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What Good Is It?

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Becoming Like Christ - Day 179 - James 2:14-17 - What Good Is It? - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 179 – James 2:14-17 – What Good Is It? – Growing As Disciples

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-17 (NIV)

Real Faith

What do you suppose real faith looks like? Real faith is living and active. Real faith will cause me to follow you to wherever you lead me. Real faith will enable me to do whatever you ask of me. Real faith will not allow me to sit around and do nothing. If I have real faith, I will be living in an intimate relationship with you. I will hear your voice. I will follow your guidance. I will receive your instructions. I will go and do whatever you ask of me. Will faith will cause me to spring into action. That will be very good.

I have some more ideas about real faith. I have more to say about real faith. I’m listening. I have already said that real faith involves living in an intimate relationship with you. Yes, you did say that. If I have real faith, I will not run ahead of you. If I have real faith, I will not lag behind you. Real faith will keep me right beside you. I will not wander away from you to do my own thing. I will not rely on my own strength to try to accomplish your will. Real faith will prevent me from being self-reliant and self-sufficient. I will place all my faith in you. I will rely on all your help. Living my life with and for you will be the goal of my real faith in you. That will be a very good goal.

I have even more ideas about real faith. I would like to hear all your ideas about real faith. Real faith will cause me to live a life of prayer. Real faith will cause me to live a life of worship. As I live a life of real faith, I will continue to give you praise and thanksgiving as I walk through life with you. These things will all be true because you will be with me to help me. You will be near to me. I will be near to you. I will be living in an intimate, moment by moment life of real faith in you. Yes, you will. Then real life will also fill my life with peace and hope and joy as I love, follow and serve you. This is what real faith will look like. Yes, it does. Yes, it will. All my faith is you. Yes, it is. That is very good. 

Lord, you have changed the course of my life. You have given me new thoughts to think, words to speak and deeds to do. It is my pleasure and joy to follow and serve you. I will go where you guide me and do what you ask of me. Bear fruit through my life. Amen

Key Question…  When has the Lord directed you to meet the needs of someone in distress?

Living It Out…  With a heart filled with faith, go and do what the Lord asks you to do for Him.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that the Lord will have you go and help others who are in distress.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group what the lord has given you to go and do for Him.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May your faith be accompanied by action.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 179 – James 2-14-17 – What Good Is It? – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

What Good Is It

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Promises - Day 160 - James 2:14-17-What Good Is It?- Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 160 – James 2:14-17-What Good Is It?- Growing As Disciples

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  James 2:14-17 (NIV)

What Good?

What good is your faith in me? That seems like an odd question. I will ask you some more questions, so it does not seem so odd to you. How has your faith in me changed your life? How are you now different because you have faith in me? What are you now doing that you would not be doing if you did not have faith in me? Now, I understand where you are headed with this line of questioning. You could have asked, “How is my faith in you observable?” Or you could have asked, “How can others see that I have a vibrant faith in you because of the way I think and speak and act?” Yes, those are two very good questions as well. How will you answer my questions? I will tell you one thing without a doubt. What’s that? I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you if I did not have faith in you. Nor would I be writing about our conversation. So, I could also say, I would not be living in an intimate relationship with you if I did not have faith in you. Yes, that is quite true. What else? I can’t think of one thought or word or action of my life that has not been touched or changed or transformed because the life of faith I am living with you. You have changed the entire course of my life. My former way of thinking and speaking and acting is long gone. Those who knew me back then, before I came to have faith in you, would not recognize me today. Every day, as I have lived a life of faith in you, you have been molding and shaping my life. I’m as sure as I can be that you are not finished with me yet. No, my work in and through you will continue until the day you come to live forever in heaven with me. Well, that is another thing, I should mention. What’s that? You have continually asked me to go and do things for you. You have worked through my life so that I can bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. I know without a doubt, there is no sitting around, doing nothing, on this journey of faith I am on with you. That’s true. And I will keep on saying yes to you. I will keep on going and doing whatever you ask of me. That will be very good. So, what good is my faith in you? Living a life of loving and following and serving you is the goodness of the faith I have in you. Good answer. Thank you, Lord. 

Lord, I want my faith in you to be living and active. I want others to be able to see my faith in you as I go and do whatever you ask of me. I want my faith in you to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. Use my faith in you in your service. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Promises – Day 160 – James 2-14-17 – What Good Is It? – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Get Up And Go

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - God's Will - Jonah 1:1-3 - Get Up And Go - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – God’s Will – Jonah 1:1-3 – Get Up And Go – Growing As Disciples

The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish. Jonah 1:1-3 (NLT)

Wrong Way 

Where are you going? What are you doing? What do you mean by asking me that? Are you going where I have guided you? Are you doing all that I have asked of you? Did you ask me to go somewhere? Did you ask me to do something? What do you think? I wasn’t sure that I heard you correctly. Why is that? Well, I thought I might have heard you asking me to go where I did not want to go. I thought it might be possible that you were asking me to do what I would rather not do. But, I wasn’t sure. I certainly felt no peace about what might have been your directions and instructions. So, you ignored my directions and didn’t follow my instructions? I guess so. You didn’t just ignore my directions and skip my instructions. You went the wrong way and did the exact opposite of what I was asking of you. Did you feel great comfort and peace about going there and doing that? No, not really, not at all. This is not good.

I would like to ask you a few questions. Go ahead, I’m listening. Will there be times that I ask you to go where you would rather not go? Will there be occasions when I ask you to do what you would rather not do? Will there be times that you will not understand why I am sending you somewhere unfamiliar to do what might be unpleasant and difficult? Will it ever cost you anything to follow and serve me? Must you always feel great comfort and peace before you will go and do my will? Won’t there be times that you will be uncomfortable and afraid to go and do all that I ask of you? Will the road ahead always be smooth and easy? Won’t you ever experience difficult and painful challenges? Won’t there be times that you will need to hold on to me with all your strength as you follow and serve me? I can’t adequately answer all your questions. No, you cannot.

Forgive me for not going and doing all that you have asked of me. Forgive me for not listening to your directions and following your instructions. Forgive me for running away from what you have given me to do for you. You are forgiven. Now, will get up and go and do all that I ask of you? Yes Lord, I will. That will be very good. I will be with you to help you to go and do my will.

Lord, I have been reluctant to get up and go and do all that you have asked of me. Sometimes, I have run the other way to go and do something else. Forgive me. Thank you so much for finding me, bringing me back, and giving me another chance to serve you. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

God’s Will – Jonah 1-1-3 – Get Up And Go – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com