James 1:26-27

Scripture: James 1:26-27 

26 If anyone considers himself religious yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
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.

 

Observations: 

Our actions and words can really ruin others' perception of our beliefs. We talked about what it's like at restaurants on Sunday mornings, and how it seems that a lot of Christians are horribly rude, impatient, and bad tippers. It's a noticeable difference from the other shifts. Sunday morning... you just don't make the same tips. What's the point of dressing up and going to church if people just turn around and act that way right afterwards? That's worthless religion to me.

 

Application: 

Verse 27 is our application! Look after orphans and widows, and keep from being polluted! Are we doing that? Are we going out of our way to serve others that are in distress, and also going out of our way to keep from getting polluted? It looks different for different people. We all have different gifts, which we are called to use in ministry. We all have our own "butter heads" that we need to keep away from the fire ;)

 

Prayer: 

Lord, help us to not have a worthless religion. Help us to show through our relationship with You, and that our outward acts are in accordance with our beliefs. God I pray we are good witnesses with our actions. We love You so much and do not want to be bad representations of life with You. Help us to plug into good ministries that use our own particular gifts, and also have the humility and strength to stay away from or fight our specific battles against sin. In Jesus' name I ask, amen!

Ephesians 5:15-20

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-20
15 Be very careful, then, how you live-- not as unwise but as wise,

16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Observations:

This is a great warning for me, followed by great encouragement. To be very careful how I represent Christ to others, and not to waste my time here acting a fool. I've been plenty foolish before, and to my shame. But He calls me to let God fill into every single aspect of my life and to seek out His will. My speech, what I sing, my everyday moments should all be dedicated to the Lord.

Application:
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. It's so amazing how worshiping God can drastically affect our outlook. It takes our eyes away from our problems and focuses them on Christ.  Whether it's a mountain or a molehill, when we choose to sing through it, God gets the glory. He's listening riiiight now! What song is your heart singing to Him? :) mine is "Beautiful Things" by Gungor. My prayer is the link to this song.
 

Prayer:
 

Ephesians 5:1-7

Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-7
1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children
2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.
4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
 
Observations:
Not even a HINT! I feel like when I go to the movies, I am covering my eyes and some parts of movies just straight-up shock me. Ahh! It scares me how much we tolerate, and we accept a hint here and there. It's sad that even some kids movies now have innuendos thrown in "for the parents"...
 
Application:
How am I allowing hints of immorality to seep through? In high school, I had to throw out all my cds and start over when I became a follower of Christ. I let music be that thing I turned to and ALL of it at the time was just UNGODLY. Angry, coarse, foolish, immoral. I told everyone, even all my friends, that from then on I only listened to christian music. It was a big change. My favorite band prior to this was Disturbed (no need to google it, just trust me, it's disturbing!).

Over college, I was able to branch out a little bit and not be so strict and legalistic with myself (she's gone country), but still, with music that I purchased, I made sure the content was fitting. For a while, also in high school, I wouldn't watch even pg13 movies. I guarded myself a lot back then, and it makes me think that I was really onto something. We develop a thick filter as mature believers and we stop having that "ooooh I'm telling!" reaction to wrong/immoral/impure things. We just take it. Garbage in, garbage out.
 
Wouldn't it be amazing if we could all say "if I'm listening to music, I'm listening to music for the glory of God" and "if I'm watching this movie, I'm watching this movie for the glory of God" and "if I'm having this conversation, I'm having this conversation for the glory of God" and "if I'm spending/storing up this money, I'm spending/storing up this money for the glory of God" .... oh to be in the world but not be of the world.
 
Prayer:
Lord, help us to keep our eyes on You as we make decisions. Help us to recognize when something is out of place for us as believers. Build us up to be holy people, ambassadors of Your grace, discerning and wise, loving to unbelievers but not influenced by them, giving and truly caring for those in need, in full control of our words, submitting our actions to Your approval. We love You and praise You with thankful hearts. In Christ's name, amen.