"If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" ~James 2:15-17~
We can't work our way to heaven. Jesus paid that ultimate price for my salvation on Calvary's hill over 2000 years ago. But He saved me for a purpose. If the only purpose was to spare me from hell, I would have been called to heaven the minute I accepted Him as Savior-Poof! Mission accomplished! But there is more...so much more.
It's very easy to become complacent. Several of my devotions lately have talked about the ebb & tide of emotions. Some days we are up, some we are down. Some days we feel motivated to conquer the world, other days we do good to crawl out of bed. That's just life. So what do we do on those hairy days? We still do what we know to do...serve others in Jesus' name. It does no good to only speak words, there is action required to be the hands & feet of Jesus to our friends, our neighbors, our community, our co-workers.
And busyness is another monster satan loves to use. This morning God brought me to the verse in Luke 16:13-"No servant can serve two masters..." We can't be loyal to both God and the world. We still have daily tasks to complete, but our mindset is to be on Christ first, and last, and all during the middle. Ouch! He is stepping on my toes! I've let busyness (recent job changes, ballgame schedules, holiday planning)rob me of more intimate times with Him.
I beg for God to speak to me, use me. But I have to be tuned in to hear His reply! I've got to be in a state of constant prayer(I Thes 5:17). He IS my best friend, and I have to invite His presence to be first in everything, every where, every time. I can have as much or as little of God as I desire. Oh, Lord, I want all of You! I want You to use me! Tug at my heart when my life is getting out of balance...nudge me until my eyes turn back to You. Warm my heart, fill me with Your Spirit. Let me warm the hearts of others, and fill the needs in their life in Your name.
