Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. I trust in You, my God! Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord Point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me for You are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in You. Remember O Lord your unfailing love and compassion which you have shown from long ages past. Forgive the rebellious sins of my youth…Archive for poor
visit the Park – June 6th
As usual, it has certainly been awhile since our last trip down to Monroe Park (Feb 21st!), and the weather is getting a little bit nicer so it’s getting time to pull out some lighter clothing for sharing so… Read the rest of this entry »
a house of love and hope?
In catching up reading some of my blogs in my reader, I read across a lot from Flower Dust and her visit to India with Compassion International. It got me thinking though of places past that I’ve known where situations are similar. Can’t really say a lot of places exist like that in the US and then I remembered the single year I lived in Venezuela. And that one food drive my class did at the American international school I attended.
I remember loading up some trucks and our class (which was only 10-15 teens … that was when I was in 11th grade for the first time) and actually going out to a village. We handed out the food. Read the rest of this entry »
the poor
Luke 4:16-21. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read… “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He appointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD… Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 6:20-21. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
James 2:5. Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
Ps. 140:12. I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor. (p 445)
Is. 25:4. For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress. (p 500)
Is 41:17. The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them Myself, as the God of Israel I will not forsake them. (p 513)
from The Bible on the Poor.
share your food
“… free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.“Stop oppressing the helpless and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be bright as day. The Lord will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too.”
That’s from Isaiah 58. But read before those verses and you get this:
Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Tell my people of their sins! Yet they act so holy! They come to the church [Temple] every day and seem delighted to hear my commands. You would almost think that was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf. “We have fasted before you!” they say. “Why aren’t you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don’t even notice it!”
“I will tell you why! It’s because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?
RELEVANT articles about the poor and the homeless
Another post I wrote linked to a RELEVANT Magazine article, which got me subscribed to their feed. A lot of great stuff. I wanted to specifically link to two:
What if the Church decided to take back the responsibility of social relief from the government? What if entire congregations of able-bodied men and women took the place of organizations and government programming and actually “became” the hands and feet of Jesus? What if we began learning the holistic ministry of Christ, reaching people through the tangible and the spiritual? What if we were the first group to arrive and the last group to leave any area where there is pain, destruction and brokenness? What if the need for various programs and outreaches become non-existent because ministering to the poor and broken around us became as much a part of our daily life as eating, sleeping and breathing?
Some of what was written in this article was exactly why I went down to Monroe Park… noticing that there are clothes and jackets and shoes that I seriously haven’t used in over a year!
The Homeless Evangelist
I have no idea what I’m going to do from day to day. Some nights I’m sleeping on the streets with the homeless simply because I don’t want to leave, and other nights I’m sleeping on the floor inside a million dollar mansion trying to convey the compassion of Christ to a confused businessman I may have met on the streets. I just wake up and go wherever He leads me. Its like Mary told the servants at that party in Cana, “Whatever He tells you to do, DO IT”.
My best suggestion is just go. It’s the last command we got from Jesus. He will make very clear the path that you should take. Talk to a homeless person. Sleep in the cold one night you find yourself complaining. Do something impractical, uncomfortable. By all means, if your church has a community outreach, get involved, but don’t limit the compassion of Christ to a once a month paper bag feed. Stick around long enough to find out names, stories and needs.
I don’t know what to say – but wow. Really listening to God and doing it. I don’t see how I can do exactly what he is doing (in particular since I have a family), but given whatever our situation is, I just love his suggest to “just go”. Open your eyes to God and follow what God is telling you to do. I’m not sure at all where He may be leading me but I’m going to try to just go and follow where He leads me. And next time, I’m bringing some friends from church and some stuff that others have (well, I should say hopefully still are making available since I haven’t picked it up yet!home) donated 
