Philippians 3:13

Verse of the Day Devotion: Philippians 3:13 

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,” – Philippians 3:13            

Paul in this verse is being very real with the Philippians in his encouragement to them.  He tells them that as far as he is concerned, he does not consider himself to have attained anything that he so strongly longs for.  And we see a picture of that in the previous verse.  “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12. He has not attained the perfection that will come after the return of Christ. He has not as of yet been crowned with the crown of victory.  He is showing a deep humility to those in Philippi.  

However, because he has not laid hold of this, there is one thing he does do and that is encouraging them to do the same.  He wants them to continue in the faith.  He does not want them to be bogged down with their past, for there is nothing that can be done regarding it.  Do not look back but look forward.  And there are two ways to look at this and we will examine both.

First, those who look back are seeing the sin and wrong they have committed before becoming a Christian.  Often, people will focus on these things and wonder how can they be worthy to do the work of God.  One thing we must remember is that it was God who accounts us worthy to do His work, not us.  He died on the cross to remove these past sins from us.  We are not accountable to them anymore for the price was paid by Christ, the perfect sacrifice.  And we are not that old person anymore.  “Therefore, from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.” 2 Corinthians 5:16.  We must not recognize anyone who is in Christ, in the flesh, and this must include ourselves.  We must not look back on who we were then, but look at who we are now.  And how can we legitimately do this?  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.  We are not that person anymore.  In fact, that person does not exist anymore.  It has passed away.  And if it no longer exists, then why should we look back?  We are a new creature, we must look at what lies ahead for us, a beautiful and glorious future.

And the second way, looking back at what we were and had and longing for it again.  This is not a good thing.  God does not want us doing this.  Remember what happened to Lot’s wife.  God told them not to look back, however she did.  “But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:26. Now I am not saying we can turn into salt but looking back at a former life that is not there anymore is not beneficial.  However, Jesus says if we do, then we are not worthy.  “But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62  If we look back in any way from following Him, then we can end up being unworthy.

Now that we are Christians, our past life is gone.  We are not that person anymore.  Therefore, we are called not to look back, but to look ahead to where we are going and that life which is eternal and glorious.  We are to accept the result of accepting the forgiveness for that past life, and then looking forward to the life to come.  I know I cannot wait to attain that wonderful existence, which surpasses infinitely that which I was before.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

1 Peter 5:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Peter 5:8 

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8            

This verse paints a very clear picture of something many do not think about.  There are two who are watching us.  God, of course, whose interest is for our good. He knows us like no other, and He loves us with an everlasting love.  Then there is the other one.  It is known as the Devil, or Satan.  These words truly describe what he is.  The word devil comes from the Greek word ‘diabolos’ meaning false accuser and slanderer.  The word Satan comes from the Greek word ‘satanas’ meaning accuser, as found in a courtroom.  He is also referred to as the enemy. “and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.” Matthew 13:39.

This verse is telling us we must be on watch for his activities.  He is not going to come right out and say, “It is time to tempt you.”  He will come without us recognizing it.  His desire and goal is to destroy us because He hates us who love God, who love God and follow Him. As Peter Davids puts it in his commentary on 1 Peter, ‘there is a devil who wants to destroy those who are committed to God’.

And Satan has several methods to make us fall and possibly deny Christ. First there is persecution.  He will bring across our paths people or objects that will display incredible hatred toward us.  In many countries, this is a common lifestyle for Christians, such as China, North Korea, Islamic ruled countries and now much of India. And we are beginning to see it even more in the United States.  He tempts us using fear that we will be beaten, jailed or killed.  He uses various methods in order to scare us into denouncing Christ.  Sometimes he will use humiliation.  I once saw a person deny Christ in the midst of verbal abuse.  If it works, he will use it.  Another method is temptation.  This can be presented in several forms.  The first is to promise good things if we give in.  Payment for wrongdoing is one example.  Second, there is prodding our desires we have to sin.  He knows our weaknesses, and he will do what he can to exploit them so we fall.  And if he can make it happen, to give up our Christian walk for fulfilled desires, he will do it. 

There are so many things that could be said here, but just realize there are as many ways he tempts us as there are people.  We must stay on the alert for Satan’s ways, and we must resist him.  “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:7.  James gives us several steps to beat it.  First, submit to God.  We must give ourselves to Him continually, only doing God’s will, and not our own or the enemy’s.  And when we submit to God, we resist the devil.  There are two things that encompass most of his temptations: pride and envy.  And ways we resist are through faith, humble prayers and heavenly wisdom.  Also, stay away from areas that can tempt us. Whatever is tempting to us, we must avoid.  If you do all these things, James says the devil will flee from us.

And one last thing, we need to cast all our cares on Him.  (See 1 Peter 5:7.)  Many times we stumble because we are anxious about something and we will do whatever it takes to resolve it.  Cast all cares on God, trusting Him completely, and the enemy will lose a huge tool.  Again, be watchful and clear hearted.  When you see the enemy working, resist him.  And when he flees, life will get a bit easier.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Matthew 22:39

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 22:39 

“The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:39             

This particular verse is one of the two more important verses that speaks to what our Christian walk is to be like.  The first, of course, is two verses before the focus verse which says, “And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37. Jesus declared this the great and foremost commandment.  God is to be our greatest love.  We are to love Him with everything we have.  With all our heart, and soul, and mind, and as Mark adds, all our strength.  With everything that is in us, our very breath and understanding, along with all the strength we have.  This being the greatest and foremost commandment.

Then we see our focus verse, “The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39. The first thing we need to understand is, who is our neighbor?  According to the Jews of that day, it was any member of the Hebrew nation and/or commonwealth.  However, Jesus had a much broader perspective, which was any person irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live, or we chance to meet or cross paths with.  We shall use the perspective of Jesus throughout this post. 

So, how do we choose to be treated?  Regarding myself, with respect and tolerance; understanding that I am not perfect.  I also want to be helped when necessary and always love the opportunity to get to know people I currently do not.  This, of course, is not a perfect picture of what is intended.  There is much more.  Let’s start with the commandments given on Mt. Sinai that deal with our neighbors and see what if says.  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:12-17.  This is a pretty good list of behaviors that do not show love to our neighbors.  Murder, adultery, lying, stealing, etc are not activities done to those we love.   

Matthew records in His gospel a more specific and helpful way of declaring this idea.  “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12. Now, of course we do not want to be lied to, killed or cheated on.  However, let me ask the following questions for us to think about. 

  • Do we want to be ridiculed?
  • Do we want to be hurt, either physically, mentally or emotionally?
  • Do we want to be falsely accused of a wrong?
  • Do we want to be assumed of doing something we have not?
  • Do we want to be ignored by people we care about?
  • Do we want to be encouraged when we are hurting or mourning?
  • Do we want to have others rejoice with us when something good happens or to be resented because it was not them?
  • Do we want someone to care for us when we are injured or sick?
  • And if we were unsaved, would we want someone to share the gospel with us so that we could accept the salvation offered to us?

Think about these questions, and others you may come up with.  How we answer them is what we should or should not do for others.  If you do not wish to be ridiculed, do not ridicule others.   If you are hurting and want someone to be there with you, be there for those who are hurting.  If someone is hungry but does not have means of getting food, provide them with it.  This is what love for our neighbors is all about, and more.  Do good to everyone even though they never have or possibly never will do it for us.  If they are our enemies or they hate us, we should love them anyway.  “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44. Regarding them, who knows what impact we can have on them.  They could become our friend, and we may also, if they are unsaved, lead them to Christ.

Lastly, when we do this, we imitate what Christ did for us.  We could not pay the penalty for our own sins. So, Christ paid it for us.  “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:6-9.  This is true and pure love, and when we do to others those things, we know to be good and desire to be done for us, then we are displaying this type of love to them.    

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

1 Peter 5:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Peter 5:7 

“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7            

This verse here is similar to one we find in the psalms.  “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” Psalms 55:22. Both have the idea that we do not need to be burdened by trials and troubles because God said He would bare them for us. 

First, lets examine the context to this verse.  Peter starts this chapter by exhorting the elders to shepherd God’s people.  He tells them to train and help those under their care to grow in Christ.  And specifically not to do it out of duty, but from eagerness, wanting them to grow and see them become stronger in the faith.  And not lording over them but being examples of how they were to live.  He then exhorts the younger men who are under these leaders to humbly place themselves under subjection to their teachings.  It is important that Christians allow themselves to be discipled so as to understand and grow in the faith.  He then adds the following, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” 1 Peter 5:6. To submit patiently to what God allows or causes to happen.  Sometimes He uses difficulty to correct us and we must accept this, for God does love us and knows what is best for us.  And in the process we are to wait humbly and patiently for the time God determines these tough times are completed.

Now, back to our focus verse, which is tied to verse six.  In submitting to God, we should then cast on Him all our anxieties, cares and worries, knowing God is good.  The idea in the word casting is ‘once for all.’  In other words, we are to cast our anxieties on Him and never take them back.  Too often we give them to God, and are fine for a season, but then we take them back.  We cast them upon Him trusting that He has them covered, then we take them back and become anxious again.  Have we lost our trust in Him?  The reason Peter gives as to why we can cast our cares on Him is because He cares for us.  Does He not care about us anymore?  The answer to these questions are an emphatic “NO”. He will never stop caring for us because He loves us with a never-ending love.  He does not delight in our troubles, however as stated above, He has a reason for allowing them.  And we must trust that all will end for our good. 

Therefore, when we find ourselves anxious about something, we must permanently give it to Him and not be anxious about it anymore.  We must leave it with Him and trust that we will be OK.  He loves us too much to allow something that will cause us harm, but also loves us enough to allow things that may be difficult but will cause a good to happen to us.  Trust Him and do not let our situations make us anxious or worrisome.  If a good comes from it, then was it really a bad thing?

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

2 Corinthians 5:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: 2 Corinthians 5:7 

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7           

Growing up, I used to walk in our back woods and enjoy the trees and bushes that lined the trail taking me from the front to the back of the nine acres my dad owned.  There was not much back there but trees and lots of places where wild black and raspberries grew, which I enjoyed eating while out there.  Sometimes I would take a side path just to see where it went, however, most times it just took me to nowhere.  But I always looked where I was going because it seemed there was always a fallen tree or some hole dug by small foxes or an occasionally a coyote.

In this verse, Paul uses the term walking as another way of traveling through life.  It denotes to live and act and conduct our lives in a particular way that is normal for us.  It describes life as a pilgrimage where our journey from one type of life to another is like traveling from one country to another.

Paul is essentially saying that as we go through life, we are actually on a journey to some final destination.  We can walk it in one of two ways.  We can either walk by faith or walk by sight.  Let us look at both of these in reference to our life’s journey here.  We can walk by sight which in essence says our map is what we can see.  We look up at the stars and see the magnificence of the observable universe, but because we do not see anything that could have created it, we assume they came into existence on their own, with only the assistance of the laws we observe in the known universe.  There can be no God because we cannot see it, and therefore it is inconceivable to us that there could be one.  And so, since there is none, than all actions and behaviors are judged by the values man places on them.  And this brings into our lives a relative value system that can change based on how people change.

If we walk by faith, our map is in essence the Word of God.  We cannot see God, but we know He exists because our faith shows us that He must.  We are not guided on our journey by what we see, but what we cannot see with our eyes, but what we see by our faith.  And as the writer of Hebrews stated, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1.  We are guided by what God says and we live our lives accordingly.  We do not see what our eternal life will be like, however, we believe this unseen person and live our lives in expectation of what He tells us will be.  The big difference that I can see of these two journeys are the ultimate destinations.  Those who walk by faith follow the path laid out by our loving God, who is real though we cannot see Him.  He guides us along the only path that leads to somewhere good, where those who walk by sight have no idea where that path is but follows many paths that lead to nowhere good.  It is our job to guide people to the only one who can take them to a place of real life, not to a delusional path that eventually leads to death.  And that path is seen by faith.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

James 4:10

Verse of the Day Devotion: James 4:10 

“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” – James 4:10             

James here, in this passage, is telling the Christians to remain humble before the Lord.  When we either go before God in prayer and praise, or in studying His word, we must remember who we are and who we are going to.  He is God, the Almighty Creator of all things.  We are man, someone whom He created.  This is an infinite gap between us.  All mankind has sinned against Him, from Adam and Eve to us individually.  We have gone against His commands and were destined for eternal punishment. 

But in God’s love and mercy, knowing that we had no possible way of paying the penalty for ourselves, sent His only begotten Son to die in our stead.  For it took a perfect being to earn salvation, however, no one has ever lived this perfect life except for Jesus.  “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2.

Based on these verses, what could be our reason for exalting ourselves before God?  Were we perfect? No.  Did we deal with our own sin?  No. Did we help Him in any way with the process?  Absolutely not.  However, because of the joy set before Him, He endured what we deserved, death.  In tasting death for every man, He is set down at the right hand of the Father, and as the theologian Adam Clarke said in his comment on Hebrews 12:2, “ever appearing in the presence of God for us, and continuing His exhibition of Himself as our sacrifice, and His intercession as our mediator.”  We could do nothing; therefore, He did everything.

One last thing that it is important to remember, as Paul said to the Philippians, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. What God calls us to do, He works in us to fulfil His will In us.  To think we do it all is a misunderstanding.  We submit to Him and He does a great work through us.  He has a similar statement that he wrote to the Thessalonians.  “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.  It is God who makes us worthy of His calling on us and will do a great work through us by His power, so that Jesus may be glorified in us, and us in Him.  It is here, in Him working through us, that we are glorified, where we are exalted.

Because He created us, then saved us when we sinned, then works through us to accomplish His will, we have no standing to come before Him in anyway but humbly.  For we are, as Christians, who we are because of Him.  Let us always remember this, so that when we go before God, we come in humility. Our future is set, and we will live forever with Him in glory.  What a great gift along with the others He has already shown us. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Matthew 5:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 5:8 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8            

This verse is part of what is called the beatitudes, which Jesus declared in His sermon on the mount.  This same sense is found in the Psalms.  David declared the following, “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Psalm 24:3-5.  David states that the one who has clean hands and a pure heart.  By clean hands is the idea of walking upright and working righteousness.  Pure heart has the idea of one who not only does righteous deeds, but whose heart is pure and devoted to God.  He is one who conscientiously fulfils his promises.  In essence, he is more focused on walking with God, spending time with Him, making Him the focus of His life rather than on doing the outward actions of the law.

This beatitude demands from us a deep examination of our hearts.  Is the work we do done out of humble servitude to God, or out of self-aggrandizement?  Is it done to make ourselves look good, or to honor God?  What is our motives for what we do?  If our hearts are pure, it will not be to make us look good, but to serve those who need our help in service to God.  Our prayer and bible reading should focus on  communing with God?  Again, is He the focus?  As stated above, a pure heart understands He is everything and we are to lift Him up in everything we do or say; everything we do should be to bring glory to God.  

So, what is meant here when Jesus said, ‘for they shall see God?’  This can be difficult.  Everyone will see God eventually in the end.  The question then is, who will see God here?  My answer is those who know Him.  Let me give an analogy I think will help lay out what I think this means.  When a non-believer looks into the sky at night, he sees many pinpoints of light.  They see  stars, planets and other bodies out there which, many will say, came into existence without a god.  They do not see God in the sky for they do not believe He exists.  When a believer looks up there, they see the handiwork of God, how He created everything and placed it all into motion, including all life. 

In like manner, those who are devoted completely to God sees Him in everything.  When praying, they see Him on the other side of the conversation.  When they study the scriptures, they see Him teaching them the truth found in them.  When they are going through trials, they see Him by their side, helping them through.  No matter what happens or what they do, they see God in the process.  Now, I would never say God will not give a vision of Himself to anyone.  However, many never see a vision of Him, but they see Him in everything in their lives, the good times and the hard time.     

Remember what Jesus said just prior to His ascension.  “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20.  He sent us out to make disciples of all nations, doing His work here on the earth.  He may have ascended into heaven, but He is with us always.  And if we look at everything with a pure heart and true devotion to Him, we will see Him everywhere we go.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

1 Corinthians 2:9

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 2:9 

“But, as it is written, what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9           

This is an intriguing verse.  The idea is that God has plans for His people, things we have absolutely no idea about, for we have not seen or heard about all He has in mind.  I love the way Paul lays it out this idea.  “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:11. No one can know what I am thinking unless I tell them, because they cannot read my mind.  In the same light, we cannot know what God has prepared for us unless He tells us.  Now he has told us some, and we can know them if we choose.  Unfortunately, there are some who close their minds to these truths, refusing the understand. We see an example of this above.  “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1 Corinthians 2:8. This verse speaks of the Jewish leadership, who had read God’s word, but did not understand because they felt they already knew.  And because they did not truly know, they crucified the promised Messiah.

Now, there are two ways we can look at this passage, and I believe both are valid.  The one does not negate the other.  First, that God prepared a way of salvation through His Son.  The Jews at that time only understood and followed the law.  They had seen it at work in the temple worship, ceremonies and traditions.  They were not focused on totally understanding the old testament, for if they were, they would have seen Jesus as the Messiah.  However, they chose not to.  And because they did not, unbeknownst to them, they killed the one sent to save them.  They chose not to see, hear or think in this way.

And second, our glorious eternal future.  All we have seen is what is here in this life.  For me, a wonderful and glorious life would be living in a cabin in the woods next to a creek where I can relax for eternity in peace with family and friends.  However, He has so much more for us.  Yes, my idea is great for me.  But His kingdom is so much greater than anything down here.  The Spirit has revealed certain pieces to us in His Word, however, there is infinitely more than we can imagine.  His mind is infinitely greater than ours, we cannot even begin to understand.

The main thing that combines both of these ideas is the love of God.  Because of this He sent His only begotten Son to pay the penalty for our sins through a completely righteous and sinless life ending in the perfect sacrifice, the only way we could be saved.  We see this, but unfortunately there are those who close their minds and hearts to this eternal truth.  They refuse to see and hear what God has done for them.  And because we, as Christians, understand and accept the work done on the cross, we have a future promised to us that goes well beyond what we could ever imagine.  Both ideas can be seen in our focus verse, “But, as it is written, what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Romans 6:14

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 6:14 

“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” – Romans 6:14   

Paul here is showing the Roman church they have a choice regarding what shall they follow.  They could be either a slave to sin or to God.  And the decision is based on whom they present themselves to.  Let us say that we have lost everything we have, and we are given a decision between two people as to whom we will serve.  One is a farmer, and the other is a building contractor.  Which ever one we choose, we must obey completely, for he becomes our master.  If we choose the farmer, then we submit to work in the field.  If the building contractor, then in the city.  We come under the rule of which ever one we choose.  Paul uses the same basic analogy.  “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” Romans 6:16. 

When we become a Christian, we have made Jesus our Lord.  Jesus said as much to the disciples in addressing a question asked by Peter.  When Jesus came to wash his feet, and Peter said no, Jesus responded by saying if He did not wash his feet, Peter would have no part with Him.  Peter responded by saying, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” John 13:9.  Then Jesus responds later by saying, “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.” John 13:13. Based on Jesus’ own words, He is our Lord, which also means our master. 

Also, our salvation is based not on the law, by obedience to it.  It is based on the grace of God.  We have sinned, and because of this the law is of no affect because the law requires a perfect adherence.  Grace is based on the favor and mercy of God.  The law is based on works.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.  Our salvation is a gift, not something we earn.  It is a gift from Him who paid the penalty for our sin. 

Now, if we give ourselves to God to be His servant and obey Him in every way submitting to His commands, we are no longer a slave to sin.  “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” Romans 6:22.  This is why Paul could say in our focus verse that sin no longer is master over us.  For at the time we truly commit ourselves to Christ, we renounce the mastery of sin.  And if sin is no longer our master, we must not obey it, but obey Christ.  This means we fight off the sin that tempts us, turning away from it and living a life pleasing to our new master, Jesus.  In essence obeying Him and rejecting and fleeing our old master, sin. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

James 1:27

Verse of the Day Devotion: James 1:27 

“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” – James 1:27           

In our focus verse, we see the word ‘religion’ used, which is seldom used within the scriptures.  The word here generally speaks regarding keeping the external requirements.  This is how the devout Jews of that day saw true religion, especially those who were in leadership.  James here does not see true religion this way.  He sees it as a much deeper idea.  For purposes of clarity, I will use the phrase ‘Christian Walk’ rather than religion going forward.

He starts out with the phrase ‘pure and undefiled’.  This refers to a genuine and sincere walk with Christ. We should strive for this type of walk which is real and sincere.  It should be one that God Himself sees as genuine.  The Jews believed that as long as they fulfilled all the rituals of the Law, then everything was OK.  They saw the outward expression as a picture of what was a true or false type of religion. However, James lays out the premise that there are two ideas regarding a genuine walk with God:  the external and the internal. 

In the verse prior to our focus verse we read the following, ”If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”  James 1:26. There is an external component with a genuine Christian walk.  James uses the words we say as an example; however, it encompasses all of our behavior.  As I heard many years ago, we must not only do the do’s, but we also must not do the don’ts.  Yes, we must focus on both sides.  We must not yell and curse at anyone, but we must also encourage and show others we love them. 

So, in our focus verse, James mentions two things that show a genuine Christian walk.  First, that we are to love and assist others where needed.  “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress,” James 1:27a.  In this we imitate God.  And this is what we should do.  “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.” Psalm 68:5.  In the days of James, the Jewish leadership did not regard the widows and orphans as important.  So, he uses this as a clear example of how we are to act.  We are to help those who have no means to help themselves, and in this we show them the love of God. 

In the same verse we see an internal component.  “and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:27b.  Paul put it like this, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2.  We must no allow ourselves to act as the world does, no matter what pressure is placed upon us.  We must strive for perfection, not just better.  “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.  Unfortunately, we will not always be perfect.  But when we do sin, then we must confess it to God, and He will forgive us. 

It is important we see that our Christian walk must be lived both internally and externally.  This is the mark of a genuine relationship with God.  That we show love by meeting the needs of those who need us, and to strive to be like Him.  By fulfilling the internal, the external will come naturally.  This is what God desires of us, and He will be with us to help in making it happen.  He wants us to be genuine and real, both in our desire to have our heart changed, and in the love we have for Him and our fellow man.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.