July 5

Read James 2

^"18I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."

   Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove." (The Message)

Over the last several weeks you can't drive down a road without seeing the signs for Firecrackers for sale. Everyone has their best deals enticing you to come in and get the most bang for your buck. From the sounds of the city over the last two nights there have been a lot of people who have taken them up on the offers. But the fireworks have not gone off on their own. Neither have people been able to will the fireworks into exploding to elicit the moments of joy and wonder that have been intended. All of the fireworks need something to trigger their intended use. Most of the fireworks require a flame to light the fuse or they simply sit there without fulfilling their intended purpose.
As incomplete of an analogy as this might be we could say the same things about our faith and our deeds. Faith without action is unrealized potential. However the action that comes from faith is not action based upon our own doing it is an outside spark that has traditionally been called the Holy Spirit. When we allow the Holy Spirit to take a hold of our faith things happen at a level far beyond anything that would be assumed from just looking at us.

Some thoughts to ponder and discuss with others:

• When you are around fireworks are you the type that wants to light them or stand far back and watch?
• If other people knew you were a follower of Jesus would they say your faith has been ignited and your works are obvious or would they say you have unfulfilled potential? Why do you think they would respond this way?
• How might your life change if you asked the Holy Spirit each day to light up the sky with God's power through your faith being lived out for the glory of God?