Nehemiah Vision Ministries

In case you missed this last weekend, here is the video about some of what God is doing in Haiti.

Nehemiah Vision Ministries from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

About the election...

I didn't write this, Kelly did. But I wish I had.

"The Church has traded its birthright as the hope of the world for a steaming bowl of legislation and patriotism. We have sold our mission of good news for the poor, freedom for the prisoners, and sight for the blind to the world of policy and pundits. We gave up believing in the transformational power of the gospel and transferred our hope to enforcing spirituality through the Supreme Court."

She goes on...

"...why (do) Christians give more money, passion and energy to electing Obama or McCain than they do to loving God and their neighbor. According to Jesus, that's something He cares about a whole lot more."

Wow. Something to think about on Tuesday.

Ever feel like God is silent?

Currently, at Genesis Church, we are in a series called "Mind Games." The series is about faith, and the first message this week was I feel abandoned by God.

I have to admit that there are very few times I feel abandoned by God (although I used to, a lot). But there are times when I feel God is silent in my life (apologies to JV- I know He's not silent.) Why is it when I pray and I serve and I try hard to follow God, I dont' always hear Him? Then, in my daily reading, I came across this in The Message:

This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' -Isaiah 58:6-9

Wow. This is really convicting to me, especially the part about being avaialable to your own family. See, it's easy for me to give money to a cause, but harder to give time and effort to it. It's natural for me to want to help people I know and like, but harder for me to want to help my extended family. In fact, I'd rather give money to someone I don't know very well, but I know is trying to follow God than to give money to members of my family who need it. And as far as having time to talk to my family? Well, besides my mom, I can't remember the last time I picked up the phone to call them and just see how they're doing.

But, that's what God wants from me. Feed the poor. Invite in the homeless. Clothe the ill-clad. Be available for my family. That's harder than praying and reading the bible and serving others. That is giving up your life.

Peace to you.

Public apology to a flight attendant

So, to our flight attendant Larraine, I just want to say, "I'm sorry." No, I didn't yell and scream at her, as I'm sure some have done. I didn't insult her or act like a child or do anything to make her job more difficult. In fact, she probably doesn't even realize I feel like I owe her an apology.

Let me tell this story. On the flight from Houston to Brownsville Monday, Larraine was working her wings off to get pretzels and drinks to about 60 passengers crammed into a flying sardine can far from home. The flight is only 47 minutes, so she already had her work cut out for her when we started. Then, she experienced a beverage cart malfunction. Specifically, the cart's brakes failed and whenever she would park at a row to take drink orders, the cart would begin migrating toward the back of the aircraft like it had to use the john. Fortunately, she got to my row and served me before this happened. Then, she realized that holding the cart with one hand while pouring drinks with the other wasn't working. The obviously flustered attendant then had to come over the PA System, announce what had happened, apologize to the whole of the cabin, and turn into a waitress, taking drink orders on a notepad.

This is where the thought entered my mind- "Get up and help her." Really, how hard can it be? If you read this occasionally, you know I sometimes pray, "God, if it pleases you, send me someone to serve today." Well, this was my chance. He delivered unto me, not just a young flight attendant to serve, but the back half of an angry airplane. But all of a sudden, my water got tastier, my book got more interesting, the seat belt sign gleamed more brightly, and my rear stayed glued to my seat. I tried not to look up so I'd have to witness the obvious torment this experience was putting her through. Of course, she eventually had to give up and apologize to the last five rows of the plane or so, and all because I was too stubborn/proud/embarassed to serve.

So, for that, I'm sorry, Larraine. Though, maybe she's not the one to whom I should be apologizing.

We're all from the same clay

Look, you and I both belong to God.
I, too, was formed from clay.- Job 33:6

I write this from a hotel room in Brownsville, Texas. I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time on the south side of the border today, and this thought- this verse- kept coming to me. As I watched young mothers, walk their young kids to school, some of them not long out of school themselves. As I saw disfigured and disabled men selling hats on the bridge over the Rio Grande. As I saw busloads of production workers shuttled in and out of the industrial parks, I thought about how similar we all are. But our life circumstances aren't the same. And this got me thinking.

I'm quick to admit that some people are dealt a bad lot in life. In Job's case, he was really a good man, a man who pursued after God. Yet, a lot of bad happened in a short period of time. It would be hard for anyone to say he didn't have a bad break. In the same way, many of the people in Mexico (far from the poorest country in the world) won't have nearly the opportunity that my kids will. But, as easy as it is for us to admit some people are born in a worse situation than we are, it's very hard to admit that we just might have gotten a good break. Just the parents we have or the home into which we were born or even our country- that maybe good fortune played a role in how far we've come in life.

Seeing the people in Mexico, I'm always amazed by their sheer joy. I love seeing their smiles in the face of worse circumstances than I'd want to face. And, more than anything, I recently realize we're all made from the same clay. Really, what is it about their lives that make them less valuable than mine? Why should I save to have a secure retirement and a nice house when others who are just as hardworking, just as faithful, just as God-breathed, have so little?

I feel very fortunate to have been born when I was and where I was. It was not an accident. God put me in the situation I'm in so I can make a difference. I just need to think about how.

Meet Samura

This weekend, Esperandiu Pierre from Nehemiah Vision Ministries visited Genesis Church to talk about the work his ministry is doing in Haiti. As a result, our family decided to sponsor a new child, Samura. Here she is.



Samura is four years old and lives in the Nehemiah Children's Home in Chambrun, Haiti. We are so excited to play a small part in Samura's life. I'm not posting this because I want you to know how great I am. I am doing it because God might be calling you to spend a little money to make a huge difference in the life of a child.

I am reading the story of Nehemiah in the bible right now. One of the great, encouraging things about the story is that everyone had a part to play. Nehemiah organized people by family by skills. There was a place for the builders, laborers, warriors, cooks, even the singers. Everyone had a part to play, and no one part was more important than any other.

If you want to know more about child sponsorships from NVM, go here.

Make a difference.

David Crowder and the homeless guy

David Crowder is truly one of the funniest, hippest cats around. Great musician and terrific song writer, and he has apparently chosen to put himself right in the heart of a bad neighborhood in Waco, Texas.



So, this incident recorded on the Catalyst Conference website is, at the same time, amusing and thought provoking. Here is an excerpt:

John has basically told me that the homeless population near my house is 1) aware that there are such things as “Dove Awards” and 2) that my band and I have been nominated for some, and, 3) seriously? (!) The homeless had some type of meeting, or assembly, or whatever, and are praying we win? What on earth! That is the most ridiculous thing ever, and – what, seriously? Thoughts like this are in my head: David, you make assumptions that are wrong. You need to repent. You are evil.

To read the entire essay, click here.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:40

The Theology of Hypocrites

You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. - Romans 2:3-4

Everyone hates a hypocrite. Some of the more enduring and fascinating news stories involve people who are getting their "just desserts" for something they've railed against in the past. A well-known pastor who teaches against homosexuality caught in a homosexual relationship. A politician who made his name as a tough crimefighter caught up in a prostitution ring. There aren't many things that get people excited like seeing a once-smug celebrity doing the perp walk.

You don't have to ask too many non-christians what they think about Christians before the word "hypocrite" comes up. If you didn't know, the word hypocrite comes from the Greek, literally meaning "actor." Specifically, a hypokrites was an actor in a Greek play who played multiple characters, and had to "change faces" throughout the course of the drama. So how did Christians seem to co-opt this description? Well, for one thing, many Christians have become known far better for what they are against than what they are for. We're more interested in boycotting McDonalds because of their stance on homosexuality than we are on reaching homosexuals for Christ. We're far more inclined to protest abortion clinics than teach scared teen girls about the love of God.

Paul had this exactly right in this verse above from Romans...pointing the finger at other's misdoings does not forgive us our own. In fact, boldly proclaiming the wrongs of others intensifies the spotlight on our own sin, and makes it so much more satisfying to naysayers when we eventually show our human side.

When Jesus gave instructions, he told us to "go and do." Not go and protest. Not go and boycott. Not go and complain about. Go and do. If we would spend more time doing for others instead of judging them, maybe the word "Christian" wouldn't leave such a bad taste in a lot of mouths.

You don't really want THAT, do you?

Give him a short life,
and give his job to somebody else.
Make orphans of his children,
dress his wife in widow's weeds;
Turn his children into begging street urchins,
evicted from their homes- homeless.
May the bank foreclose and wipe him out,
no one willing to give his orphans a break.
Chop down his family tree
so that nobody even remembers his name.
But erect a memorial to the sin of his father,
and make sure his mother's name is there, too-
Their sins recorded forever before God,
but they themselves sunk in oblivion. - Psalm 109:8-15 (The Message)

This is the prayer of David about his enemy. He can't be serious, can he. Can anyone really hate anyone that much. Wait a minute... don't answer that.

Turn his children into begging street urchins? Chop down his family tree? Make sure his sins are recorded forever before God? I certainly wouldn't want this... would you? And from David- "A man after God's own heart" Should we really wish this on anyone? Would David have wanted his sin forever memorialized? Remember the Bathsheba Incident? Uh, hello, Kettle? This is the pot. You're black.

When I read this, I think about the thief on the cross, poking fun at Jesus because he allows himself to be crucified. "Ummm, I don't see you getting down either."

My business law professor in college said most people say they want justice, when what they really want is mercy. In David's eyes, the price for what his enemy had done should be high. Probably higher than it really should have been. But, we're all like that, aren't we? The hurts we lay on people matter very little, and the hurts we endure matter a whole lot. The people who wrong us must be punished, but those we wrong need to suck it up. We claim to just want justice for what others do to us, but we really want God to have mercy on us and punish that rascal!

Jesus said we are to do to others as we would have them do to us. I think this means not wishing harm on those who wish us harm. I certainly could be better at loving my neighbor.

Peace.