Happy New Year! The New Year is a time for reflection, a time of anticipation, a time of setting goals, and a time for mapping out new priorities.
At this time of year, many of us focus on improving our health, our financial security, relational development, or attaining new levels of spiritual intimacy. However, seldom do I see, gathered into this collection of priorities, the quest for, and the priority of practicing "pure and simple religion."
|
James, the brother of Jesus, laid out for us this very noble and achievable goal, which could well be incorporated into our set of resolutions for the New Year: "Caring for widows and orphans in their affliction and need." (James 1:27)
In 2008, there will be an ever-increasing move of God's hand on the hearts of His people with a growing expression of genuine acts of mercy to become "doers of the Word." His love will flood and capture our hearts in new ways. The hearts of His people will move in great number past the walls of the church and out into the open sewers of this world's neglected, destruction and carnage--it is here where the mysteries of the Kingdom will be revealed and the heart of the loving King exposed.
Devotional Teaching
In all of my years of attending church, I have yet to hear teaching on this text: "External religious worship (religion as it is expressed in outward acts) that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God and the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world." James 1:27 (the Amplified Bible)
My reflections leave me with two questions:
Why did James single out this specific group of individuals as being the object of pure and simple religion?
Why has this group of needy individuals been so overlooked by the Body of Christ?
Hundreds of millions of today's widows and orphans have become "invisible." They walk the streets and attend to the daily necessities of survival in virtual obscurity. They work, they beg, they scavenge for food, and they seek out the most menial of resources with the goal of living another day.
They own nothing, yet they are so exploited. They hurt nobody, yet they are so abused. They ask for so little, yet they are ignored and marginalized. I have never had an orphan ask me for a shirt, a pair of shoes or a bicycle. They will ask you for food or for a few dollars to pay for their school fees. Is this sufficient reason to forsake them in their distress?
Question: Why did James not mention other groups in need of attention? Why did he not single out the handicapped, senior citizens or the persecuted? I believe the answer to this question is found in the very nature and heart of God the Father.
What an "orphan" needs most is a Father. This is the longing of their heart. Is God not the "Father of the fatherless?" Will a true father not meet the most basic needs of His child? Is He not Provider, Protector and perfect Shepherd? Has He not put it in our hearts and exhorted us, through His Word, to do the same?
What a "widow" desires most is a Husband. Is Jesus not the pure Bridegroom? Is He not the perfect Lover? Is His heart not to cover, protect, nurture and provide for His beloved?
|
These two attributes, Father and Bridegroom, are the two primary revelations of Who God is, revealed throughout His Word. As we enter into a deeper, personal revelation of His heart as our Father and our Bridegroom, our hearts will be moved to release this revelation to those in such obvious need of it: the widows and the orphans.
Let us walk in 2008 with an action plan to care for the widows and orphans in their affliction and need. No longer will their plight be ignored, no longer will their cries for help be muffled, and no longer will they be paid last--with the last of our giving, the last of our time, and the last of the crumbs from our table.
Jesus set this example in Isaiah 40:11, "He will feed the flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young."
This is amazing love in action!
Ralph Bromley with Patricia King
Extreme Prophetic Ministries
Email: info@extremeprophetic.com
Scripture Meditation:
Week One: Isaiah 58
Week Two: Luke 4:14-19
Week Three: Matthew 25:31-46
Week Four: Proverbs 19:17; 21:13; 28:27; 29:7; Ezekiel 16:49; Micah 6:8
Authors' Itinerary:
January 17-19, 2008
The School of Deliverance
Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites
1600 S. Country Club Drive, Mesa, AZ
Contact: 866-980-5464
Visitor Comments (0)
