Faith and Deeds

I recently came across this quote:

"Your faith isn't determined by what you do;

It's demonstrated by what you do." (author unknown)

I really like that a lot, do you?

Read this passage from James 2:14 - 26:

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.

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

Why do you do what you do? What are the motives behind your deeds? As Christians, we should want to do good deeds, not out of duty, obligation or guilt, but out of love for our Heavenly Father. Our good deeds don't take us higher up the ladder to Heaven. It doesn't work like that. The Bible does not teach that at all. Rather, we should do what we do because we want to show our love for Him. We should also remember that He will be glorified by our deeds and others will see Jesus living in us (Matthew 5:16).

How are you planning to serve God this week? What good deed(s) can you do today that will allow others to see Jesus living in you? Deeds can be small. Deeds can be big. The point is that in our good deeds, you and I are helping others and serving others, and God will be glorified because of it!

Have a great day!