Daily Scripture: James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but has no actions to prove it? Is such “faith” able to save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, 16 and someone says to him, “Shalom! Keep warm and eat hearty!” without giving him what he needs, what good does it do? 17 Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions: Good, inspiring words are not enough if they do not align with generous actions. James asked in this passage, “What is the use of pious preaching if it produces no action?” It is not enough to tell our brothers and sisters in need that God cares about them. We must act out God’s love with works of compassion and healing. Faith becomes action when we take it into the world outside the church. Our faith cannot help but move from pronouncements to actions when we step outside the comfortable walls of the church.
- In Jumanji, Dr. Bravestone and Ruby Roundhouse agree to maintain their relationship outside the game, in the “real world.” They recognize that soon, outside of their video game adventure, their relationship may be more difficult. Do you find it easier to believe, pray, or worship while in the walls of a church? How can you channel these feelings in “the real world” when God doesn’t seem as clear or present?
- What is one way you can move your faith from words to actions this week? Is there something or someone you have been promising to pray for but just haven’t gotten around to? Start praying. Is there a person you need to forgive? Reach out to them today. Are you ready to stop merely saying that God cares for the poor and instead start committing to serving vulnerable populations? Click here to register for tomorrow’s FaithWork.
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group and a men’s group, and serves on the curriculum team.
As I was considering today’s passage, I thought we might “visit” with Mr. Pourt, the owner of a unique new franchise – “The Gem – A Gym Like No Other”
DL: Mr. Pourt, tell me about your franchise.
Mr. Pourt: Please, call me Lee. Growing up I was a huge fan of the musical, “The Music Man.” Remember Professor Harold Hill & his famous “Think System?” Instead of practicing their band instruments, the kids just thought about playing their instruments & this would help them be better musicians.
DL: Yep, I tried that with my childhood piano teacher. I’d never seen an elderly woman actually bite through a pencil before.
Pourt, Lee: Well, I thought why not apply that to physical fitness? Everyone feels obligated to join a gym every January, but, being human, we tend to tail off by Martin Luther King Day. We like to talk about being fit, but we rarely follow through with any actual workouts. As my wife complained, “They tell you to wear loose-fitting clothes to your workout class; but if I had loose-fitting clothes, I wouldn’t need to go.”
So, we created The Gem, where we like to say, “A waist is a terrible thing to mind.” You join for a nominal fee so you can tell everyone you joined a “gym,” you come & enjoy a coffee & rolls at our Energy Bar & you can tell your colleagues “you hit the gym” before work. We have a library of books about physical fitness, inspirational workout music, & motivational podcasts to help you mentally prepare to be physically fit. It’s been very popular.
DL: I see the appeal, but shouldn’t you at some point actually do something? It would be like a Christian reading the Bible, listening to inspirational music, & learning from motivating sermons & then not doing anything else.
Jesus came to offer salvation to each one of God’s children, but He also knew that a message of God’s love would be hard to hear if one were hungry or hurting. Throughout His ministry we constantly read of Him feeding the hungry, healing the sick, & helping those in need.
Maybe we could take a tip from the Greatest Personal Trainer the world has ever known & begin to put our faith into action. Like any good workout plan, let’s not focus on losing the entire 20 pounds in one week. Rather, let’s start with small achievable goals & seek to show the love of Christ each week by offering an attentive ear, a sincere greeting, or a helping hand to someone in dire need of Christian love.
Pourt, Lee: I’ll concede those are good points. So, are you interested in joining?
DL: No thanks. I have my own workout routine: I get up at 4:30 a.m., swim 20 laps, eat a raw egg & drink 8 ounces of guava juice for breakfast, & then bike to work each day.
Pourt, Lee: Impressive. How long have you been doing that?
DL: I start on Monday.
Pourt, Lee: [Ding.] Oh, I have to go. The Buns of Steel are ready to come out of the oven. (Actually, they are cinnamon – you should try one!)
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You might also like:
- Choosing how to live the one life we get
- Dr. Bravestone: “We need each other, whether we like it or not”
- No one “got all the good stuff”
- Dr. Bravestone: “We can help each other.”
- Prayer Tip: Game ON!
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
Daily Scripture: Psalm 27:1 (0) By David:
(1) Adonai is my light and salvation;
whom do I need to fear?
Adonai is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assailed me
to devour my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
they stumbled and fell.
3 If an army encamps against me,
my heart will not fear;
if war breaks out against me,
even then I will keep trusting.
4 Just one thing have I asked of Adonai;
only this will I seek:
to live in the house of Adonai
all the days of my life,
to see the beauty of Adonai
and visit in his temple.
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter
on the day of trouble,
he will hide me in the folds of his tent,
he will set me high on a rock. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions: Early in Jumanji, Principal Bently told the students sent to detention, “You get one life… You get to decide how you’re going to spend it.” In verse 4 the writer of Psalm 27 expressed the central thing to which he devoted his one life. On this earth, the confident promises in Psalm 27 do not always come true. But Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, at the funeral of four girls killed in a church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, “Like the ever-changing cycle of the seasons, life has the soothing warmth of the summers and the piercing chill of its winters. But through it all, God walks with us. Never forget that God is able to lift you from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope.”*
- Verse 4 said, “I have asked one thing from the Lord… to live in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, seeing the Lord’s beauty.” In his classic book Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence wrote to God, “Thou knowest well that it is not thy gifts that I desire… but Thyself.” What draws you to adore and yearn for God with anything like that kind of intensity?
- Israelites who prayed and sang this psalm saw Babylon destroy Jerusalem, saw Rome overpower their land—yet they still trusted. Christians saw Jesus crucified, the apostles Paul and Peter martyred by Rome, prayed the psalm in dim Roman catacombs—yet they still trusted. What difficulties test your trust, and trigger fear in you? How can you trust that in the end God will always keep the promise to set you up high, safe on a rock?
* “Eulogy for the Martyred Children,” in James M. Washington, ed. A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1986, p. 222.
Palmer is a summer intern with Rezlife Student Ministries at Resurrection Leawood. He is a Sophomore at Southern Methodist University studying business and Spanish. He has attended Resurrection since he was born and has been involved in Rezlife for the past 8 years.
The Lord is our protector and our salvation. It seems to me that people often forget that. The author of Psalm 27 announces his desire for the Lord, proclaims his longing for His company on high. He knows that the one he longs for will provide him with everything he needs.
I am entering my second year of college at SMU this upcoming August. I love the school and the people I have met there, yet it seems to me that there is an air of worry surrounding many of the students. This haze is present in my own life as I fret over my future career, my classes, internships, and all the decisions that have been placed before me that could potentially alter my life. I believe the same could be said of college students, and people in general, all across the country. We all worry endlessly over things that may not matter to the Lord.
I had the opportunity to give a message one night a few weeks ago to our Dallas mission trip group on the importance of faith. I mentioned that having true faith in the Lord means to place yourself completely in his control, to depend on Him alone for everything. God will not abandon us, he has a reason for asking for our devotion. Jesus said that if He feeds the birds in the trees and clothes the lilies in the fields then we, who are much more dearly loved, will surely be taken care of. The Lord will “conceal [us] there when troubles come” and “hide us in sanctuary.” God walks with us in the good times, encourages us in the trying times, and gives us sanctuary in His arms during the hard times.
That is the reminder I hear when I read this scripture: armies can come to conquer and devour me, but the Lord is my fortress always. There is no need to fear or worry, for it brings us nothing. Yet the Lord brings joy and peace to His children.
Like this post? Share it!
You might also like:
- Dr. Bravestone: “We need each other, whether we like it or not”
- No one “got all the good stuff”
- Dr. Bravestone: “We can help each other.”
- Prayer Tip: Game ON!
- “Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving”—like God
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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