"faith without works"

This antique carousel is in a very prominent place in St. Augustine.
It has been there for as long as I can remember.
Nostalgic and charming.....memories from childhood.

It's a nor'easter blowing.......I know without checking the weather forecast.
Had to bring in my porch rug and batten down the hatches.
It feels so good sitting out there and watching the white caps roll in over the ocean.
Maybe I will walk when my supper settles in a little while.

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

I wrote this verse as my facebook status yesterday and I used it again today to comfort a friend whose husband had lost his job.

I have heard this verse all of my life....I must have memorized it in years past because it is so familiar to me......but yesterday God made this truth impact my heart.

Jesus promises to give peace to us and then He says, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Oh my....how I struggle with my heart being troubled over issues in my life....but looking closely, the Holy Spirit revealed that this is a command to me. Let not ~ Do Not Let ~ Keep your heart from being troubled or afraid. It is something I have to do.

"Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself." James 2:17

Having faith is supreme, but if we don't do what He says, faith is dead.
Dead faith accomplishes nothing.

John 14:27 has become very real to me in the last couple of days.
If my heart becomes troubled, I stop and remember Jesus' words....
"Let not your heart be troubled."

It's working!
cathy