Thought of the Day !!

Do you still think it's enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless? – James 2:19-20 (NLT)

What James is trying to tell us is that simply believing that God exists and that He created us is not enough.  It's not the kind of belief that Jesus speaks of in John 3:16 when he says that "all who believe shall never perish, but have eternal life".  This kind of saving belief (or faith) has good deeds attached.

He is not telling us our good deeds will save us, but that true faith (or belief) in Jesus is life changing.  When we accept, we not only accept Jesus as our Savior (the one who saves us), but as our Lord (the one whom we invite to run our lives).  And when Jesus is in control, good deeds will naturally follow.

So it's not that good deeds save us, but that they point to a person who is living out his/her salvation.  As Jesus said, "We will be known by our fruit."

So what kind of fruit have you produced lately?  Are there signs that you are a Christian?  Do good deeds pour forth from you?  Or do you claim to have faith while having no deeds to show the authenticity of it?

May we all have a fruit-producing day today.

In the love of Christ,

greg