Verse:
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
Thought:
The week was wet, it was hot, it was powerful. Stationed north of Houston,
TX, housed at Tomball United Methodist Church, we invaded Tomball, Magnolia and Spring. Through the rain,
the thunder and the heat, we put our faith to work. Arriving last Sunday, 94 folks went throughout the
area fixing, repairing, painting and building onto, around and inside homes. 94 folks, youth actually,
entered into the homes and the lives of strangers, hoping to point to someone greater, hoping to point
to Christ. UM Army, a youth mission ministry met their brothers and sisters who were naked, without food,
without secure flooring, doors that would not open and without a dry roof over their head. With all they
were and are, they gave their all in hopes that one more person might come to a closer encounter with Christ.
These who served, were a living and active element of worship, honoring God.
Hear the Good News, as Christians, we are called to love our neighbor and strangers with the same
heart. If this is in fact the truth, should we not give what we are and what we have to help another? James,
writing the twelve tribes tribes of Christ, scattered about, does his best to remind them there is more to faith
than talk, there is action. Is this not a true challenge to us all? We hunger to be fed, and on Sunday, or when
we come to worship, we are moved, by the Spirit, to live out our faith. It is with enthusiasm we leave, yet
something often times happens when leave, the world falls upon us on all sides. Driven to distraction, we place
blinders around our eyes so we will not lose focus of where we are trying to go or what we are trying to do. These
blinders remind us to say, "PRAISE GOD" or direct us as we offer the Good news to one in need, but can blind us to
the possibility that we can do more, that we might be the instrument God has sent into a situation. AS we walk in the
world, we are to toss aside our blinders and fully interact within the world, allowing Christ to redeem the world from
the inside out. We are needed, you are needed, I am needed to live out our faith in service and love creatively and
faithfully in a needful world. Whether it is building, repairing, giving or loving, your faith will lead you to
service. Answer the call with your heart, your hands or what ever is
necessary.
Prayer:
Gracious God, You have worked in my life and brought to me the gift of faith. It is a faith which calls and leads me to countless opportunities. Give me the strength to answer the call, empower me to serve my brothers and sister all I can. I thank You for all You have done in my life and all You will continue to do, for I come to You through Jesus Christ, my Lord, my Savior! Amen.
Grace & Peace
David Banks
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