Paul talks ALOT about faith today. if we didn't have the book of James to balance things, we might think from what Paul says that all we have to do is have faith, and what we do in life doesn't matter!
but we do have James, especially James 2:24. and we KNOW that it does matter what we do in life. Jesus said alot about "what we do to the least of our brothers" and made it clear that the sheep will be separated from the goats based on their actions.
but notice what Paul does... he takes the focus off of US, and puts it on God. that's the genius of this. i posted that sparkling eye in the pic above because the version i read of the Psalms said "return the sparkle to my eye", which i thought was beautiful. it was something you would say to someone you loved. in this case, God.
however, i also see that the eye above is looking at God for its hope. like the Psalm goes on to say. and like Paul is saying. if our focus is on God, and on His love, and on finding Him in our brother and sister here, and loving them... guess where it isn't. on ourselves. :)
that's the key. taking our eye off of our own holiness and falling into pride... and instead learning to love as we gaze on God, who IS love... and on our neighbor, who needs His love.
God, please help me keep my eye focused on You. and return that sparkle. :)
1 comment:
One of the things I have noticed in my life is many of us rely on statements such as, once saved always saved, the thief on the cross (who by the way was being crucified); and from this we get it doesn't matter what we do or say as long as we believe in God, that Jesus died for our sins and everything else doesn't matter. The NT is our focus, however the standards that God wants to see in us is from the OT. The commandments are not just some after thought or good idea they are our defining rod or standard. We as Christians need to visit the OT more often and read as well as take to heart the true consequences of our actions. We need to take lessons from these readings, yes God forgives us of our sins but even all of the ancestors in the Bible had to endure the natural consequences for sin. In the current world we are living in we excuse things away to not offend or upset others to the point of saying to God we understand your rules but "we" forgive their transgressions and except their decisions in life. We as Gods people need to reevaluate this. Love the person but silence of the behaviors (sins) is perceived as being PC,the great followers of the OT and the NT were willing to die (and most did) to stand their grounds for Gods laws. They drew the line in the sand and said, NO. We as a nation of believers need to do the same now it is not too late.
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