The Way Matt Sees It

“Faith without works is dead.” I’m sure we’ve all heard this from something somewhere at some point. What does it mean? I think to most of us it may seem pretty obvious. The answer is that if you have faith and you don’t do anything, your faith doesn’t mean anything. So, is that what it really means? Well uh, yes actually that’s exactly what it means. The problem is that I think most of us believe that just because we know what it means, that’s a good enough response to this passage (found in James 2:14-26). Here, James is saying that if your faith doesn’t show through actions, then what is the point of your faith? Verses 15-17 really illustrate this. If someone is without food or clothing, and we say, “Stay warm buddy! Hope you have a great dinner! You could really use it, you look like you haven’t eaten in a while,” and don’t do anything….what are you doing?? What is the purpose of your faith? And this isn’t limited to biblical principles only. Some of us may respon

(By Rebecca Weiss!) We are all familiar with the Amish, the group of people who live in Lancaster, PA , throughout Ohio and Indiana, and live without modern technology. I've grown up knowing about them and visiting Lancaster quite often with my family on spring break. This group of people tend to keep to themselves and don't associate with the modern world. Sometimes, however, the outside world intrudes in on their simple lives. On October 2, 2006, a man stormed into a one man schoolhouse and shot 10 young girls, killing five. He then killed himself. The fact that this event happened, let alone that it happened to the Amish community, is very unfortunate. If the man had not committed suicide, many people would believe he would deserve the death penalty. Even if you're not a supporter of the death penalty, killing five innocent young girls would be a good reason to deserve such a punishment. However, what is most extraordinary about this event, wasn't the fact that

We hear the term “bearing fruit” said by Jesus all over the four Gospels. “Bear fruit”, and “You will know them by their fruit”, etc. What does this mean? What is this fruit Jesus is always talking about bearing? Whatever it is, it’s probably important, because He cursed a fig tree for not bearing any fruit…and that was just a tree! In the letter to Galatians, Paul lists the Fruit of the Spirit. This is seriously one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I think I know this better than John 3:16! Anyway, Galatians 5:22 lists the Fruit of the Spirit, which are: Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness Goodness Faithfulness Gentleness Self-Control And ends with “…against such there is no law.” Why does Paul say against this there is no law? In Matthew 7:21-23, there are some powerful words coming from Jesus. “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say t

So what does it mean to be a Christian? Anyone ever make the connection that “Christ” is part of the word? It was actually a derogatory term at first (Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16), saying those who followed Jesus were “little Christs”, which is in a sense what we are. We are followers of Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1 to follow him as he follows Christ. In Ephesians 5:1, he says to be imitators of God. Jesus says in John 13:35 that people will know we follow Him by our love for one another, just as He loves us. Jesus says to bear fruit all over the New Testament, the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22. The first fruit of the Spirit is…. love! We must be driven by godly love if we are to be Christians! Jesus also says to be “salt and light” to the earth in Matthew 5:13-16. He didn’t call us simply to “not sin”, but to be salt and light, and to affect those around us. “But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will