Give Me that Old Time Religion

Recently I heard shopper A talking to her friend, shopper B. She was commenting on the rude behavior of a nearby shopper C. Shopper A said to Shopper B, "she 'bout made me lose my religion". In other words, shopper A was offended/angered by Shopper C's behavior and wanted to confront her about it.

Losing one's religion is a Southern expression that is basically the same as "being at wit's end"only it carries the idea of using an angry tone and/or profanity.  In other words, a person that "loses their religion" will put aside their religious beliefs regarding Christian behavior, and will respond angrily to someone/something that offends them. Some people would call that, responding in a way that was "out of character". However, I think "losing one's religion" reveals their character, or rather, their lack of it. 

"If you claim to be religious but do not control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless." James 1: 26 NLT

Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines religion as: "godliness or real piety in practice, consisting in the performance of all known duties to God and our fellow men, in obedience to divine command, or from love to God and his law".

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father, means caring for orphans & widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:27 NLT

Biblical religion is based one's relationship with God. Therefore, "losing one's religion" reveals the depth of one's relationship with God. In this life, we are going to be offended/angered by all sorts of things that people say & do. Our response, when offended/angered, can make a huge difference to all who are within earshot.

"A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare." Proverbs 15:1 NLT

Let us go into the new year, determined to let our lights shine for Jesus. Let's deepen our relationship with God and exercise our religion in service to our fellow man.

Wise Men Still Seek Him

Many times we enter into the presence of the King with little worship and many petitions. There following are three things that we can glean from the Magi who visited Jesus.

1. When they found Him, they were HUMBLE. They bowed in worship. They put their own status aside to honor His.

2. They were TRANSPARENT. They opened their treasure boxes/chests. That is, they revealed what they held in high regard.

3. They were GENEROUS. They gave gifts. They relinquished things that they had treasured up for themselves.

Isaiah 9: 6 - 7

Matthew 2:1 - 11 TEXT: vs 11 "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh."

God will lead those who desire to be led. God provided the star & the message. They that hunger & thirst shall be filled. Mt 2: 12 God will protect those who have revealed their vulnerabilities.

What adult would humble himself to a child? One that has been touched by God to recognize the power and potential in that child. One that believes there is a connection between their future and that child.

Humans are designed with a void that can only be filled by Jesus Christ. Yet, people will look everywhere else to all sorts of things, trying to find something to appease that longing in their hearts.

People want to come to church and have a feel good time, but don't want anyone to see their deepest hurt/pain. They play the game to conceal their true identity. They don't even want to open their wallets.

The Magi left Arabia with a load of presents. They came prepared to worship. They believed the prophecy. They followed the star. When they opened their treasure boxes, the contents were obvious. But the treasures were not for show. They were brought to be given as gifts to the Christ child.

We must come humbly. Not with our own agenda..... We must come prepared to open our treasure boxes. Treasures, the things that we hold close to us. Children, spouse, wealth, sickness, habit, hang up, grudge, & etc. We must release our treasures to fully receive "THE TREASURE".

They came prepared to GIVE/WORSHIP because they BELIEVED. Do you believe? Do you believe enough to make preparations to worship? Enough to humbly reveal your dependency on Him? Enough to give Him your all?

Can You Get a Prayer Through?

Saints, we are living in perilous times. People everywhere experiencing overwhelming circumstances. Worldly people, church people, sinners, and saints all are feeling the effects of Covid-19, People are sick, losing their jobs, losing their homes, losing their loved ones, and etc.

Only Jesus can heal, restore, provide, direct, answer, comfort, etc. He can do these things with or without man's help. But He chooses to use us to help one another. If you have the means, then do what you can to help someone else. If you feel that you do not have anything to spare, look inside yourself....... surely you have a PRAYER.

When a person has a heart attack, the very first thing an onlooker should do is, call 911. Yes, they should begin CPR if they know how, but that phone call for help should come first. As Christians, our first call should be directly to the Great Physician. CAN YOU GET A PRAYER THROUGH?

In I Kings 17:17 - 24 we read where the widow's son died. Elijah took him up to his room, stretched him out on his bed and according to verse 20 says, " O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?"

What sort of prayer is that? It wasn't with lofty words and pious platitudes. It wasn't a quiet repetition of petition. It was one borne out of desperation, bewilderment, and genuine desire for an answer. It was a prayer from the heart of a man who conversed with God on a regular basis.

When you have a relationship with someone, you spend time with them. You learn their speech patterns, mannerisms and body language and at the same time you learn what is important to them, you come to understand what makes them tick, you come to know their heart.

Elijah's prayer wasn't pretty but God heard & God answered. Maybe you are barely making ends meet and can't afford to "give your money away" to help someone else. Perhaps you are the one who is sick and in quarantine and unable to travel. Or maybe you are one of the exhausted care-takers or "essential workers" that has been stretched to your limit. In the natural, you may feel that you have absolutely nothing to offer to help another. But, my brother, my sister, if you are a true Christian, you have the Power within you to do all things that Christ Himself strengthens you to do. You CAN PRAY. Will you PRAY?

Can you get a prayer through to God? If you are truly in relationship with Him, if you converse with Him on a regular basis, if you genuinely desire His answer, then I believe you can. However, if you have grown lax in prayer and have difficulty getting into His presence; let your first prayer be for yourself. Repent, reconnect, and be restored. Then you can pray the prayers that will resuscitate the dying.

Trappings

Ever get your finger caught in a mouse trap? You thought you knew how it worked. You thought you knew how to set it. You thought you were doing it right...... Then...ooouuuccchhhh!!!!.. We can do everything right and still get caught in the trap. Accidents happen. Can we blame the trap for doing what it is designed to do?

Psalm 91:3 says, "He will rescue you from the snare of the fowler". God WILL RESCUE you from the trapping devices of the enemy. II Cor 2:11 clearly states we are no longer ignorant of satan's devices/traps.

Yet, we (The Bride) fall prey to one of his most common tactics.. Oh, it's not because we don't recognize the trap. It is because we think we are above/beyond/smarter than its capabilities.

When you have been in church for as long as I have, like me, you will find that it is easy to put your Christian service on auto-pilot. Go through the motions. Quote the scriptures. Sing the songs. Use the cliches". But those things are merely the appearance of Christianity. True Christ-likeness is borne from the heart and is revealed in our secret actions as much as it is in our open gestures.

To be set free and remain free of the fowler's snare, we must remain fully aware of satan's trapping methodologies. And we must be fully committed to following biblical principles in our everyday living. As believers, there are certain principles that we have come to accept as absolutes. Principles that directly affect our relationship with the Lord. Principles that, when followed, will enrich our lives; yet if neglected, will bring us ruin.

One such principle is found in Matthew chapter 18:15, quoted here from the NKJV "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother". Closely related to this idea is, Matthew 5: 23, 24. The NKJV renders it this way, "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

I'm just going to leave it "as is". You know, when a seller says that an item is being sold "as is", that means you take it for what you see and for what you may not see about it.Those things unseen at the time of purchase, tend to come to light upon closer inspection. That's all the Lord is asking us to do with these passages. Bring them close to the eyes of your heart and see what will be revealed in the Light that is within you.

Temporary Trouble & Eternal Glory

I can't seem to get away from something that I posted a while back. "Our perseverance testifies of the power of the Treasure within us. When others see our troubles overshadowed by the light of His strength shining through us, they are in fact receiving the Good News of Christ." 

While I used II Corinthians 4:8-10 as a text for that post, it is the later portion of the chapter that speaks of the fleeting nature of our afflictions and the eternal nature of the glory that is revealed as we endure them.

In Romans 8:18, the Apostle Paul wrote "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." 

It is the revealed glory of God at work in us that draws others to Him. When they see us suffering in pain without complaint, when they see us bereaved, but putting our feelings aside to comfort someone else, and when they know we are financially strapped and yet we will give to the needy, that is when they see Christ. That is what will draw them to inquire about the source of our strength & compassion. That is when the lost will open their doors to the Gospel.

If the very thought that our malady is temporary is enough to give us a measure of hope; how much more should we be comforted knowing that the Holy Spirit is making intercessions for us.

"So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.We are assured and know that [[j]God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose." Romans 8:26-28 Amplified Version

" I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit[a] to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

25 “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again." Acts 20:19 -25 NLT