i want to be alive...

i love the emotional time we have as we worship at church but what does it really mean?

in looking at what an authentic CHRISTian does, james says in 2.15 & 16 (ms), for instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "good morning, friend! be clothed in CHRIST! be filled with the HOLY SPIRIT!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you?

in this peanuts cartoon, charlie brown and linus are inside all bundled up and snoopy is out in the cold shivering in front of his dog food bowl. and charlie and linus are having a discussion on how sad it is that snoopy is hungry and cold. "he's cold and hungry. we ought to do something about it." so they walk outside and say to snoopy, "be of good cheer, snoopy."

charles schultz got that idea from this verse. what good is it if you see someone in need and you say, "i feel for you!" he is saying it's more than words. it's more than just feelings.

if after church, i walk outside and you're getting in your car and you happen to slam eight fingers in your car door and you're standing there in agony with blood on your fingers. if i walk up and say, "i feel for you!" is that any help?

real faith is more than just sympathy and feeling emotions. you give assistance. you do something about it. you act on it. real faith takes the initiative. a real believer has real faith and it's practical. it gets involved with people.

1 john 3:17 (ms), this is how we've come to understand and experience love: CHRIST sacrificed his life for us. this is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. if you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to GOD's love? it disappears. and you made it disappear.

a real CHRISTian is generous. they want to give. who can count on you in a crisis? how many CHRISTians have the freedom to call you up in the middle of the night if they are in an emergency? not just talking the talk. not just feeling for people.

we are better at verbalizing our faith than practicing it. JESUS couldn't meet everybody's needs but i can meet somebody's. james is saying that if my faith doesn't lead me to share with others it's wrong.

verse 17 (niv), …faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

if i don't feel like helping other CHRISTians i don't have a sick faith, i have a dead faith. james is laying it on the line. he says, do you want to be a real CHRISTian? it's more than just something you say and it's more than just something you feel.

GOD is giving us as HIS followers a tremendous opportunity in the tough times that we are living to reach out to hurting fellow believers and make a difference in their lives. if we do it means we are alive.

just some thoughts here on my front porch…