JAMES DAY 11 PRAYER
Pray that you will stay strong in the fight to keep yourself from being polluted by the world. Pray that your heart will be moved to look after the orphans and widows in their distress. (James 1:27)
James 1:27 (New International Version)
27Religion 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 DAY 11 CHALLENGE
Wow, to see what religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is quite a good “tid-bit” of information to know, don’t you think? I mean seriously! I have often seen this verse printed, but only up to and including the word distress. Not very often do I see quoted or hear preached, “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is to keep oneself from being polluted by the world!”
I have recently been asked, “What kind of world do you live in?” and I pose the same question to you. What world of friends, TV programs, music, books, mentors, internet, magazines, peers, church groups, work environment, family, etc. are you surrounded by? Now, I am not saying that we are to live in isolation, in fact, just the opposite. John 17:18 tells us, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” God tells us numerous times to go into the world, but not to be “of” the world.
When we are in the world there is a high tendency to become polluted by that world. It’s inevitable if we are not diligent in prayer and continuously immersing ourselves in God’s Truth! Our surrounding world has a great impact on us. Our experiences, our senses, what we listen to, read, see, smell, taste, touch and feel can all affect us. Don’t let yourself be deceived by thinking things or people in your life don’t really have any influence on you.
Our mindset must be founded on the Absolute Truth of God’s Word. If I was the enemy, I would remain diligent to twist God’s Truth or to convince others that they are not going off the path of Truth. Often we are led astray one step at a time so we don’t notice. The enemy would want us to let our guard down by believing we are mature enough, smart enough, strong enough, spiritual enough, or experienced enough to not be deceived, when in fact we are not. Without even realizing we are being polluted by the world, that is the deception!
Yes, let us look after the widows and the orphans; this is huge! I think we all understand that part of this verse, but let’s do a real gut check on “our world” and make sure we are surrounding ourselves with God’s Truth to “counter-culture” the world in which we live.
SPECIAL PRAYER AND CHALLENGE TO WIVES FOR THEIR HUSBANDS:
JAMES DAY 11 PRAYER
Pray that your husband will stay strong in the fight to keep himself from being polluted by the world. Pray that his heart will be moved to look after the orphans and widows in their distress. (James 1:27)
JAMES DAY 11 CHALLENGE
One of the greatest things we can do for our husband is to pray, especially in the area that is mentioned here in today’s verse, “to keep oneself from being polluted by the world!”
Once again, my heart just pours out for my husband. As I said before, I know he is continuously bombarded with temptations to do and say ungodly things. Prayer for my husband is not an option for me. He needs the full armor of God to fight in this world we live and he needs a wife that will give him encouragement to do so.
Click here to read the rest of today’s challenge.
