Rick Warren's Daily DevotionalSample

Pleasing God - By Acclaiming Faith Real faith is not just something you feel or think or believe. But James tells us that real faith -- the kind that pleases God -- is something you do. Real faith is not just something you say. The Gallup Poll says there are fifty million people in America who say, "I am a Christian." But just because a person claims to be, doesn't mean they are. Typically, we label people "believers" today if they vaguely sound Christian. We say, "Oh, he must be a believer." At the end of a World Series, some player will come on TV while the champagne is spraying, and say, 'I just want to thank the good Lord." We think, "Oh, he must be a Christian; he said "Lord'" Well, not necessarily. Many celebrities claim faith but then we see no change in lifestyle or behavior. So real faith is more than just talk. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus said, "Not everybody who says to me, `Lord, Lord' is going to enter into heaven." Not everybody who claims to be a believer really is a believer. James points out there is a big difference between being a professor and a possessor. Talk is cheap, because faith is more than just something you say.