silent shouts

Away with the noise of your songs!

    I will not listen to the music of your harps.

But let justice roll on like a river,

    righteousness like a never-failing stream!

Amos 5:23-24 NIV

we are going silent, 

in a show of solidarity with the women 

and girls around the world

who know unspeakable things 

for those who have no voice

or whose voices are never heard

may our silence shout

speaking louder for them

than any words ever could

silent for the cause with Sandy and Deidra

 

as surely as

For as [surely as] the earth 

brings forth its shoots, 

and as a garden causes what is sown in it 

to spring forth, 

so [surely] the Lord God 

will cause rightness and justice and praise 

to spring forth before all the nations 

[through the self-fulfilling power of His word].

Isaiah 61:11 Amplified

rejoicing with the Sunday singers at Deidra's

 

government of love

A new government of love will be established

    in the venerable David tradition.

A Ruler you can depend upon

    will head this government,

A Ruler passionate for justice,

    a Ruler quick to set things right.

Isaiah 16:5 The Message

praising Him in community with Deidra

 

seeking safety

I received the following email earlier this week:

For assignment two of Compassion Blog Month we want you to write three things about one word.

I am reposting a prayer from one year ago today, during another blog month, with thoughts of 9/11/2001 swirling.  The one word I am highlighting is safe or safety

My precious Lord:

Today marks eleven years since the Twin Towers fell in New York City.

Eleven years since acts of violence forever changed the way we live life.

Security has taken top priority, risen up like a golden calf.

We seem to seek safety above all else.

Your life wasn't safe Lord, you lived each moment

knowing that one day you would pay the ultimate price

your blood, your life, given for us.

The winds are howling strong today

trees trembling in a frenzied dance

the wail like a cry in my spirit, a continuous prayer

let me be more like You

dead to myself and alive in You

living for grace, for love, for mercy and justice

There are so many children who have never known safety

they have never lived in what we would call a home

families are broken, shattered with need

help me to care more for them

then my own comfort

The wind howls still

as my prayers continue

help me be a mother to the motherless

a friend to the weak

let me be filled with Your passion, Lord.

I may be the only Jesus they see

may I reflect You, Lord as You are

not as I might imagine You

True light, true love.

The answer to every question, asked or silent.

Through the acts of my heart and hands

may they taste and see that You are good.

This month, the goal is to get 3,160 children sponsored.  If God has been tugging at your heart, this is a great time to visit the Compassion page and extend your heart in sponsorship.

  

This Is Our Love by Jody Cross

I know that God loves me not for what I do, but for who I am, His creation and His child. But I also know His desire is for me to be conformed to His image.

If I want to be like Him, I need to know what moves His heart.  He doesn't make this a mystery, His Word shows again and again that He is concerned with the broken, the fatherless, the hungry, lame and weak.

In this new collaboration with World Vision Canada, pastor and worshipper Jody Cross shares devotional thoughts behind sixteen worship songs by Canadian artists.  The songs are provided on a cd slipped neatly in a  back pocket of the book.

Each chapter includes a prayer section Lift it Up; discussion questions Talk it Out and practical steps to take Walk it Out.

One of my favourite songs included is Real Life Offering:

You want food for the hungry
Love for the lonely
Justice and mercy for those treated poorly
Tears for the lost and wounds from our cross
This is the worship you seek
A real life offering

The words resound in my heart, reminding me again and again of Paul's words to the Romans:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 NIV

I urge you to read and listen to this project, and pray that you hear not only the sound of these talented musicians and singers but the very pulse of God's heart.

Book has been provided courtesy of World Vision and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at Churches.WorldVision.ca/resources

The opinions I have shared are my own.
 

Activist Faith by Burroughs, Darling and King

I have long been moved, almost haunted by the words of James:

Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. James 1:27 The Message

How can I claim to be a disciple of Christ and shut my ears to His call?

In their new book Activist Faith, From Him and For Him, Dillon Burroughs, Daniel Darling, and Dan King tackle the tough issues of our time:

Human Trafficking; Immigration; Poverty; Environmentalism; Disaster Relief; Homelessness; Defending the Unborn; War, Terror and Genocide; Religious Freedom; Parenthood and Sexuality: Crime and Urban Decay; the Orphan Crisis.

Using quotes as varied as the Word of God, modern theologians and others, the words hit the mark and convict the spirit.  For example:

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. —Dr. Seuss

All three authors share stories of people they have met and lives that have been changed, including their own. I wept through Dan King's telling of a mother in Kenya:

My biggest question is the same for everyone we meet: “How has the opportunity to run this business with the support of the micro-loans affected you and your family personally?” 

She responds simply, “Now I have some extra money to buy things for my kids.” She has three young children under the age of ten. 

This is a response that I can really relate to! I have a six-year-old son at home. As his dad, I love having a little extra money from time to time so I can buy something special for him, such as a handheld gaming system. But I don’t see many kids around there playing on their handheld gaming systems. In most parts of Kenya, the term “handheld gaming system” usually means “a stick.” Some of the more fortunate kids I see get to play with an old flat soccer ball.

So I ask her, “What kinds of things do you buy for your kids?” She shrugs a little bit and responds, “You know, meat and bread.” 

For the first time ever in my life, I am utterly speechless. Here I am thinking of all the luxuries I’m going to shower my son with when I return home, and she just told me that all of her hard work provided her the luxury of buying her kids food!

Activist Faith does much more than remind us of what God desires. The authors provide examples, resources and effective steps to take with sections in each chapter: How You Can Help;Think It Through; Helpful Tools and Resources - for Research and for Action.

I pray that this book changes each and every one of us.  May these ending words burn deep in our spirits:

As you pray for guidance, consider that Jesus might answer, “I’ve changed you so you can live out your faith where you currently live, work, and study. Begin right now.” Okay, so Jesus did not exactly say it like this in the Gospels, but it’s accurate realistic paraphrase. You might not like your job, your major, or your place in life at the moment. God might have some big plans for you in another part of the world someday. Until then, start where you are. That’s where He’s placed you for the moment. Live with Activist Faith.

Activist Faith isn't just a book, it is a way of life.  Be sure to check out the website which is intended to be an ongoing resource to support the movement.

I was privileged to receive an advanced reader copy of this important work by Navpress.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.

 

Letter on a windy day...

This week's assignment for Compassion Bloggers was to write a letter to God about sponsorship.

One week into blog month and 837 children have been sponsored.  We still have at least 2,271 more to go in order to reach our goal.  Visit the sponsorship page here, pray, love these ones...

My precious Lord:

Today marks eleven years since the Twin Towers fell in New York City.

Eleven years since acts of violence forever changed the way we live life.

Security has taken top priority, risen up like a golden calf.

We seem to seek safety above all else.

Your life wasn't safe Lord, you lived each moment

knowing that one day you would pay the ultimate price

your blood, your life, given for us.

The winds are howling strong today

trees trembling in a frenzied dance

the wail like a cry in my spirit, a continuous prayer

let me be more like You

dead to myself and alive in You

living for grace, for love, for mercy and justice

There are so many children who have never known safety

they have never lived in what we would call a home

families are broken, shattered with need

help me to care more for them

then my own comfort

The wind howls still

as my prayers continue

help me be a mother to the motherless

a friend to the weak

let me be filled with Your passion, Lord.

I may be the only Jesus they see

may I reflect You, Lord as You are

not as I might imagine You

True light, true love.

The answer to every question, asked or silent.

Through the acts of my heart and hands

may they taste and see that You are good.

  

 

Justice for who?

Often we cry out for justice
wanting what is right for ourselves.
Pounding fists on tables
pointing fingers
how loud our demands.
"justice justice justice"
shouts out in the streets
"I want what is mine"

Where is mercy?
Where is kindness?
Where is the heart of our God that He longs to have beating in us?


And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ Zechariah 7:8-10 NIV

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 Amplified

Joining Peter today where we're talking about justice


 

Beyond another chance?

This week's poster depicts Mike Tyson.  I am not a fan of boxing so I admit to not knowing much good about Mike, all I ever heard about was the outrageous behaviors, the hurting, the biting....

I know nothing about his childhood, his upbringing, how much hurt he may have walked through and carried with him.  I don't even know if he knew Jesus.

I do know that hurt animals lash out, spewing forth from deep wells of pain.  Our Lord gave Himself to take that pain away, not just for those we think of as "good" but for each.one.of.us.

People of the Second Chance ask us to raise our voices for second chances, to overthrow judgement and liberate love.  Will you join us?

Seeing the plenty

This week we have enjoyed the first beets, cucumbers and potatoes from our garden.  This afternoon I pulled up a few carrots and one small ripe roma tomato.

We fell very, very short of our usual harvest of peas, but it looks like there will be more than enough beans.

It isn't possible to say how well the corn will come in, some looks good, some not.

Each time I lean toward grumbling and complaining or feeling sad about all the plants that have died without giving up their normal abundance...  something catches in that back of my throat, tears fill my eyes.

Image by United Nations Photo via Flickr

I think of those who are leaving some of their children on the side of the road to die of hunger and thirst so that they might save the others.

While I see the plenty that surrounds me, I thank God for all that He has provided for us and ask "Why me, Lord?  Why have I been so blessed?"

I find myself praying that He would show us what He would have us do.  A cup of cold water is needed.  My heart can't seem to turn away.

What will we do about it?

The Lord says "go" and the echo vibrates in our sprits.
Our very short term in Africa cemented our desire for more.
He says "listen to My heart" and I hear a cry for justice, compassion, freedom.

Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. James 1:27 The Message

Yes, we hear and our hearts tremble.  We hear and eyes grow damp.  We hear and we know and we can't deny His call.  Can we?

We read missions, we talk missions, we dream, we plan, we pray and we wait.  It is not yet time to travel far from family needs.

Yet in that waiting for the "big plan" do we have the right to turn away from the day to day that surround us shutting our eyes to obvious needs?

We can't claim ignorance.  We can't say we don't know the will of the Father for He has made it plain.

No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.  Isaiah 58:6-7 NLT

Today I am asking myself the very same question I ask of you.  We have heard of the hunger, the homelessness, the sorrow and pain.  Now, what will we do?

Father God, here I am, Your servant, yes, Your slave.  I am sorry for my indifference to the things that grieve You, Lord.  I  repent for looking so hard at the big picture that I have lost sight of the needs and opportunities You may be placing before me.  Today I ask that You show me where You would like me to be Your hands, Your feet, and the extension of Your love.  Lead me, Lord and grant me the courage to follow.

Finally joining the discussion again with Sarah and Jason - this week at Sarah's Living Between the Lines

Keep my eyes open, Lord

Cover via Amazon

One hundred jetliners crashing every day, day after day after day. Hundreds of thousands of lives lost. That would surely make the media and the world take notice, right?

That many lives and more are lost each day to illness, starvation, the ravages of poverty. Lives ended one at a time, so silently that our comfortable lives do not feel the whisper of their passing.

Richard Stearns discusses this in Chapter 9 of The Hole in Our Gospel, leaving my heart broken again, gasping for air, on my knees asking the Lord how I can keep myself attentive to things my flesh would rather turn away from.

I may not be able to help the millions, but show me how to bring comfort, provision, life, to one at a time. Help me see the faces in the big picture, and to see the big picture in the eyes of each one.

This chapter makes me dislike myself, and for that I say "Thank you, Mr. Stearns. Thank you."

Come join the discussion this week at Sarah M. Salter's Living Between the Lines.

Word Filled Wednesday - Justice flows

But let justice run down like waters and righteousness as a mighty and ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:24 Amplified

Lori is hosting us today at All You Have To Give