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, ESV
Religion is not inherently bad.
Neglecting loving our neighbors, especially the least of these, is.
One simple rule in two parts: Love God by loving others.
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Luke 9:23-24, ESV
If we strive for our best life now, it means it only gets worse after we die (i.e. Hell).
Jesus calls us to be servants, yes, possibly even doormats if that is what it takes to show the love, grace, and mercy of God to this world.
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Psalm 40:1-2, ESV
Our giving of glory to God and our most effective witness to others of His goodness and awesomeness is trusting patiently in Him in all circumstances.
For we know we stand on His solid foundation.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
Psalm 113:3 ESV
Who loves us like our Creator and Redeemer? May we follow His example and give Him glory as we love others with His abiding, sacrificial love.
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Romans 12:10, ESV
We are not in a competition to be the best. We ought to be helping each other be our best in Christ through His love and grace flowing through us.
For this Sunday here’s what you can do: Talk to someone about what Love is.
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Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus
Philippians 2:5, ESV
This life is not about us. Life is about glorifying God and serving others with humble, sacrificial love.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31, ESV
God empowers those who seek Him to endure the troubles of this world and to impact this world for Christ with the Gospel.
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
1 John 5:14, ESV
Some teach that God says we can ask for literally anything, even declare and decree we have it. Yet God’s Word is clear: anything according to God’s will.
Seek first His Kingdom …
Bear with me as I build the framework for my analogy in these 1st two short paragraphs.
You may or may not be familiar with the way computers work. Computers have both hardware and software. The part of the computer that you can touch (keyboard/mouse/printer), see (monitor), and hear (speakers) is referred to as the hardware. The hardware also includes the internal workings of the computer like the CPU, the memory/RAM, the motherboard, and power supply. Computers don’t work without software. Software is the code (the instructions) for making the computer work. Sometimes, the software is referred to as programs/drivers and/or applications (apps). Programs are written by software engineers with the purpose of controlling the hardware to do very specific tasks.
My daily job involves writing and working with software for computers. At my place of employment, there’s a pretty sharp distinction between the…
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a simple man of God 