Faith is More Than Feelings

Faith is more than something you just feel. Many people confuse emotions and feelings with faith. They come to church and they are moved emotionally, they're inspired, and they're stimulated. They get a quiver in their liver and say, "Oh, man! I'm moved!"

And they go out after the service and maybe they even cried a little or felt God's presence. But just because you feel God's presence, doesn't mean you have real faith. There's a big difference between faith and feeling.

James says faith is not mere sentimentality. You go out on the street and you see some homeless person who's destitute. They're poor, they're hungry, they're cold, and they need clothing and shelter. And you walk up to them and say, "Well, I'll pray for you."

That's not faith. Faith is compassionate. How many times did Jesus say, or it was said about him, "He was moved with compassion for people." Faith is practical. It gets involved in people's hurts. And when you see a need, you do something about it. That's real faith.

James 2:15-16 NIV
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?


*Taken from Rick Warren's Daily Devotional

Confident About the Future

How long is forever going to last? Forever! Someday your body is going to die, but you aren't! You're going to live forever in one of two places - heaven or hell. They're both real places. You will spend eternity in heaven or hell.
Why should Christians be thei most confident people about the future?
"Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:6, 8 NIV)
For Christians, death is a transfer, a promotion. It's on to better things; no more problems. You're not ready to live until you're ready to die. You don't know how to live until you're ready to die. Only a fool would go all through life totally unprepared for something that everybody knows is inevitable.
You're going to die - someday. If you've accepted Christ, then you're going to go to heaven. You'll be released from pain, from sorrow, from suffering, from depression, from fear: "He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone." (Revelation 21:4 MSG)