Faith and deeds

I appreciate that for some folk reading this, Christianity is a concept very much viewed in the abstract. For others it is all just a fanciful fairytale and it really irks them that folk pursue the Christian faith. Some are non-plussed about it, perhaps just apathetic. Finally, for some - like me - it is their personal faith (note use of the word faith, not religion) and it means a lot to them.

Depending on which of the these categories you might describe yourself as being in, I guess that might determine your approach to reading this... Some might have seen the words "religion" or "faith" and they've already hit the exit button. So, if you've got this far, then thanks for staying with me! 

My faith has always tended to be a relatively personal thing. If asked, then I've tended to answer what it means to me. One of the personal activities that Christians are encouraged to do regularly is devotions.

Devotions, sometimes referred to as quiet time, are done at a particular time of day. For me, it is morning. Devotions generally take the form of reading a particular scripture of the Bible, reading a devotional text which raises questions (they can perhaps challenge or encourage you). That tends to be followed by some time in prayer to God. 

I work from a Bible app on my iPhone (you'll have worked out by now that I'm not from the Amish denominaton of Christianity). It pops up early each morning for me to read after I wake up. If you're interested in this Bible app (I've got a secular friend who once downloaded and read the Bible simply to see what all the fuss is about and hone their arguments against Christianity - I'd encourage you to do that too), it's easily downloaded for free from the apple store. You can search for it under "YouVersion". 

This morning's devotion came from the letter of James. I'm working through a series at the moment entitled "Living a better story". James has always been one of my favourite parts of the Bible. It's essentially a very practical letter that James wrote to the Church. 

This morning's reading came from James chapter two, verses 14 through 17.

Here it is:

It certainly challenged me and I thought I'd share it for some of the other Christians also reading this blog. If you're not a Christian, perhaps it's challenged you too, particularly verse 15.