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True Religion

Before you read the post I want you to listen to the 35 second audio clip from a voice mail I recently received. (Turn your volume up)

What you have just heard is is an example of what Jesus’ half-brother James described as “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows” (James 1:27).  (tweet this) You see Wilma is a widow.  She doesn’t work and lives on very little.  Like many other widows she needs help with many things around her home because she either can’t afford to get them fixed, or she can’t do them herself. In this instance, her riding mower was broken (the steering gears were shot) and she has over an acre of grass to mow. So a couple of men took care of repairing her mower and this voice mail was her thank you.

I am proud to say that The Men of Purpose at Bethel Church Choctaw have an important ministry called the New Commandment Men’s Ministry.  The NCMM is part of a network of men who are being trained to meet the most pressing needs in the body of Christ and outside the body of Christ. It is designed around widows in our church who have a “team” of men who help them one Saturday a month with projects these widows otherwise couldn’t take care of.  These men are dedicated to meeting the needs (practical and spiritual) of these most precious women of God.  They spend the time working at their homes and praying for their needs.  These men have dedicated hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars to ensure the widows are “looked after” as James commands.

These men aren’t a part of this ministry to receive the praise of men, but rather they do good work and allow their light to “shine before men, that they (others) may see (their) good deeds and praise (their) Father in heaven.”  Their only goal is to demonstrate in a tangible way the “love of Christ” to others. If your church doesn’t have this type of ministry, I really encourage you to contact Herb Reese and the New Commandment Men’s Ministry.  It will change the way the men in your church view what “religion” really is.

What does your church do to “look after” the orphans and widows?

— Keith

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