SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 09-07-03
My
Worship Time Focus: True “Religion”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: James 1:26-27
1. Message of the verse: “26 If anyone among you thinks he is
religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this
one’s religion is useless.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is
this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world.” (NKJV) “If you claim to be religious but don’t
control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is
worthless. Pure and lasting religion in
the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in
their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.” (NLT)
“1)
Religious worship 1a) Esp. external, that which consists of ceremonies 1a1)
Religious discipline, religion.” This is
what Strongs has to say about this word that is translated “religion” in this
verse. This Greek word is only used here
in these two verses in James, and in Acts, and also in Colossians where it is
translated worshipping in the AV. As
seen the word can mean that religion is an external act, things like
ceremonies, and days, things that are done on the outside in order to make you
pleasing to God. This is putting the
cart before the horse, for are “good works” can only count for God if we are a
child of God first, and then we can demonstrate true religion as James speaks
of in verse 27.
In verse
26 James speaks of the tongue, and he uses the tongue on five different
occasions in his letter. The outward
fruitfulness of a believer can be shown if he demonstrates that he can control
his tongue, or his speaking, and if he cannot then he needs to examine himself
to see if he truly is a believer, and if he is to learn how to “bridle his
tongue” through the teachings in the Scripture.
Next the believer should demonstrate
service to others, as James shows us in verse 27 when he writes about helping
the widows and the orphans. These are those
who have a hard time in helping themselves and are in need of a helping hand.
Isaiah 6:1-8 gives us an order to which we can get hold of
how this process works. First Isaiah saw
the Lord, (salvation), and then Isaiah saw himself (examination) and then he
went out to serve others (service).
Next James
says that to demonstrate true religion we should not be friends of the
world. As believers we live in the
world, but we are not to be a part of the world. A good example of how not to do this is seen in
the life of Lot. Lot was a true
believer, as Peter tells us, but Lot first pitched his tent towards Sodom, then
he moved into Sodom, and then Sodom moved into him, and the he lost everything
when Sodom was judged.
Of course
the best example of how this is done right is to look at the Lord Jesus
Christ’s life while He was on planet earth, for He ministered to those in the
world, but certainly never became a part of the worlds system. He is always our perfect example to follow.
2. Spiritual meaning for my life today: I think a good way not to become a part of
the worlds system, and to control my tongue, and to serve others is to give
myself to the Lord each morning, to put on the spiritual armor, to keep in the
Word each day, to have a consistent prayer life, to confess my sins when I fail
the Lord, to have fellowship with other believers, and to serve others. I am sure there are other things that I can
do too that I have not listed.
The Word of God was convicting to my heart this morning as
I read it, but it also encouraged me too.
My
Steps of Faith Today: To
love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, and mind, and to worship Him this
morning in a way that will be pleasing to Him.
Memory verses for the week:
James 1:1-3
1.
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings.
2.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter
various trials,
3.
Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
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