Subject: Faith.....and.....Works

The Following Is An Email That I Received From My Friend~Street Evangelist Tom K.
Tom Travels Across The USA~ Interceding And Praising God~Carrying Signs~
And Handing Out Tracts~ At Different Cities And Locations~
Such As Washington DC~ San Francisco Castro Distric~ Colorado Rocky Mtns~ etc...

Dear Jim, With all this emphasis on prayer I see, everywhere I go, who is doing the work ...... that everyone is praying will get done ? Everyone of us who knows Christ as his Savior has a light to shine and a cross to carry. As Christ lights our way, we are to light the way for others. How so? How are we to shine it? Here's how, according to the Master: "Let your light so shine before men that they may SEE your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." I wonder how it is that the homosexual community, that doesn't seem to believe in God, and certainly doesn't pray, is winning on all major fronts ? I'll tell you how --- they're working their butts off (pardon the expression) !!! And they're finding out that good hard work, and lots of it, is trumping our prayers ........ prayers not backed up by EQUALLY COMMITTED work !!! So James in James2:18 says: "Someone may well say, 'You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.' " I have become overburdened by all the work God has given me to do. On some days He tells me that I am to go and help the homeless, or something else, but I just go home and rest, I am so weary and tired from all the labor I do, and I wonder, why isn't someone else doing it too -- maybe some of those people in their nice comfortable prayer meetings who, as far as I can tell, narry lift a finger, other than in prayer ? How noble is it to say, "Oh God, please see to it that this gets done, or, that gets done, they need You so badly?" ........ But never say, "Oh God, here am I, SEND ME." ??? I know that prayer is good, and necessary, and we should seek God for grace, guidance, provisions and many other things, but our real purpose and mission-in-life will be missed without good works ...... "for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -Eph.2:10 I know you are pouring your heart into your ministry, Jim, and I am glad you are --- it seems that is what God has called you to do, and I sense that you are doing an outstanding job ......... fighting the good fight ,,,,,,,,, but somewhere along the line, the church-as-a-whole seems to have lost sight of the work ethic and settled into a comfortable sideline position. I know, Jim, that you are well versed in scripture, and that you know the value of work, and that it must accompany faith, to make it complete. So why am I writing? I think that it's to encourage you to remind the troops that the battle is only begun in the prayer closet, and that we need to "come out of the closet" (where have I heard that before?), and start marching in the street . We need to take back the ground we have lost by default. We need to hit the streets and start marching as an army. I don't know what else to say now --- but I hope you have been blessed , or edified, by this letter. Take care Jim -- love ya! Tom