Resources

In Matthew 25 Jesus gives us a command to serve the 'least of these'. Currently, I believe, refugees would fall under this category. For those who are interested in helping those who find themselves fleeing their countries of origin please read the below entry and click the link at the end to learn about the resources at our disposal.

"As the Syrian refugee crisis continues to grow, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship wants to resource you as you and your congregations and communities discern how best to respond to the more than 4 million Syrian refugees seeking safety in Europe, the United States and other countries around the world. As our government leaders debate how they will respond, the welcome of the stranger is being challenged because of fear and a poor understanding of the difficult journey Syrian families face when fleeing their homes." Click here to read the rest of the article.

Hallelujah! It's a good day!

If you feel like dancing while watching this, go ahead, dance it out.

It is good to be alive, don't you think?

#PorteOuverte

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, Parisians did something amazing, and probably unexpected to most of us westerners.

A twitter campaign #PorteOuverte was started to let people who were impacted by the attacks, where an open door was, a place to stay that was safe.

This is a stark contrast to the response American Governors have had. 30 Governors, as of 3 days ago have said they will not accept any Syrian refugees into their state.

There are strong opinions on both sides so let's look at what scripture tells us on how we are to deal with refugees and our enemies.

What does scripture say on how we are to treat a refugee?

When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

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He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:18-19)

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“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. (1 Kings 8:41-44)

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No stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler 
(Job, discussing his devotion to God) (Job 31:32)

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He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he  passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:29-37)

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What do scriptures say about how to treat our enemies? 

I include this question because many cite that the Syrian refugees are our enemies. If this is true then it is important to look at what scripture says about how we are to treat our enemies

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:38 - 39

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To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:20 - 21

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“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Luke 6:27 - 28

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Themes the permeate these verses include love, open doors, mercy and welcoming the stranger. If I take what these verses say I have to go out on a limb and say that the Christian church needs to look at the example Paris is giving, as it relates to refugees and anyone in need for that matter, and ignore the words of the American Governors.

We have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ by welcoming refugees who are fleeing war torn countries. Let's follow Jesus' and Paris' example,

Some Laughter and Encouragement

Enjoy this latest video from Kid President\

Be yourself and help someone around you. Let's make this world better.

Let go and Let God.

We are really good at creating divisions between each other but God wants to erase those dividing lines. Let's let God do that. 

In Need of Peace

ISIS terrorists strike again

CNN - ISIS' affiliate in Egypt says it brought down Metrojet Flight 9268. And U.S. officials are more confident that terrorists bombed the Russian plane, killing all 224 people aboard.

CNN - A pair of suicide bombings struck southern Beirut on Thursday, killing 43 people and leaving shattered glass and blood on the streets, Lebanese authorities said.

CNN - ISIS claims responsibility for Paris attacks

I really could use some peace, couldn't you? The thing to realize is that as we ask that question we need to understand that we are the answer. We can continue to spread the hate, vilify all Muslims, and call for war. But then we will only get more of what we have gotten. In times like these my mind returns to two famous quotes.

If we want things to change we must start with ourselves which leads me to one question for the Christian Church? Will we be a religion of peace?

A dear friend of mine, Dr. Steve Harmon, who is also my former theology and ethics professor of mine wrote so well the choice that is before us. I share it with you now, with his permission. Read with a heart that is willing to be challenged and shaped by God in this very moment.

Regarding much being voiced by American Christians in the wake of the horrific violence in Paris: We advanced and acted upon similar rhetoric post-9/11, and ISIS is one of the things we reaped. Responding to violence with violence does not participate in the shalom of the reign of God; the cycle of retaliation will without exception only continue to foment more violence until some party decides to stop, regardless of the actions of the other, and respond in non-violent ways that do live into the shalom of the reign of God. And that may well be a cruciform practice of following our Lord, as it was for the martyrs of the church for whom the ultimate victory of the nonviolent, suffering Lamb was encouragement in the book of Revelation. Over the next two centuries they lived out what Origen encouraged with these words explaining to critics of the faith why Christians did not serve in the Roman military: "For we no longer take up 'sword against nation' nor do we 'learn war any more,' having become children of peace, for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader." We should do likewise, or we will continue to reap ISIS and its successors in the cycle of retributive violence. Rather than denouncing another religion as failing to embody a claim to be a religion of peace and demanding violent responses to such failures on the part of some of its adherents, let's be a religion of peace.

A Checklist

Please take a moment to re-read this verse but insert your name where you see a blank.

"________ is patient, ________ is kind. ________ does not envy, _______ does not boast, _______

is not proud. __________ does not dishonor others, ___________ is not self-seeking, _________ 

is not easily angered, __________ keeps no record of wrongs. ________ does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth. _________ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always 

perseveres. __________ never fails."

When you insert your name do you slow down your reading? Do you question the validity of each statement when we say our name in context? We are all human and no one is perfect but we should always strive to live fully these qualities of love as we live this life with everyone?

Now that that the Presidential election is in full swing I think this would be a valuable checklist to use often to be mindful of how we treat one another during this politically divisive time as well as all the time.

Priorities

Let me just state that I am one of those Christians that prefers to hold off on Christmas till after Thanksgiving. I have several reasons for this, one being that in the church calendar Advent does not begin till after Thanksgiving in America, but lately one reason keeps surfacing. We as Americans could use a lesson on giving thanks.

When I look at my facebook feed I do see my friends who post something they are thankful for every day but I also see a lot of people complaining about things many would call "First world problems."

While children continue to die in our country, daily, by gun fire people are upset over a red cup.

It is easy, at least for me, to let things upset me. It takes practice to learn how to be thankful. I, personally, have found it helpful to have a gratitude journal. Each night before going to bed I write in my journal all the things I am thankful for that happened in the day. I have found ti changes my perspective and when life throws me lemons I am able to make lemonade and keep on moving.

Will you join me? Will you engage in the practice of giving thanks? Try it out a gratitude journal and let me know how it helps you.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post today. God Bless!

* What am I thankful for?

1 - for 43 years of life

2 - my ministry at HopeTree Family Services

3 - for rain

Why Christian? My response + others

I am a Christian because I am a part if the Human Race.  1 Corinthians 12: 12 - 31

I am a Christian because I have been redeemed from shame through Christ's shame on the Cross. John 19:23

I am a Christian because, like God, I still believe humanity is till good at heart. Genesis 1

I am a Christian because I don't want to know a life without my creator.

Why are you a Christian? Why do you continue to believe in a Creator that chose to become human, walk this earth, die on a cross and rise from the dead?

Click here to read why other's say, "Why Christian?"

Catch up

Since I missed posting yesterday there will be two entries into this one blog post. The second will have an intro with a link to a  previous post from a year ago with a message worth repeating.

1st Entry

On Judgment

We are all human

We are all sinners

We are all fallible

We all have skeletons in our closets

Is this why Jesus admonished us not to judge and warned us of God's 

judgment being measured in proportion to how we judge others?

Part of me  thinks yes.

A verse will you?

Romans 2:1

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, 

for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, 

because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Judging comes from a place from superiority. In order to cast judgment, deem someone as good or bad, we must elevate ourselves to some sort of sainthood, as better, have you. I also think judgment comes from place of insecurity. We as humans don't want to admit the four declarations I made above and in order to avoid doing so we go out of our way to demean and demonize others so we can feel better. It's all about avoidance. The problem with avoidance is, as long as we do it, God is not able to either love us or forgive us. Scripture is clear that until we seek forgiveness for sins and the forgiveness of others God is unable to forgive us (Matthew 6:15). Why do we deny ourselves the free gift of forgiveness that God has for us? I don't think I can answer that for you. I believe only as individuals can we answer that ourselves. May you be able to seek forgiveness, forgive others, and judge less. This world could certainly use a lot less judgment going around.

2nd Entry

Here are your Horses 

After my initial post for November, "Back on the Horse", a co-worker was upset that it was not about horses so here is a post on horses. Click here to read more.

Back on the Horse

Well, it's been awhile since I have been here. Really have had no interest in writing a monthly blog much less a daily one. But I also resist discipline and regimen so I am going to try something new. I received a challenge to write one post a day to my blog for the month of November. I already missed yesterday but I said I could commit to 29 days and will do so. For today I leave you with this image I came across the internet over the Halloween and All Saints Day weekend.