Theme Scripture
“Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world.” James 1:27 [KJV]
“The form of worship that is clean and
undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after
orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself
without spot from the world.” – [NWT]
Additional Scripture
“10 And the brethren
immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither
went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those
in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind,
and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12 Therefore
many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men,
not a few.” – Acts 17:10-12 [KJV]
“10 As soon as it was night,
the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there,
they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of
more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message
with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what
Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did
also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.” [NIV]
“19 My dear brothers and
sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does
not produce the righteousness that God desires.21 Therefore, get rid
of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the
word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to
the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who
listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at
his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and
immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks
intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not
forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they
do.” – James 1:19-25 [NIV]
The point of these three scriptures, or at least the
intended point, is to zero into the personal responsibilities of the Christian
in their acceptance of the many spiritual benefits provided by The Father and
the Son upon ‘belief’ in the primacy of Jesus, the Christ and the gospel
message. Once this occurs (“Therefore, I urge
you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as
a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test
and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
(Romans 12:1,2)) the Christian then is ready to drill down and begin the
life time commitment and process of spiritual self-examination.
Initially, you are in receive mode, hearing the Word by way
of the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit works the renewal of your mind. Learning,
God’s Will, God’s Word, God’s Purpose ---perhaps even HIS purpose for you.
Then, as you mature beyond the initial state you will move to mature food
becoming far more comfortable with your convicted heart in Jesus, a more
detailed self-examination naturally follows. However, sometimes, what is
exposed is uncomfortable and we ‘naturally’, as opposed to ‘supernaturally’,
rebuff the nudging our examination is giving us. We are admonished by the humility
of King David because, though he made mistakes, committed sin, he would be
convicted in his heart and mind and humble himself before his God. He
repeatedly pled for God to search his heart and thoughts. For instance, King
David wrote here: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my
anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead
me in the way everlasting.” (Psa 139:23,24) and here: “Test me, Lord,
and try me, examine my heart and my mind;” (Psa 26:2) and here: “Teach
me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me
on level ground.” (Psa 143:10). Notice, the common thread, ‘Search, See, Test’
and then ‘lead me’. Notice who leads? God’s Spirit.
There may be things you have done, practiced, held dear,
thought or upheld traditionally that the Spirit may now be causing you to
examine. These things may not have been on your Christian radar before but
through your maturing the Holy Spirit is bringing them to your attention and
now you may ill at ease with the exposure. What to do? Research the issue/topic
and after thorough and humble prayer allow the Holy Spirit to ‘teach’ you. You
may have to do a deep dive into the Bible, cultural attachment and their
origins, historical data related to the topic and ultimately, through prayer
and meditation you may need to speak with someone you feel comfortable has a
longer association with the Lord and may have spiritual insights they can share
which will help you in your self-examination process on the topic/or practice.
Going back to the theme scripture, we are instructed to pay
attention that our ‘worship’ of GOD is ‘pure/clean’ and ‘undefiled’. This may
seem a redundancy ‘pure and undefiled’ and you would be right. ‘Pure’ here
means ‘blameless and innocent’. ‘Undefiled’ means pure from sin. Do you know
this? “Therefore, if one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do it,
it is a sin for him.” (James 4:17) It may be a tough reality to abide at
any time in our Christian walk or maturing process but once we have determined
that a thought or practice or cultural behavior is wrong, and we do not begin
to correct ourselves accordingly then we fall into the sin of know what is
right and not doing it. It may even be a Christian practice or cultural custom.
Here is a recent example of one of those Christian practices
and cultural customs the writer has spent no small time in investigating and
prayer. Easter. Yes, a holy time to be sure. A major Christian custom. Yet,
what is the day in reality and how is a Christian to observe it? Ostensibly, it
is the celebration of the Lord’s rising from the death/Resurrection. You may
have wondered, what if anything does the ‘Easter’ celebration with the
dominance of Bunny rabbits and eggs have to do with Jesus’ resurrection from
death? Yes, what indeed? The ‘custom’ of Easter seems to precede Christianity.
It seems, according to some, to be traceable back to an early time of
humankind. Of course, we each must research, pray, meditate and allow the Holy
Spirit to guide us. We must not rationalize the topic as less objectionable in
any decision regardless of the topic because we are called to the ONLY TRUTH, Jesus,
HE is “the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me.” --- John 14:6 [KJV]
Here are a couple of links you may or may not find worth
your time on just the topic of Easter.
Lastly, we must be mindful of this first and foremost
commandment: “And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the Lord thy
God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:1-3
Many consider this literally to mean ‘gods’ as in mystical
or supernatural form – and they are those --- but anytime we are tied to any ‘thing’
that is not ‘pure and undefiled’ ‘without spot from the world’ and continue to
promote that ‘thing’ we are putting that thing before GOD because HE has spoken
NO OTHER god before HIM. Idolatry is an unpleasant word for many. Yet historically
idols have come in many fashions. Today we hear the term ‘demagogue’ a lot. But
can we put patriotism, culturally held beliefs, people we support, love or
hate, things animate or inanimate before GOD? YES, YES, and YES again. Patriotism
is an emotion and serves to rally like minded people to support their ‘idea’ of
rule of law, their law enforcers be they military or civil, and to stand up for
what is right. But, have we not noticed that sometimes patriotism winds up becoming
a blinding agent that distracts from one’s adherence to GOD’s righteous laws? It
is okay to be loyal to your community large and small. Loyal to your rule of law
with a balance that subjects all things to GOD’s righteous principles. It is a
very fine line for most of us. We can cross it unintentionally but a nudge from
the Holy Spirit brings us back to right again, so long as we are mindful of the
voice of the Holy Spirit as spoken through our conscience we will have balance.
The basic take away from these words is to be humble, let
GOD lead, pray for GOD to search your spirit and soul to test you in your being
and to lead you to do what comprises the ‘worship that is ‘pure and undefiled
from the standpoint of our GOD and FATHER’ and to ‘remain without spot from the
world’. Remember, if after you have done your due diligence in prayer, research
and meditation, you have determined what is ‘right’ to the point of ‘knowing it
is right’ and you do not do it then you may no longer be undefiled. ß That
is a sobering thought. It is one the writer struggles with daily as items
filter up into my conscience as possibly troublesome.
The reward we receive, whether or not it is our motivation,
is one that only GOD grants and has the power to deliver. It will include
answers, among the many other impossibly attractive benefits of faith in JESUS
as our SAVIOR.
©Lightwritingmatters
2015
Bibles Designations
KJV – King James Version
NIV – New International Version
NWT – New World Translation
ASV -- American Standard Version
DISCLAIMER: The thoughts published on this
blog, in total, are the opinions, thoughts and considerations of the
writer/author of every post published. It is assumed that research by the reader
will lead the reader to their own conclusions. It is not the writer’s intent to
make a judgment of anyone but to allow GOD’s Word to do what it does. “For the
word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all
creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare
before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” – Hebrews 4:12 [NIV]
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| ©Lightwritingmatters 2015 |
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