Doing the Good Things

        I mentioned recently about instructions that one gets in products that you have to assemble or at least put some batteries in somewhere.  The instructions also tell us some of the benefits of the new device before you.  You may even find out that it does more than you expected.  My Kindle woke up one day and said that "Alexa" could help me.  I didn't even know I could get Alexa on my Kindle.  Then, it said for me to ask it a question when the blue light was on.  I wondered, "What blue light?  I don't see any blue light."  Then, I held my finger on a little circle for longer than usual and suddenly a blue light appeared.  I spoke and Alexa answered.  There are a lot of things in this life that we don't know fully all that we have.  I don't understand all of the features of my microwave, camera, computer, Kindle and the list goes on.  Nevertheless, they are all capable of doing more than I expected.   James 4:17 says, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." 
     We may not know all of the benefits or instructions about our spiritual lives.  We are sometimes even surprised when God responds and we suddenly know that it was God Who did it.  There is another side of this when we realize that there are instructions for us to do but we fail to do them.  When we stay in God's Word, we do get a set of instructions that tell us how to live.  I am always reminded about the 38 imperatives in the Book of Ephesians.  These are all good things to do.  Imperatives are statements that tell us to do something and there should be no question about it.  James reminds us that to fail to do those "good" things is sin.  We sometimes think that doing bad things is sin.  That is true, but also failing to do the good things are also considered to be sins.  You can dump a pail of cold water on a believer who is being blessed by the Spirit in his life and you have then "quenched the Spirit."  You may also fail to forgive someone.  It  would have been good if you had done so, but you failed to do it and held on to the grudge in spite of God's instruction.  You may have failed to show love to that person who is hurting or you may have held back financially in spite of a brother's or sister's need.  There may be a lot of blessings that we don't know about in our Christian life but there are many things in this same life that we know that we should do but fail to do so.  Guess what?  That's sin.  You may have been successful in keeping from the temptations of sin this week, but you may have also failed to do the "good things" that God required of you in your relationships with others.  Praise God today He guides us in our spiritual lives.  Are you following His instructions?