Pure religion
 

I've been thinking about this verse a lot lately. How do you apply this in your own life?

James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Re: Pure religion
 

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Walk is more important than talk.
Doing is more important than Doctrine.

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I visit widows in their affliction on a regualr basis. Just drove 6 hours one way to visit a prisoner.

We are commanded to do these things. How do we justify ourselves if we don't ?

Re: Pure religion
 

I don't mean this facetiously, I really don't...

If you don't happen to personally know any 'afflicted widows', how do you find them? Or is that just generally speaking? Is it just overall trying to do good unto others, and help anyone in need?

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Nursing homes would be a good place to start.

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Are you going with widow as a woman who's husband has died and left her alone? Or, are you willing to include women who've been left alone by their former husbands to now raise their children alone or get on their feet alone?

I just can't imagine now knowing a few (dozen!) of these people. They're everywhere.

It's not too hard to find kids who don't understand why one (or both) of their parents are unavailable either. I know mine really struggle with why daddy isn't around, why daddy doesn't call, and why daddy makes promises he absolutely never keeps. They also struggle with why I'm working full time, going to school full time, and babysitting almost every other possible waking moment.

Ideas of where to look? Find out if your local college or university has a student success program, or a student support program. These target single parent students (and other high risk for drop out students). Get involved with the big brother, big sister program. Call some local pastors. As many times as I've randomly called churches looking for help, I'm sure they may know of someone in the community who could use a hug at the very least. Find out about volunteering with the local Salvation Army shelter. Or some other women's shelter. They're always desperate for help it seems.

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No doubt! I am working towards having more time to volunteer again. I miss being able to see someone's eyes light up with a hope they've never had before. Something like that can't be described, it can only be experienced.

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Just about any church has men and women whose spouses have died or split up with them. We usually have single parents for whatever reason. These folks need our support and love.

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But is it necessary to seek out widows and orphans, specifically? If I want to practice pure religion, do I need to seek out a widow or an orphan, or can I do it by extending a hand to anyone in need?

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What did Jesus do?

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I think what Miss Nahkoe is try to say is ... YES!

After all, you quoted the scripture.

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Afflicted widows and orphans were among the most marginalized and abandoned people in Christ's world. I think the larger idea to be drawn from this command is to that we're to minister to the most marginalized and helpless people in our culture. These people have nobody else to help them, nobody cares about them, and there's nothing they can do to repay what you have done to them. And when we do these things to them Christ considers it the same as if we'd done it to him and he expects us to serve them with the same fervor that we'd serve him. Tall order.

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I wonder what is the percentage of little ladies that give their all to churches and then almost go hungry?
Taking tithes is easy being a sheppard is another story...

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Matthew 25:40 the KJV records Jesus as saying:
"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

In The Message, that verse reads:
"I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me."


Proverbs 19:17 says in the KJV
"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again."
In the Message it says:
"Mercy to the needy is a loan to God,
and God pays back those loans in full."

In a couple of my Bibles, I have a note near Proverbs 19:17 which says:
"If you help a poor person in the name of the Lord, you are making a gift and at the same time granting a loan. You are making a gift because you have no expectation of of being reimbursed by that poor person. You are granting a loan because the Lord will settle the account." St. Basil the Great (329-379)

Re: Pure religion
 

There are opportunities all around us...
This was a blog I wrote last summer, I may have posted it here, i can't remember;

I had an experience today that made me think alot about people.
I was on my way to take my daughter to a day camp at the school were I work, from there the campers were going to a baseball game. On the way my Suburban broke down. I pulled over to the side of the road and lifted the hood. I called my husband and told him that the "spinny, spokey, fan-looking thing was smoking really bad" (now try to say that fast while you are in panic voice!). The most intelligent man that I know, could not make out what I was saying and so he asked me to take a picture and send it to him. After I did he said, "it's the alternator, call road-side assitance (he works an hour from home). So I called and my 10 year-old daughter and I proceeded to wait on the side of the road for an hour. Not a single person stopped.
In the meantime I was 3 miles from the school and I proceeded to call anyone I could think of to come and pick her up so that she could make it
to her camp. most people didn't answer their cell phones and the ones who did answer, didn't offer. I was so frustrated! unfortunately I didnt have the numbers for our pastor with me (he would have come!) I also didnt have my best friends' work number, she would have come too.
So the truck driver pulls up and he is a ringer for the actor, Michael Clarke Duncan (look him up). All 7 feet of him! He proceeds to take our Burb home and when he found out that I would have to take a taxi to where my husband's truck was parked, he insisted on driving us "because the little girl can't miss her ball game". He was my 7 foot tall, sweaty, Angel!
But to the point, I was relating this story to a friend and she said, "well what do you expect, people don't want to stop, they are scared". I said, "I realize that we are people with a sin nature, and so the "right thing"
doesn't always come naturally, but I want to live in a 9/12 world".

She replied, "a 9/12 world?"

I said, "remember the day after 9/11 and months following, people gave their own blood, and money, and homes to help others" What have we come to that people won't stop for a woman and a little girl....

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Dang it, I thought that stuff was original with me. Thanks for popping my bubble Sam! :ursofunny

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My husband, our boys and I have been know to help out the elderly, especially the widows/widowers by helping them with their yard, spending time talking to them, taking meals or inviting them over for a meal. We have not done much for the orphans, I'm afraid.

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There is no doubt a facility not far from you, that cares for orphans.

99.9 % it's not sponserd by us. Another 90% chance that your church won't become involved in helping out there....but don't let that stop you, from your personal involvement.

We are not located in a location that a soup kitchen or meal site would be of benefit BUT several from my church volunteer their services to help out at meal site that serves 150 at a "Methodist Church"

No..our church does'nt get any "credit" for it...but God does.

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I don't believe it will be held against you. One person can't play every instrument on the platform and one usher in a church of medium size would make for a long offering song if he had to do it alone.

God will give us fields to work, we should not feel guilty because we cannot work "every" field in our community. The burden HE lays on us is where HE wants us.

Our church covers a drug rehab ranch and we do work for the local Battered Womens Shelter.

You keep working the field God leads you to work. :thumbsup

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Thank you! :)

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I enjoy helping at my assembly's food pantry, it's not EXACTLY visiting the widows and orphans, but it doesn't seem to be a literal thing to me... If your assembly doesn't have a food pantry, I would recommend starting one up.

Interestingly enough, I was thinking about the NT's role in assisting widows, financially, and how it is sanctioned for the Church to use the LORD's treasury in this way, especially in Paul's writings... very interesting. The IRS would probably get in the way some today, but we still could help the widows financially, they'd just have to fill out a W-2.

-Bro. Alex

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One of the ministries of the Vineyard Church where I used to attend was receiving cars from people, making minor repairs, etc. and giving them to people who needed them. One time they gave one to a single mother who worked for them and they had to include its value in her W2 form.