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You believe that God is one; you do well.  The demons also believe-and they shudder.  Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless?  Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected.    James 2:19-22  HCSB

When you ask people if they are a Christian or if they believe in God most people will tell you yes.  The starting point of our Christianity is a belief in God.  However, our scripture passage tells us that even the demons believe in God.  So believing in God is a good start, but that’s all it is; a start.

Having faith in God is more than just believing that He exists.  When we have faith in God, we have an understanding of who He is.  We understand that He is bigger than any problem we may face.  We understand that He loves us and wants us to come to Him and experience all the goodness that He has to offer.  Now if we have this belief and this understanding and just sit on it, then what good does it do for us?  Just the other day, we talked about walking it out.  When we have this kind of faith and we truly understand the love that Christ has for us, the kind of love that allowed Him to die on a cross for our sins, we want to work for Him.

It’s kind of like when we are in a new relationship, we want to go all out for that other person.  We want to put our best foot forward.  Now, if it is true love this continues.  If it is just some sort of infatuation, it will die out and we will tire of doing things for that person.  If that person doesn’t reciprocate, then we will usually tire of this much quicker.

When I was first saved and baptized, it was like an infatuation.   I loved the Lord, but I wasn’t putting Him first.  I was putting me first.  But after years of living life my way, I came to my senses.  You see, God wanted to bless me with good things, but I had to turn to Him.  I had to give it all to Him.  He was willing to take the tangled mess that I had made of my life and straighten it all out.  I didn’t deserve that.  I didn’t deserve the love He showed me.  This is when I fell in love with God.  This is when I wanted to please Him.  This is when I gave Him first place in my life.  I not only believe in Him, but I trust Him.  I know that He has stood with me through the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I know that He has loved me when I was unlovable.  I know that He will never forsake me.  This knowledge of who He is and what He means to me makes me want to do good things to please Him.

I want to talk to Him throughout the day (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  I want to thank Him for all things because I know He is working everything out for my good (Romans 8:28).  I want to soak up all I can from His Word like a big sponge.  I know that His Word affirms His love for me (John 15:13).  I know that His Word teaches me how to live a life that pleases Him.  I want to go to church and fellowship with like minded individuals that share my love for Him and for each other (Hebrews 10:24-25).  I want to do good things.  I want to be involved in my church and in it’s outreach.  I want others to know about Christ and to share this awesome love that I have found in Him.

We are saved by faith (Ephesians 2:10).  This is not for any works we have done, this is by God’s grace.  But each of us have been created because Christ has a job for us to do.  You can work your little fingers to the bone, but without faith it gets you nowhere.  But with true faith, we want to do what God calls us to do. We want to do good things.  We want to bless others as Christ has blessed us. If you don’t draw near to God and establish a good, close relationship with Him, you may never know what job He has assigned to you.  And I can assure you, I have never had more peace and joy in my life than when I began to fulfill God’s calling for me.  I pray that you are enjoying the same.

Have a great day!