I. The Word: James 2:18-19

18 But someone may well argue, “You say the way to God is by faith alone, plus nothing; well, I say that good works are important too, for without good works you can’t prove whether you have faith or not; but anyone can see that I have faith by the way I act.”

19 Are there still some among you who hold that “only believing” is enough? Believing in one God? Well, remember that the demons believe this too—so strongly that they tremble in terror! 20 Fool! When will you ever learn that “believing” is useless without doing what God wants you to? Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith.

II. REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. According to James, what are two kinds of faith a person can possess?     
2. How do you know your faith is real (alive)?
3. What ‘good deeds’ will you do today to prove your faith in Jesus is real?       

Like many of my peers in high school, I went to Young Life where I heard the gospel for the first time and publicly confessed my faith in Jesus. (What kid wants to go to hell for eternity when you can just raise your hand and say a prayer, right?) 

But at the end of my senior year I decided to become an atheist. With college life looming on the horizon, I didn’t want Jesus limiting my options or toning down the fun I deserved to have. It was time for me to graduate and be the god of my own life.

Jump ahead 24 months and meet the alcoholic, drug addicted, fornicating, all F’s, scholarship forfeiting, depressed, and hopeless me. Turned out I wasn’t a very good or moral god after all. 

I needed a better me. So halfway through college I became a reluctant theist. This new path seemed to work at first. Believing in ‘one’ god helped me clean up my act, sober me up, and led me to study the ancient scriptures of all the world’s major religions. While believing in this impersonal god was successful in altering my behavior and appearance, on the inside I was still empty, desperate, and dead. 

Another self-inspired path, another dead end. 

Finally, one night during my senior year in college I cried out to God from deep within to save me! You’ll never guess who heard me and answered my call. Jesus Christ! I was finally ready to admit He was who He said He was: my savior. Jesus was here to save me from myself and give me the good life I always wanted.

Wrong again. Ha Ha!!  

All this happened over 15 years ago. Since then, my walk with Jesus has been a progressive understanding of my totally inability to please God or myself. It took longer than God hoped I’m sure, but I now know ‘Jesus as just my savior’ isn’t the real Jesus. He’s my Lord and Master too, or nothing at all. 

Over the years I can honestly say I have only felt fully alive in times when I’m using my faith to listen, obey, and completely submit to what I hear God saying to me on a day-to-day basis. I know my faith is real, living and active because I can point to God-inspired works in my life, and through my life, yesterday and today. Thank you Jesus!    

PRAYER

God, you are so patient and loving. Thank you for being the Good Shepherd and leading me in paths of righteousness for your sake. I believe Jesus is the way for me, my ultimate truth, and the life I always dreamed of. I want a faith that is living and active, one that responds immediately to the call of Jesus in every circumstance of life. Bring to mind ‘good works’ I have accomplished in the past through faith in you, so that I can be confident in my salvation and motivated to pursue you with total abandon. My life is yours. I am listening and waiting for you to assign good works for me to accomplish today. Speak to me God! Amen.