FAITH AND WORKS
"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have
not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute
of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed
and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful
to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is
dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works:
show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my
works." (James 2:14-18).
What better commentary can we have or find on 'faith and works' than the
above Scriptures? As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Messiah, we
have a tendency at times to forget that The Almighty God does require of our
faith some actions that He calls 'works' in our faith life.
Did you notice that 'faith' is usually in singular form in the Holy Bible,
while 'works' is almost always in plural form?
There is a simple explanation. Since 'faith' is given as a gift from God,
"For by grace are ye saved through 'faith'; and that not of yourselves: it is
the 'gift of God': not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians
2:8-9). On the other hand, the aspect of 'works' in our lives is a daily
necessity.
Here is a beginning list to our 'works', "what doth The Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah
6:8).
CALL UNTO ME
"Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things,
which thou knowest not"(Jeremiah 33:3).
Remembering that if we are indeed 'faith' individuals, then we need to show
it by our actions and reactions, to every situation that we are confronted
with.
For example, we at Shalom Scripture Studies celebrated on May the 30th, 2000
our Twenty-Sixth anniversary since our first official meeting in 1974 in
Orange, California. Since that time we have literally ministered to several
thousands of Jewish and Gentile individuals. Today we have ministries
in three States, hundreds of programs on Television all over the United
States. We are also on the Internet reaching all over the World. We give
honour and glory to our Lord for His blessed promises being fulfilled in our
lives.
As of this date, we have a total of 85 (Eighty-five)
individuals on our mailing list, and out of this number approximately 43 are
consistent financial supporters of our ministry. As a full-time 'faith' work
for the past 26 years, we struggle immensely every month in meeting our
budget and obligations.
Perhaps, this is one area of 'works' that you might be more involved in, as
you prayerfully and financially help us to reach our goal as we continue the
mission given to us by our Lord. This month we are mailing out 85 Newsletters
and response envelopes as we wait on The Lord.
WITHOUT PRICE
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no
money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and
without price." (Isaiah 55:1).
Isn't it like The Lord to invite us to quench our thirst and satisfy our
hunger, and yet, it is 'without price'.
In conjunction with the above verse, here is another verse that has become a
main stay of our ministry that is found in I Corinthians 9:18, "What is my
reward then? Verily that, when I preach The Gospel, I may make The Gospel of
Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the Gospel".
Our 'faith and works' over these many years has been established by the fact
that we have 'never' placed a charge for The Gospel, as we have ministered
through our distribution of Holy Bibles, books, videos, cassettes,
literature, speaking engagements, and many other services
that we have freely performed before our Blessed Saviour as we have continued
our loving faith work for our Messiah, Y'shua (Jesus) our Saviour.
Some ministries take this approach, while many others do not. As we have
remained faithful to our Lord, we have also had to struggle and struggle, but
ultimately, month after month we can share with you that we do witness a
miracle from the Lord. Oh yes, it might be on the last day of the month, but
nevertheless, it does always seem to happen. The
Lord reminds us that "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we
may boldly say, The Lord is my helper..." (Hebrews 13:5). And we say, thank
you Lord.
We also thank The Lord for our faithful Associate
Members.
NEWS FROM SHALOM SCRIPTURE STUDIES
So what's new? We are so glad you asked..... Our Naples branch is branching
out with new branches, i.e., people and more people are beginning to attend
and become involved in reaching out 'to the Jew first, and also to the
Gentile' with the Gospel of our Messiah Jesus. Rev. Molloy, our resident
missionary extends a warm welcome to you if you perchance find yourself in
the greater Naples area, please do stop by our Shalom Chapel any Tuesday or
Friday evening at 7:30 p. m., for a great Service. (Tel # 941 - 263 - 7093).
Rev. and Mrs. Knibb, our senior missionaries in
Minneapolis are working feverishly by faith through their three weekly
services, every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30 p. m. They also
are in charge of the distribution of our Television programs being aired from
California to New York. It is quite a weekly chore, and yet, without a word
of complaint they faithfully accomplish this task of love unto our Lord. (Tel
# 952 - 925 - 6186).
What can we say for the elder missionaries stationed at the headquarters in
Savannah? Well, Dr. and Mrs. Hidalgo also continue their Tuesday, Friday and
Saturday evening meetings at 7:30 p.m. Their one on one contact with many
individuals in the greater Savannah area continues to be blessed, especially,
their distribution of the 'Ten Commandment' booklets that are received so
graciously by one and all. We thank the Lord for our sponsor and
co-labourer here in Savannah that furnishes them for us. (Tel # 912 - 691 -
0709).
Savannah, Ga: 44a Lee Blvd., Savannah,
Ga 31405
Minneapolis, Mn: 8700 W. 36th St. #228, St.
Louis Park, Mn 55426
Naples, Fl: 542 - 10th Street No., Naples,
Fl 34106
Read our 'New' 10 Commandments
