Reasons to Marry

Sunday afternoon, I had an interesting conversation about marriage with a couple of my guy friends, one of that guys girl-friend, and my sister.  It was enlightening, especially to hear the guys perspectives, and reminded me of a conversation I had last year, with one of my closest friends.

Soo… that brings me to a series of questions I’d like to ask you readers:

For what reasons would you not marry someone, and for what reasons would you marry someone?

What are the negotiables, and the non-negotiables?

For instance, would you be willing to marry someone who had a child from a previous relationship “in a past life” as it were, before that person was a Christian?

Would you marry a black person (or someone of another ethnicity)?

Would you (as a guy) marry a girl who’d been raped?

What about former prostitutes and porn stars who have turned to Jesus.  If they desire marriage, would you (as a strong Christian guy) be willing to marry them?

What about former homosexuals?

A widower/widow with children of his/her own?

Of course, marriage is a serious covenant between two people and God.  It is not something that needs to be treated lightly, or carelessly.  Certainly, if a person marries another person, they now have the responsibility to love, cherish, respect, nourish, take care of their spouse.

Christian marriages should be the loudest witnesses to this crazy-messed up, love hungry world, that true self-sacrificing love is real.  That honoring and respecting one’s partner can be done.  That godly male-headship can be carried out in a Christ-honoring manner, without being abusive. That wives can respectfully submit to their husbands. And, certainly, when the time is right, that children can be brought into the equation, and loved, nurtured, discipled and taught in a home that loves their presence and doesn’t think them a nuisance or burden.

The world needs to see enduring, Christ-centered marriages. Other Christians need to see enduring, Christ-centered marriages.  The kind that can weather storms, the kind that know mutual forgiveness, patience, honor,and cherishing love.  That no matter what comes against them, they will stand strong together, in Christ.  Marriages that are divorce proof, because divorce isn’t an option.  That whole mindset doesn’t enter into the vocabulary of the couple, because they are committed until death parts them on this earth, to honoring each other, preferring the other above themself, to loving self-sacrificially, to submitting humbly, to nourishing and cherishing and building up their spouse, and always remembering how much God loved them – enough to send His ONLY son to die, in their place.

That’s how we’re supposed to love.  Like Christ.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

Ephesians 5: 22-33

An interview with Peter Bringe {Author}

It is my privilege to bring the second part of my interview with Peter Bringe about his marvelous book, The Christian Philosophy of Food. I apologize about it taking this long to post.  Blogging hasn’t been one of my top priorities lately.

____________________________________

1. I really enjoyed your discussion on food and culture, and the various ways we can use food to remember, to mourn, to worship, to rejoice.  What are some historical / biblical examples of these ways of using food?

There are very many examples in the Bible and history, this being the way food is used constantly throughout life. In the Bible we have several examples of rejoicing with food, like the Feast of Booths (Deut. 16:15), the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:22-24), and one of my favorites, the feast of the tithe (Deut. 14:22-27), where every year the Israelites would take a tithe of their produce and feast on it, “…and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.” (Deut. 14:26) You also have food used as memorials (Exod. 12:14), hospitality and community (Gen. 18:1-21), and the lack of food used in fasting (Joel 1:14). In history we have seen similar uses. Whatever is important to a people tends to be commemorated by food and other cultural expressions. When we eat our American Thanksgiving meal we are showing gratefulness for our godly heritage, our blessings in recent years, as well as a lingering valuing of family that remains in our culture. When the Norwegian-Americans eat their lutefisk dinners they are remembering the hard times their ancestors had coming to this land when that had to eat that stuff to survive (Lutefisk is basically cod soaked in lye). A similar thing can be said of the Scots when they eat haggis, remembering and identifying themselves with their sturdy and rustic ancestors that survived on sheep innards. A great deal more could be said about this, about how our holidays and structure of times and meals say a great deal about who we are, but this is an interview, not another book.

2. You quote Calvin on fasting, and I really liked what he said about what fasting does for the church and the people who make up the church: “The second end is common to both, for this preparation for prayer is requisite for the whole church, as well as for each individual member.  The same thing may be said of the third. For it sometimes happens that God smites a nation with war or pestilence, or some kind of calamity.  In this common chastisement it behooves the whole people to plead guilty, and confess their guilt…”  Do you think Christians have forgotten the importance of fasting and how good it is for us spiritually?  Do you think that perhaps one of the reasons behind the lack or seeming lack of Christians fasting, is the association with Roman Catholicism?

Yes, I think fasting has been in some measure become a lost art because of a reaction against the asceticism of Rome. The Bible does recognize that fasting can be abused (i.e. Matt. 6:16-18, Col. 2:18-23), but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be used properly. I like how Calvin explained it, “The thing, indeed, is properly a feeling of the mind. But when the mind is affected as it ought, it cannot but give vent to itself in external manifestation…” While it is important that we don’t become too focused on the external, that isn’t the problem of many Christian when it comes to fasting. They just want their food and want it now. I know that it is hard to fast, but it is rewarding when done right, helping to clear the mind, to focus, to rest, etc…

3. You spend a good section on fasting speaking about the self-control factor.  I know in my own life that I struggle with self-control, and I think a lot of people do, thank you for taking time to remind us of this important factor in Christianity.

This part I’m preaching especially to myself, as self-control, especially in snacking, can be very difficult to master. But as Christians we should be the most self-controlled of all people.

4. I love what you had to say about food and community.  I have always been blessed with family meals, at least twice a day, usually three times daily.  Don’t you think it is time for the church to call families to focus on communing together, eating healthy and engaging in Christian hospitality?

Certainly. Hospitality isn’t just a good idea, it’s an imperative from our loving God. “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:9). Culture, especially food, is meant to be enjoyed with other people. Culture identifies, and we find our identity within the context of our relationships (with God and man). Culture unifies, and we end up unifying with whom (or what) ever we do stuff with. It is not good that man be alone in his work (Gen. 1:27-30, 2:15-23). While you can still do things in private and we do have individual relationships with God, we are also very often viewed in Scripture as the corporate bodies of family, church, and community. We aren’t isolated souls, and we shouldn’t act that way. Throughout Scripture, rejoicing, fasting, etc… (i.e. culture) are often done as households, communities, and congregations (Deut. 12:7,12,18, 14:26, 16:11,14, 26:11; Ezra 8:21; Ps. 9:14, 14:7, 22:25, 40:9-10; Eccl. 9:9; Joel 1:14; Luke 15:25; etc…).

5. I loved your thoughts about Communion.  Can you explain to our readers what you said in that section?

When we see food generally memorializing and unifying, it’s not a surprise that Jesus uses bread and wine in the sacrament of Communion. While we have unity with our family and community through food that remembers past hardships and victories of our common forefathers, here in a special and spiritual way our covenantal unity with Christ and His people is symbolized and sealed with food that remembers Christ’s death and victory.

6. You talk about gratitude, and how we are to be flexible about partaking of food that is not necessarily something we’d eat on a regular basis, but as Paul says we need to partake of whatever we eat, with thankfulness.  Can you speak to that?

Food is a controversial subject, and not just in our time. The are several passages of Scripture dedicated to keeping the peace between brother who differ on food. For example, “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats” (Rom. 14:20); and, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it” (Proverbs 15:17). While we ought to work hard for good food as those working for the Lord, we have to keep our goal (to love God and love others) in sight or this good work can become selfish pride. Food is a loving gift of God for our enjoyment to give Him glory, and we rebel against this purpose when we use this gift for arguments and strife. How often do we take this gift that we ought to be thankful for and become selfish. This could be the most important lesson to take away from the Bible concerning food: to be thankful to God and praise Him for the wonderful food He provides, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Even if He provides a hot dog. Let us use food to build love and community, not to destroy it.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:1–5)

 _________________________

 Thank you so much Peter! You can order his book here.

An interview with Peter Bringe {Author}

It is my privilege to introduce Peter Bringe and his marvelous book, The Christian Philosophy of Food, which I mentioned in a post last month.

Peter Bringe is a writer motivated to share the truth of God’s word as it applies to our lives. In the area of food, this is a natural fit since he inherits an interest in food from his father, who is a food scientist. Around the dinner table, he has heard about the properties of various foods and the importance of food for as long as he’s been eating. In addition, he is currently interning with the Rocky Mountain Shepherd Center, taking classes from Whitefield College, and learning from his personal studies. Peter currently lives in Elizabeth, Colorado, and enjoys various musical endeavors, writing, historical reenactments, and the study of many books.

Now it is time for me to present to you my readers, the first of a multiple part interview I have had the honor of conducting with Peter, long distance.

Enjoy, and we welcome your feedback!

___________________________

1. What motivated you to write this book?

There were a couple things that motivated me, mainly two.

First, considering the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30) I have been blessed with a heritage concerning food that others don’t have, and I feel a duty to use it. My father has worked with food ever since high school and now has worked as a PhD food scientist for over twenty years. Not only that, but he is a mature Christian that is constantly considering how the Bible influences his work. So throughout my growing up I have been taught (usually around the dinner table) about food–scientifically, aesthetically, theologically, etc.– from a Christian perspective, and the amazing blessing it is from God.

Second, there is a great interest and confusion concerning food in the present day. Prior to now, people have generally trusted the centralized systems that have produced our food. But now there is an increasing distrust of almost everything established and a move towards decentralization. This is a blessing as we have the freedom to do great things, but it is also can be curse as we have the freedom to do bad and detrimental things. Almost wherever we go, once folks realize that my dad is a Christian food scientist they usually have a bunch of questions ready. People are searching for answers, and those answers are to be found in the Bible. While I don’t have all the answers, I hope that this book can be a good start to building a biblical foundation for food in our day.

2.  You discuss four key concepts in the first chapter of your book (food as being part of culture; food as being a complex subject, but worthy of our study; food as something worth our time and efforts; and food as being part of God’s creation). Could you quickly cover those four concepts for our readers?

Basically, food–and other parts of culture such as music, clothing, etc.–is a controversial topic because it is the outcome of our daily choices, which are determined by our beliefs. Our faith and what we do is very connected (James 2:14-26). What we view as important and what we think is shown by what we do. This is even more true when it is something, like food, that we are making decisions about multiple times a day. It is also shows who we are friends with, who we spend time with, and whose opinions we value. And it works the other way as well. Not only do we make food, but food makes us. It physically builds us up,  and influences how we feel and how we plan our day. It is firmly part of our life and personality and ought to be studied. And it is a complex subject. Regrettably, many people tend to emphasize only one aspect, but we should realize the different but complementary aspects of it being healthful, beautiful and tasty, relational, and a product of work. A main purpose of my book is to tie together these related aspects of food. And whenever dealing with food we ought to realize it is a gift of God. If we don’t, we will get prideful and destroy this amazingly complex and enjoyable gift. Will will either loose the wonder of its design and worship man’s ability, or we will worship nature and disobey God’s command to take dominion over creation.

3.  In Chapter two you discuss the importance of treating our bodies as God’s temple.  Why do you think it is that so many Christians seem to carelessly disregard this important piece of the Christian Worldview? 

I think many people don’t value the physical world quite enough. While it is true that we will die, and our treasure is in heaven, we are here for a purpose. The Bible is not gnostic (believing that the spiritual is good and the physical is bad and dispensable), but puts real significance on the things we do here in the physical and historic realms. Since the pietism and revivalism in the 1800s, saving your individual soul has been put as the central concern, and the spiritual and emotional have been emphasized. Less emphasis has been placed on bringing God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). As Christians we should not draw a heavy separation between soul and body, but should recognize the connections between the two, and the importance of the whole person. In a real practical way, if you want to get anything done here on earth you should look out for your health.

I should point out that I have met quite a few Christians that do want to be healthy, and that recognize that the Bible wants them to look out for physical welfare. But often they will stop listening to the Bible at that point in any meaningful way and look to their favorite nutritionist or diet plan for guidance (which is a mistake).

4.  You also discuss in Chapter two, Plant foods, Clean and Unclean foods and how the regulatory laws were put in place for the benefit of the children of Israel in regards to a holy and blameless lifestyle. It was a help not a hindrance in other words.

Yes, while I believe that the purpose of the clean/unclean food laws was ceremonial, I do believe that they were good for the Israelites physically as well. Think of it like the washing of hands. In the Old Testament there is the requirement for the priests to wash their hands and feet before offering sacrifices (Ex. 30:17-21). This was part of the ceremonial cleansing of the sacrificial system of Israel. This is not required today, but it is still beneficial to wash our hands. It still makes the hands clean in a physical sense.

In a similar way there was a ceremonial defilement as well as a physical defilement in eating the unclean foods. Thus, the ancient Israelites were blessed doubly when they kept God’s law, and were not made unclean ceremonially or physically. God’s law in general is never a hindrance in a bad sense, but is a great help and blessing. Now that Christ has come this particular law doesn’t apply as a law of defilement (Mark 7:19, Acts 10-11). But while we are allowed to eat bears, vultures, and pigs, we should prefer the clean animals and, especially, plant foods (Gen. 1:29, Prov. 23:20, Dan. 10:3) above them in priority from a physical standpoint.

__________________________

Look for more of this interview to be featured on my blog over the next few weeks.  You can find out more information about Peter and his book, here and here.

Sunday Meditation

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [Seeing God Through Love] No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.”

 

I John 4: 11-12

Sunday Meditation

^“10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.¹² Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶ Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”’

I Corinthians 1:10-31

Under the Overpass {notes}

“I AM DISGUSTING.” 

“Mike Yankoski’s life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight.  By his own choice.  From the United States capital to San Diego, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, journeyed as homeless men for five months.  Not for a project or even in response to a dare.  He needed to know if his faith in God was real – if he could actually be the Christian he said he was apart from the comforts he’d always known. 

So with only a bag on his back, a guitar in his hand, and Sam by his side, he set out.  And like any traveler in a foreign land, he returned a different man.”

Under the Overpass – A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America is a fascinating, challenging and moving tale of Mike and Sam’s chosen homelessness and the experiences they encountered during their time on the streets. 

This was one of the books I asked for at Christmas.  Since I began reading it, Saturday, I have learned more about homelessness than I’d ever known before.

Already this book is highlighted and marked up, passages I want to remember, and return to.  Important lessons disclosed.  Scriptural commands I need to hear, and live.

I’d like to share some of them with you.

In the first chapter {Twenty Minutes Past the World}, Mike discusses the reasons behind his desire to experience homelessness:

The idea had dropped into my brain one Sunday morning while I sat in church.  The pastor was delivering a powerful sermon about living the Christian life.  The gist of it was, “Be the Christian you say you are.”

Later in the chapter:

But we were created to be and to do, not merely to discuss.  The hypocrisy in my life troubled me.  No, I wasn’t in the grip of rampant sin, but at the same time, for the life of me I couldn’t find a connecting thread of radical, living obedience between what I said about my world and how I lived in it.  Sure, I claimed that Christ was my stronghold, my peace, my sustenance, my joy.  But I did all that from the safety of my comfortable upper-middle-class life.  I never really had to put my claims to the test.

Mike contemplated what Paul really meant in Philippians 4:11-12 where he states – “I have learned what it means to be content in all circumstances, whether with everything or with nothing.”

With nothing?

 What if I stepped out of my comfortable life with nothing but God and put my faith to the test alongside of those who live with nothing every day?

Hard on the heels of the idea came the questions: What if I didn’t actually believe the things I argued with so much certainty?  What, for example, if I didn’t truly believe that Christ is my identity, my strength, my hope?

Some statistics tell us the horrible story of homelessness in the United States.

Key findings of the report on homelessness:

• The nation’s homeless population increased by approximately 20,000 people from 2008 to 2009 (3 percent increase). There were also increased numbers of people experiencing homelessness in each of the subpopulations examined in this report: families, individuals, chronic, unsheltered.
• A majority – 31 of 50 states and the District of Columbia – had increases in their homeless counts. The largest increase was in Louisiana, where the homeless population doubled.
• Among subpopulations, the largest percentage increase was in the number of family households, which increased by over 3,200 households (4 percent increase). Also, the number of persons in families increased by more than 6,000 people (3 percent increase). In Mississippi, the number of people in homeless families increased by 260 percent.
• After population reductions from 2005 to 2008, the number of chronically homeless people in the country remained stagnant from 2008 to 2009, despite an 11 percent increase in the number of permanent supportive housing units.
• While most people experiencing homelessness are sheltered, nearly 4 in 10 were living on the street, in a car, or in another place not intended for human habitation. In Wisconsin, twice as many people experienced homelessness without shelter in 2009 as did in 2008.
• It is widely agreed upon that there is a vast undercount of the number of young people experiencing homelessness. Underscoring this is the fact that 35 percent of all communities reported that there were no homeless youth in their communities in 2009. 

“In his book Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning writes, “We are all equally privileged but unentitled beggars at the door of God’s mercy.”  Mercy is something homeless people so desperately need.  As Christians, we are called to extend mercy to everyone.

Mike discusses candidly his own thoughts on homelessness, previous to being homeless himself:

…I do know this: blithely allowing this terrible stripping to occur is a blot on the conscience of America, and especially on the conscience of the church.  If we as believers choose to forget that everyone – even the shrunken soul lying in the doorway – is made in the image of God, can we say we know our Creator?  If we respond to others based on their outward appearance, haven’t we entirely missed the point of the gospel?

Too many times as Christians this is our response to a real need in someone’s life, whether we know them personally or not:

We hear a Christian assure someone that he will ‘pray over’ his problem, knowing full well that he intends to use prayer as a substitute for service.  It is much easier to pray that a poor friend’s needs may be supplied than to supply them.

A.W. Tozer (Of God and Men)

How true, and how heartbreaking.  Especially when we have received a directive from Jesus on how to care for those in need

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶ If anyone among youthinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. ² For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, ³ and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? ⁷ Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;

James 1: 21-2:8

How should we as Christians respond to homelessness?

… I do this because my faith tells me to.  The Bible clearly says, if you see someone hungry, feed them; if you see someone naked, clothe them.  Those words weren’t written for us to make books and sermons about.  They’re written so people don’t go hungry and naked.  And they require action from all followers of Christ, not just the rescue missions. – George a man who helped Mike and Sam

What a down-to-earth, biblical response!

Something to think about:

Remember that the poor are people with names, [They are] people with whom and among whom God has been working before we even know they were there.

Bryant Myers (Walking with the Poor)

We don’t go to church, we are the church.  So many problems that show up on the church steps, or in the pews, or between congregations seem to start with misunderstandings about that.  The church isn’t a physical building or a doctrinal statement or a perfectly produced program.  It is us – we are the living expression of Christ’s presence in the world, His body.  The sooner we realize that, the sooner we’ll be able to be the healing body of Christ to our sin-sick world.

Mike Yankoski (Under the Overpass)

In the chapter on their experience in Phoenix Arizona, Mike answers some common questions about street life and what we should or shouldn’t do as we assist homeless people

But that raises an important question: Should you give money to beggars?  You run into them in every major American city – standing at the off-ramp on your way home from work, sitting at busy intersections on your lunch break, or walking up to you when you’re downtown for an evening with friends.  The simple answer is, “probably not,” but I need to quality that… Unfortunately, it’s also true that the majority of the men and women we knew on the streets would – within a half hour of receiving a donation – spend it entirely on drugs or alcohol.  A nugget of marijuana or crack is only five dollars, and a forty-ounce beer is only two-fifty.  So your money is probably providing someone with their fix before you get home or back to the office.

That’s why I recommend you give something other than cash… Having said that, I think the most meaningful gift might be your genuine attention and caring.

There aren’t really easy answers to the question of giving to panhandlers.  On the one hand, we’re called to help those in need.  On the other, we’re called to be “wise as serpents, innocent as doves.”  Being both wise and innocent might mean taking some risks, getting creative, and forgiving yourself if you feel foolish or make mistakes.

Conviction of sins is something we all wish we took more seriously, felt more deeply, responded to more quickly.  One man (Doug) Mike and Sam encountered brought these desires into stark contrast:

Lying there in our bags listening to the waves, we talked about Doug.  His brokenness about his sins was convicting. “I wish my sin pained me as greatly as Doug’s does,” said Sam.  “Would you do anything about it if it did?” I asked.  “What do you mean?” Sam asked, sounding sleepy.  “Doug longs to be cleansed and free of his sins, but I don’t know.  I don’t think he’s willing to stop doing the very thing that grieves him.  Walking over here tonight, I was wondering if there are things in my life that I am praying for deliverance from but refuse to let go of.  It’s a scary thought.”

Yes it is.  In my own life I know I desire to feel broken over my sin, but sometimes I become numb to their redundance.  I want, as G.K. Chesterton put it, “We want a fiercer delight and a fiercer discontent.”

In the last chapter Coming Back to Normal Mike gives some insights about his own experience of coming back to a normal life after the grueling months on the streets.

In a very real sense, the problem of homelessness is overwhelming.  Jesus put it all in context when He said, “The poor you will have with you always.”  You just can’t meet every need you see, or spend time with every homeless person you meet.

So where do we start?  Jesus summarized right living in two powerful statements: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…and your neighbor as yourself.”  As over-spiritualized as it might sound, I really do think that caring for the needy begins with loving God more completely.  It’s in knowing and responding to His amazing love for us that we begin to set our priorities straight.

Mike gives four ideas on how to reach out to the homeless in our community:

1. Find a rescue mission nearest to you.  Call and find out how you can get involved.  Show up an hour early and plan on leaving an hour after you’re scheduled to.  Have conversations with the homeless as they stand outside, waiting to get in.  Bring bottled water, baked cookies, granola bars, patience, and a sense of humor.  You’ll bless those who cannot bless you in return.
2. Go downtown with a friend or friends (don’t go alone).  Buy cups of coffee or a bag of take-out food, find a homeless person sitting around asking for money, share your gifts, and enjoy a conversation.  No agenda, no plans, no purpose other than to be with that person.  You’ll be amazed at what unfolds.
3. Is it cold outside? Go to your closet and grab the sweater, sweatshirt, or coat you keep telling yourself you’ll wear sometime but know you won’t.  Call up four friends and tell them to do the same thing.  Then go downtown and hand out your warm clothing to the men and women huddled under the overpass or in a doorway.  As you stand there thinking of how cold your nose is, you’ll be amazed at the genuine thankfulness of someone whose whole body is probably numb.  And your giving will warm your soul, too.
4. Become a spokesperson in your youth group, church, and community for those who have no voice.  Be relentlessly suspicious of your comfortable life, and of the comfort zones that render so many Christian fellowships insensitive and ineffective in our communities.  God calls us all to more.  And you and I can lead the way, one small step at a time.

In closing, Mike challenges us again to be radical in our faith, clinging alone to Jesus as our one form of strength and guidance.

A radical choice to trust in the Lord must extend into all areas of your life, with everyone you encounter during the day.

Some local homeless outreaches:

• Metro Relief (The Colony, TX)
• Horizons Church – The Storehouse
• The Bridge (Dallas, TX)
• Union Gospel Mission (Dallas, TX)
• Presbyterian Night Shelter (Tarrant County)
• The Stewpot (Dallas, TX)

ER2 {Elephant Room 2}

For those of you who are attuned to what’s going on in the evangelical world – i.e. news junkies like me, the controversy over James MacDonald’s Elephant Room 2 panel, continues.

And for those of you who have NO idea what ER2 is – watch the trailer here.

All I’m going to do is post links to various perspectives, and let you discern what the truth is.

Vertical Church (James MacDonald) Post Elephant Room Interview pt. 1

Vertical Church (James MacDonald) Bishop Jakes, 2nd Decisions and Coming Home

Vertical Church (James MacDonald) First Blush Thoughts: From Elephant Room 2

Grace Family Baptist Church (Voddie Baucham) The Elephant in the Room

Reviewing the comments of TD Jakes (James White)

Wretched: Driscoll, Jakes, MacDonald and an Elephant

The Cannons of the Elephant Room 2 – Apprising Ministries (Chris Rosebrough)

I hope that gives a well-rounded (both sides) view of this whole theological debate.  Pray for the leaders involved, pray that they would not be swayed by men, but that they would stand fast on Scripture, and seek to only please God!

Sunday Meditation

Yes & Amen

Last night during Sunday evening bible study and worship, we did a brief study of Amen in the Scriptures.  You know how when you read the bible, maybe only a few things stick in your mind.  Well, for me one of “those things” has been the verse which bears the phrase “yes and amen.”

I knew it was in the New Testament.  I knew it was in one of the Pauline epistles.  I was pretty sure it was in either I or II Corinthians.

²⁰ For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

2 Corinthian 1:20  NKJV

Another verse in our study of God’s Wonderful Works that really stood out to me was in the context of the whole redemption/adoption passage located in Galatians 3-4.

3 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursedis everyone who hangs on a tree”), ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Galatians 3:13-14

The first verse (2 Cor. 1:20) the Lord has recently been laying upon my heart.  What an amazing promise!  It reminds me of the verses in II Timothy where Paul reminds us of God’s unchanging character:

11 This is a faithful saying:

For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
¹² If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
¹³ If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.

II Timothy 2:11-13

Isn’t it amazing how completely un-related topics can be so related and reassuring and faith building?  We serve an awesome God!

God Strikes Back

I am not a fan of Richard Dawkins.  I have read most of his famous attack on God The God Delusion, and found it completely silly, nonsensical and illogical.

When I ran across the series God Strikes Back I just had to watch!  Keep your eyes and ears open to the loaded questions he asks, as if he were stating well supported facts.  Both sides have the same evidence… it comes down to worldview and how each man interprets from a presupposed frame of mind, the evidence brought forward.

Dawkins is operating from a position of faith, as a “fundamentalist Christians” we all have faith in something or someone.  To deny this is foolish and irrational.

His arguments seem to me, very one dimensional. To Dawkins, evolution is fact. Period. End of story.

You can view all 5 parts:

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.