So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. -Ruth 2:17

Ruth is an example of a person who put her faith into action. She had demonstrated faith in the God of Israel, then she got to work. The caveat that we need to remember is that the work that counts is post-conversion, not pre-conversion. As Martin Luther famously said, “We are saved by faith alone, but not by faith that is alone.” He went on to say that the faith that saves us changes us, and if it has not changed us, it has not saved us. What we do matters, both for us individually and for the kingdom of God collectively.

Our Christian walk is a balanced walk. Knowledge is vital, for we must have something in our heads that we can compare and contrast with the conflicting messages we receive in our daily lives. If we are not growing in the knowledge of Christ, we will constantly be duped by the barrage of messages that run counter to Christ coming at us from almost every source of information in our lives. At the same time, our faith is practical. It is meant to be lived out, and God has called us to "produce good works in keeping with repentance" (Luke 3:8).

I'm hopeful that my message from Hebrews 3:12-14 entitled “Life Together” from two Sundays ago is at least somewhat remembered by a few who will make discipleship a way of life. Discipleship is that part of our lives wherein we either help train/teach others in the faith or receive training ourselves, or both. If you are looking for a good book to read that will help you on your way, here are a few of my favorites, geared toward newer to growing believers. Each of these books has helped me significantly in my own faith journey, and each is less than 200 pages in length:

·        The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

·        Basic Christianity by John R.W. Stott

·        Be Still My Soul: Reflections on the Christian Life by Elisabeth Elliot

·        The Fight by John White

·        Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R.C. Sproul

·        Growing Your Faith by Jerry Bridges

If books do not appeal to you, then by all means find a Christian friend to share with you what they have learned in their years as a follower of Christ. In my years of discipling and being discipled, I have found that one of the best things we can do to stimulate the conversation is to read a book with someone else and then discuss it together. But there are many ways in which genuine discipleship can take place. Our Men’s and Women’s ministries will both offer opportunities to be discipled this fall/early winter, and our Children and Student Ministries are constantly working toward this goal in young people’s lives here at LifePoint. We also offer Life Groups, where we live and learn together in small group communities (sign ups will take place again this Sunday in the commons).

Faith is active (Phil. 2:12; James 2:17). Grace is active (Titus 2:11-12). Let’s put both to work in our own lives.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym

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