Friday is a defining moment in the history of justice. The members of the United Nations Security Council will be presented with the results of the International Criminal Court's Darfur investigation — an investigation that they requested. Their response will determine whether there is going to be an international standard of justice that holds perpetrators accountable for the worst crimes in the world.
The evidence the prosecutor has presented is clear and compelling. Millions of people have been displaced; hundreds of thousands have been killed; and at the center of it all stands , who has been indicted on seven counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity. ()
…everyone starts pressing the few young couples in the church to procreate so there will be babies in the nursery.
…people want to know the plans for the new program to get the neighborhood kids “in the church.”
…when a person needs some money, you respond, “The benevolance committee isn’t here right now.”
…you’re afraid of small groups in homes because you don’t know how to collect the offering.
Proverbs 31:6-7 (New International Version)
6 Give beer to those who are perishing,
wine to those who are in anguish;
7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
I'm getting more and more tired of hearing people share about their conviction to NOT give money to "pan handlers" because they just don't know what they're going to use the money for, or they know exactly what they are going to use it for - alcohol.
Perhaps rather then giving them a buck or two then, we should buy a beer for them and sit and listen and love them. The way I see it, the worst that could happen is we might be accused (as Jesus was) of being "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." (Matthew 11:19)
I saw this add today in the May 4 issue of Newsweek. What a great question.
Came across this morning about , a street church in Portland.
I love this, “We do magic tricks by making the invisible visible,” Ken often says. “When we pay attention to our friends without houses then they began to appear to themselves.”
Found this , I like it.
I was making dinner and I heard someone outside at the gate. I turned around and saw Martin waving. Apparently Kim had asked him to deliver a card to us. I was surprised. It was a thank you card. Kim was thanking us for being “real people” as well as updating us on her life and finding out what they can bring for breakfast this upcoming Sunday. She wrote, “Ha ha, remember we are on a tight budget!” She asked us if we could bring our cell phone so they could call their loved ones. She wrote in her card, “Thanks for believing in us! It really helps.” I don’t know what to write to express the feeling I felt when I received this card and an invitation to breakfast.
Today started out stressful for me. Jared and his friend got to our house at 9:10 a.m. to prepare the food for breakfast at 10 a.m. The boys and I had just woken up. Well, we made it to the by 10:05. Martin and Kim were already there waiting for us. Both of them were looking forward to the warm breakfast all week. We joined them at the picnic table, sat down, and I started to make eggs. I was thinking in my head, wondering if Jared added salt in the eggs already. Jared said he hadn’t. I felt stressed. I said to Kim and Martin, “I am sorry we did not bring salt and pepper.” I thought maybe we needed to go get some salt at the market nearby. Kim told me something that helped me to put things in perspective. She said, “I live without so many things. It is totally okay.” I thought to myself, here I am stressed out about not having salt for the eggs.
I'm two chapters in to a new book, "." Editorial review: There is a stirring among churchgoers. Many are looking at how the Christian faith is being played out, wondering if somehow we’re missing the point. What if there is more to our faith than just getting our souls into heaven? What if there is a power in the gospel that’s been kept under lock and key because of our culture-controlled church? If we placed our beliefs and their origins under the microscope, what would we see?
So there’s the ancient Jewish way of missing the point (thinking salvation is only about politics in the here and now) and the modern Christian way of missing the point (thinking salvation is only about escaping hell after you die). There’s another approach: that salvation means being rescued from fruitless ways of life here and now, to share in God’s saving love for all creation, in an adventure called the kingdom of God, the point of which you definitely don’t want to miss. Plus, of course, the wonderful gift of assurance that you will not perish after this life, but will be forever with the Lord.