DAILY DEVOTION No. 21

There is a great need for the church of Jesus Christ to stand very firm in it’s standards and not be squeezed in the world’s mold, as Paul puts it in Rom 12.  Especially with regard to our thinking and beliefs. The same must also be said of our purpose and mission in this world. 

James 1:21-27 says ^"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. ²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion 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.

I want to focus in on this last verse. If you like, we can call this “our mission.”  Now, we normally think of mission as going out and preaching the gospel to lost souls, having conversions and counting the baptisms.  It is all that, but it is more than that and in a way, it is simpler than that.   It’s about being and bringing Jesus Christ to a hurting world! 

Verse 27 in the Message Bible reads: Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight – what a simple job description we all have!  Not forgetting the other part – to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  

I’d like to suggest that the orphans, widows, homeless and loveless represent every single person who’s hurting, lonely, distressed in any way, whether Christian or not.

Acts 10:35-38 says "But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. ³⁶The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—³⁷that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him".

Jesus’ mission was to go about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Our mission is to be anointed of God to go about doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil in Jesus’ name. Too much of our time, thinking and energy is spent on ourselves. Yes, I’ve been set free from sin and eternal condemnation – why?  To serve Him.  It’s not rocket science. 

In Matthew 25:31-39, we read "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ ³⁷“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

He went on to speak to those who did not do those things.

Challenge