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Hi there! This blog is PART 2 of the devotional diving into the Book of James. Check out Part I here!
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As I read through to The Book of James, I identified two themes in the book: our words and our actions. So last week was Part I of this two-part series of studying the Book of James! We talked about how important our words are and how they are like a spark in a fire that can either bring someone down or our words can spark life in people. However, it isn't just our words that James is concerned about; he also talks about our actions.
So have you ever heard anyone say that people's actions speak louder than words? Or "words are from the lips, actions from the heart?" So yes, our words are so important, but our actions come from our hearts, from our core. No matter what situation you are in, whether it is good or bad, your actions genuinely reflect where your heart is. James says, "faith by itself if it not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17). Ultimately what James is saying that it is through our actions that others can see our faith. Our actions are so important because they should mirror our faith.
It isn't our actions that should guide our faith. Instead, our faith should guide our actions. So, when we commit to following God and allowing Him to work in our lives, He is going to work everywhere, including our words and actions. When I started exploring and growing in my faith, one area where I kept to myself was in what I was doing. I held on to my actions until it got to the point where they really did not reflect what was going on in my heart. I was holding on to those things so tightly because it was hard for me to believe that what my heart was guiding or telling me to do through my faith, would be better than what the world around me was telling me what to do. Eventually, it came to a point where I had to let go of those things to make my faith appear in every area of my life.
The beginning of James chapter 3 says, "not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways." This specific verse makes me reflect on when I was in high school. At this time, I was not following Christ, but I knew people who were. Whether they were in my class, or just going to school, they stuck out to me because their actions always followed their faith. They did not succumb to what the world was trying to tell them or pressure them to do; they were able to stand firm in their faith. They weren't teachers in the sense that they got up and preached on a Sunday, but just as followers of Christ, they were leading by example and whether it was directly or indirectly, sharing Jesus with people as their words and their actions reflected their faith. As I look back on this, I recognize how obvious it is when you act in a way that doesn't line up with your heart. If you say that you are a follower of Christ, then people watch your actions more closely. Trust me, I used to be the one that is watching.
As mentioned earlier, when I was first exploring my faith, I held on to things mainly because I thought my way was better. Sometimes from the outside, Christianity looks like it just a jumble of strict rules, and because they generally go against what we see in our physical world, they don't seem like they would be any fun to follow.
However, James addresses this specifically in chapter 1 when he says, "Do not merely listen to the word… Do what it says... Whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do," James says that the guide that we find in the bible of how to live according to our faith, shouldn't be restrictive but instead, it is a perfect law that gives freedom.
When our actions match our faith and our heart, we find freedom. We should not be constrained by trying to fit into this world; instead, we are free to follow our hearts. The laws of the bible are so that you can live freely in your faith and dwell in God's love. It is hard to take that first step of letting go of things that hold you to the world, but when you let your faith guide your words and your actions, you will be able to live in your faith and live freely.
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God Bless.
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