Day 24- Faith Without Works
Ron and I are so thankful for Dr. Tommy Green and his wife Karen. As I shared yesterday, Pastor Tommy was sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit to call Ron on staff to start and lead the Deaf Ministry at First Baptist Church of Brandon. Pastor Tommy was, also, instrumental in helping us navigate our initial call to ministry that led us to Southeastern Seminary. We are forever thankful for how the Lord used he and Karen in our lives. We had the privilege to serve alongside them for 11 years.
As Ron and I began to pray about what Deaf Ministry would look like at First Baptist, we became aware of needs through Ryan’s school. I have always been involved in volunteering in Ryan’s classrooms. I got to know his teachers and helped out regularly with projects and field trips. Since the children were Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing, I was able to Sign with them.
It was in getting to know Ryan’s teachers that they presented both a need and a challenge. Most parents of Deaf children do not learn Sign Language. Therefore, they have very little interaction with their children at home. Which meant no help with homework, language development, or discipline.
Ryan’s teachers asked us to figure out how we could engage the parents and teach them Sign Language and provide tutoring opportunities for the children.
This caused us to think “outside the box.” The only experience Ron and I had with Deaf Ministry was with adults. We had never considered a Deaf Ministry to children and their families. So, we committed this to prayer knowing there were hurdles The Lord was going to have to knock down in order for an after school tutoring program to happen. So, we began to pray. “Lord, if you are in this thing, we need you to come through BIG time…”
- The children needed transportation from school to church for tutoring.
- Would the school let us reach out to families with Deaf children?
- We needed volunteers that knew Sign Language.
In the mean time, we began a Wednesday night Sign Language class. The teachers at Ryan’s school sent home information to the parents for us. We also offered a fun, interactive Bible class for their Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children in Sign Language. The response was very encouraging.
One of the most amazing blessings is that my friend Joyce (that I shared about on Day 22), became a North American Mission Board Missionary to the Deaf. She sold her home in North Carolina and moved to Florida to be our “right hand” in this new version of Deaf Ministry to Deaf children and their families.
As word spread, we had more families get involved. God faithfully sent volunteers, and the Deaf Education teachers at school were so encouraged that they regularly sent home information about our Wednesday night Sign class and Deaf children’s’ class.
God had checked all the boxes for an after school tutoring program, except for one…
To have an after school tutoring program for Deaf children, we needed our school district to provide transportation from school to our church. With the input of the school’s Deaf Education teachers and a few calls to the district’s transportation department, God provided. This was a true miracle. No where else in our district did transportation drop off children at any business, especially a church.
Who but God?!
- Read James 2:14-26
In verse 17, “______ with works is dead.”
In your own words, what does James 2:14-26 mean to you?
Do these verses imply that we must “work” for our salvation? Explain why or why not:
Do you remember the fruit of the spirit from and earlier devotion? Write them out (hint: there are 9-Galatians 5:22)
Here’s the deal, my friends…we are known by our fruit. If there is no fruit, there is no faith. On this Faith Journey we have explored and verified through scripture that our faith is an active faith. To have a relationship with Jesus Christ means I am being built up in my faith… so that His character is produced in me…so that He can use me for His purposes to further His kingdom.
I want to be clear on this point, we are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ and repentance from our sin. That is the grace gift from God that you and I can not earn. His only son, Jesus, because of his death on the cross, burial, and Resurrection provided for our free gift of salvation. He did the work. And Jesus work of salvation in our lives is made evident by our fruit, call, and ministry to others.
Ron was ministering to a family whose son was in the hospital dying because of severe, long-term drug and alcohol abuse. The son was conscious and Ron felt compelled to share the gospel. As he finished up and was getting ready to ask the son if he was ready to repent of his sin and place his faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the mom spoke up and said, “Honey (to her son), you did that. Don’t you remember when you walked the aisle at church when you were 8?” Ron explained that the fruit of her son’s life was contrary to the scriptural definition of salvation…there was no evidence, no fruit. The mom continued to excuse away her son’s actions until the son spoke up and said, “you’re right mom, I already made that decision.” The conversation ended and Ron left grieved over the justification of sin and ignorance over true salvation that possibly sent this man to hell.
I know what you are thinking…only God knows someones heart. You are right. However, even though we are not called to judge, we are called to be “fruit inspectors.” If the fruit of our life or those we know is rotten, then we have to ask ourselves a question. Is there true salvation or only belief like that of the demons in verse 19?
Ouch!!! I know…fruit inspection is painful but necessary. You and I are saved and called. If we are saved, we are called. We are known as Christ followers by our fruit/works/deeds/ministry.
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33
The Lord wants to work powerfully in and through our lives to make Himself known in ways that are beyond our imagination. Let’s trust Jesus for the miraculous that only He can accomplish through us…others will be amazed, not in us, but in Him alone.
Pray that the fruit of your life is good. That others will know you by your fruit that is good, ripe, aromatic, and nourishing to the soul. Most importantly, fruit that beckons others to the Tree of Life…Jesus Christ.
Praying for you my fruity sisters!
