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October 23 — Faith That Becomes Action

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, ‘Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,’ but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.” — James 2:14-17     Words can be powerful. A compassionate word can encourage someone who is discouraged. A prayer offered with another person can bring comfort. A promise of God spoken at the right moment can restore hope. James certainly does not dismiss the importance of words. But sometimes words are not enough. James gives us a deliberately simple example. A fellow believer lacks adequate clothing and food. Someone recognizes the need and responds with what sounds like a blessing: “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed.” The words are pleasant. They may even sound spiritual. But the hungry person is still hungry, a...
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October 22 — What the Lord Requires

“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” — Micah 6:8     People of faith sometimes make the will of God more complicated than it needs to be. We may wonder what God expects from us, what kind of life pleases Him, or how our faith should shape the way we live in the world. The prophet Micah answers those questions with remarkable clarity: “Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” These words were spoken in a setting where religious activity was plentiful. In the verses immediately preceding this passage, Micah imagines people asking what they should bring before God. Should they offer burnt offerings? Thousands of rams? Rivers of oil? What extraordinary religious act would satisfy God? Micah redirects their attention from increasingly extravagant offerings toward the character of their lives. God certainly cared about worship, but worship could never become a...
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October 21 — God Remembers Your Loving Service

“For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.” — Hebrews 6:10     Much of the service that sustains the lives of people and communities happens quietly. Meals are prepared. Telephone calls are made. Children are taught. Someone visits a hospital room. A caregiver completes another exhausting day. A volunteer arrives early and stays late. Someone gives generously without mentioning it. A person notices a lonely neighbor and makes time to listen. Prayers are offered that no one else ever hears. There may be no applause for these things. Sometimes there is not even a thank-you. But God sees. The writer of Hebrews offers this beautiful assurance: “God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name.” Our acts of service may escape human attention, but they never escape the attention of God. The context makes this encouragement especially ...
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October 20 — Free to Serve Through Love

“For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” — Galatians 5:13-44     Freedom is one of the great themes of the Christian faith. Through Christ, we are freed from the burden of trying to earn God’s acceptance. We are freed from condemnation and from the belief that our failures must have the final word. We are welcomed into the grace of God not because we have perfectly kept every requirement, but because God has acted for us through Jesus Christ. Yet Paul understood that freedom can easily be misunderstood. We may imagine that being free means simply being able to do whatever we want. Paul presents a very different picture. Christian freedom does not turn us inward toward ourselves. It frees us to turn outward toward others. “Rather, serve one another in love.” There is a beautiful paradox in those wor...
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October 19 — Serving Christ in Others

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’” — Matthew 25:34-40     What would we do if we knew that Jesus was coming to visit us today? We might prepare carefully. We would probably make room in our schedules. We would want to welcome Him warmly and m...
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October 18 — The Neighbor Who Stopped

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side. But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” — Luke 10:30-37     Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan in response to a question: “Who is my neighbor?” The question came from an expert in the law who already knew the commandment to love his neighbor as himself. But Luke tells us that the man wanted to justify himself. He wanted to know where the boundaries of neighborly responsibility could be drawn. Whom was he required to love? Jesus answered by t...
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October 17 — Greatness Through Service

“It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” — Matthew 20:26-28     Our world has many ways of measuring greatness. We often associate it with position, influence, achievement, wealth, recognition, or authority. The greater a person becomes, we may assume, the more people work for that person, listen to that person, or respond to that person’s wishes. Jesus turned that understanding upside down. The setting of His teaching is revealing. The mother of James and John had approached Jesus asking that her sons receive places of special honor in His kingdom. When the other disciples heard about the request, they became indignant. Beneath the disagreement was a very human concern: Who would be greatest? Who would receive the most important position? Who wou...
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