James 2:14-17 NASB What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

I’ve been buying large amounts of hot dog buns for our upcoming Harvest Festival at church. When you have 20 or more packages of hot dog buns in your cart, people notice, and they feel like they need to say something: “Are you having a party?” “Someone’s making a lot of hot dogs!” However, no one has brought up the fact that I am buying so many hot dog buns, and no hot dogs! What good are hot dog buns without hot dogs?

What good is faith without works? James says it’s no good at all. Is he contradicting what Paul said, that we are saved by faith, and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9)? No, but he is asking if our faith is sincere. Does our faith have any signs of life? Is there evidence that we have faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God? If we believe that Christ is “the way, and the truth, and the life” then it follows we will be doing our part to share His love and the Gospel message with others.

-Kevi

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Isaiah 61:9-10 NIV Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed. I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

It’s the time of year for costumes and dress up. I know the kids enjoy it, but I think some of the parents enjoy it more! Whether it is a costume or putting them in their “Sunday best” I think most parents enjoy dressing up their kids and showing them off.

The prophet Isaiah was telling the Israelites that God had plans to restore them and shine His glory on them. He would dress them in salvation and righteousness, and they would appear as well-dressed and bejeweled as a wedding couple!

God wants to do the same for us. Our outward appearance may not be important to Him, but He desires that our hearts be decked out in the finest He can offer. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12 NIV.

-Kevi

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Psalm 119:102-104 NLT I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well. How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.

I have a pretty serious sweet tooth. When my husband finds a dessert too sweet, I say “pass it over here!” They say the more sugar you eat, the more sugar you crave, and I’m sure they are right.

When the psalmist wrote these words, I imagine honey was the sweetest thing around. But he says that God’s Word is even sweeter! The more he learned about God’s ways and His commands, the more he wanted to know. The more he followed God’s ways, the more he understood that they were best. Like sugar, the more of God’s Word he consumed, the more he craved.

If we want to understand God’s ways better, we need to indulge in His Word!

-Kevi

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Matthew 7:7-11 NASB Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Several times a day I find my one year old in the kitchen, banging on the pantry door. He knows where the good snacks are: the crackers, the cookies, the fruit snacks, and he is not afraid to ask for them! Now if I leave the door open, my son will have a good time playing in the pantry for a while. He pulls out all the plastic bags, and finds a bag of onions or a sack or flour to play with. But ultimately he can’t get what he wants; all the good stuff is on a shelf he can’t reach.

When it comes to asking God to open doors for me, sometimes the problem is my pride. I’d rather be able to open the door myself and get what I want. But that’s not what Matthew 7:7 says; it says “knock” and then “it will be opened to you.” If we won’t humble ourselves and ask God for His blessings, we can’t be surprised when we don’t receive them. What I can achieve on my own pales in comparison to what God will do through me when I ask for His help!

-Kevi

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Psalm 23 NASB The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Now that my son drinks from a sippy cup, I clean up a lot of spilled milk at my house. Sometimes he drinks milk and spits it out just for fun. So the idea of an overflowing cup sounds like just another mess to clean up to me!

Have you ever received something that was a blessing, but you started to think about all the messes that might come with it? “Well God, that sounds great, but what about this…” Or maybe it is more like “Well I know I’ve been praying for this, but I don’t know if I’m ready for God to answer that prayer!”

But when I experience God’s extravagant love like King David did in Psalm 23,  I don’t want to worry about any messes that come with it. I want to accept all his blessings and leave the clean up to Him. After all, He is the one pouring the cup!

-Kevi

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Psalm 23 NASB The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I like to be prepared and to be in control of my life. I think everyone does, but some people are better at “going with the flow” than others!  The other night I was starting to dwell on all the things I did not have control over and was not prepared for. Then I read Psalm 23 and I felt such a peace come over me! The Holy Spirit reminded me that it’s not all about what I’m doing; it’s all about what God is doing! And God is making a way for me; He is leading me; He is restoring my soul; He is guiding me down the right path. If I can let go and follow Him like a sheep follows its shepherd, then I shall not want (I won’t lack for anything I need).

-Kevi

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Acts 18:5-6 NASB   “But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

At bedtime one night we heard our dog barking (she rarely barks) so I went to the back door to tell her to knock it off, assuming she was barking at one of the neighbors’ dogs. She did NOT stop barking and she did NOT come to the back door. I started to get annoyed when I heard a hissing noise…turns out she had cornered a ‘possum in the back yard! My husband managed to get her inside and the ‘possum eventually moved on. I thought our dog was being annoying, but in reality she was warning us about a potential threat.

Our job, like Paul’s in Acts 18, is to share the Gospel with those around us. Some people will find it annoying and ignore the warning. Others will respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The results aren’t up to us, but our own obedience is.

-Kevi

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Matthew 23: 25-26; 28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

I loaded up my dishwasher today while cleaning the kitchen. A little while later I went back through the kitchen and noticed one more knife in the sink, so I popped it in the dishwasher. But wait! I realized I had already ran the dishwasher, and had just put a dirty knife in with all of the clean ones. Not very helpful.

The Pharisees were very careful to perform the ceremonial washing of their dishes, but as Jesus pointed out, they were not as careful to maintain the same standards on the inside. When we let unrepentant sin remain in our hearts, it’s like putting dirty dishes in with the clean. It won’t get the dirty dishes clean, but it will get the clean dishes dirty.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 NASB

-Kevi

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1 Samuel 16:7 NASB “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

I went for a ride with Papa (that’s my husband’s grandpa) in his old farm truck last week. I asked him how old the truck was, and he said it was a 1991 model! I was impressed and he said he would keep it as long as it was still running.  He said you could spend a lot of money on a new truck, but why bother? After all, the cows don’t care!

I’d sure like to think we’re smarter than those cows, but when it comes to being distracted by appearances, the cows may have an advantage. When Samuel was sent by God to look for Israel’s new king among Jesse’s sons, he noticed the oldest son first. But it was the youngest son, the lowly shepherd David, that God intended to make king. Why? He saw that he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).

Lord, help me to stop worrying about looking like I “have it all together” and focus on what you see when you look at me.

-Kevi

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Luke 12: 25-26; 29-31 NASB “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?!” “And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

Last week my husband and I were rushing around trying to get ready to head out of town for a few days. We were packing things (trying not to forget things) and although we didn’t have a deadline, the goal was to drive during nap time, so the longer it took to get things ready, the crankier our son was getting! When we finally got everything in the car, my husband looked out the window to see a giant truck parked in front of our driveway, blocking us in. They were grinding up the asphalt to prepare for new pavement, and they stopped in front of our house to use the fire hydrant and switch trailers. So after all of our planning and rushing, and we had to sit tight for 15 minutes before we could actually leave.  

We plan and scheme and rush and strive, and most of the time it doesn’t change our circumstances: it doesn’t add a 25^th hour to the day. But there is something we can do to replace the stress with peace and the worry with calm: we can seek God first! God may not change our circumstances either, but He can help us to handle them.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NASB

-Kevi

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