Day 5 - James 2:12-19

12 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. 13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.


Tori's Comments:

I think this passage is really insightful when it comes to sorting out how we're saved. It seems kind of like he's saying our actions are what save us, but we know elsewhere that it's our faith in Jesus Christ, who died for us. But if you really believe in God... really believe him when he says:
-you are free
-you are healed
-you are loved
-you are mine
If you really believe those things, how could you possibly keep sinning? If people realized just how much God loved them, fully realized it, then the idols we make of the world would be like "menstrual rags" (Isaiah 30:22- a good find yesterday). I mean, who cares about money when the Creator of the world calls me his "prized possession"?!
Of course, we're human, and we forget. But realizing it, I feel, is the start of a whole journey towards learning to fix our eyes completely on Christ, and life becomes more of a race where all you can see is the finish line with Jesus's arms wide open.

Terrie's Comments:

Saying we believe is not enough.  We are transformed by the Holy Spirit and empowered to live lives that overflow with the fruit of the Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control).  We are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit to use to spread God's good news and live out what He has called us to.

When we confess Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives we will be changed and it will overflow into our actions and our words naturally by the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us!  We are new creatures in Christ!  The old has gone and the new has come.

I thought of this song because it talks about walking by faith and not by sight.  Walking is an adjective.  It is not a passive thing.  I love the image in this song in the part where it talks about it is easy to talk about walking by faith and not by sight when all is well... what about when your personal world crashes?  Are you still willing to walk with God step by step out onto the water?  This is when faith gets real.  The times in our lives when we have no idea what is going to happen but we have chosen to live trusting God no matter what... the question is not will God rescue me it is rather a question of how will God rescue me... will he call me to walk on water or split the water so I can walk on dry ground?  Both have happened :-) 

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!