You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. In the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. James 2:24-26 WEB.

I grew up on a farm with two brothers and ten step-siblings. I got to see first-hand the differences between those who were pleasing to their parents and those who were not. The parents could ask one child to do something, and they would. This pleased the parents, and sometimes, there would be a reward for the child. The child and the parents were both happy.

When asked to come home after school, some of the other children would land in jail instead. This tended to hurt the parents, and the child got no reward. They were all sad. Of course, the parents tried to love all of the children whether they obeyed their wishes or not. They were part of the family, but there was happiness and a reward for obedient children.

God loves each of us, and we should respond to that by doing good. When we do, there will be a reward. We gain joy, fulfillment, and self-worth by doing good. As well as the favor of God on our life. "If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land" (Isaiah 1:19). Who will eat the good of the land? Those who are willing and obedient.

Ask, Action, Reward: When God asks you to do something, and you take action, there will be a reward. You can't shuffle the order. The Lord rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The love of God is free, and you cannot earn it, but your life can be pleasing to Him or not. Abel was pleasing to God, but his brother Cain was not (Genesis 4:4).

We are saved by grace through faith, which is God's unmerited favor (Ephesians 2:8). Yet, good works should follow us, for faith without works is dead (James 2:26). No amount of good works will get you to heaven without faith in Jesus. But He also said: "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). So we should believe in Jesus Christ, but we should also do what He tells us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your favor on my life. I am willing. Please give me the grace to be obedient as well. Lead me into all that You have for me on this earth, and make what is important to You important to me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: Today, we will be hosting our Wednesday morning prayer service at the usual time of 10:30am EST! This is a short service, about 15-20 minutes, where we pray together for any needs you would like to share. Hope to see y'all there! As always, if you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network.