Life Matters - January 7, 2026
I’ve often heard, and it makes a lot of sense, that people in need of watching out for counterfeit paper money identify counterfeits by being familiar with the real deal. I suppose that holds true with those paper bills that have digital tracking chips on them as well. It makes sense because there seems no end to the innovative ways and means used to counterfeit the exchanging of real products for real money. Also now morphed into digital scams.
Saving faith has its many counterfeits as well. It is impossible to keep up with all the counterfeits, but it is possible to have a relationship with the God of heaven through Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit, teaching us the Truth of His Word. To know Him. And He us. And so to recognize the counterfeits.
True religion is marked in many ways; one of the many being described by James, by the inspiration of God, as “Pure religion before God and the Father is this; to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27) To “visit,” in this context, according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is; to inspect, to select, to go to see, relieve, look out, visit.
It is by this first instruction, being among many, that we readily perceive of Christianity being about the good of others, reaching out beyond our comfort zone to help the less fortunate, from whom we can expect no reciprocal returns. Whether that reaching out brings forth much or little fruit, is to be left up to God, who will judge righteous judgement at the last day. God does, however, encourage us that His Word spoken will not fall to the ground void. That is a positive, forward movement instruction, to be on the offence.
The latter instruction is deemed of equal importance, howbeit on the defense. “Keep oneself.” As a personal responsibility. While the Bible elsewhere leaves no doubt (the book of Romans, for one) that without the Spirit of the indwelling Christ there is no victory over the self-life, yet the responsibility to seek and find the Answer to the question of ‘how’ is left up to us. We have the promise that Jesus is already out ‘’seeking to save that which was lost.” So we are left without excuse. To such a degree that we are warned in Holy Scripture that those who attempt deflecting from who they really are by a rehearsal of good works (are they real or imagined?) are told by the Judge “…I never knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:23 Luke 13:27) In comparing Scripture with Scripture it would seem His way of saying “I don’t know the person you are describing.”
Depart. I never knew you. More devastating words have never been spoken. Nor ever will. Made all the more devastating in the presence of the One speaking. The Almighty God. Made all the more devastating, to the extreme, by the knowledge that this will be the consummation of all things, that there is no coming back. From the horrible devastation. That the privilege for redemption is past.
‘’Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” No more heart-warming, secure, peaceful, resonating with joy, words have ever been spoken. Nor ever will be. It is the ultimate experience striven for by every Christian, a sensing of which begins in this life, causing one to seek, and to find, being born of the Spirit, to be living within the circle of God’s will, to repent and confess to God and whomever else needed, attempting to live with a cleared, clean, and Biblically Spirit-guided conscience. It is within this circle of the Spirit-guided conscience that true Freedom is found. Liberty! Freedom to live free! Free of the fear of man. Because mankind is no longer reverenced. God alone is reverentially feared. Love goes both ways. In Him is fullness of joy!
Fear of death. Fear of failure. Fear of the unknown. And yes, the fear of man. All are remedied at the cross where self is; “…crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
There are many religions, but only one Savior. There are many religions but only one that so effectively confronts the self-life. Many religions, but only one God who by His Word humbled Himself and came to earth as a baby to live as a man.
Many are the gods of the human imagination – gods to be served – to be ‘fed’ – to be preserved – ‘mollified’, and protected.
Jesus, God manifest in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16, John chapter 1) is the one God who stooped to serve His followers. At the last supper when Jesus stooped and washed the feet of His disciples, He was doing more than the act of washing feet, He was giving us an example, an outstanding example, of what fellowship is like within the circle of His Kingdom. He gave an example of spiritual leadership. An example of esteeming others more highly than ourselves. An example of humbly giving oneself for the benefit of others. An object lesson showing humility.
Our God is humble. Our God is all-powerful. Our God is all-knowing. Our God is ever-present. Those latter three attributes of God make His humility all the more devastating to humanity’s carnal pursuits.
Our God is devastating to gods existing only in the imaginative mind.
Our God is the God of divine revelation become personal to those who hear, and follow, Him.
Life Matters!