"All the Poor and Powerless"

"Please stand up for the poor, help the children of the needy, come down hard on the cruel Tyrants...he rescues the poor at the first sign of need, the destitute who have run out of luck. He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out, he restores the wretched of the earth. He frees them from tyranny and torture--when they bleed, he bleeds; when they die, he dies." Psalm 72-Various Verses-The Message

God has always been caring for the poor and oppressed. This care is a common thread throughout the Bible--from Exodus and Leviticus to the Psalms and the Gospels. In the Old Testament, God instructed his people not to pick up crops that fell to the ground, so that the destitute among them would be able to come and gather the abandoned fruit. Psalm 9:9 states that "The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble." And Psalm 35:10 asks the questions "Who else rescues the weak and helpless from the strong? Who else protects the poor and needy from those who want to rob them."

All of these verses--and the countless others--show the Heart that the Lord has for the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the oppressed, and the "just plain down-and-out." 

Before Christ's redemptive work begins in our lives, we are these people. We might not all be physically poor, but in a sense, we are all poverty-stricken. Because of the Fall, our relationship with Christ has been distorted and we are poor in spirit. Where Adam and Eve once literally walked in fellowship with the Lord, we are now--by our own feeble attempts-- trying to reach God. Thankfully, God has always had a heart for the poor and he sent his Son to save us. He came, and in doing so, has piled blessings on us. 

As a Believer that is being sanctified to become more and more like Christ daily, one specific area I want to look more like Christ is in my care for the oppressed and the poor. Because...

"He loves us without condition, unrelentingly  forever. He loves us broken, and he loves making us whole again. And he asks those of us who love him to love others the same way. To choose them. To be agents of his hope, his forgiveness, his grace. He asks us to join him in rescuing others." Christine Caine-Undaunted  

All Sons and Daughters--All the Poor and Powerless 

Find You On My Knees

Troubles chasing me again,
Breaking down my best defence,
I'm looking, God, I'm looking for you
Weary just won't let me rest and fear is filling up my head.
I'm longing, God I'm longing for you

But I will find you in the place I'm in, find you when I'm at my end,
Find you when there's nothing left of me to offer you except for brokenness.
You lift me up, you'll never leave me thirsty,
When I am weak, when I am lost and searching
I'll find you on my knees.

So what if sorrow shakes my faith,
What if heartache still remains,
I'll trust you, my God I'll trust you.
'Cause You are faithful and

I will find you in the place I'm in, find you when I'm at my end,
Find you when there's nothing left of me to offer you except for brokenness.
You lift me up, you'll never leave me thirsty,
When I am weak, when I am lost and searching
I'll find you on my knees, my knees.

When my hope is gone, when the fear is strong
When the pain is real, when it's hard to heal
When my faith is shaken and my heart is broken and my joy is stolen, God I know that

You lift me up, you'll never leave me searching,

Find you in the place I'm in, find you when I'm at my end,
Find you when there's nothing left of me to offer you except for brokenness.
You lift me up, you'll never leave me thirsty,
When I am weak, when I am lost and searching
I'll find you on my knees.

End It

Slavery still exists. 

Right now, there are 27 million people trapped in slavery around the world. 27 million men, women, and children.

I remember first seeing something about human trafficking/slavery when I was younger, and not fully realizing what an epidemic this is worldwide. Even in the Unites States, people are being sex trafficked. In Atlanta alone, 5,000 women and young girls are yearly trafficked. 

It's time to take a stand and stop the spread of slavery. We need to provide a voice for these voiceless. 

Learn. Become aware of statistics. Read books like: Refuse to Do Nothing, The White Umbrella, and Not for Sale.

Raise awareness. Use social media to raise awareness about this massive issue in our world today.

Donate. Donate money and time to movements like the End it Movement which shines a light on slavery and provides resources, knowledge, and tools to end it. Check out A21 who strive to prevent, rescue, restore, and protect sexually trafficked girls. Or Wellspring Living works with girls and young women in Atlanta and neighboring communities who are forced into prostitution. 

Pray. Become a prayer partner with some of these organizations. Start a prayer group that prays specifically for the men, women, and children being sold into slavery daily. 

I know that through God's power and grace, we can make a difference in the world by working to end slavery. I pray that you will be a part in serving others and working to End It.

Food for Thought

"When we know Who we serve, it will determine how we live." Bianca Olthoff

As Christians, we've probably all heard something along the lines of this quote. I love how simple, yet convicting and truthful it is. 

In chapel this past year, the theme has been "Knowing God." I think this is an important concept to grasp. Knowing someone isn't just about knowing who they are or what they do--it's not the head-knowledge. When we truly know someone, we begin to grasp their essence and personally get to know them. With God, the more I know God and focus on the cross, the more I want to know of God...my desire to deepen this relationship grows. 

When we truly begin to grasp a tiny picture of who God is and we begin to know Him better what flows out of our lives will change. We need to keep our personal, relational knowledge of God at the forefront of our lives.

Last night I read a few chapters in Deuteronomy, and Moses reminds the people of Israel how they were afraid to go meet with God and talk with God because they believed His glory and power would be too much for them, so they sent Moses instead. God tells Moses "they are right in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! (Deut. 5: 28 b & 29)" If God's chosen people had kept this experiential knowledge of God at the forefront of their lives it would have changed how they lived.

It's the same for me, when I take into consideration all that I personally know about God and all that I've experienced because of God, the way I live out my life will be determined. I desire then, to more deeply understand and know Who I serve.

The Problem of Separatism

I go to a very conservative fundamentalist (southern) school. While I have grown-up in a Christian home, went to a Christian school, and attend a non-denominational church, it is nowhere near the level of conservatism as my college. 

Growing up in a Christian environment an idea heavily stressed was that of picking good friends. This has always been logical and obvious to me. Your very closest friends should be a group of people who are morally upstanding (don't read perfect), kind, loving, edifying, etc. This is something that my parents, teachers (in high school), youth-group leaders, and Pastors have taught. I've grown-up with an amazing group of close friends that have encouraged me and edified me spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. 

One thing that was not taught to me was the idea of separatism. When I went off to college, this message of choosing good friends was constantly brought-up. Something else that was taught was the idea of separatism--which, save evangelizing, is separating yourself completely from anybody that is "worldly." This idea to me was, and is, so antithetical to the message of the gospel. How can we, as followers of Christ, completely separate ourselves from lost people--people that need God desperately--when Christ Himself went and ate with sinners?

Today, in a Bible-conference service at my school the speaker took words in Psalm 1, which states "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers" and twisted them to fit his idea of separatism. He completely disregarded the fact that this first verse warns against "walking in the counsel of the wicked" rather than separating completely from the wicked. I don't believe that you can take this verse and completely write-off relationships with non-believers.

Sure, as Christians, there are certain things we are not to be a part of, but walking in the counsel of a non-believer is completely different than being a friend to someone who is not a believer. I believe we are to take Christ's example of befriending non-believers, but we obviously would not take their advice on important matters. Rather, we walk in the counsel of the godly.

A friend and I discussed this idea several months ago and she shared with me her disgust with this idea of separation. She works in the fast-food industry alongside Believers and non-Believers, and she is friends with a majority of them. Often times, she will choose to participate in certain activities with these non-believer friends--such as going out to eat or shopping--but she uses discernment and chooses not to be in certain situations with them that would damage her testimony. She would never separate herself completely from these friends though solely because they're not Believers.

So while there is to be some level of separation (perhaps in certain activities/situations) with these friends, as Christians, I don't believe in separating ourselves from these people completely. We are to use discernment in these cases and love on these friends like Christ loves on us. 

If we completely separate ourselves from non-believers, how is that a good testimony?

Five Books I've Read this Year

Blogging Prompt: List Five Books I've read this year.

Since we're only about three months into this year, I will include books from this past year that I have read.

1) The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian: This is one of my new favorite books. A literary friend suggested it to me, so I had to read it (: This book is about a girl, who after being attacked, goes on a hunt to figure out why Bobbie Crocker, a recently deceased man in the homeless shelter, has a photo of her from that awful afternoon. This book also winds in The Great Gatsby, so if you're a fan of that book (another favorite) this book will be interesting to you. It's not necessary, but it's a good idea to re-read The Great Gatsby before reading this book.

2) Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund: This fictional memoir about Marie Antoinette is interesting, even if you aren't a big history person. Although this is fictional, Naslund used real journal entries and letters either to or from Marie Antoinette, and she made it as close to how she believes life would have been for Marie Antoinette (after thoroughly studying her life). This book changes the way you perceive the Austrian-French princess, realizing that she's not the villain that history has made her out to be. 

3) Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis: This is one of the most inspirational stories I have ever read! Katie Davis, now in her early twenties, moved to Uganda straight out of high school, started a non-profit ministry, and is in the process of adopting fourteen Ugandan girls. Katie shares the story of her life in Uganda and how God has completely changed her life and the way she goes about doing things. God's strength and grace is so dominating in her life and it just pours through this book. It's both encouraging and convicting.

4) Midwives by Chris Bohjalian: Yes, another by Chris Bohjalian. He's just so good! This book is about *shocker*a midwife. The story, told from the point of view of a midwife's daughter, is about a delivery gone awry, the woman who dies in labor, and the trial to determine whether guilty or not. This story is so gripping, you will not want to put this book down. (As a side note: if you are squeamish, this book is probably not for you.)

5) When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty without Hurting the Poor...and Ourselves by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett: It's pretty obvious what this book is about based on the title. This book is really good for anybody that wants to be involved, or is already involved, in a care ministry or outreach ministry. This book helps break down common misconceptions about the poor and about ourselves as care-givers. Very interesting and informative read. This book has definitely helped me shape the way that I go about working in ministry.

Quotation

Find a quotation that moves you and write it down. Why does it move you?

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake." Victor Hugo

A Facebook friend posted this quote the other day as encouragement for anybody in an overly busy, stressful period of their life. It was an encouragement for me. Everyday we are faced with numerous road-blocks, grievances, or just flat-out stressful moments, but we are to face these with courage...more particularly, courage from the Lord.

This Sunday, at church, we went through Hebrews 2:14-18 and our Pastor said that as believers, we are to focus on the cross. This isn't some magical "make your problems go-away" cure; when focusing on the cross though, we remember that Christ suffered, and he didn't have to, but He loved us enough to do that. Remembering this gives us courage not only to face our current struggles, but also courage to not fall into temptation.

When we have this courage to face our sorrows, patience to face the small every day issues, and we've done all that we can do of our simple tasks in a day, we can go to sleep. We can rest in what Christ has done. That He has won the battle over sin and death; eventually these afflictions we've faced will be light and momentary (2 Corinthians 4). We can go to sleep, knowing that "God is awake." And how comforting is that?

<sup>Hebrews 2:14-18

14</sup> Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.