“Go in Peace, be Warmed and Filled”

Today’s reading is James 2.

Remember, pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is visiting the widow and the orphan in their affliction. But what if you find a brother or sister lacking in food and clothing? What should you do when you visit them? Pray for them, no doubt. Encourage them, surely. Remind them of God’s promises, absolutely. Recall in Deuteronomy 10:18, God executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and even the sojourner among God’s people. He does that by giving food and clothing. We are those who believe in that kind of God. We have faith. And so, when we visit the widow and orphan, the brother or sister in need, we can simply proclaim our great faith in God who clothes and feeds those in need. Then we can go about our merry way.

Of course not!

Pure and undefiled religion is not believing in a God who clothes and feeds His children in need. Pure and undefiled religion is being God’s instruments to accomplish His will. Pure and undefiled religion is becoming like God by allowing our faith in Him to change us and make us more like Him. Pure and undefiled religion is about having a faith completed by works (more on that tomorrow).

When we have food and clothing, we will be content (1 Timothy 6:8). If we have more than enough, when we see our brothers and sisters in need, we recall God has blessed us in order to be a blessing. We are generous, ready to share. What faith this shows. It shows faith God’s way is best. Further, it shows faith God will care for us if we spend ourselves in caring for others.

Let us not simply proclaim our faith in God’s promises to those in need. Let us not simply pray over them for God’s promises to come true. Let us be ready to be used as the answers to their prayers and the instruments of those promises. Let us not say, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled.” Let us warm and fill.

Tomorrow’s reading is James 2.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. Should we pray for those who are in need and remind them of God’s promises? Why or why not?
3. Why should we not stop with prayer and declaration of God’s promises when we have the capability to be of help?
4. How does this compare to faith without works?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

Pure and Undefiled Religion

Today’s reading is James 1.

James has already told us we must be quick to hear and slow to speak. In context, we know he isn’t simply talking about interpersonal relationships. He is talking about how we relate to God’s Word. Therefore, it doesn’t surprise us to find out if we don’t bridle our tongues, whatever religion we have is useless. If we speak more than we listen, our worship, our piety, our religion, and our religious actions aren’t doing either us or God any good.

However, James goes farther. We are not only to be hearers of the Word but doers. He defines some of the doing. Pure religion, undefiled religion is not walking through religious rituals mouthing the proper words, dressed in the right clothes, wearing the appropriate facial expressions. Pure and undefiled religion before God has two components. One, caring for others in their afflictions. Two, remaining unstained from the world.

Is this anything less than, more than, or different than the two greatest commands? We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and might (remain unstained from the world) and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (care for others in their afflictions). Don’t read these instructions in a vacuum. These statements James is writing to Jewish Christians are anchored in what they should have learned from the Law and the Prophets. In the Law, the Jews were to care for the widows and orphans among them as well as the poor and needy. Recall Isaiah 58. There, the Israelites couldn’t understand why God didn’t notice their fasting, their religious observance. God’s response was their fasting was nothing more than ritual. The purpose of fasting was not to wear sackcloth or bow the head. The purpose was to grow compassion for those in need among them. James will come back to this as he discusses faith in chapter 2. If we are the kind of people who tell our brothers and sisters in need to go be warmed and filled (even if we do this in prayer) instead of the kind of people who give them what they need, our faith is useless. So is our religion.

Further, we are to be unstained by the world. We must not let the world, its temptations, its ways distract us from God. We must not be defiled by bringing their gods, their ways of worship, their values, their perspectives into our hearts and minds. We must love God and not be friends with the world. James will come back to this in chapter 4 as he points out friendship with the world is enmity with God.

Yes, of course, we are to gather as churches and worship God. Yes, we are to go into our prayer closets and worship God. But if the rest of our day and week is spent pursuing our own pleasures instead of loving God and our neighbor, let us not think our times of worship are doing us a bit of good. May our times of devotion and worship be the beginning of a life in devotion to God and His people.

Next week’s reading is James 2.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. In what ways must we bridle our tongues for our religion to be worthwhile?
3. How can we visit orphans, widows, and others in affliction in order to have pure and undefiled religion?
4. How do we remain unstained by the world in order to have pure and undefiled religion?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

Tabitha: A Servant Worth Raising

Today’s reading is Acts 9.

Like Aeneas, the story of Tabitha is told to anchor our faith that Peter is still a faithful apostle. He isn’t going rogue. The Lord is with Him. That is why he can not only raise a lame man up from the ground, but a deceased woman up from the dead. However, I just want us to stop and consider how fascinating this is. In Acts 8, Stephen, a deacon and evangelist, is martyred. The disciples mourn him, bury him, and move on. In Acts 12, James, an apostle and evangelist, is executed. The disciples will mourn him, bury him, and move on. Tabitha, a disciple who makes garments for widows dies, and the disciples say, “Stop! We need her back.” And Peter comes in and raises her from the dead. This goes a long way to explain the most important role in the kingdom of Christ: Servant. Not apostle. Not preacher. Not deacon. Not elder. Not Bible class teacher. Servant. Oh, sure, those other roles are important, but only because they are a form of service. Sadly, today there is a whole host of arguing about who gets to stand on the stage as if the people who fill those roles are somehow the most important. It’s just not true. The most important roles can be filled by all Christians. Who will you serve today?

Next week’s reading is Acts 10.

Problems Within

Today’s reading is Acts 6.

Sadly, there seem to be some Christians who do not want their congregation to grow. Why? Because of the Acts 6 principle. You know, the larger the congregation, the bigger the problems. But perhaps that is the wrong way to look at it. In Jerusalem, the congregation grew and so did their problems. Specifically, an ethnicity problem. I am sure the apostles were not purposefully ignoring the Hellenistic widows, but they had a lot on their plate. In fact, they had everything on their plate. Some of it was toppling off. If we are not careful, we will read right through this chapter and miss how revolutionary the solution was. They had to completely change their structure for accomplishing work within the congregation. Perhaps they were able to do this because they hadn’t been doing it for so long that people were married to their methods. Up until this point, the money collected had been laid at the apostles’ feet to distribute as they saw fit. But now, it was going to be laid at someone else’s feet. Someone else was going to be in charge of distributing the funds collected to those who were in need. Seven men were selected to do this work of ministering, literally deaconing. And it worked. The church had been threatening to divide, but instead it multiplied. What had seemed a humongous problem turned into a terrific opportunity. Yes, as congregations grow numerically problems increase. However, they aren’t really problems. They are opportunities. Opportunities to grow spiritually, opportunities to grow maturity, opportunities to relationally. True spiritual growth doesn’t come from ignoring potential obstacles, but from facing them head on and overcoming them. Don’t be afraid of the potential problems coming in your congregation. Attack them, solve them, conquer them, and grow because of it.

Tomorrow’s reading is Acts 6.

No Pretending

Today’s reading is Luke 20.

It broke my heart. I had become friends with a couple of baristas years ago in Texas. They had invited me to their coffee shop/diner. They often gave me steep discounts. I would try to talk to them about the gospel, Jesus, the church. They were always nice to me. I think they liked me, but they always stiff-armed on the spiritual conversations. I remember one conversation though. They didn’t say it quite this politely, but one of the ladies said one day, “You know how you can tell a business owner is going to take advantage of you?” “How?” I replied. “If he’s got a fish or a cross on his business card.” In other words, business owners who make their Christianity part of their marketing are probably out to make a buck, not save your soul. I’m sure her statement was painting with way too broad of a brush. But it does get at Jesus’s point at the end of Luke 20. God doesn’t like pretending. Christianity isn’t a game. It isn’t a business strategy or a marketing ploy. Jesus Christ intends to change lives down at the heart level and then outward to the behavior that loves God and loves your neighbor. It doesn’t matter how often you go to church, how you dress up when you are there, or how actively you participate, if you are taking advantage of people, you’re just pretending. If you aren’t going to really follow Jesus, don’t pretend.

Monday’s reading is Luke 21.