The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in James 1:27,
"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."
In his rebellious nature man feels the freedom to define and promote "religion" as he sees fit. With a streak of arrogant pride, we often feel it our prerogative to determine what God should find acceptable in the way we live our lives, that is, our religion, and the manner in which we worship him. A cursory review of the differing religions of the world painfully illustrates just how true this is. Even within the community of folks who call themselves "Christians", they have so many differences, and irreconcilable ones at that, it makes this point inescapable.
James has a different perspective of God. God will not be dictated to. He will not be subjected to the whims of mankind. God determines what an acceptable lifestyle is. God determines which religious activity it is that is pure and faultless and informs us of it here. He determines how he will be worshipped acceptably.
God is the objective reality. He exists and we are merely his creation. It is simply foolishness to invent our own perspectives of God, our own path to God, our definition of what pleases him and how a spiritual life is to be lived. As the writer of Hebrews says, "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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