True Religion! - Leon Stacey's Blog

True religion is not "religious", but it must be disciplined.  Someone who has it knows how to bridle his or her tongue at the right moments.  "Silence is golden but sometimes just plain yellow."  A person with true religion must speak and pen and share when inspired by God without wavering or fear.  The person must be able to stand and sometimes stand out.  He or she must be able to take abuse sometimes for what God has asked or commanded him or her to publish.  If he or she does not learn to bridle the tongue appropriately, then his or her religion is in vain.  A bridle does not just tame the tongue, but the "bit" will direct it.  However, true religion is more than just what we speak about.

True religion will cause a person to visit the orphans and widows in their afflictions.  It will also cause a person to keep himself or herself unspotted from the world.  Though they are in it, they are not of it.  Though they are in the market place, they still must minister.  When preachers tell the truth sometimes it hurts.  The truth is not an offense, unless it offends you.  Jesus said, "Blessed are they who are not offended in Me."  A true offense is evil and from those who allow the Evil One to use them.  The Truth is not evil, and it must be spoken and written in every community everywhere.  Everybody needs Jesus, and his love sometimes gently and lovingly persuades them to his side.  Other times His love will adamantly pull some out of the Fire.  I feel every topic should be addressed because life will confront you with every concern.  But we should all know that God wants "to perfect that which concerns us."

Those with true religion must visit, clothe, feed, shelter, preach to and teach every individual and their souls without partiality.  We must fulfill the royal law of loving our neighbors as ourselves, but first we must love God and obey Him.  We must speak of Heaven and Hell, righteousness and sin, love and hate, and true life and death.  If we think we have religion we must not keep it to ourselves.  It must not be in vain.