Real Religion, June 18, 2011

Real Religion
 
Reading:James 1:27, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Most, if not all of us at one time or another have been termed or called someone “religious”, based on church attendance or involvement. The words “religion” or “religious” has taken on a very loose meaning. If you get together with friends or acquaintances, the common rule is… “Don’t talk politics or… [yes] religion.” Even when you begin to talk to someone about God, if they don’t really want to hear what you have to say, they may tend to say something like, “Oh, yeah… I’m not really very religious.” Then they usually walk away. But, seriously, with hundreds, if not thousands, of known religions in the world, how can you expect the secular world to know the difference. The greater concern is, do we, who know the truth, truly understand the concept of religion?

James said that pure religion, before any man-made religions can interfere and pervert it, is simply… to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep yourself clean from the world. WOW! Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone who claimed to be or is labeled “religious” truly lived out this passage? Wait a second!... this passage says nothing about church attendance. It says nothing about tithing. And, we could go on and on about characteristics that oftentimes we immediately associate with “being religious”. Now, the Bible definitely teaches the importance of church attendance and tithing; but, with God stating exactly what pure religion, don’t you think that we should place those characteristics up at the forefront in our lives, instead of it being tucked away in “some ministry that some guy does in our church”?

Challenge:Take the weekend, if you need it, but find someone who is fatherless or a widow and reach out to them in their need.

How can you keep yourself from being polluted by the world today?
REVIEW
 
Were you able to reach out to someone who is fatherless or a widow? If yes, how was it received?


How did this impact you and/or those that you ministered to today?