James 4:17 "Do Good." with Pastor Joe Marquez with the Word of Grace Devotional

8/12/2015

The Word of Grace Devotion for the Week of August 10, 2015

Do Good!

James 4:17- “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

Beloved, the Book of James is a book of action. It turns Christianity into a verb rather than into anideology. James was a doer. He took the Word of God and placed it into action. In James 1:22 he says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” In James 2:17 he says, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

James, the brother of Jesus, understood that it was not enough for a Christian just to say the words, or repeat the Scripture or even to memorize the Word. The Christian needed to take the next step, which is to place the Word of God into action.

After all, as the brother of Jesus, James had witnessed the Word of God in action in the life of the Word, Jesus Christ. Each day he had seen Jesus, his brother, live out the Word. He understood that the Word of God works best when it is placed into action.

Thus he says in James 4:17, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Beloved, so often we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to be His vessel. Sometimes the Spirit tells us to share the Gospel. Other times it is to pray for someone, even in the middle of the night. Sometimes even to offer a helping hand.

But rarely do we ever equivocate our inaction with sin. The Word of God however does. Beloved, if we know to do good and we do not do it, to us it is sin. It is missing the mark, falling short of the Lord’s desire for us to love Him and one another.

We are His vessels for good use. I pray that this week, when we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to do good, that we would in fact, take action and allow the Lord to use us to minister to a lost and dying world. The world is so desperate for truth. Beloved, may we be purveyors of God truth through our actions. Let us not sin but rather do good and thus glorify God.

I pray that you will have a blessed week! I love you and I will be praying for you!

In Him,

Pastor Joe

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Senior Pastor
Joe Marquez

Beloved, we are soon to once again celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the human Son of man and the divine Son of God. He is one hundred percent human and one hundred percent God.

While there were many people instrumental in the birth of Christ, this morning we will look at His birth through the eyes of Joseph, His legal father. There is not too much known about the man who would care for Christ as He grew up. We know that Joseph was possibly a carpenter but most importantly we know that he was a righteous man who did the right thing.

When others would have ran away from a responsibility that was not even their own, Joseph stood steadfast and remained faithful to the end. We can learn much from his character and apply his attributes of faithfulness, purity, and perseverance to our own lives.

May you have a Blessed Christmas week and may Christ always be at the center of your lives!

P.S. Come back this evening as we look at the birth of Christ through the Gospel of Luke!