Pure Religion

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27).

James 1:27 is our family's latest memory verse.

As we have been working on memorizing it, we have had a few conversations about its meaning.

As I have looked at the Scripture, I have been struck by its first word: Religion. It refers to a devotion that ties one to God. James mentions that it can be pure and undefiled before God, implying that some religion can also be impure and defiled. It's been popular in recent decades to say, "Christianity isn't a religion. It's a relationship." I understand the sentiment, but I prefer James' way of looking at it. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he sees Christianity as a religion that can be pure and undefiled. He sees the Christian faith as something good and wholesome...something that connects us to the Father in a very positive way.

Then the verse focuses on what makes this religion pure and undefiled.

First, it asserts that pure and undefiled religion cares about people in need, especially orphans and widows who have no one to care for them. An impure and defiled religion would ignore or minimize the needs of people who are suffering. But Christianity, in its purest form, is a faith that takes the needs of people seriously. We follow Christ when we visit someone in the hospital, adopt an orphan, make a phone call to a widow, spend a day with a disabled man, read the Bible to a child whose parents do not believe, or sponsor a child in a poverty-stricken country. Pure religion prompts us to care about people who are suffering to the point that we will take action.

Second, the Scripture states that pure and undefiled religion motivates us to keep ourselves unstained from the world. We can do this in a number of ways:

~By accepting the word of God with humility (James 1:21)
~By eliminating our prejudice against the poor (James 2:1-13)
~By putting our faith into action (James 2:14-26)
~By controlling our words (James 3:1-12)
~By replacing envy and selfish ambition with a godly perspective of peacefulness, gentleness, reasonableness, mercy, impartiality, sincerity, humility, fairness, patience, and good conduct (James 3-5)

This kind of religion is not only pure and undefiled; it's compelling.

The Joy of Teaching Children

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).

We have been working on memorizing 2 Timothy 3:16.

At the breakfast table this morning, Christopher repeated the verse for us. Wanting to make sure he knew what he was repeating, I asked him, "Do you know what rebuking means?"

He answered, "Throwing up."

I responded, "No. That's puking."

I'm glad I asked.

Fighting Poverty

"He who gives to the poor will lack nothing,
but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses" (Proverbs 28:27, NIV).

About a year and a half ago, we began to memorize Scriptures as a family. Typically, we spend about 10 days reading a verse during meal times. Lately we have been reading Proverbs 28:27, a verse that emphasizes how much God wants his people to care for the poor.

Poverty comes in various forms.

The economically poor cannot meet their financial needs. They cannot make enough money to pay their rent, buy groceries, or purchase other necessities.

The physically poor suffer from health problems. They may deal with a chronic disease, a mental disability, depression, or other health issues.

Those who are poor in wisdom deal with the results of bad choices in life. They may have dropped out of school. They may have become addicted to alcohol or drugs. They may have joined gangs. They may have divorced their spouses. They may have been fired from numerous jobs due to perpetual conflicts with bosses or co-workers.

The spiritually poor live without a spiritual connection to God. They are missing the benefits of life with Christ.

Sometimes people face every form of poverty at once. Sometimes we face different combinations of poverty at the same time. Sometimes we face only one form of poverty at a time. However, nobody goes through life without ever facing poverty.

So the question is: How can I help? Could I buy someone lunch? Could I take a sack or two of groceries to their apartment? Could I help someone find a job? Could I visit someone in the hospital? Could I listen to someone feeling depressed? Could I help someone study for the GED? Could I teach a class about building and maintaining strong families? Could I let someone know how good Jesus Christ is?

Let's fight poverty in every form, and receive God's blessings in the process.

Caring for Your Animal

A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. (Proverbs 12:10, NIV)

I learned many years ago that righteousness was defined as right thinking and right acting. Then, I learned that it had a relational component; righteousness involved being rightly related to God and to people. Proverbs 12:10 expands the definition a little further. Righteousness involves being rightly related to one's animals, taking care of their needs.

Proverbs 12:10 has become our family's latest memory verse. It comes in handy when Christopher does not want to feed the dog.

Romans 5:8

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, NIV).

We have been trying to memorize that verse for the last few days. It tells us so much about the character of God and the character of ourselves that it may be one of the most profound verses in the Bible.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

"Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love" (1 Corinthians 16:13-14, NASB).

In our home, we have a devotional time around the dinner table. We read from Our Daily Bread and pray. In January, we added another activity to our devotional time: memory verses. At first, I thought that we could memorize one passage a week, but we have found that going at Christopher's speed is much better. So far we have memorized Genesis 1:1, Proverbs 24:5, and John 3:16.

We are in the process of memorizing 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, so my mind has been on these verses lately.

Be on the alert

We never know where temptation and sin will come from, nor when they will hit us. However, we can learn from our failures and mistakes. We can figure out that being tired makes us vulnerable to impatience. We know that some media are designed to arouse improper sexual temptations. We can be alert to what we know. We don't need to be surprized by everything.

Stand firm in the faith

Many people attack our faith in many ways. We must stand firm in believing in the creation, the great flood, and the other miracles of the Bible. We must retain confidence in the God who cannot lie. We must believe in the accuracy of the Bible. We must trust in Jesus Christ, even when others waver.

Act like men

We must take initiative to protect and provide for others. We must approach life with courage and a sense of responsibility.

Be strong

Our strength comes from reliance upon God. We become strong by reading and thinking deeply about the message from God. We become strong by praying and by noticing God's answers to our prayers. We become strong from the support and encouragement of other believers. With strength, we can approach life with confidence. In addition, we are prepared to carry out the next command:

Let all that you do be done in love

We can find ways to live in a way that benefits everyone. We can be kind and patient. We can make the sacrifices. We can honor Jesus Christ through our lives of love.

These are powerful verses.