True Religion is not going to church. It’s IHS

My grandmother was not a preacher. She did not like to speak in public and although she was friendly, she was shy around strangers. She was legally blind with only 20% vision in one eye. With all those encumbrances my grandmother was a preacher maker. She gave spiritual birth to four pastors and three teachers. Their ministries have given spiritual birth to countless numbers, supported homeless missions and food banks, prison ministries, counseling to those who are in troubled circumstance, provided healing for the spiritually and physically abused and started children’s centers for the low income with financial aid for the single parent, the families who cannot find employment and even those whose incomes exceed the opportunity for help from government programs but cannot afford it on their own income. If a little old blind lady can have that kind of impact, what excuse will we have when we stand before our maker?

YOU can feed someone, visit someone in prison, give aid to the disabled, show love to the outcast, and YOU can share hope with the stranger. Speak up and be a friend, share the Word and volunteer. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, food bank, a clothing closet, a daycare, a home for the elderly. Mow a lawn or clean a house for someone who is not physically able. You have the power of hope in your hands. These ministries create faith… faith the size of a mustard seed in the lives of the recipient. Quit just reading the scriptures, live the scriptures and like a friend of mine recently posted “Live the red, the red letters of Christ”.

     James wrote “I will show you my faith by my works” but these works were not dress codes, singing and just preaching.

James 2:14-17

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?
15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.
16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

The works James described were humility and giving of yourself. You can dress holy and act pious but if you are not actively giving the love of Christ to the needy, the sick, the down trodden, you have missed the ministry of Christ and have fallen in the same rut the Pharisees did. This gospel is not all about you and what you can do for yourself. This gospel is more than that. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:20

20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

You are to be a beacon of hope, like a light, a city on top of a hill. Your good deeds are to be the witness, not your phylacteries. You cannot be a beacon by just dressing up and having church. Your beacon must be the one of hope. Christ went out into the city, among the poor, among the thieves, among the prostitutes, among the sinners. The hands of Christ are for those who are sick. Jesus Said:

Matthew 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

You mean my light is “good deeds”? What a shocker!!

When I was 23, I truly felt the reward that comes from being a light. I had for so long been taught that christianity was about worshipping my leadership, wearing a certain kind of clothes and having church with us four and no more. I was about to start a journey that would revolutionize my thinking. We had started doing a survey about religion in front of stores to get contacts of people who might be interested in studying the Bible. In exchange for filling out the survey, we put people’s names in a drawing to receive a free Family Bible. There was a little old lady who could barely hobble out of the store and I approached her. At first she was real negative. I put my excessive talking to good use and followed her. She was somewhat trapped because try as she might she could only walk so fast. Finally, to get rid of me, she agreed to fill out the survey. I helped her by asking her the questions and filling it out for her. I could tell she was grumpy, tired and annoyed, so, I quickly finished the survey and moved on. Later, her name was drawn out of the hat as the winner. Since I had filled out the survey, I got to be the one to go to her home and give her the Bible. I took my sister with me.

When I came to her tiny little house, I knocked and knocked. She finally answered the door and she immediately remembered me as the annoying “kid” who made her fill out a survey. I announced that she was the winner and asked her if she wanted me to help her fill out the family tree pages and other stuff. At first, she was reluctant but finally agreed. Over the next few weeks I would go to her house and help her fill out the Bible and she would talk about her family. Eventually, I asked her if she would like me to read to her from her new family Bible and she agreed. My sister and I began to regularly visit her and although she was too old to really get out and come to church, we brought Christ to her by developing a relationship and being consistent visitors. We didn’t always talk about scriptures. In fact, we would read her a few scriptures but we would listen while she would talk of the past. In the end, we changed more than she did. I began to understand Christ’s ministry. I realized I can make a difference outside the four walls of my church. Today, I know the biggest impact I’ve had in ministry has been outside service times and in giving without trying to increase my numbers at my local assembly. It’s about giving without the expectation of receiving. This is true Christianity. True religion is providing for those in need.