As I look around at the state of the church today, one thought keeps resonating in my head: “We can’t stay here”. Here is the dead religion of our fathers. Here is where over two billion people survive on less than $2 a day. Here is where countless young people have turned their back on Christ and walked away from His church. Here is a world filled with hatred, deceit, murder, rape, incest, slavery, and pedophilia. Here is a world that has lost its way. Here is a church full of people who have the cure but are too afraid to step outside of their comfortable air conditioned mausoleums we call “church”. Here the world lies bleeding. Here there is no hope. We can’t stay here.
poverty
The Daily Grind
Every day we are faced with new struggles, new challenges, and additional points of stress. Life just never stops coming at us and it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed. Satan loves to alter our focus so we only see what is immediately around us. We begin to believe our problems are bigger than they are, and that others have it so much easier than we do. When we take a step back and look at the world around us, we see our own problems to be so small in comparison. Still, they are our problems, our issues, and our frustrations. We are the ones who have to deal with them. We are the ones who must find ways to follow Christ through all of the obstacles that Satan throws into our path.
For the Sake of a Child
This is the last post for Compassion’s Blogger month. Over 2,000 new children have been sponsored so far this month, which is fantastic. To meet their goal, Compassion is still seeking to get another 1,000 children sponsored before the end of the month. Surely we can get this done. It is our absolute duty to care for these children in need (James 1:27; Matthew 19:14). We have been entrusted with much so that we might serve much. It’s only $38 per month. What could you give up to save the $38 and sponsor a child today? As you consider that, remember that whatever you are giving up is being traded to provide a child with education, healthcare, clothing, food, self-confidence, and most importantly the opportunity to learn about Jesus. They will understand first-hand what it means to live like Jesus as they see you model Christ in your own life.
Make a Difference
The problems of our world are so many and diverse that it may appear that there isn’t much we can do about them. On the surface, this may be true; it is very difficult, if not impossible, for any one of us to make a significant impact on the major ills of society. You have, however, probably heard the saying “As one person you can’t change the world, but you can change the world for one person”. This is where we have to focus. On our own we may never make a dent in world poverty, but we can adopt a person or a family and make certain they have enough to eat. On our own we may never be able to give shelter to all who are homeless, but we have the ability to provide a bed and shower to a single mom down on her luck.
The Curse of Prosperity
I watched a video of Haiti this morning and was struck by the looks of desperation in the eyes of the people. I saw very young children in alleyways looking lost and mothers sitting in makeshift clinics, their faces stoic and without hope. The earthquakes of 2010 exacerbated the problems in an already failing infrastructure.
These are our brothers and sisters in Christ; they should be full of joy, but the ravages of life in a sinful and broken world have relegated them to a life of despondency. [Read more…] about The Curse of Prosperity