Two oars are used to row a boat. Both are needed to go in a determined direction. With just one, it goes in circles or drifts off course, and you get nowhere, or end up somewhere you never intended to go. Or you work twice as hard as you need to, by switching the oar back and forth.

James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

James 2:26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Right between these verses is the declaration:

James 2:21, 22 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 

The key word here is “WHEN” in Verse 21. 

We can’t sit in our tent or home and wait for all the answers before venturing out. If Abraham had waited in his tent until he had all the answers, he wouldn’t have been obedient to what God had told him to do. He got up early and gathered the wood and set out do what God told him to do. See Genesis 22:1-19 for reference.

We won’t always be able to see around all the corners or into the future. But God knows all and when He says go here or there, or speak to that person, all we must do is obey. A balance between faith and action brings us closer to perfection, or completion. We need to know what God is telling us by reading His word and knowing what it says, then we can recognize His voice. When God tells you to do something, He will give you everything you need to do it. Trust Him completely.

David knew rejection and defeat, but he never quit trusting in the LORD his God.

1 Samuel, chapters 29 & 30 is an excellent teaching moment we can all learn from. (Previously David had been chased off by Saul who wanted to kill him, and he joined the enemy.) Then the enemy rejected him because they didn’t trust him. 1 Samuel 29:4 (they didn’t want him to go to battle with them).

So, he returned to where they had assigned him and found out his own family and those of his men, had been captured and their city burned. Everyone wanted to stone him.

But David encouraged himself in the LORD his God (1 Samuel 30:6 & 7) and ask for the ephod from the priest. (The ephod is a linen apron, a vestment for the High Priest to help making decisions). God answered David and he rescued all his people.

We have a High Priest today, our LORD Jesus Christ, and He will guide us to overcome anything we face.

Jesus himself was strengthened in the garden of Gethsemane when he was praying so intensely, 

Luke 22:43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.

We all need encouragement and strength that we don’t have in ourselves, and God is the perfect choice for filling that need.

Always remember:

Psalms 121:1-2 I lift my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5

This verse clearly tells us to ask for wisdom if we lack wisdom. Today we all need wisdom to know when to be silent, and when to speak. With all the available places to voice our opinion, sometimes we should restrain doing so. 

Therefore, the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil. Amos 5:13

Understanding when the time is right to speak and when to be silent is tricky and can be confusing. Knowing the right time is the key.

a time to be silent and a time to speak, Ecclesiastes 3:7b

With the explosion of social media, we must be wise with our words. There are many land mines, and traps in areas where temptations can lure you in. 

At the same time we are to be witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to know His voice and what He is speaking to us. The best way to do this is to read and know completely His Word, the Holy Bible. Knowing what the Bible clearly says, will help us navigate through the pathway God is leading us on. Recognizing and distinguishing truth from lies will help us stand firm on His truth. Sometimes just quietly waiting for His leading, is leading the way.

Doctors and paramedics check for a pulse when someone is unconscious or when you are getting a checkup. Do they check to make sure you are still alive? Not always, sometimes just to see how fast your heart is pumping.

We also have a spiritual life that must have a pulse too. As Paul exhorted Timothy in,

 2 Timothy 1:6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

It’s good and important to meet with other believers, but we also have a responsibility to keep our own spiritual life pulsing with life. We must rekindle ourselves by reading His word daily and praying daily. Then when we meet, each one if us has something to offer to the whole church.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 But as for you, brethren, be not grow weary of doing good.

James 3:4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

The above verse is surrounded by other verses about the tongue. It is interesting how the ship and steering it by a small rudder, is between all these verses about what we say. It’s obvious then how important our words are.

Noah’s ark had no rudder, from what I have heard, so that ark was powerless to direct itself and was in the hand of God, who powerfully brought it to dry ground when it was safe. Sometimes that is all we need, just to float around trusting in His power. 

Most of the time we need to pilot ourselves. We should always steer towards Jesus Christ and His path that leads to salvation for us and those around us.

Each of us needs quality time, in the presence of God, to know Him intimately and hear from Him through prayer and reading our Bible on a consistent and regular basis. 

The fruit of our lives should be good, and our words should encourage others to pursue God’s ways.

Remember that it’s not always smooth sailing, but He is faithful to help us find Him if we search for Him with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength.

Recently some of us were practicing for songs to sing during our Easter service. Lanette was playing on the piano and she said the B flat isn’t playing. Sometimes it would play but other times it was silent.

Well, I was singing the alto part and the B flat was very important for my part. I needed to practice my part at home, so I ask Lanette to play my part and I recorded it on my phone to use at home while I sang along with it. That missing B flat made it very difficult to sing smoothly and to efficiently learn my part. I even texted to Lanette how it was really bothering me because of the missing B flat.

Then God revealed to me that each one of us is very important, and when one is missing, it affects the whole church body. Just like the song without the B flat has a missing sound, the church without you, is incomplete.  

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

It has been a very long, trying time for all of us. We have been stretched and pulled in new ways we never imagined we would be. We had to change and adapt in unbelievable ways. 

We must remember who motivates us and why. God is our source and reason we can and must keep moving forward. 

Spending time alone with the Lord recharges us. Reading our Bible and spending time in prayer is so vital for our love to grow towards God and others. If we try to do it on our own, we will be frustrated and lose heart.

Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The two verses (Galatians 6:9 & Psalm 46:10) may seem to contradict each other. That is where the Holy Spirit comes in and empowers you with wisdom to know exactly what to do and His power to do it.

We must also continue to meet as the church. We get strength from encouraging and helping each other. We are the body of Jesus Christ, and each part of His body is needed.

It is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ that helps us 24/7 and our church gathering that builds on that.