Our theme for this month: “Take care of each other”
Our Bible verse for today: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.” James 2:14-17 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Do something.”
I have some friends (a husband and wife team), who have the spiritual gifts of service and hospitality. They love people (especially their church family), and they’re always doing things to bless others. Together they deliver meals, visit in hospitals, help with work days, provide transportation for those who can’t drive, they help with chores in the church buildings, and lots of other acts of service like that. Actually, I have many friends who fit that description – good people who simply love to serve and who get great joy out of doing things to help and bless others.
In James 2:14-17 the Apostle challenged us to think about the fruit of our faith. His point was that if your faith is genuine then it should be evident by the way you live – and he wasn’t talking about engaging in religious rituals either. In James 1:22, when he urged us to “Be doers of the word, not hearers only …” he wasn’t referring to praying, reading your Bible, and going to church (as important as those things are). Instead, he amplified and clarified the meaning of the statement in 1:22 by what he wrote in 2:14-17 where he made it clear that if your faith is real and deep, it will show itself in acts of compassion, mercy, and service to others.
It’s good if you notice that someone is in need and it bothers you that they are suffering. It’s even better if you pray for them. But it’s something else again to actually do something about it. Nice thoughts are, well … they’re nice, and prayers certainly are important too, but your actions are what really matters. That’s where the proverbial rubber meets the road. It’s what you do that makes the difference, not just what you say.
When it comes to taking care of each other you have to actually do something. Words are cheap. It’s action that makes the difference. I encourage you to actually do something today. Put feet to your faith, put action to your words, and actually do something to help someone today.
Oak Hill Baptist Church
We are His hands and feet! Thanks for the encouraging word today.