Read: James 1:19-25

Ryan, Avery, and Mom took off on horseback down the dirt road—Ryan and Avery on Velvet, and Mom on Lady. Ryan glanced back toward the stable. “Look, Dad is feeding Buster his grain.” Buster was an older horse, and when he ate with the others, he often got pushed away from his own grain by Lady, who tried to be the boss of the barnyard.

“Oh, good,” said Avery. “I’m glad Dad’s making sure he gets enough to eat—he’s been looking thin lately.” She patted Velvet. “Not you, Velvet. You’re pretty plump!”

Mom nodded. “I noticed that too. It’s probably because all Velvet does is eat. She needs to be ridden or exercised every day.”

“Avery and I can do that,” said Ryan. “Can we canter? That would be good for Velvet.” Mom agreed, and they were off.

As they unsaddled the horses later, the kids told Dad about their ride. “One of us is going to exercise Velvet every day,” Ryan said, and Avery nodded.

“Good,” Dad said. “She needs it. And it’ll help remind us that we need to do the same thing.”

“You mean not eat too much and remember to exercise?” asked Avery.

“Well, yes, but I was thinking of spiritual diet and exercise,” said Dad. “As Christians, we feed our faith by learning about Jesus and spending time with Him. Praying, reading our Bibles, and going to church are spiritual foods that keep us full and help us grow. But we also need to exercise our faith to stay in good spiritual shape.”

“How do we do that?” asked Ryan.

“By putting our faith in action and doing things that show others the love of Jesus, like telling people about Him, serving those in need, and treating others with kindness.”

Mom nodded and patted Buster. “We also need to be careful not to become like this old horse. He gets enough exercise, but he doesn’t always get enough to eat. Christians like him may do many things to serve the Lord but not take time to get spiritual food. That leaves us spiritually hungry and makes it harder for us to live out our faith.”

“We need a proper balance between food and exercise,” said Dad. “Both physically and spiritually.”

–Tracy J. Ellifrets

How about you? Do you feed your faith by reading the Bible, going to church, and spending time with other Christians? That’s great! But are you also exercising your faith by living out what you believe and showing others Jesus’s love? There are lots of ways to put your faith in action, like helping someone in need or telling a friend about Jesus. Feed and exercise your faith to stay healthy spiritually.

Today's Key Verse: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Feed and exercise your faith