Faith at Work

     I'm studying the book of James currently and the issue of faith and works comes up with James' controversial statement, "a man is justified by works, and not by faith only" (James 2:24 NKJV). A pamphlet by Mart De Haan from November 2011 regarding "A Faith That Works," seems to address this battle of the ages. Below are a few excerpts from Mart De Haan in which he encouraged us, "To maintain this balance...to remind ourselves of the importance of both the faith that saves and the practical outworking of a faith that works."

• Because we believe the Bible is a reliable revelation of God, we want our lives to reflect what the Scriptures teach us about who our Creator is, what He values, and what He wants to do in and through us. 
• Because we believe Jesus died in our place and rose from the dead to live His life through anyone who will trust Him, we want to spend the rest of our lies letting others see that what He has done for us, He can do for them as well.
• Because we believe Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to be with us and in us, we want to live with a courage and confidence that is not in ourselves but in Him.
• Because we believe each of us will give account of ourselves to God, we want to be so aware of our own sins that when it becomes necessary to give attention to the wrongs of others, we will do so with care rather than conceit and with conviction rather than condemnation. 
• Because we believe in the promised return of Christ, we want to live every day of our lives in a way that reflects hope rather than despair, love rather than hate, and gratefulness rather than greed. 

Let's get to work putting our faith into action! KT

This caterpillar will become a butterfly, but not without daily consumption of large amounts of food, building and living in isolation then struggling to breakout of his chrysalis and lastly enjoying the freedom of flight.

2 Peter 1: ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
 ¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.