This week for Sunday school I am teaching about the importance of the "Body the Christ" or the Church. Often times we take advantage of it or we, like the Corinthians, discount its members. (1 Cor. 12:21-25)
As I was preparing today I was thinking that if my physical body was sick ie., I had the flu, cut my hand, or had a headache, I would care for it. I would find all of the materials needed to make myself better and I would take action right away; my action would be top priority.
I then started thinking about how easy it is to find/identify sickness in the body of Christ. I mean, its everywhere. The body of Christ is made up of people who are sinful and broken. We, as the "Body", suffer when one member suffers. No matter what ministry we find this sickness in, ours or another, what is our response to it?
I was deeply convicted today thinking about this. Most of the time I want to run far far away from the sick member. We think, "Ministry isn't supposed to be this hard, is it?" or "I'm not supposed to be this inconvenienced, am I?"
How prideful we are! We spend hours and hours throughout the day making sure our own bodies are fed, exercised, and groomed, but when it comes to the Body of Christ, we are lackadaisical. We are ready to quit serving because of people and differences.
Jesus give us grace to see where we are running away from people instead of embracing and caring for them. Humble us to see where your Church is hurting. Give us strength Lord to love Your Church. Help us to give of ourselves for her, just as you did.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Japan
I wanted to write about what's going on here in Japan. The earthquake and tsunami that took place last week were truly devastating. Here are some stats for you to think about:
- roughly 590,000 people have been displaced
- about 380,000 people are in shelters
- the expected death toll is 10,000 people
- over 1 million people are without water
- over 5 million without power
These stats are astounding! The crisis is far from over. I'm sure everyone has heard about the nuclear power plants and threats from radiation exposure.
Its so hard to hear about the mass amounts of people who have lost everything they own and not feel something in your heart for them, but most of us move on with our lives.
They say that the people on the coast had 10 minutes from the time of the earthquake to when the tsunami hit. Most people did't make it out.
The feeling around here, in places of business and leisure, is sobering. The people are cordial, as normal, but very somber. Many of the Okinawans have family or know people who are directly affected by this disaster.
The Okinawan Christians around the island are holding nightly prayer meetings to lift up friends and family in mainland. Words are not enough to comfort broken and hurting friends and family. These faithful servants ask the Father for help.
Let me tell you a story about a friend of a friend.
This woman is getting married in about a week. She grew up in Sendai, the town that was hit the hardest. Her parents still live there. Its been about a week since the earthquake and tsunami. She hasn't heard from them yet. They are postponing the wedding until she hears one way or another.
This is one story in a million. There is SO much action to be done to undo what the earthquake and tsunami did.
My husband was among 38 other Marines from his unit to deploy to mainland Japan. They were at work all last weekend preparing supplies and equipment to take with them on their journey to aid in the relief. Monday they took a 24hour boat ride to mainland. They are far away from the disaster right now. Their humanitarian efforts will commence upon hearing word from the Prime Minister of Japan and the President of the U.S. As of now, they are gone with an "open ended" return date.
I am so thankful that he left for humanitarian efforts. While the devastation is similar to that of war, it is not war. He does not need a weapon at all. I am thankful that he gets to reach out and be Jesus to these people in a very small way.
The need is SO great in northern Japan right now. We have a Saviour who knows our needs. We can reach out to others because we have been taken hold of by Him first.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Side note.
Look at my pretty flowers. The husband surprised me with them even though he's in Thailand right now. :(
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Justice II
There is so much injustice in the world. The more I look around, the more overwhelmed in seeing all of the areas where injustice occurs. I've noticed that it doesn't matter what culture or what age group or type of government a country has, where people are, there is injustice. How daunting.
I've been seeing this reoccurring theme in my heart and other blogs to right the wrong in the world. There is something in our generation that sees the hurting and brokenness and wants to take action. We really do want hunger to stop, people to love the earth, kids to be adopted, and ultimately we want world peace. We spend money to go to poor places in the world to be a part of the change that is happening there. We want our lives to mean something. And most times we think our lives have value if we do good. This is in Christians and non-Christians alike. Our generation is striving to do more.
Its so good.
I go back and forth as to whether humanitarian aid for the sake of doing good, is a truly good thing. If these various humanitarian efforts give people cloths, shelter, water, and medical care but have no Jesus, are their efforts in vain? Are they just putting a small band-aid on a would that needs full on surgery? Does it help anything? I still don't know what I think about all of this. I want to say that it is still a good thing. People helping people is great. So, I guess I'll leave it there for now.
What does doing justice/kingdom work look like for me? Well, I've been throwing around a few different ideas. 1, inviting single marines over once a week to give them a free meal and a home to hang out in...maybe some games and a good time. 2, taking most every Saturday and joining with an already established group to feed homeless. (This church has about 200 homeless Japanese people in it...amazing!) 3, trying to help out more somehow with the military wives and kids.
We shall see.
I've been seeing this reoccurring theme in my heart and other blogs to right the wrong in the world. There is something in our generation that sees the hurting and brokenness and wants to take action. We really do want hunger to stop, people to love the earth, kids to be adopted, and ultimately we want world peace. We spend money to go to poor places in the world to be a part of the change that is happening there. We want our lives to mean something. And most times we think our lives have value if we do good. This is in Christians and non-Christians alike. Our generation is striving to do more.
Its so good.
I go back and forth as to whether humanitarian aid for the sake of doing good, is a truly good thing. If these various humanitarian efforts give people cloths, shelter, water, and medical care but have no Jesus, are their efforts in vain? Are they just putting a small band-aid on a would that needs full on surgery? Does it help anything? I still don't know what I think about all of this. I want to say that it is still a good thing. People helping people is great. So, I guess I'll leave it there for now.
What does doing justice/kingdom work look like for me? Well, I've been throwing around a few different ideas. 1, inviting single marines over once a week to give them a free meal and a home to hang out in...maybe some games and a good time. 2, taking most every Saturday and joining with an already established group to feed homeless. (This church has about 200 homeless Japanese people in it...amazing!) 3, trying to help out more somehow with the military wives and kids.
We shall see.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Justice I
Here are some quotes from "Generous Justice," by Timothy Keller.
" Although they(people in his church) were living comfortable, safe lives, they became concerned about the most vulnerable, poor, and marginalized members of our society, and they made long-term personal sacrifices in order to serve their interests, needs, and cause. This is, according to the Bible, what it means to 'do justice.'"
"When most modern people see the word 'righteousness' in the Bible, they tend to think of it in terms of private morality, such as sexual chastity or diligence in prayer and Bible study. But in the Bible tzadeqah refers to day-to-day living in which a person conducts all relationships in family and society with fairness, generosity, and equity."
*tzadeqah is a Hebrew word that is mostly translated as "being righteous," but should be translated as "being just".
"We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God. Doing justice includes not only the righting of wrongs, but generosity and social concern, especially toward the poor and vulnerable. This kind of life reflects the character of God. It consists of a broad range of activities, from simple fair and honest dealings with people in daily life, to regular, radically generous giving of your time and resources, to activism that seeks to end particular forms of injustice, violence, and oppression."
" Although they(people in his church) were living comfortable, safe lives, they became concerned about the most vulnerable, poor, and marginalized members of our society, and they made long-term personal sacrifices in order to serve their interests, needs, and cause. This is, according to the Bible, what it means to 'do justice.'"
"When most modern people see the word 'righteousness' in the Bible, they tend to think of it in terms of private morality, such as sexual chastity or diligence in prayer and Bible study. But in the Bible tzadeqah refers to day-to-day living in which a person conducts all relationships in family and society with fairness, generosity, and equity."
*tzadeqah is a Hebrew word that is mostly translated as "being righteous," but should be translated as "being just".
"We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God. Doing justice includes not only the righting of wrongs, but generosity and social concern, especially toward the poor and vulnerable. This kind of life reflects the character of God. It consists of a broad range of activities, from simple fair and honest dealings with people in daily life, to regular, radically generous giving of your time and resources, to activism that seeks to end particular forms of injustice, violence, and oppression."
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
New Identity
Along with the New Year comes a slew of new resolutions. People with a desire to be different than they were last year set out on this journey to change themselves, to make self improvements. These resolutions include: lose weight, eat healthy, quit smoking, read more, do better in school, love better, save more money, the list goes on and on.
The thing about it is that our human efforts are futile. We in and of ourselves cannot change who we are. We cannot muster up enough strength to change the motives behind why we have the habits we do. We are flawed. Oh how we try to change ourselves, to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, so to speak. We resolve to be different. We disregard our natural state of brokenness and weakness to "be that change we want in the world."
I, like so many others, NEED to change this year. Its almost imperative that I not stay in the same place. I NEED to lose weight, and eat healthily. I NEED to love more, be a better friend, give more of my time/money/talent. And for a while I think I could muster the strength to do so. But in doing so by my own strength, I will get burnt out, like so many of us do. I will start strong and a month or two down the road, all of my efforts will frustrate me. I won't get the results I wanted...my efforts would be in vain.
So what is the answer. How do we change our identity? How do we find strength that will last? How do we make the change stick?
I've been thinking about these questions lately. I've been thinking of ways that I could change; see the motive of why I do these things or don't do other things is deeply rooted into my humanness. I know I have a problem and I want to fix it. The issue that I find over and over again is that I can't.
I NEED to be healed by the Healer and fixed by the ultimate Fixer, Jesus Christ. I NEED my identity rooted in Him. I NEED my heart to be changed and my thoughts to be renewed. I NEED Jesus. I NEED God. I NEED the Holy Spirit working and moving and pointing me to the cross daily.
So the next question is, how do I get Him? How do I find Him?
I've been thinking about the scripture, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matt. 6:33
I think that to figure out what His kingdom is so that I can seek it, I must read His words. To be transformed into His image, I need to know Him more and more. He is life. His words breathe life into me.
I'm not trying to be legalistic about this. I just know that something in my life has to change. I've tried doing things my way. I've tried mustering up strength, but in the end, my efforts fail me.
I am going back to the beginning. By the power of the Holy Spirit, speaking to me through the Word of God, I will change. How could I not?
So just like that, I am starting a new Bible reading plan. I read about it on another blog that I semi follow. You can start it too, if you'd like. Here's the link. http://www.scribd.com/doc/12349985/Professor-Grant-Horners-Bible-Reading-System
I just figure that I need help with my priorities and my identity. I need help doing the things I should be doing in this life. I need help being a good steward of everything I have here on earth between the times. (You know, between the time when Jesus came and when he will return again). Who better than Jesus to help me out?
The thing about it is that our human efforts are futile. We in and of ourselves cannot change who we are. We cannot muster up enough strength to change the motives behind why we have the habits we do. We are flawed. Oh how we try to change ourselves, to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, so to speak. We resolve to be different. We disregard our natural state of brokenness and weakness to "be that change we want in the world."
I, like so many others, NEED to change this year. Its almost imperative that I not stay in the same place. I NEED to lose weight, and eat healthily. I NEED to love more, be a better friend, give more of my time/money/talent. And for a while I think I could muster the strength to do so. But in doing so by my own strength, I will get burnt out, like so many of us do. I will start strong and a month or two down the road, all of my efforts will frustrate me. I won't get the results I wanted...my efforts would be in vain.
So what is the answer. How do we change our identity? How do we find strength that will last? How do we make the change stick?
I've been thinking about these questions lately. I've been thinking of ways that I could change; see the motive of why I do these things or don't do other things is deeply rooted into my humanness. I know I have a problem and I want to fix it. The issue that I find over and over again is that I can't.
I NEED to be healed by the Healer and fixed by the ultimate Fixer, Jesus Christ. I NEED my identity rooted in Him. I NEED my heart to be changed and my thoughts to be renewed. I NEED Jesus. I NEED God. I NEED the Holy Spirit working and moving and pointing me to the cross daily.
So the next question is, how do I get Him? How do I find Him?
I've been thinking about the scripture, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matt. 6:33
I think that to figure out what His kingdom is so that I can seek it, I must read His words. To be transformed into His image, I need to know Him more and more. He is life. His words breathe life into me.
I'm not trying to be legalistic about this. I just know that something in my life has to change. I've tried doing things my way. I've tried mustering up strength, but in the end, my efforts fail me.
I am going back to the beginning. By the power of the Holy Spirit, speaking to me through the Word of God, I will change. How could I not?
So just like that, I am starting a new Bible reading plan. I read about it on another blog that I semi follow. You can start it too, if you'd like. Here's the link. http://www.scribd.com/doc/12349985/Professor-Grant-Horners-Bible-Reading-System
I just figure that I need help with my priorities and my identity. I need help doing the things I should be doing in this life. I need help being a good steward of everything I have here on earth between the times. (You know, between the time when Jesus came and when he will return again). Who better than Jesus to help me out?
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