kindness – I AM for You!

How do you solve poverty?

4 Will evildoers never learn— those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD?
5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

Isaiah chapter 14, NIV84

Those with money many times prey upon the poor – check cashing charges, fees for “plastic” money and money orders, cash advance charges, ever rising rent when the costs to the owner stay the same, higher prices for those trapped in the inner city without transportation for the same goods that cost less in neighborhoods that have customers that can shop around, lack of the volume discounts the rich enjoy, higher interest rates for loans to those who have the least money to pay for it.

Satan’s kingdom (fear-based, selfishness-based and money-based) is founded on “what can I get out of you?” Jesus’ kingdom (love-based) is founded on “what can I give to you?”

I believe heaven’s economy will be the opposite of ours. We will dream of what we can do for others, ask Jesus for the resources to do it, work with those resources in His strength and give away what we make, our only payment is the joy we receive when we give joy to others.

What would happen if we stopped giving hand-outs that are barely enough to survive on, and we made helping the poor become self-sustaining the same priority President John F. Kennedy gave making the United States the first on the moon? What about asking those who are challenged what they thought we could do to help them? What if we stopped being prejudice and gave jobs to those who would otherwise end up in jail because they can’t find someone who will hire them for honest work?

What would happen if I actually went about tangibly demonstrating the actions of the love of Jesus instead of just singing about it in my church or car?

I invite you to discover how you and I can allow Jesus to lift our challenged brothers and sisters. I invite you to discover: The Open Table http://www.theopentable.org/

Giving and Receiving

Just a few minutes ago I had the most unusual, and baffling and joy-filled experience. My wife and my younger son and I were dining at an Italian place we like. A gentleman we had never met before was waiting for his take-out order and asked us about my son’s hoodie with the Indiana Colt’s logo on it. We told him that my wife’s family lives in Indiana and that we had followed Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy. I was trying to get up the nerve to share Jesus with this gentleman using Tony Dungy as a starting point. I chickened out and didn’t say anything and the man reached over and picked up our check. It was for over $35 and to me that is a lot of money. So I took the check back from him. He took it back from me and said, “I’ve been blessed, now you go bless others”.

I was stunned. This has never happened to me before. I asked the man if he was a Christian. I don’t remember exactly how he answered. My wife said later that he probably was a Christian because not that many people say, “I’ve been blessed”.

Wow, God is awesome! This man is awesome! I’ve never felt like this before. He mentioned that I could leave a nice tip. We left $10.

This man doesn’t know that today was the last day of my job. Or, that my wife is going from 40 hours to 20 hours per week. But God knows. And this man obeyed God. Because this man obeyed God, God was blessed, the man was blessed and I and my family were blessed.

I gave this kind man my blog information and I hope he reads this. Thank you very much, sir, we appreciate your generosity, especially at this time.

I am being considered for another job with another company right now. I would be grateful if anyone who reads this would choose to pray for me to get the job that God wants me to get. (Also, I would be glad to pray for you about what concerns you if you would like to leave a comment).

What a day! Thank you Jesus! Thank you kind man! And thank you for reading this. Have a blessed day.

Nobody’s perfect

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
Psalm 51:5-6 NKJV

Being truthful in my head is very hard. I decide what I want because I want it. Then I pretend I really want it for another reason, a “good”, acceptable reason, a “righteous” reason. I deceive myself, but almost no one else. God wants me to tell the truth to myself. If I read the Bible and see all the “good guys” as me and all the “bad guys” as someone else, I’m missing everything. The Bible is a mirror to show me who I really am.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22-25 NKJV

Most of the Bible heroes were flawed! Abraham lied and let another man take his wife to save his skin. David got another man’s wife pregnant and then killed the man to cover it up. Jacob’s name meant deceiver and he lived up to it. Noah got drunk and exposed himself. Moses was a murderer. Peter, the “rock” of faith, denied Jesus and called down curses on himself to keep himself from suffering Jesus’ fate. Paul ruthlessly murdered men, women and children who would not betray Jesus.

If God can work with a crowd like that, and turn them into role models for us, do you think He can work with someone like me? or you? Well, not if I lie to myself and tell myself I’m really not so bad, and nobody’s perfect, and my good outweighs my bad, and who are you to talk and… and… and….

Jesus “redefined” sin so that no one would feel left out:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire….“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” – Jesus, Matthew 5:21- 22, 27-28 NKJV

God desires truth in the inner parts. Before Jesus can cleanse me of my sin I have to admit I have sin for Him to cleanse. If I deny the true motives for my actions and cover it up with “righteous lies” Jesus can’t help me. I have to be ruthlessly honest within myself.

Okay, so if I’m honest with myself, humble myself and agree with God that I have rebelled against Him, what do I get?

Peace with God. And peace within myself. And the ability to see and treat others differently. More compassion, less judgement, less demands. Jesus grants us forgiveness and grace (i.e. kindness we don’t deserve) and we can pass it along to those who hurt us. We absorb the sting of their attacks, and we offer them kindness and understanding in return. This isn’t natural, it’s supernatural. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit who works through you as you allow Him to work through you. This fulfills the second half of the verse: And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

To help with the process of confession you may want to ask someone you trust if you can tell them your sins as you confess them to God. This takes guts and I haven’t done it much. I will report back to you after I have talked with my accountability partner.

Pastor Dr. Charles F. Stanley observes, “Obedience always brings blessing”. And Jesus said, “The truth will set you free”. May God grant me and you the grace to always confess our sins, so that we can reap the blessings and freedom Jesus always wants to give us.

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