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SPLASH Gordon 2015 - Day 3

8/17/2015

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 "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 
Saturday, August 1, 2015:  145 SPLASH participants signed-in and were ready to Show People Love And Share Him.  We sent out three (3) Evangelism Teams, three (3) Backyard Bible Club Teams, two (2) VBS Teams, eleven 11 Construction Teams, one (1) Cleaning Team and one (1) Nursing Home Team during the three days of SPLASH.  In addition, our SPLASH Teams were served by a Food Preparation & Delivery Team and a Transportation Team that graciously feed us and moved us from location to location.  On Saturday we combined the efforts of several teams to sponsor a Back to School Backpack Ministry in which families were served lunch and the Gospel, while children received free haircuts and backpacks full of school supplies.
As SPLASH 2015 came to a close, our bodies were tired and many ached, but our hearts were full from all we had shared during those three days.  We saw God soften hearts that had become callused over years of exposure to "worthless" religion; seen satisfaction and contentment  in the lives of those who had their physical needs meet; saw joy on the faces of children and the elderly who had been the recipients of love and kindness; and saw the countenance changes of those who had received Christ as their Savior!  God was faithful and we were blessed!  The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:8, "Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ." (NLT).  Though none of us are deserving, He has allowed us the privilege of telling some of those in Gordon County about the endless treasures that are available to them through a relationship with Christ and for that we are truly grateful!

May our religion, the outward expression of our relationship with Christ, be acceptable to God our Father as pure and faultless as we continue to SPLASH those around us!  The devotion for Day 3 is below:

Day 3 Devotion:  
Religion can make a positive impact upon others!  It requires honest self-evaluation, control of our speech, focused charity, and moral purity.

The opposite of "worthless" religion is "pure and faultless" religion.  We don't often describe ourselves, or anyone else for that matter, in such glowing terms of praise.  "Man, have you spent time with John lately?  His religion is awesome! It seems pure and undefiled!" 

What if God evaluated your outward expression of your relationship with Jesus, your religion, and deemed it pure and faultless?  Wouldn't you like to know how that can be?  You can!  The first two steps we have learned on days one and two.  Honestly evaluate your speech and then bring it  under control!  In addition, two other qualifications are given in verse 27.  Pure and faultless religion is taking care of two groups of people when they are in distress. Identify those two groups.

                     Take care of the _________________ and ________________ in their distress.  

Do you think that God means to restrict our "looking after" to only those two groups of people?  I would suggest that these two groups are the starting place for Christian religious expression, not the limit of it.  What other categories of people should Christians seek to "look after"?  Or, who are the distressed people around you?  What can you do to help them?

What is pollution?

We think the act of pollution as the process by which a pure thing is corrupted from an impure outside source.  In this verse, the believer is told to avoid being polluted from the influences of the world.  A believer's relationship with Jesus can be corrupted by the outside "worldly" influences.  1 John 2:16 says,  "For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world."  What are some of the real temptations that try to pollute your life with Christ from the outside?

Application:
You have spent two days helping people in various ways.  The entire SPLASH ministry has tried to bring our personal relationship with Jesus out in the open to impact our community.  A small group has planned these three days for a large group to make an impact.  But how will you make an impact for Jesus through your religion next week?  Who needs your help?  Will you plan to help them?

Will you impact the world or will you let the world pollute you?  Reach out to your family and your church group to make a commitment to be pure from the worldly pollutions that you struggle with.  

Prayer:
"Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.  Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.  Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."  Psalm 51:8-10 (NIV)
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Splash Gordon 2015 - Day 2

8/12/2015

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"Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless."  James 1:26
Friday, July 31, 2015:  138 checked in for Day 2 of SPLASH 2015. Everyone was excited to see all that the Lord would do, not only in the lives of those we were serving, but in our own lives also.  Being on mission, whether in a foreign land or here at home, helps keep in perspective that life is not all about me . . . but about being the hands and feet of Jesus!  We learned in our devotion yesterday, that our religion is the outward, external expression of our worship of Jesus. Therefore, we set out to show our community that our religion is not useless, but is real and genuine as we minister God's Grace to those in need. Devotion for Day 2 is below:
Day 2 Devotion: 
Our religion will not make an impact upon others when we deceive ourselves about our damaging words.  How was your speech control yesterday?  Rank your success on a scale of 1-10.  Talk to God about it right now!

Think of a time you ave been deceived by someone.  Think of a time you have deceived yourself.  This verse tells us that there are people who are self-deceived.  Galatians 6:3 also mentions this condition.  "If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves."

This condition can become epidemic in among Christians.  A person thinks they are mature when they are not.  A person thinks their relationship with Jesus is powerfully expressed when it isn't.  Please avoid the temptation to identify this person in your church or group!  Doing so misses the point.  Could you be self-deceived?  If we are not taking our speech very seriously, we are self-deceived. The result of that is that we cannot make the impact in the world for Jesus that He intends.  Do you think you are making an impact when you are not?  What positive impact are you having for Jesus on your family, friends, or others in the community?  Don't deceive yourself!

Evaluate the positive impact of your religion on others.  On a scale of 1-10, what impact are you making?  How, why?

James says that some folk's religion is "worthless".  Can a person's Christian faith really be worthless?  It can, if God is measuring worth by the impact it has on others and on the believer themselves.  This word, "worthless", refers to the inability of a thing to make an impact or to achieve its purpose.  Is your relationship with God making an impact or achieving a result in your life and the lives of others?  According to this verse, it isn't if you refuse to control your speech!  The impact of your religion is DIRECTLY related to the quality of your SPEECH CONTROL.

Application:
Resolve to accurately consider your life today.  Desire to make the impact God wants you to make!  Ask for forgiveness from anyone your words hurt yesterday.  Commit to say good things today.  Find two people to compliment today for the impact you saw them make yesterday.  Tell them how they helped you!

Prayer:
Ask the Holy Spirit to search you and show you the truth.  Pray this Bible prayer, Psalm 139:23, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."


Listen to God.  Then, talk to God in prayer about what He shows you!  Respond to what God shows you about yourself.  No more self-deception.
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Splash Gordon 2015 - Day 1

8/12/2015

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"Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless."  James 1:26
Thursday, July 30, 2015 - 138 people from 12 different churches checked-in to Show People Love And Share Him.  That doesn't include the individuals from various churches that provided meals and transportation to and from job sites for the teams.  Overall, we estimate over 150 people and 15-20 churches involved on our first day of SPLASH 2015!  

Each day during lunch, each team was to share a devotion to help keep our minds and hearts focused on the reason we are involved in SPLASH.  The material used for Day 1 is shared below.  Hope you enjoy!
Day 1 Devotion:  
Religious people have a strong control over what they say!  Do you consider yourself to be a religious person, why or why not?

Some people consider "religion" to be a negative word or concept.  It is even often repeated that "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion".  Why do you thin people try to make this distinction and stay away from the word "religion"?

In order to understand our relationship with Jesus, we must understand what our religious obligation really is.  So what does that word, "religion" mean?Religion is the outward, external, or ceremonial part of the worship of a person. So when James uses this word in the context of Christians he is presupposing a public relationship of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as resurrected Savior and Lord.  As followers of Jesus, James is clearly saying that our "relationship" with Jesus has an outward, external dimension.  Surprisingly, he declares that some Christians have a worthless outward expression of their relationship with Jesus.  What causes it to be judged as "worthless" according to this verse?

They do not keep a "tight rein" on their speech.  This image is one of a person controlling a horse through a bit and bridle. Is your tongue easily controlled?  Why?  (For additional descriptions and study regarding the difficulty of controlling the tongue take time to read and study James 3:1-12.)

Application:  
Today there will be a great opportunity to put your relationship with Jesus on public display.  There will also, almost certainly, be things that go wrong.  Your feelings may be hurt.  The heat may be unbearable.  Lunch may be late. Your ministry assignment might be difficult.  How will you respond?  Your relationship with Jesus will be expressed outwardly through your speech.  This is your true religion and worship!!!
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