Give me that old-time religion...

The words of the prophets echo loudly in James' letter to the scattered first-century Christians. Like the messengers of the Old Testament, James reminded God's people to live what they believe.

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).

The word that James uses for religion is actually worship. Taking care of the most needy around us is what God considers worshipful religion.

In Isaiah's time, the people humbled themselves and sought God by fasting. But God told them that that's not what pleases Him. If they truly wanted to seek God they could find His heart by acting justly, by ending oppression, by feeding the hungry, by sheltering the poor, by clothing the naked, and by caring for one another (Isaiah 58:6-7). This is true fasting; this is pure and faultless worship.

Sure, we are supposed to keep ourselves from becoming polluted by the world, but we are also supposed to live in the world... we're supposed to change the world (see a dangerous way to pray and marketing the royal priesthood below). Have we truly worshipped God this week?

A Dangerous Way to Pray

In the introduction to his new book "The Hole in Our Gospel", Richard Stearns (President, World Vision, U.S.) states that "Christ calls us to be His partners in changing our world." That's a pretty bold statement, especially since he's questioning if, as Christians, our actions match our words.

What is God asking for, really, from you and me? Much more than church attendance. More than prayer too. More than belief, and even more than self-denial. God asks us for everything.

Jesus calls His followers to a life commitment of the passionate pursuit of God's will. The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus' redefinition of Kingdom living: Don't live like that anymore... Live like this now. Forget about murder--don't even think bad thoughts about your brother... turn the other cheek, love your enemies, give to the poor, put your trust in God...
This is where Jesus tells his followers how to pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Have we grasped how dangerous this prayer is? This is about lining up our will with God's. When we pray it, do we really mean it? Are we really willing to give everything to God for His Kingdom? Because that's what Jesus is telling us to pray... In light of our recognition of our heavenly Father, as the holy, sovereign God, we want to align our wills with His and we want His reign to be supreme.

That's a dangerous prayer! That's a radical, life-altering commitment to God! Jesus demonstrates for us how to live compassionate lives by bringing shalom--healing and wholeness and peace and joy-- to the world around us, and teaches us what that means in both word and deed... and then he asks us to commit ourselves to this way of life through this prayer to God.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and pefect will (Romans 12:2).

If we have experienced the transforming power of God in our lives, then the only response is to live for His will--for His Kingdom... to demonstrate God's rule to others. That's what James, the brother of Jesus, was writing about when he said "I will show you my faith by what I do."

It's a dangerous prayer to align our will with God's, to dedicate ourselves to Kingdom living, because in the Kingdom, our actions have to match our words.

Community | Marketing the Royal Priesthood

It's all about community.
From the very beginning, God's plan was to set apart a people for Himself. We see this when God promises Moses that He will deliver the Hebrew people from Egypt:

I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God (Ex. 6:7).

This theme, this phrase, is repeated throughout the Old Testament and into the New... "You will be my people, and I will be your God". When John is shown the New Jerusalem in his vision, he hears a voice announce this:

Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God (Revelation 21:3).

God has a plan to create a community, God has a plan to preserve His community, and God has a purpose for His community. Consider Jesus' words in John 13:35:

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Our behaviour in community demonstrates our witness to the world.
The best illustration of God's purpose for His community was written by Peter. He wrote to encourage Christians, scattered in their little communities throughout the Roman empire, and in it he reminded them of God's plan:

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God (1 Peter 2:9-10).

God chose His people, set them apart as a Holy Nation for His use, and gave them the role of intercession and minstry as a Royal Priesthood.
Why? So that they would declare His praises. Peter goes on to urge believers to

live such good lives... that they [non-Christians] will see your good deeds and glorify God (vs. 12).

Community declares praise for God. Community proclaims the goodness of God. Community does good for God, by doing good for others.

Shine:

Maybe you're a member of a small group, a small community. How can you, together, demonstrate God's goodness to others? Here's just a few ideas. You can probably come up with a few more...

• Visit an extended care facility, and share some love with the residents and staff;
• Serve for just a few hours once per month at the Out of the Cold program;
• Adopt a park or school playground, and spend a Saturday morning picking up litter;
• Join a Cause, like the walk for a cure;
• Serve breakfast or lunch at the downtown shelter one Saturday morning every five or six weeks;
• Purchase supplies and deliver them to that same shelter (demand is way up, and donations are down);
• Deliver some treats and coffee to your local fire department, police, or Hospital Emergency Room (like on the midnight shift!);
• Buy some nutritional items, and give them out randomly to students on the college campus.

In our city, servolution can even connect your group with some opportunities, and outfit you with t-shirts and cards that point people to the gospel at servolution.ca!

How are you expressing God's goodness with your community?

Sunday Service or Sunday Serving?

Someone recently described their dilemma: This person was invited to participate in a walk for cancer research. The problem? The walk was scheduled for a Sunday, and it meant missing church.

That can be a difficult choice for some of us to make, right? We want to participate in the community and support a worthy cause, but we also know that we have a need and a desire to attend our regular church service.

It made me think of the story of Jesus and the healing of the blind man on the Sabbath (see John 9). The Pharisees (the religious leaders) completely overlooked the miracle, and instead they indicted Jesus for working on a holy day (verse 16). But this is what Jesus said:

As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world (verse 4).

What did Jesus mean when he talked about day and night? Jesus was living out his mission in the shadow of the cross, and his work needed to be completed no matter what day of the week it was. Notice also that he said "we must do the work"... he included the disciples in his mission.

Jesus used this as a lesson to the religious people that were there: "I have come into this world so that the blind will see" (verse 39). This story is about belief... the blind man could see, and he believed. This story is about proclaiming... Jesus shone his light in the world so that the blind would see... and believe.

In a famous sermon, Jesus told his followers,

"You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14).

Until Jesus returns, the responsibility falls to us, his followers, to shine his light so that the blind will see. Jesus was accused of not keeping the sabbath by doing his work... what will they say about us if we choose to shine our light outside of the church walls on a Sunday?

Shine:
What if a group of Christ-followers showed up to support the walk for cancer research?
What would that say to the un-churched people there? How brightly would our light shine?
Here's a challenge: What if a group of Christ-followers showed up wearing servolution t-shirts (we got 'em!)? What if people asked why you were there and what your shirt means?

New servolution.ca Site is Live!

The new http://www.servolution.ca/ website is live!

We're so excited to have this online presence! It's a tool that each one of us can use to share the love... to invite others to join the movement... to plant a seed so that someone might want to explore further.

Share the link with your friends. Let us know what you think.

There are four ways that you can interact with servolution online:
Comment here on the blog,
Comment anonymously at http://www.servolution.ca/,
Join servolution's facebook fan page, or
Comment via email to servolution@emmanuelbarrie.org

Are you excited to be part of the movement?

Join the Revolution!

Welcome to the servolution.ca blog. This is the place where we will muse about life, about purpose, about love... This is where we will exchange ideas as a community as we seek to follow in the footsteps of Christ, and as we seek transformation in our lives and in the world around us.

From time to time, we will post ideas--ways in which we can impact our world through loving acts. We will share success stories--your success stories--how you served someone, or how someone made an impact on your life by serving you. Sometimes we will share our thoughts on life, philosophy, theology, and maybe even our shared frustrations and challenges

Please join us as we journey together to seek ways in which we can fulfill the plans that God has prepared for us in ages past. Join the conversation by commenting here, or by interacting with us on the servolution.ca website. We're looking forward to hearing from you!