1701) This will really date some of us: Can you remember when you were learning to drive? Maybe it was at a very young age if you drove tractors, snowmobiles, dirt bikes, 4-wheelers? In some form, all of us were instructed how to drive safely and successfully.

What would have happened if all we did was listen to these instructions, not putting them into practice? Yes, we might say and even brag that we’ve successfully completed the training, similar to Driver’s Ed. But if we do not follow through with our actions, based on what we’ve been taught, it will lead to disaster.

James 1:22 warns us of this very thing. It is not enough to know what God’s word says. Yes, it’s admirable that we study and learn, but that’s not enough. We need to incorporate what we hear into our thoughts and actions. This is why James continues this thought in his second chapter, verse 17: “Faith without works is dead.”

Is your faith dead or alive?