“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:  . . ..”   Romans 1:16

How is your witness for Jesus Christ?  When the subjects of religion, the Bible, Jesus, or God come up around you, what is your reaction?  Do you make it clear where you stand in your relationship with Jesus?  Or would your actions, or even your silence, indicate that you are ashamed of the gospel of Christ?

In Romans 1:16, Paul makes a statement that explains why he wasn’t ashamed of the gospel.  We would do well if we understood and applied this to our lives also.  When we fully understand the power of the gospel, I believe we gain a new boldness to share it with others.  Paul states quite clearly that the reason he is not ashamed of the gospel is because it is the power of God leading to salvation.  It is when you and I recognize how lost we are that we can truly appreciate the power of the gospel to save us.

Do you believe you are a “pretty good person” or do  you acknowledge the sin in your life that requires the power of the gospel to cleanse you?  It is my prayer that as you view the power of the gospel being active in your own life, you would gain boldness in sharing this gospel with others.

May Jesus find you not ashamed of Him when He returns in all of His glory.

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.  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.”  James 1:26-27

We live in a world where a person’s word often means very little.  Many are surrounded on a daily basis by people who use words very carelessly.  Perhaps the language itself is filthy or the content of the words is hurtful or damaging to someone else.  In the midst of a society where we are so thoughtless with our words, these verses from James should cause us to take a serious look at our speech and how it affects our lives.

Is your religion a true relationship with Jesus Christ?  Are you actively working to keep a rein on your tongue?  Are the words that you speak wholesome and uplifting – full of encouragement and support? 

James wants us to understand that what comes out of our mouth, and our life, is a true reflection of what’s inside of us.  If you can’t keep control of your mouth with the help of the Holy Spirit, your claim as a religious person is worthless.  That can sound like a really negative and discouraging principle.  However, the rest of this passage gives us a positive side of our claim to religion showing in our life. 

Pure and faultless religion from God’s view sounds like something to be highly sought after by Christians.  By keeping a rein on our tongue, we are free to practice religion that God views as valuable.  This includes looking out for those that can’t look out for themselves.  Do you care about those who have no voice in our society?  Do you look out for the “orphans” and “widows” of our day?  Obviously, this should include those who are truly orphans or widows, but I think it goes beyond this.  There are many who are orphaned or widowed even though they may have parents or spouses living.  Do we care for them?  When we do this along with keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world, we have a religion that is worth something.  It is a true relationship with Jesus!

It is my prayer that you gaze intently into the Word of God and put it into practice.

I’ve been working at compiling a booklet based on articles I had written for the Deer Run newsletter from 2001 through early 2004.  I thought this would be a good forum to share some of those earlier writings of mine with a greater audience.  This is the first of those articles that I will be including in posts from time to time.

“So you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when He judges you.  But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment.”  James 2:13 (NCV)

I would guess that everyone would like the confidence to stand with no fear at the judgment.  James addresses this issue and lets us know that the way we treat other people affects our ability to stand without fear at the judgment. 

I believe this verse is in keeping with the context of James chapter 2.  The idea we need to think about is, “how do I treat other people, particularly those who are different than I am?”  The first part of chapter 2 talks about showing favoritism to someone because of what they appear to have.  James goes so far as to make it clear in verse 9 that to treat one person as better than another is sinning against God.

Is this you or I that James could be talking about?  How do we decide whom we will associate with?  Do we ignore some people because they don’t do things the way we want?  Do we seek out only people who agree with us all the time?  Do we determine friendships based on how rich a person may appear to be?  Do we avoid people who may appear poor?  Do we show mercy in our relationships with others?

James continues in the end of chapter 2 to show that our actions do speak louder than our words.  Who we choose associate with, and even those we choose to help, speak loudly about our willingness to show mercy and accept people as equal regardless of race, wealth, or family background.

May you be found showing mercy so that you may stand without fear at the judgment.