Dual Citizenship
John Fischer
Save the Whales! Collect the whole set!
Okay, I’ll admit, I was pulled in by the joke, but it did start me thinking about the environment and what a purpose-driven Christian should do about it.
Christians do not have much of a reputation for caring about the environment. Traditional doctrines of dispensationalism and pre-millennialism have led us to be pessimistic about society and the world we live in. Since God’s going to destroy this world anyway and build a new one (and get us out of here first), why care about it? This has created a detachment to culture and the environment that has made faith appear irrelevant and aloof. What do we care what happens to this place? It’s not our home anyway.
But this kind of thinking reflects negatively on our neighbors and on us as good citizens, and ultimately limits our opportunities to share Christ with those who don’t know Him. Jesus told his disciples to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God, what is God’s (Matthew 22:17-21). Well, in a democracy as we have in America, part of our responsibility to “Caesar” includes being knowledgeable about our society and the world we live in. In a democracy, citizens have more of a voice than they did under Caesar, and I’m sure in this context that Jesus would mean in “rendering unto Caesar” more than just paying our taxes.
We had an election in California yesterday. Only 42% were expected to turn out. If those 42% didn’t include 100% of all believers (and I’m sure it didn’t), then we are not fulfilling our responsibility to “Caesar.”
As Christians in a democracy, we need to see ourselves as responsible for bettering the lives of those around us. God’s salvation plan for us involves caring about the world we live in. He doesn’t save us to take us out of the world, but to send us into it (John 17:15-18). The world should be a better place because of Christians who take up residence in it. The message of salvation is not just for us.
Remember? It’s not about us. We got saved for someone else. That “someone else” includes our neighbors, co-workers, communities and yes, even the whales. The environment is a part of the splendid creation of God that He left us in charge of. Some of our non-Christian
friends care about this mandate more than we do. We need to change that. We are citizens of this world as much as we are citizens of the next. We need to live as good citizens of both.
PDL
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
an inviting refusal
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. Mark 7:24-30
The story of the Syrophoenician woman represents a fascinating echo of the story of the faith of the centurion (Luke 7:1-10). Both are “long-distance” miracles. Both involve the faith of a Gentile.
Once again it seems that Jesus has fled the draining presence of the crowd to get some rest. But once again he discovers that even for him, this is an impossibility. A desperate woman barges into the silence that surrounds the exhausted Jesus. Perhaps she had heard of his miraculous power from a group of her countrymen who had been with Jesus earlier (3:8). She frantically falls at his feet, begging for a miracle.
Rabbis were not supposed to speak to women in public, much less Gentile women. But Jesus engages the worried woman in an unforgettable conversation. At first his response sounds like a refusal. In fact, however, it was an invitation for her to hear Jesus' heart.
To us, Jesus' reply sounds harsh. Is he really calling her a “dog"? After all, dogs are looked on as unclean animals in Judaism (Leviticus 11:27). But Jesus does not use the word for stray dogs. He uses the diminutive term for “little dogs” or perhaps “pet dogs.” I don't think that the scene he is painting for the woman is a Jewish scene, but a thoroughly Hellenistic one. In her world it was common to keep small pet dogs. The image of the children throwing scraps of bread to their pets underneath the table does not offend her in the least. In fact, it has quite the opposite effect. Her charming but stubborn response appears to delight Jesus. It represents an imaginative expression of her faith in him. In the give-and-take of ordinary human conversation, Jesus is enchanted by the faith and wit of this extraordinary woman.
When she returned home, she sensed that the dark demonic cloud was gone. Her little girl was lying quietly in bed, no more convulsions, no more self-destructive behavior. Her home and her family would never be the same, and all this represented a crumb that had just fallen from the table! —Michael Card michaelcard.com
seeking: Lord, how has this story drawn me closer to your heart? How has it strengthened my faith in you?
responding: Does Jesus' attempt to reach out to someone in the language of a different culture represent a challenge and perhaps even a pattern for me? • How does it make me feel when I read that Jesus was delighted by someone? Have I ever realized that he delights in me?
Lord, sometimes all I can do is fall at your feet and beg for crumbs. Forgive me for my failure to know you better. Forgive me for forgetting your standing invitation to the banquet you have prepared and the special place at your table, just for me. Forgive me for believing that you are unapproachable—after all you have done to pursue me.
following: Faith in Jesus makes for miraculous change.
our journey
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. Mark 7:24-30
The story of the Syrophoenician woman represents a fascinating echo of the story of the faith of the centurion (Luke 7:1-10). Both are “long-distance” miracles. Both involve the faith of a Gentile.
Once again it seems that Jesus has fled the draining presence of the crowd to get some rest. But once again he discovers that even for him, this is an impossibility. A desperate woman barges into the silence that surrounds the exhausted Jesus. Perhaps she had heard of his miraculous power from a group of her countrymen who had been with Jesus earlier (3:8). She frantically falls at his feet, begging for a miracle.
Rabbis were not supposed to speak to women in public, much less Gentile women. But Jesus engages the worried woman in an unforgettable conversation. At first his response sounds like a refusal. In fact, however, it was an invitation for her to hear Jesus' heart.
To us, Jesus' reply sounds harsh. Is he really calling her a “dog"? After all, dogs are looked on as unclean animals in Judaism (Leviticus 11:27). But Jesus does not use the word for stray dogs. He uses the diminutive term for “little dogs” or perhaps “pet dogs.” I don't think that the scene he is painting for the woman is a Jewish scene, but a thoroughly Hellenistic one. In her world it was common to keep small pet dogs. The image of the children throwing scraps of bread to their pets underneath the table does not offend her in the least. In fact, it has quite the opposite effect. Her charming but stubborn response appears to delight Jesus. It represents an imaginative expression of her faith in him. In the give-and-take of ordinary human conversation, Jesus is enchanted by the faith and wit of this extraordinary woman.
When she returned home, she sensed that the dark demonic cloud was gone. Her little girl was lying quietly in bed, no more convulsions, no more self-destructive behavior. Her home and her family would never be the same, and all this represented a crumb that had just fallen from the table! —Michael Card michaelcard.com
seeking: Lord, how has this story drawn me closer to your heart? How has it strengthened my faith in you?
responding: Does Jesus' attempt to reach out to someone in the language of a different culture represent a challenge and perhaps even a pattern for me? • How does it make me feel when I read that Jesus was delighted by someone? Have I ever realized that he delights in me?
Lord, sometimes all I can do is fall at your feet and beg for crumbs. Forgive me for my failure to know you better. Forgive me for forgetting your standing invitation to the banquet you have prepared and the special place at your table, just for me. Forgive me for believing that you are unapproachable—after all you have done to pursue me.
following: Faith in Jesus makes for miraculous change.
our journey
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Before They Call
Missey Butler
On my drive into work recently, the Lord and I were conversing, as we often do. I said, “Lord, I know that You are well aware of the deep suffering that Your children are now enduring within the Gulf state region. Your heart must be truly breaking.”
I heard Him say, “Yes, My daughter, you know My heart well; you have understood that I am well acquainted with grief and sorrow. I not only see this particular area of devastation, but I also see the entire suffering world as My eyes roam to and from the earth. Though you can only see what is directly in front of you, I see the entire picture.”
I was immediately humbled as I thought of Isaiah 55:8, where the Lord God says, “My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, my ways are higher than your ways.”
“You are right, My Lord,” I prayed. “Our human limitations many times cause us to quickly doubt Your capacity of love and cause us to mistrust Your longing desire to deliver, heal, and restore all of those precious souls who find themselves in dire straits while living in a fallen world.”
God immediately reminded me of two powerful Scriptures that speak of His omniscience. In the book of Isaiah 65:24, He reminds us, “Before they call I will answer.” And again in Psalm 139:4, the Bible says, “Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely O Lord.”
Naturally, my initial response was “Well, Lord, if it’s true that You know the answer even before we call, why would You even have us pray to You at all?”
Right away I heard His voice speak, “Prayer never changes Me -- but it does change you.”
Wow! I had never thought of it that way. But the longer I allowed His words to settle within my spirit, the more I realized that it was true.
For I am the LORD, I do not change (Malachi 3:6).
In that moment, I realized we don’t pray to God in order to get Him to change His mind. God chooses to use our prayers as a means of transforming US into willing vessels. He, in turn, pours back His manifested power as we are made into His very image. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done.” We become a human extension of God to a suffering and dying world in desperate need of a divine touch.
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now (Romans 8: 22).
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8: 19-21).
As the cars quickly rushed by me on the busy morning commute, I quietly pondered the wonderful things I had just heard. Once again I was seeing into the heart of the King of all hearts, and I was moved with genuine compassion.
Will you answer the call to prayer? You may be surprised to find that even before we call, He has the answer. What a wonderful God we serve!
cbn
Missey Butler
On my drive into work recently, the Lord and I were conversing, as we often do. I said, “Lord, I know that You are well aware of the deep suffering that Your children are now enduring within the Gulf state region. Your heart must be truly breaking.”
I heard Him say, “Yes, My daughter, you know My heart well; you have understood that I am well acquainted with grief and sorrow. I not only see this particular area of devastation, but I also see the entire suffering world as My eyes roam to and from the earth. Though you can only see what is directly in front of you, I see the entire picture.”
I was immediately humbled as I thought of Isaiah 55:8, where the Lord God says, “My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, my ways are higher than your ways.”
“You are right, My Lord,” I prayed. “Our human limitations many times cause us to quickly doubt Your capacity of love and cause us to mistrust Your longing desire to deliver, heal, and restore all of those precious souls who find themselves in dire straits while living in a fallen world.”
God immediately reminded me of two powerful Scriptures that speak of His omniscience. In the book of Isaiah 65:24, He reminds us, “Before they call I will answer.” And again in Psalm 139:4, the Bible says, “Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely O Lord.”
Naturally, my initial response was “Well, Lord, if it’s true that You know the answer even before we call, why would You even have us pray to You at all?”
Right away I heard His voice speak, “Prayer never changes Me -- but it does change you.”
Wow! I had never thought of it that way. But the longer I allowed His words to settle within my spirit, the more I realized that it was true.
For I am the LORD, I do not change (Malachi 3:6).
In that moment, I realized we don’t pray to God in order to get Him to change His mind. God chooses to use our prayers as a means of transforming US into willing vessels. He, in turn, pours back His manifested power as we are made into His very image. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done.” We become a human extension of God to a suffering and dying world in desperate need of a divine touch.
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now (Romans 8: 22).
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8: 19-21).
As the cars quickly rushed by me on the busy morning commute, I quietly pondered the wonderful things I had just heard. Once again I was seeing into the heart of the King of all hearts, and I was moved with genuine compassion.
Will you answer the call to prayer? You may be surprised to find that even before we call, He has the answer. What a wonderful God we serve!
cbn
Monday, August 06, 2007
Your Shelter in the Raging Storms
By Cathy Irvin
Do you see the storm clouds on the horizon of your life? Do you know that the Rescuer waits to take your hand so that you are not blown away? There are so many trials, problems, and chaos in families. You shake your head, throw up your hands, and the only prayer you can really utter is “Help, Lord!”
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9, NIV).
Obeying the above Scripture is not always an easy task. Like powerful winds that shake your house, you can feel uneasy and begin to tire just from the anxiety of the unknown. That is what it feels like in the daily hassles of life. Where is the peace and rest? It is under the shadow of the Almighty. He is the secret place, that shelter from all the storms.
When storms are raging in your life, you must grab a hold of The Rock—that is Jesus. He is your refuge, your shelter, the only secure, safe place. He is the bright ray of sunshine in any storm that comes your way.
Think of the enemy as the storm and you are a ship out at sea in the whirlwind of the storm. You are being tossed by the waves, which represent anything that is thrown at you to bring you turmoil. You see a light ahead from the lighthouse, who is Jesus your Rescuer, to guide you to safety. You begin to sense the calm inside of you. The fear leaves, and you have the needed hope to weather this storm and reach your destination. There is no other way to safety. You can’t fight the storms of life without the help of the Lord. He shows you the way. He provides the Holy Spirit for comfort.
Your life might be smooth sailing, but then there might be those who try to make it rough waters. Don’t let any kind of storm rock your boat. Call on the Lord for strength and support. Remind yourself that He is the Captain of your ship.
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. “O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:10-12, NIV).
cbn
By Cathy Irvin
Do you see the storm clouds on the horizon of your life? Do you know that the Rescuer waits to take your hand so that you are not blown away? There are so many trials, problems, and chaos in families. You shake your head, throw up your hands, and the only prayer you can really utter is “Help, Lord!”
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9, NIV).
Obeying the above Scripture is not always an easy task. Like powerful winds that shake your house, you can feel uneasy and begin to tire just from the anxiety of the unknown. That is what it feels like in the daily hassles of life. Where is the peace and rest? It is under the shadow of the Almighty. He is the secret place, that shelter from all the storms.
When storms are raging in your life, you must grab a hold of The Rock—that is Jesus. He is your refuge, your shelter, the only secure, safe place. He is the bright ray of sunshine in any storm that comes your way.
Think of the enemy as the storm and you are a ship out at sea in the whirlwind of the storm. You are being tossed by the waves, which represent anything that is thrown at you to bring you turmoil. You see a light ahead from the lighthouse, who is Jesus your Rescuer, to guide you to safety. You begin to sense the calm inside of you. The fear leaves, and you have the needed hope to weather this storm and reach your destination. There is no other way to safety. You can’t fight the storms of life without the help of the Lord. He shows you the way. He provides the Holy Spirit for comfort.
Your life might be smooth sailing, but then there might be those who try to make it rough waters. Don’t let any kind of storm rock your boat. Call on the Lord for strength and support. Remind yourself that He is the Captain of your ship.
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. “O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:10-12, NIV).
cbn