What is his response? How did this change her? What should you do when you are filled with sorrow and “bitterness of soul”? Have your expressions of prayer ever been misunderstood? Have you ever judged someone’s actions differently than what they were actually doing? What does it take for your prayers to be genuine?
Tuesday (May 6) Read 1 Kings 3:16-28. What dilemma exists in this passage? Who was supposed to solve the problem? What did each party want? How did the king propose the problem be solved? What request (prayer) did one of the mothers make to the king? What was his response? Do you ever go to God asking that He sees things your way — to your benefit? What are you willing to give up in order to save someone? How does giving up your will change the way you pray for people?
Wednesday (May 7) Read Matthew 20:20-25. What does the mother of James and John request from Jesus? Does Jesus think she understands the nature of her request (prayer)? How does He reply? Do you make bold requests on behalf of others? When you pray, do you think about others being put first? How do you respond when you discover that what you had been praying for requires more from you than expected?
Thursday (May 8) Read John 2:1-11. What problem came up at this wedding where Jesus and His mother were guests? Who did Jesus’ mother address about the problem? How does He respond? What does she do anyhow? What happens? Do you keep a mental list of things that you should go to Jesus about and things you shouldn’t? If so, how do you decide what makes either list? When you take your requests to God, do you trust He can do something about it?
Friday (May 9) Read Acts 12:5,11-17. What did the church do when Peter was imprisoned? Who was gathered at the home of John Mark’s mother? Why? What were they doing? What happened? How earnestly do you pray for people who are being persecuted? If people were wanting to gather and pray about a serious issue, would they come to your house? Are you ever surprised when God answers your prayer?
Saturday (May 10) Read 2 Timothy 1:3-7. Who is Paul praying for . . . how often? Who is Paul reminded of that planted the seeds of faith in the life of Timothy? What were those seeds to produce? Are there people whom you lift up in prayer “night and day”? How often do you think of your faith being planted in the lives of those who follow you?
Sunday (May 11) Read Matthew 15:21-28. Why did a Canaanite woman come to Jesus? How did Jesus initially respond to her request? What did the disciples want done? Does she give up? What does Jesus do for her, and then say about her? When you pray, do you think you deserve a response from God? How persistent are you when the answer to your prayer doesn’t arrive on the schedule you expect?
Always Be READY
I had the privilege to preach at the ordination service of a good friend and fellow servant of Christ. While it was a great honor, it was also a very difficult task for me as the location chosen was one in which I had endured years of hardship before being rescued by God’s mighty hand. As I sat there waiting for my time to speak, my heart was racing within my chest. The pounding of my pulse was visible and I feared the sound of it would be picked up by the mic I was wearing, in a somewhat “Tell-Tale Heart” effect. My breathing was becoming difficult and it was only the power of God’s Holy Spirit that lives within me that was able to keep the room from spinning as I rested in His grace. This seemed to be a true test of the words I was about to speak — I could preach about always being ready, but could I live it?
The main text that God had placed in my mind for the evening was a common ordination service text. Not only common, but quite fitting as God had developed a similar Paul and Timothy relationship between Taylor and I. In the text, Paul writes to Timothy with these words:
“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings — what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 3:10 – 4:4 (NIV)
As you read the text, it is important to point out that the idea of being set apart for full-time Christian ministry is not just for a select few who take on vocational roles of ministry. Each Christian is ordained by God into full-time Christian ministry at the moment of their baptism into Christ for the remission of their sin and God puts within them His Holy Spirit! The blood of Jesus which covers our sin is the ordaining element that sets each of us apart for God’s exclusive use. With that said, the Bible also teaches that God gifts some individuals to be involved in the equipping of His people for works of service. To me, that is what an ordination service is about — setting apart those who have the responsibility to equip, train, and encourage others in the full-time service they do for God wherever He has them from day-to-day. As you go about living the Christ-like life God has called you to, Paul makes it clear that you will encounter difficulties — “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”. Yet in the midst of the hardship and persecution, we are told to be ready to preach the word “in season and out of season”. So to you, as well as to Taylor, I say, “Be READY!”
- Be Real: The first part of being ready, is to be real! If you are to represent Christ well, there must be a consistency of character and conduct that the people around you recognize as genuine. When Paul writes about Timothy to the Philippians, he says that there is no one like him who has a genuine concern — not for his own interests, but for theirs. We live in a society where the right image has become so much more important than being real. The harder we try to put on a front, the further we fall from being ready when people realize we are not real. To be ready to represent Jesus, we must live, act, and speak the same throughout the entire week as we do when we are surrounded by Christian friends during a Sunday worship gathering. People need to see that you believe enough in what you are saying that you are actually living it! They also need to see that you, as did Jesus, can understand and identify with their weaknesses.
- Be an Example: The second part of being ready, is to be an example! Many people like to pull out Paul’s instruction to Timothy to let no one look down on him because of his youthfulness. Unfortunately, many fail to finish the verse to know how to actually do that! In First Timothy, Paul writes and tells Timothy that he must set an example in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity so that no one has a reason, or an excuse, to look down on him. What we do, how we live, the example we set, can all make or break the message we tell about God’s great love for mankind. A big part of the importance of being real is so that Jesus is not just heard about, He is visibly seen in the way that you and I live! I believe that one of the reasons that the church seems to be making little positive difference in the American culture is because the Christians who make up the church have often failed to be an example. Statistically, there is very little difference in the speech, life, love, faith, and purity of Christians compared to non-Christians! Instead of being an example, our life often seems to shout out that there really is no difference. When you wear the name Christian, how you treat others says more to them about Christ than what we tend to act like it does.
- Be Available: The third part of being ready, is to be available! When you take life as a Christian seriously, your primary business becomes people — regardless of what you do as an occupation. While that sounds good and noble, it is not quite right! It is that statement that gets many who enter vocational ministry in trouble. As a Christian, your primary business is not people, it is your relationship with God! When we get that mixed up, then it is not long before people are setting our schedule, agenda, and life goals. We become exhausted trying to keep up with all the demands and needs of the people around us as we strive to be available to everyone. While we need to make the most of every opportunity in our availability to people, we must make our availability to God the number one priority in our life! When Paul writes to the Corinthians about the matter of some giving that they had purposed to do, he points out the attitude of the Macedonians who had first given themselves to God so that He enabled them to give beyond their means. If you are going to be ready for what God has for you to do, you must live a life that is fully available to God for His exclusive use! Doing this can change your entire attitude about service to people. When the things that you do are based out of your availability to God, then you are truly able to work at it with all your might as one serving the Lord.
- Be Decisive: The fourth part of being ready, is to be decisive! Throughout scripture, God calls people to make up their mind. We live in a time when it seems like nearly everything is decided by public opinion. Even within church and Christian ministry settings, it seems like we are often on that ship of doubt that James talks about — constantly being tossed from wave of survey results to wave of public opinion polls. Yes, there is value in knowing what, and how, people are thinking, but that should never replace the authority of God and His Word in making decisions. It is only when decisions are based out of time in prayer and careful examination of God’s Word that we are truly prepared to let our “yes be yes and our no be no”! It is a sad commentary on the followers of God that the statements of Joshua and Elijah, calling the people to make a choice about who they will serve, are seen as such bold statements! The church today needs courageous people who will stand up and boldly ask, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if (Baal) is God, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21) You can fill in the parentheses as to what goes there instead of Baal in your life and in the lives of people today. To always be ready, means that you hold fast to your decision that the Lord truly is God and His ways are the only ways to live.
- Be Yielded: The final part of being ready, is to be yielded! Hopefully you have seen this element throughout the other parts that I have already mentioned. When you live a life that is fully yielded to God, you give Him all the room necessary to work and receive the glory that is due Him. When Peter writes about always being ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you, he begins by instructing us to “set apart Christ as Lord”. When Christ is Lord, He is in charge and every detail of our life is done His way. Being yielded to God in everything means that He decides what being real looks like. He is the example that I not only follow, but also the example that I become. He has my full attention so that I am available for whatever tasks that He calls me to do. His decisions are supreme, so my task of deciding is easy — I simply say, “Yes, Lord.” Being yielded is what ties the entire idea of being ready, but it is often the most difficult part of it. It is where the concept of complete submission to God becomes reality. It is doing the parts of life that you enjoy and the parts of life that you don’t enjoy — simply because God sets them both before you as the work He created in advance for you to do. It is daily praying the prayer of Jesus from the garden, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” It is going when God says go and staying when God says stay. It is why Paul can both give instruction to endure hardship and also praise God for rescuing him from those very hardships. A life that is fully yielded to God is ready to preach the word both in season and out of season — and even ready to use words if necessary.
I pray that if you are in Christ as one of His children that you will Always Be READY! You have been set apart for God’s exclusive use so as you go about life today, live like it!
Brotherly Advice: How to ACT (James 2)
Brotherly Advice: A Study Through the Book of James
There are times in life when we could all use a little advice. I pray that you have people in your life that you can go to for wise, godly counsel when your way seems uncertain. Many times we have a brother or sister, whether biological or spiritual, that has already been down the road we’re travelling and is equipped to help us along our journey.
For me, the book of James is one of those methods God uses to pass along some brotherly advice. Most scholars seem to be in agreement that the person writing down the words in the book of James is James, the brother of Jesus. Here’s a guy that grew up around Jesus yet did not believe through most, if not all, of the life of Jesus on earth. Yet eventually James came around and believed that Jesus was more than a brother, He was the Son of God!
James concluded chapter one with some advice on what God considers pure and faultless religion. It has a lot to do with the actions that flow out of our heart. Here in chapter two, he gives us some great advice on how to ACT!
- Advice about Accepting: How do you treat people you don’t know — or even those you do know? What determines the level of interaction you have with them? It is far to easy to make judgments about people based on their outward appearance because that is what is most apparent. It takes a deliberate effort for most of us to be able to see a person and take the time to really know them. The advice James would give us is to open our eyes and see each person as God does! We must stop showing favoritism and giving special treatment to someone just because they look like they could benefit us. We must quit looking down on people and treating them like second-class citizens simply because they don’t appear to have anything to offer us. As a Christian culture, we have gotten very good at recognizing and applauding those who look just right, talk, just right, and act just right. We are quick to invite them in, to lift them up, and to shower them with praise all the while ignoring, putting down, and even mocking those who don’t look, talk, or act just like us. Unfortunately, that is the way the world works — not the way God’s people ought to work. As God moves you along in your journey with Him, take some brotherly advice from James on how to ACT and grow in your attitude and action of Accepting.
- Advice about Commandments: Sometimes we struggle with accepting people because we need to have a better understanding of the advice James gives about Commandments. It has been said that most Christians are not so much against sin as we are against people who sin differently than we do. When it comes to the commandments, James tell us we are all equal — if we’ve broken one point of the law then we are guilty of all of it. Call it what we like, God makes it clear that the favoritism — the lack of accepting — that we engage in is sin! We must stop acting like we are better than anyone else and start acting as one who has been shown mercy. To be clear, James doesn’t advise us to ignore the commands of God, only to see ourself accurately in light of them and in our inability to keep them perfectly. We are able to grow in the way we ACT toward others when we have a Biblical view of God’s Commands and the level field we are all on .
- Advice about Touching: We live in a time where there is so much concern about inappropriate touch that we need some good brotherly advice about Touching. Unless we choose to be oblivious, we are faced with the needs of people on a regular basis. As Christians, that need ought to touch our heart in a way that calls for some kind of response. James calls us to examine both what we say and what we do to see if they match. To wish someone to be fed and clothed is not a bad thing. To pray that God would supply their every need is always appropriate. For most Christians, those are not hard responses. The trouble comes when God calls us to be a part of the very answer to the prayer we just prayed. When it is time for our talk to hit the road and reach out to touch those in need. James tells us that our claim of faith in God has absolutely no value if it doesn’t drive us to do something with that faith. I believe that in the context of chapter two, James is calling us out on our refusal to touch the lives of people who both live differently than us and sin differently than us. If our faith in Jesus is alive, it will be touching people at their point of need. As we live life on the basis of our faith in God, we must take the brotherly advice from James on how to ACT so that we will step up and touch people with the living and active love of Jesus.
So, how are you doing with the brotherly advice on how to ACT that James would pass along? As you move from where you are to where God wants you to be, do you listen to the advice about Accepting? Are you open to recognizing, and responding to, the advice given about God’s Commandments? Are you living your life in such a way that you have taken the advice about Touching and look for ways to serve and meet needs? I pray that you will pay close attention to the brotherly advice James wants you to hear so that you would know how God wants you to ACT!
Tom's Treasure 