I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
True Religion
What do you think about when you hear the word religion?
Maybe you picture a church building. Maybe you envision a cross. Maybe you imagine statues or cathedrals or altars or pews. Maybe the thought of religion brings you comfort, or it makes you want to run in the opposite direction.
Here's what the Bible says religion truly is:
“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.”
James 1:27 NIV
True religion in God’s eyes is looking after the hurting and most vulnerable, as well as honoring Him with your life.
You can do this in countless ways. Here are just a few:
Physically: You could deliver groceries to a neighbor, teach a kid to read or play catch, invite a new friend over for dinner, or even foster or adopt a child (or support those who foster or adopt children).
Financially: You can give generously to ease the financial burden to those who don’t have much support. You could find a local church or charity to donate to, or offer to help with utility bills, kids’ extracurricular activities, or even pay off debt.
Emotionally: You can be the hands and feet of God—by showing up, listening, encouraging, and simply being present.
Spiritually: You can offer spiritual support or prayer to those who could use guidance, direction, or even reminders of what they already know to be true.
James writes that true religion in God’s eyes also involves keeping yourself “from being polluted by the world.” How can you do that? You can trust God’s heart. You can surrender to His ways. You can keep your eyes on Him.
Being “religious” isn’t about a showy facade or a spiritual checklist, but loving God and serving others—which, ultimately, makes us more like Him.
Keep the Faith
In the book of 2 Timothy, we find Paul writing a letter to Timothy, a fellow missionary. Many Bible scholars believe that this was the last letter Paul wrote before his death and that he wrote it from a Roman prison cell. Reflecting on his own life and believing that his death is coming soon, Paul writes that powerful passage:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7 NIV
Faithful.
Paul was faithful to God and, without end, God was faithful to Paul. Shipwrecked. Stoned. Abandoned by friends. Imprisoned. The list of what Paul suffered goes on and on. But he persevered. He remained steadfast in his devotion to Christ.
When you think about your life, what do you want to be able to say at the end? What will you see when you look back?
In Paul, we see an example of what it is to cling to faith in Christ. He knew what it was to be dependent on God for everything. He drew strength from God because he could not do it...
