James 2:17 (NLT)

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Did you know that 86% of Americans consider themselves to be Christians? Lots of us say that we are…but do we LIVE like we are? God is not judging our Christianity based on what we say about ourselves, but on how we choose to live.

This is a well-known verse and rightly so. We all need to be reminded that our faith is something that needs to be done, not merely stated. We may say that we have faith, but if we are not living out that faith by what we say and do, then our faith is worthless…or dead. We may claim to have a “Christian family,” but unless that claim is accompanied by actions such as kindness and gentleness and patience and forgiveness and service, then our claim is worthless and our faith is dead.

I’m confident that my family (and yours) really wants to be more Christ-like, but we have to face the fact that intentions don’t add up to much; actions do. We can’t stop at talking about love – we must love. We can’t stop at talking about patience – we must be patient. We can’t stop at talking about forgiveness – we must forgive. We can’t stop at claiming to be Christians – we must act like Christians.

APPLICATION: Go around your family as quickly as possible with each person saying an action that proves you are a Christian. It could be general (be forgiving) or specific (obey mom), but keep going as long as you can…and as quickly as you can! Close in prayer, asking God to forgive you for the times that your faith has not included works, and asking for the strength to live out your salvation!