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Tag Archives: poor

CHRISTMAS AND GOD’S HEART FOR THE POOR

God calls us to serve the poor and marginalized, the people the world discards. We do so because we need them for our own spiritual lives as much as they need us. The prisoner, the mentally ill, the elderly, the “illegal” immigrant, the oppressed, the orphan, the homeless, the severely disabled, etc. – keep us grounded and honest, reminding us of what is important in life. I recorded this 4 minute video for the Nines Conference sponsored by Leadership Network around this topic. At EHS we felt it was particularly appropriate to share this at Christmas. So take a look. And remember, the roots of gift giving at Christmas is St. Nicholas, the former bishop of Myra, who took the churches gold and gave it to poor families. He did so in hope that they would not sell their daughters into slavery in order to put food on the table!

The Central Park Five

A co-laborer at New Life recently encouraged me to watch The Central Park Five. It is the story of five teenagers – four blacks and one Hispanic, ages 14 to 16, who were arrested and charged with raping and beating, nearly to death, a 28 year old, white woman after dark in Central Park. The boys were portrayed as  “beasts,” and “wild animals” with no remorse for their actions. Donald Trump placed full-page ads calling for the return of the death penalty. They spent the next 7-13 years of their lives in prison. Their lives and families were ruined. The problem: They were innocent. The murderer who committed the crime finally admitted it in 2002. This documentary is important to watch for many reasons. Here are my top three: 1. Social class and racial divisions remain a deep reality. The Central Park Five gives us an amazing portrayal of the injustice that befalls so. Read more.

Rule of Life NLF Part 4 (with commentary)

In this final and fourth section of the Rule of Life we are piloting at our local church, you will notice that I have intentionally kept this section short (It contains only 3 of the Rule’s 16 points!)  I will conclude with a little example of how this is working out in my own life. Work/Activity • Savor the sacred in all I do — at work, rest or play. Psalm 104; Eph. 6:5-8; I Tim. 4:3-4. All of life is a gift from God.  The word savor carries the notion of pausing to taste the deliciousness of our work, rest and play.  It is the God-like celebration of delighting over His creation, exclaiming that it is “very good” (Gen. 1:31). • Remember the poor and marginalized.  Exodus 2:23-25; Matthew 25:31-46; James 1:27.This is about a heart that carries the poor and marginalized, that remembers them like God. We are referring to a passion, not so. Read more.