Monthly Archives: April 2026

Pure Religion

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An Orphan’s Story

I married the granddaughter of an orphan! When my wife’s grandfather was a young boy, his father died and his mother remarried. Unfortunately, her new husband turned out not to be the kind of man she thought he was. He held no regard for her children; when she died, he considered them disposable and had them removed from his home. My wife’s grandfather was a 14-year-old boy when the authorities placed him in an orphanage where he was physically abused. Eventually, the abuse was discovered, and he was moved to a foster home where he was loved and cared for. In time, he came to faith in Jesus Christ and married my wife’s grandmother. Together, they established a Christian home—a home that produced a legacy of faith with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who have grown up loving Jesus. What a great story, right? An “orphan’s story” with a happy ending!

An Orphan Crisis

Unfortunately, that’s the exception. There is an orphan crisis in our world. I was shocked to discover that there are more than 153 million orphans worldwide. That’s staggering! If orphans were a country of their own, their population would rank 9th in the world, ahead of Russia. One hundred million of them live or work on the streets. They survive by selling flowers or cigarettes or by watching cars; many sell their bodies for sex or engage in criminal activity. Many of these street children are subjected to abuse, neglect, and exploitation; in extreme cases, they are murdered by “death squads” paid by governments to “clean up” the image of their cities.

It’s Easy To Become Hard-Hearted

So, why am I sharing all this with you? Why should you care? It’s so easy to become hardened to these images, isn’t it? We’re bombarded with infomercials—the sad faces, the sad music, the compelling stories—all meant to move us to reach into our wallets and pay up. We might even try to rationalize that many of the agencies claiming to help are just siphoning off huge amounts from donations to support elaborate lifestyles for big-name CEOs. But let me tell you why this is important: because we can’t just ignore what God’s Word says about it. God has an opinion, and we need to listen!

Look After Orphans

James 1:27, a statement inspired by the Holy Spirit, says: “Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” What was that? “Pure religion” is looking after orphans and widows? Is James supporting a salvation of good deeds? No, he’s not. The book James authored dovetails quite nicely with Paul’s letter to the Romans. James is not saying that your good deeds will result in salvation. Rather, he is saying that the result of genuine, saving faith in Jesus—or “pure religion”—is to love others, including orphans, widows, and the marginalized of society. God gives us a heart to love and serve them.
 

Love Is An Action

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Love Is A Verb

“Someone said it like this: ‘Love is a verb! Without action, it is merely a word.’ Jesus embodied that love from the beginning of His life to the very end, when He died a substitutionary death on the cross to pay the price for the sin of the world. No one ever loved like Jesus loved! ‘No one has greater love than this,’ He said, ‘that someone would lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). Jesus was the friend of sinners! And the nearer we are to Jesus, the closer we’ll get to people—that we might serve them like He did!

Too Heavenly Minded

There’s an old saying: ‘Some people are so heavenly minded that they’re of no earthly good.’ We will serve the people of planet earth like Jesus served when we love like Jesus loved! Genuine love is way more than words like, ‘I love you, brother!’ It’s about action. It’s about deeds and service! ‘Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action’ (1 John 3:18). You can tell people you love them, but it’s more effective when you show them! In the famous passage of Scripture where Jesus washes His disciples’ feet, the chapter begins with these words: ‘Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Him. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He was going back to God’ (John 13:2–3). Jesus knew what His purpose was for coming to this earth He had created. He also knew where He was going—back to God. So He knew His destiny. He could live His entire life preoccupied with loving and serving mankind!

Pre-Occupied With Love & Service

If we know Jesus as Savior, we also know our destiny. We are destined to live forever with Him! ‘I go to prepare a place for you,’ Jesus told those who followed Him, ‘that where I am you will be also’ (John 14:2–3). It would seem from Scripture that He is doing that right now! From the time He ascended back to the Father, He has been preparing a place for us to live with Him. If we truly believe that is our destiny, it will change our lives! We can serve others with the secure knowledge that Jesus has taken care of our future. That’s why Paul challenged the church in Rome to ‘present your bodies as a living sacrifice… it is your reasonable service’ (Romans 12:1). We will serve like Jesus served when we embrace our destiny!

It’s Only Reasonable To Serve

It only makes sense to serve, Paul says. It is reasonable to give your life away in sacrificial ministry. Jesus served with reckless, radical abandon because He knew His destiny! We can serve in the same radical way. We know that Jesus will take care of us today, and He will take care of our future! ‘Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’ (Luke 12:32–34). Don’t live life in anxiety! Love! Serve! Minister to others! Your future is secure in Christ!
 

Serve One Another

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Jesus, The Example

“For I have given you an example,” Jesus told His disciples after washing their feet, “that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master…” John 13:15–17. The example He set before them was NOT the washing of their feet! In some circles where the washing of feet is practiced, individuals can actually take “pride” in the “humility” they display as they wash each other’s feet. No, the example Jesus sets is true humility in serving others! It is humble deference to others and serving them in every life situation!

Jesus, The Master

“I am your Master,” Jesus says, “and I’ve given you an example to serve in the SAME WAY you’ve seen Me serve!” That’s the identity that Jesus gives us! That’s who we are! We are servants, just like Jesus, our Master! We’re called Christians, and that literally means “little Christs.” Acts 11 says the believers were first called “little Christs” at Antioch. They so resembled the humble, servant Christ that unbelievers said they acted just like Him—like a “little Christ.” We will never serve like Jesus served until we grasp that! To use Jesus’ words, our purpose and calling is to “…do as I have done to you…” He calls us to be servants to all, just like Jesus!

Jesus, The Lover

But we will never serve like Jesus served until we love like Jesus loved! In the first verse of John 13, it says of Jesus, “…having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” The key to understanding that verse, and the kind of love Jesus had, is found in that phrase, “…He loved them to the end.” It means “to the uttermost” or with “total fullness.” He loved them “utterly,” with “total fullness,” even though He knew that His hour to endure the cross was near! Though He knew of His approaching death to pay for the sin of the world, all the way to the cross He is preoccupied with His love for them! His kind of love drove Him to serve, to minister! And we will not serve like Jesus until we learn to love like He loved! It’s quite simple, really! We don’t serve because our preoccupation is with other things! We’re preoccupied with building our own little kingdoms rather than His kingdom! We don’t serve because it’s not on our agenda!

Will They Know You’re His Disciple?

We’re not in love with the same things Jesus was in love with! Later, in the same chapter, John records these words of Jesus: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” John 13:35. The world will know that we are Christians (“little Christs”) by our love, and our love will be evidenced by a life of service to others! Loveless people are too preoccupied with their own “self-importance” to do common ministry—like washing someone’s feet! Not Jesus! He is fully aware of His identity! He is the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” He is God incarnate! And He’s washing the feet of disciples who were too proud to serve each other! That is true love’s character! And the nearer we are to Jesus, the closer we’ll get to other people—and we’ll serve them like Jesus did!