Religion, relationship, service and sin (pt.3)
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” – James 1:27 I learned something interesting about puffins the other day. You know, puffins. Cute little birds with faces like French mimes. Apparently, puffins have a […]
Religion, relationship, service and sin (pt.2)
James has been called the most practical book in the Bible, and indeed, it is full of great specifics about how to properly live out this relationship we have with God. If worship is a lifestyle, then James is a how-to-guide for the type of lifestyle God desires for us. In this context, look at what he says “pure” religion is: “…to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…” Now, there are a couple of ways to look at this…
Religion, relationship, service and sin (pt.1)
We were created to worship God in the joy of a relationship with Him, but when “religion” becomes just a set of rules that we follow dogmatically in fear, then we aren’t really worshiping God the way He desires, are we? In fact, one could argue that we’re more likely worshiping the rules, rather than the One who gave them to us…
