1939 THE MORE IMPORTANT STUFF
Today we are going to do an ‘all
nighter’.
A few months ago I started a new
thing- I invited a few of the homeless guys over to the house [actually that’s
not new].
But I cooked a good meal for them
and let them crash out on the floor for the night.
Over the years I have had a few
friends spend the night- but not on a weekly basis.
So- I fixed up a room for them-
and tonight they will use it.
Before the weeks out [I guess
that means in the morning?] I will try and write a post on Luke chapter 15.
I at least want to cover one
bible chapter a week.
But let me just make a few notes
today.
For those of you who are not familiar
with ‘our ministry’- the whole basis of what I do could be summed up from
Isaiah chapter 58.
In a way it’s an encapsulation of
the whole intent of the Judaic law.
Actually that will fit in with tomorrows
post.
In the Old Testament prophets we
read many times where God rebukes the Jewish people [called the People of God
under the old covenant].
And he says time after time ‘I
don’t want your religious ritual- I want your heart- I don’t want to know how
good your are at making animal sacrifice- I want you to sacrifice by loving
your neighbor’.
These themes are found all thru
out the prophets.
Now- in the New Testament we see
the same thing with Jesus.
He says ‘you tithe and do all
types of religious stuff- yet you have left out the more important matters-
love and mercy’.
Jesus truly fulfills his prophetic
role by defending the poor and speaking ‘truth to power’.
I see the role of the church- the
main job of Christians- as one where we are not building religious empires- where
we are not all about getting a lot of money to ‘reach the world’.
But where we are to live- as best
as possible- the new command that Jesus left us.
‘Love the Lord your God with all
your heart- soul- mind and might- and your neighbor as yourself’.
That’s the crux of the matter.
So- today I will go down to the
mission and invite about 5 or so friends.
We will pick up some food for the
‘party’ [I got paid last night!]
We will come back to the house-
hang out- share what’s been happening- eat- and then crash for the night.
Now- don’t be fooled- we will
talk much about Gods will- the guys always wind up bringing it up- it’s a
natural part of fellowship.
There will be no drinking or
smoking [pot].
Yeah- the guys will smoke cig’s.
But all in all they know the
rules- and they abide by them.
Last week Michael- the street
artist I have written about over the years.
Mike is a great painter- and
right now he works as a cook at one of the local buffets.
He came over just for a few hours
with some brothers- and later he told me that was one of the best times he has
ever had.
We did nothing- but hung out.
Many street people live lives of
quiet desperation.
I see them every day- they go thru
their routines- they know each other by name- but yet they rarely interact this
way- that is just getting together without it being a drug induced party.
And when they do get together
like this- it helps them.
The other day I was talking to
Joe- a friend I have known for 20 years.
Somehow he brought up the name
Tom.
I asked him ‘do you mean the Tom
that hit the 100 thousand dollar lotto ticket a few months ago’?
Yeah- one of my good friends hit
the Texas lotto thing- a scratch off- and won big.
He bought 2 Harleys and a bunch
of stuff.
I posted the pic on my site- you
probably would find it under the Photo album named ‘homeless 2012’ [Face book
site].
As I mentioned Tom- the Harley guy.
Joe told me ‘no- not him- he’s my
biological brother’.
Huh?
I have known both of these guys
for 20 years- have seen them on the streets- at the mission- all over.
Yet I never knew they were
related- actual brothers.
It’s easy for the guys to live
their lives- to pass by each other- and never really have fellowship- a good
time where they all get together and have fun- without getting drunk- without
getting high- just eating good food and knowing that we are doing it as a
ministry/friendship thing.
I simply spend my money on the
stuff- I take no offerings for it- imagine if we all did stuff like this? [I
know many others do- but most Christians don’t see this as a regular part of
the Christian experience].
If people all over the world did
this on a regular basis.
Then if you had all the church
people doing it- then you wouldn’t need to raise a million to do ‘Gods work’.
It would be getting done thru the
small sacrifices that each of us make on a daily basis.
The Apostle Paul wrote the Ephesians
and said ‘he that is not working- get a job- so you can have to give to those
in need’.
What?
No tithe here?
Not pouring it into a huge
ministry budget?
No red tape?
Yeah- the New Testament [and old-
Isaiah 58] teach us to actually use our resources to reach out- directly- to
the poor and hurting.
Read the epistle of James- or the
letter’s of John.
This teaching is not a side
issue- it’s one of the main things.
As a matter of fact- that’s why
the prophets of the Old Testament- and Jesus in the New- kept rebuking the religious
people of their day- because they knew how to keep the religious rituals.
But they forgot the ‘more
important stuff’.
Note- Do me a favor, those who
read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] -
I have posted lots.
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