“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
James 2:14-17

A pastor once said in a sermon, “There was a man who wrote the entire Bible word for word by memory without making one mistake.  However, that same man went home and beat his wife.”

We are to read our Bible.  God said that we should but He also said not to hurt people.  What good is it and what does it mean to us if we don’t employ the knowledge and instruction we receive from God?

Did you know that the Bible is God’s Love Letter to us?  He tells us over and over again how much He loves us and how precious we are to Him.

It is no wonder at all that people do not want to go to church when they see the ones who profess to be Christians not acting like it.  God said that He wants us to be either cold or hot and not lukewarm.

When you read a map it is useless unless you follow the directions, it is the same with the Word of God.  The Bible was written to direct, inspire, encourage, and comfort us.

The Bible gives us all the ingredients necessary for life but it is like making a cake, if you leave one of the ingredients out it will not taste right.

Many years ago back in Texas I was going door to door on visitation from church and I will never forget what this one lady said to me.  I asked her, “If you knew that God was telling you to sell your home and give all the proceeds to the poor, would you do it?”  She did not hesitate.  She said, “Absolutely not!  I have worked hard for this home for many years and everything in it is mine that I bought with my own money.”

I didn’t say anything to that lady but later at home my heart broke when I realized that God gave the very Best He could give us, His Own Beloved Son, Jesus.

I have thought many times about how Jesus willingly left His Father and all the Beauty and Peace of Heaven and came to earth knowing that He would be treated worse than any individual would ever be treated. What Amazing Love!

Let’s stop just reading the Bible, let’s start living the Bible so that others will want the Peace and Joy that only Jesus can give a person.

December 21, 2004