I suppose I have always enjoyed Nike apparel, particularly their athletic shoes as they’ve always seemed to be comfortable to me. I will say too that I love what Nike has done for the University of Tennessee with their new uniforms for all of the sports programs, especially the football program. But, that’s not exactly why I went with this particular blog title.
We spend a lot of time building up our knowledge of the Word, and perhaps a good amount of time dedicating our Sunday mornings to coming to the worship service and listening to the Word preached. Some of us will plug into ministry and align ourselves with service to His cause. These are all good things, and they are necessary to the vitality of His Church. We should not cease to do them. However, we often make the mistake of thinking that doing these things are enough, and that the single or few times of the week that we do things “for Him” (I use the quotations because sometimes they are self-serving, and therefore NOT for Him) are sufficient to please Him. Don’t you think that the Bible would have been a lot shorter if His expectations for us were so slim? We’ll revisit shortly.
Centrifuge is next week, and our group is stoked. I am particularly looking forward to what the Bible study will do with our students, and others, as we will be focusing on the book of James. James’ writing is amazing to me; he does not pull any punches, and he speaks plainly and to the point. We focus a lot of time and energy with our students regarding the concept that our faith is to be alive (active) and obedient; it is not merely a verbal assent that one makes regarding the Savior at a single point in his or life. It is daily confessing, daily repenting. Every. Day. Our lives are to constantly reflect our faith in Christ, hence the reason James says, “faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:17). I am hoping that our students wrestle with and truly begin to adopt this mentality and truth into their lives. I hope the same for you do as well.
The things I mentioned earlier are good, and they are necessary. Some of them are considered “deeds”, however my main point is that such deeds are to be evident even when we’re not serving on Sunday mornings, or sitting in the sanctuary listening to Mark or Scott, or in small group with other believers. Others, especially the lost, should have hard evidence that we are different, that our faith is indeed alive.
The NIV puts it this way: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22). Some have an appreciation for the way the King James Version articulates this: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
In either case, and no matter how involved and active you may be in the local church, make sure your faith is manifested daily through the things that you do. You don’t act to try to show faith, but rather, you act because you have faith. Just do it.
David Henderson
Student Pastor