I heard Him say it again today.
I hate it when He talks like that.
I ignored Him.
That's why I'm sitting here typing rather than sitting there with Him.
What good will that do me?
When He says that, I cringe, knowing my faith will be tried and I may not see what I'm seeking.
Why is that always the answer?
Can't He be a little more creative?
Why does praying turn me so quickly to that same answer over and over?
Maybe I've not done it, so He has to keep asking me...
I heard Him say it again today. He said, "Wait."
Monday, December 4, 2006
Friday, December 1, 2006
Dancers Who Dance Upon Injustice
This week’s Catalyst study really raised some issues within my heart about the church and its role (or lack of role) in the progression of social justice, both internationally and domestically here in the United States. Every Sunday morning we congregate in a lavish building geared toward our personal comfort, and we dress in our finest apparel believe that somehow a sport coat and a perfect crease in our slacks is the way to honor God.
Are we so blinded by the masquerade of (c)hurch that we are losing sight of what it means to be the (C)hurch?
James 1:27 - 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.
Psalm 72: 12-14 - For he will rescue the poor who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper. He will have pity on the poor and helpless and save the lives of the poor. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious in his sight.
Luke 4: 18-19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Does my life give hope to the hopeless? Does anything I do work toward releasing the oppressed, preaching good news to the poor, redeeming the helpless from oppression and violence?
Why do we tolerate injustice?
Edmund Burke puts it best by saying, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
The opposite of love is not hatred, but apathy toward each other. I’m ashamed when I hear stories of homeless people coming to my (c)hurch and sitting all by themselves, receiving nary a touch or a handshake from anyone in the congregation. Sure, he may have a bit of an odor to us, but the stench of our apathy is all the more putrid and rank to the nostrils of God.
I pray that God would give us a truly passionate spirit to preach good news to the poor and the downtrodden, care for the widow, adopt the orphan as our own, and embrace a homeless man’s body odor as the fragrance of life.
What can we do to purge ourselves of this apathy?
Are we so blinded by the masquerade of (c)hurch that we are losing sight of what it means to be the (C)hurch?
James 1:27 - 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.
Psalm 72: 12-14 - For he will rescue the poor who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper. He will have pity on the poor and helpless and save the lives of the poor. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious in his sight.
Luke 4: 18-19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Does my life give hope to the hopeless? Does anything I do work toward releasing the oppressed, preaching good news to the poor, redeeming the helpless from oppression and violence?
Why do we tolerate injustice?
Edmund Burke puts it best by saying, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
The opposite of love is not hatred, but apathy toward each other. I’m ashamed when I hear stories of homeless people coming to my (c)hurch and sitting all by themselves, receiving nary a touch or a handshake from anyone in the congregation. Sure, he may have a bit of an odor to us, but the stench of our apathy is all the more putrid and rank to the nostrils of God.
I pray that God would give us a truly passionate spirit to preach good news to the poor and the downtrodden, care for the widow, adopt the orphan as our own, and embrace a homeless man’s body odor as the fragrance of life.
What can we do to purge ourselves of this apathy?
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