James 1:27
As Christians, it's easy for us to fall into this trap of contentment. A feeling that pulls us into thinking what God has blessed us with is for our personal use. With that being said, we also know as Christians that it is not from God, but a tactic used by the enemy to try and hinder the growth of the kingdom. We see in 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.
Think about this for a moment, real religion is when we look after orphans and widows in their distress. An act of selflessness over selfishness, to care for those who often can’t take care of themselves. This passage reminds me of a lengthy conversation that we had during the Men’s Bible study in Grand Blanc last week about compassion. As we navigate a much needed, but challenging RightNow Media study called Betterman by Chris Harper. As a group, we spent a large amount of time talking about as men how easy it is for us to be selfish without even trying to be. However, this is not just a man's problem (although we tend to struggle with it the most), we all struggle to put other needs before our own. As we continue to talk through having compassion for our community (especially those listed out in James 1:27), I got to hear men really open up on how they could do things differently. Many shared that they are selfish when coming to sharing the Gospel! They allow fear to take over and not act on a Gospel opportunity. I encourage all of us to challenge ourselves to the words found in Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Let Emmanuel be the church that influences people for the Gospel of Jesus Christ! At the end of our study last week, Chris Harper hit home with a quote from Darrin Patrick that says this. “If our churches shut their doors tomorrow, would our cities even know we were gone?” Let's be the church that's intentional, compassionate, and eager to see the Kingdom grow!
As Christians, it's easy for us to fall into this trap of contentment. A feeling that pulls us into thinking what God has blessed us with is for our personal use. With that being said, we also know as Christians that it is not from God, but a tactic used by the enemy to try and hinder the growth of the kingdom. We see in 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.
Think about this for a moment, real religion is when we look after orphans and widows in their distress. An act of selflessness over selfishness, to care for those who often can’t take care of themselves. This passage reminds me of a lengthy conversation that we had during the Men’s Bible study in Grand Blanc last week about compassion. As we navigate a much needed, but challenging RightNow Media study called Betterman by Chris Harper. As a group, we spent a large amount of time talking about as men how easy it is for us to be selfish without even trying to be. However, this is not just a man's problem (although we tend to struggle with it the most), we all struggle to put other needs before our own. As we continue to talk through having compassion for our community (especially those listed out in James 1:27), I got to hear men really open up on how they could do things differently. Many shared that they are selfish when coming to sharing the Gospel! They allow fear to take over and not act on a Gospel opportunity. I encourage all of us to challenge ourselves to the words found in Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Let Emmanuel be the church that influences people for the Gospel of Jesus Christ! At the end of our study last week, Chris Harper hit home with a quote from Darrin Patrick that says this. “If our churches shut their doors tomorrow, would our cities even know we were gone?” Let's be the church that's intentional, compassionate, and eager to see the Kingdom grow!
Posted in Devotional