Works

[georgedrw81]

We do works everyday but do not allways realise it.

Blessings

[7thseal]

I always feel like I'm never doing enough. I help people when the opportunity shows itself but I'm not flying to Haiti to rescue people. How do you know if you are doing enough to please God?

Well if you were in Haiti then those you help in your area would then miss the opportunity.

God has each of us where we're at for His purpose, and if God desires to take us to another area then He leads us under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As individuals we can't be everywhere at once but Jesus is in the hearts of our brothers and sisters in Christ showing his love around the world.... pretty amazing.

[Openly Curious]

The Bible talks about works. What exactly are works? Feeding the hungry? Helping a friend?

Works of "Right"eousness is "do"ing that which is "Right" in God's sight.

Works of unrighteousness is "do"ing that which is "Wrong" in God's sight.

Either one will walk in the Spirit {Righteousness) or they will walk in the flesh {unrighteousness)

The Spirit and the flesh are against one another as they fight for your will to serve the Lord or to serve Satan.

The word "Serve" means "do"ing what the "Master" has told us.

When one "serves" they do "Works"

[GerdaHannah]

Hi

Works essentially means doing what your holy spirit filled heart asks you to do. There are no list of works for you to refer as such. Depends upon your situation.

People often think working for God means feeding the poor in Africa or following mother Teresa's footsteps. But simpler things can be works too. If you work, be nice to a depressed person, encourage a colleague who has done well, comfort a colleague who isn't very bright, take out the less privileged people(could be office staff like the doorkeeper)out for lunch/coffee once a week. If nothing else, hang out on this website and comfort/pray for people.

I hope you get the general idea.

It is not the work that matters. Obama can afford to donate a million to the underprivileged, but if the maximum help you can do is drop your neighbor at his workplace, your work is equally precious. Remember the story of the woman in the Bible.

Pray to god to give you ideas on what works to do.

Let the holy spirit flow through you.

[Guest LadyC]

this morning i woke up, and spent an hour praying and reading the bible before even crawling out of bed. i read the book of james. and i'm telling you this because james goes into quite a bit of discussion about works, what they are, what their purpose is...

works are an extension of our faith. they are the proof of our faith, the result of our faith, and the catalyst for deeper faith. one analogy that james made really struck me... part of what i'm about to say is taken directly from scripture, but i'm also expanding on it with my own little ad-lib comments.

if we say we have faith, but we don't do works, it's like we are looking into a mirror, seeing who we really are, and then walking away from that mirror and the mental image of who we are looks better than the truth... because we're not LIVING our faith through works, we think of ourselves as "prettier" than we really are. we have walked away from the mirror and don't retain the truth. but if we're doing works that give witness to our faith, that mirror is always in front of us.

but what happens if we stand in front of a mirror 24/7? we forget it's there, and we quit focusing on what we look like. we just go on about what we're doing, and if what we're doing is acting out our faith and bringing glory to God (i.e. works), then when we glance up and see our reflection in that mirror, we're seeing Christ looking back at us, and it's a picture of beauty.

but if all we're doing is standing in front of the mirror preening, we're never going to see Christ looking back at us. all we're gonna see is skin-deep... superficial and hollow, and without substance.

faith, without works, is dead. useless. non-existence. if there are no works, there really is no faith.

[Guest yod]

The Bible talks about works. What exactly are works? Feeding the hungry? Helping a friend?

Those would be included...but it's not nearly that mysterious or vague.

It's talking about your everyday routine. Everything you do is a "work". Whether it is good or bad is the only thing the scriptures are concerned with. If you show up late at your job and give less than what you are paid for, that is a "bad" work because it diminishes the testimony of righteousness you should be establishing.

If you show kindness to people you meet, that is a "good" work. Basically every single deed you do is a "work" and your faith is evident by these works because they show how much you really trust in the Lord.