"The Core of True Religion" Mark 12:29-34/ I Samuel 15

We live in a day and age where religion is a very LARGE umbrella. It applies to many religious groups, religions, and even to cults. James moved right to the heart of religion saying faith is known by your works. Your practice shows and has impact in all of our lives. In these verses we see the HEART....the CORE of TRUE religion. We don't talk first about our confessions, but speak about our life that CONFORMS to our confessions!

The cores is the inmost principal. The heart and soul of religion. James talked about the perfect law of liberty and said if seeing it and walking away from it NOT doing the works of it your religion is VAIN. Pretty strong words! He speaks about visiting the fatherless and widow...those least paid attention to even as you keep yourself unspotted from the world around you. There is a body called religion but also those who PRACTICE it. We believe the Word of God and its doctrines, but when someone views us can they discern that we are a Christian? Or are we part of dead orthodoxy? Not as the Jews in the letter of the Law but as Jesus in the true KEEPING of it?! Jesus says the FIRST of all the commandments is "The Lord God is One Lord and Thou shalt worship Him!" (Deut. Chapter 6.) Our Lord ties His commandments to Israel's deliverance (and ours) out of bondage and says "live unto MY GLORY!" Before God even begins His commandments He says "Hear O Israel..." The very heart, soul, and core of ALL religion....Hear! Listen! Listen FIRST and then go on to love God with all your heart and soul and strength and then love your neighbor. Not love as a utilitarian concept in the world. It is a BOND of perfectness and being tied together in perfection. Tied to HIM in perfection! Not carnally abandoning it when it does not work for me any longer, but a BOND!

"To obey is better than sacrifice." But how do we implement? First we must HEAR and LISTEN! How often do we hoist our own opinions and determine what religion is and talk when we should LISTEN?! We don't determine the requirements of religion....GOD DOES! And we must listen to His Word if we want to be to His Glory and we're given His commandments to live our entire lives to His Glory....Completely! In Samuel 15 Saul told Samuel that he HAD obeyed the voice of the Lord and destroyed all the Amalekites..blaming the people for taking the best sheep and possessions to sacrifice unto God when they were told to utterly destroy all. God no longer spoke to Saul. Do we think the same way in regards to our religion? Our worship? Our attitude in the worship we bring?

"Is the Law made void?....NO...we establish the Law." Do we want to live in happiness? "Worship Me and Me alone! Not in or to some dumb idol. Not joining in cursing and swearing and taking My name in vein. And one day a week you will be encouraged in your journey as you worship Me!" We obey for God's sake in and to the authority that is derived from God as long as they do not strive with God's Word, We respect the neighbor in his person and possessions. The heart and core of religion. Can someone look at our life and say "he/she is a Christian?"

The scribe "got it" and the only thing that stood in front of him and the Kingdom was Christ Jesus Himself. We are in the Kingdom and our delight MUST be for the love of God and the neighbor and we follow His commandments from the Heart.....