Good morning!
Here I am, at the desk, at 7:37 am. I have been protecting the residents of Barret since 1 this morning, and am happy to report that all is well!
These past couple of weeks have been very overwhelming. Just the act of talking to people, something I hardly did all summer, is hard getting used to again. But, God is being good (more than I deserve), and is teaching me how to live in this very different world. To change the subject, I want to share something that Mark Lewis said the other day in one of our conversations:
"The stuff I read on postmodernism-- all of that is nothing but toilet paper in third world countries."
Mmm.
Now, I understand that it's important to know what kind of general mind-set people in technologically-advanced countries are gravitating towards, but stuff like doctrine and philosophy and theology are in place for people that can afford them.
"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
A lot of times, I think that Satan uses things that are originally good, and twists and warps them in order to distract us from the original truth. I'll be bold and say that I think a great deal of theology and doctrine and theories fall into that category. Theology has it's place, but we have to remember why we started having it in the first place...and maybe forget all that theology and go back to what we had in the first place. It's not supposed to be this complicated. God calls us to love Him, love the people He places around us, and care for those that need what we have to give, no matter how far away they may live.
I remember, many years ago, when I first read this verse from James, it sounded so outdated. After all--we don't see a lot of widows and orphans hanging out in our suburbs and in our middle-class churches. Then I started learning about what's going on in the rest of the world. I don't need to quote statistics for you because you've heard them, especially if you go to ACU. If I tell you some new, startling statistic, you might say "wow", and then tell some of your friends about it, but what will you do about it? What will I do about it? I admit--I am guilty of the same thing. It is easier for me to focus on what I see rather than letting God use my resources a world away where I will probably never see the results of my actions. That we would give out of our excess, and after we have given away our excess, to give out of faith that God will provide for us and for those that we are giving to.
We always say "I wish it were that simple." It is. Love God, be Jesus to the world around you, and strive to see Jesus in the world around you.
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."--Matt. 25: 35-36
Here I am, at the desk, at 7:37 am. I have been protecting the residents of Barret since 1 this morning, and am happy to report that all is well!
These past couple of weeks have been very overwhelming. Just the act of talking to people, something I hardly did all summer, is hard getting used to again. But, God is being good (more than I deserve), and is teaching me how to live in this very different world. To change the subject, I want to share something that Mark Lewis said the other day in one of our conversations:
"The stuff I read on postmodernism-- all of that is nothing but toilet paper in third world countries."
Mmm.
Now, I understand that it's important to know what kind of general mind-set people in technologically-advanced countries are gravitating towards, but stuff like doctrine and philosophy and theology are in place for people that can afford them.
"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
A lot of times, I think that Satan uses things that are originally good, and twists and warps them in order to distract us from the original truth. I'll be bold and say that I think a great deal of theology and doctrine and theories fall into that category. Theology has it's place, but we have to remember why we started having it in the first place...and maybe forget all that theology and go back to what we had in the first place. It's not supposed to be this complicated. God calls us to love Him, love the people He places around us, and care for those that need what we have to give, no matter how far away they may live.
I remember, many years ago, when I first read this verse from James, it sounded so outdated. After all--we don't see a lot of widows and orphans hanging out in our suburbs and in our middle-class churches. Then I started learning about what's going on in the rest of the world. I don't need to quote statistics for you because you've heard them, especially if you go to ACU. If I tell you some new, startling statistic, you might say "wow", and then tell some of your friends about it, but what will you do about it? What will I do about it? I admit--I am guilty of the same thing. It is easier for me to focus on what I see rather than letting God use my resources a world away where I will probably never see the results of my actions. That we would give out of our excess, and after we have given away our excess, to give out of faith that God will provide for us and for those that we are giving to.
We always say "I wish it were that simple." It is. Love God, be Jesus to the world around you, and strive to see Jesus in the world around you.
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."--Matt. 25: 35-36
posted by My_Doxology at 7:42 AM
1 Comments:
Amen.
Telecast sings my thoughts so well in response to your blog, "It's the beauty of simplicity that brings me to my knees."
I am much less awe-struck now by the "wisdom" of our age. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks since I returned from Brazil. Brazil is no third world country, but God has been changing me slowly and my month away from almost all connection at home revealed to me a little of where I place importance.
The music of Derek Webb has been working on my heart slowly and surely.
Then messages like Randy's "Ministry of Presence" hit me and I am blindsided by things I've heard before but suddenly see... what if we really were fully present to the people in front of us AND fully present ot God. How would we be changed!
I doubt this is making sense, but the stuff of the world of Academia matters little to those who just need hope for the day.
Thanks for your deep thoughts while having very little sleep.
Grace and peace,
J-Red
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