Helping the Hurting

On Tuesday I had the privilege of helping at an Easter dinner for the homeless and poor in downtown Ottawa, put on by Ottawa Innercity Ministries.  I have been able to volunteer at several dinners in the past.  I help a bit in the kitchen with preparations, and then take photos of the event and the guests.  Some of the guests are excited at the opportunity to have their photo taken with a friend or family member.  I can then get them copies (digital or hardcopies) later.  I end up spending a lot of the time just chatting with the guests. Many have lived lives that we would never wish on our enemies, let alone our own children.  They have faced abuse of all kinds from people that should have loved them.  They got caught up in addictions in a desperate attempt to hide from the horrible pain in their lives.

I spent the most time with a man probably in his early 50s – I’ll call him Tom.  Tom lives alone and barely survives on his disability cheque.  He has just started seeing his 3 year-old granddaughter this past year.  Tom can only see her on holidays, as his relationship with his daughter is shaky.  His son swindled him out of a lot of money and they are no longer speaking. As far as I could tell, Tom has no other family.  I spent a lot of time with Tom because he was so desperate for someone to care about him.  At one point the loneliness became tangible, as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

When you see a homeless person or beggar on the street, what do you do?  I have heard so many religious people tell me that the homeless deserve to be there.  They categorize all the people on the streets as people who made bad decisions and became alcoholics or drug addicts because they were somehow morally deficient – or at least worse than the good religious person telling me this.  They refuse to give the homeless person any money because “they will just use it to buy more alcohol or drugs.”  So, with the self-righteous logic in place they hurry past the most needy people in our culture without even a glance. (It sounds a lot like the priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan.)

What was Jesus’ attitude towards these hurting people? In Matthew 25:41-46 Jesus challenges anyone who turns a blind eye to those in need that their lack of love will result in eternal punishment!

            “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

            “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

            Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mt 25:41-46 NKJV)

When you walk past that homeless person, you have walked past Jesus in His greatest need.  If you won’t give him or her money, how about taking ten minutes and buying them a cup of coffee and a muffin? Will you even give them acknowledgement?  A smile?  A handshake and prayer?  If we came across a homeless dog, we would smother it with attention and do our best to help it out.  When we come across a homeless person we do our best to pretend we don’t even see them.

We will explore this topic further in the next post.

What do YOU do when God brings you into the path of someone who is needy?

Please share in a comment.

For further information on Ottawa Innercity Ministries 

and their work with the poor and homeless, click here 

I want You, Jesus

Oh Jesus,

I want Your perfect love

            Yet I try to fill up elsewhere

I’ve seen Your face.

I’ve tasted Your blessings.

Yet those blessings fade quickly from my thoughts

            And I return to my false lovers.

You have revealed to me Your truth,

            Yet I still pursue the lies.

I hate this about myself.

On my own, I cannot change.

Oh Jesus, change me!

            Change me from the inside!

I want the freedom You offer!

I want to know You

            To love you

                To seek You

                     To desire You above all else!

I don’t want to follow the lies,

I want to follow You –

            wherever You lead me.

Crucify my pride,

     My laziness

           My addictions

                  My selfishness.

Oh Jesus,

     Forgive me!

           Heal me!

                 Change me!

I cannot do anything without You!

I want  You , Jesus!

            I want Your presence within me!

            I want Your holiness to transform me!

            I want Your will to consume me!

            I want Your glory to radiate from me!

            I want Your love to motivate me!

Jesus, I want You to define Me.

I want my life to matter,

            But I want You to matter more to me

                Than anything about my life.

You have given everything to me.

            May I withhold nothing from You.

You have been outlandish in Your love for me,

            Show me something outlandish I can do for You.

Let me love You with

            All my heart

                 All my soul

                        All my mind

                             All my strength!

I love you, Jesus!

Outlandish Love

In the previous posts we looked at Biblical fellowship – koinonia in Greek. We learned that koinonia goes so much deeper than what we may traditionally think of as fellowship. It includes communion with one another at an intimate level. When we experience koinonia with others, we share common interests and goals. We also can freely share our joys and sorrows with one another. Koinonia involves being together and doing together.

This kind of fellowship can transform a small group from one more meeting in a busy schedule to an essential life-giving time of friendship with a few faithful fellow Christ-followers!

Did you know that God also wants to have this kind of relationship with you and me?

(1Co 1:7-9) Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

(1Jn 1:3) We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

The Greek word translated as “fellowship” in both of the above passages is koinonia – the same word we have been discussing how to apply within our small group. That is the same intimacy we can have with God!

God has called us into koinonia with Jesus!

So what does that mean? God wants intimacy with you! Have you ever had an intimate time with God? A time when you felt His presence in a supernatural way? – a time when you heard Him? --a time when you were brought to tears in response to His love for you? – a time when you experienced the refreshing blessing of God after repenting from sin in your life? God wants to be that close to you ALL THE TIME! We were created for relationship with Him. Jesus died to restore to you the possibility of intimacy with Him.

Last week I challenged my Wednesday small group to think of some outlandish, extremely intimate thing they could do with God to show Him their love. We had an amazing discussion! Some of the outlandish things that were shared were definitely personal and intimate! (One absolute rule of small groups must be that it is a safe place. What is shared in the group stays in the group).

One friend was challenged by the word “outlandish” and wanted to know where I had found that word. I was thinking I had read it in a book on intimacy with God – but now I think the word used in that book was actually “extravagant.” However, our discussion in the small group and that friend's response to my challenge to do something outlandish makes me confident that God gave me that word. God wants us to be outlandish in showing our love to Him! Think about how outlandish His love is for us.

• He created us with His own hands!
• He created this beautiful planet and shares it with us that we might know Him!
  Sunsets, rainbows, kittens, clouds, waterfalls, forests, beautiful birds, and ferocious beasts.
• He created the entire universe for us to marvel at Him!
  He knows each of the stars by name, but knows not just our names, but everything about us.
• He came to earth as a baby, born in a stable.
• He died on a cross to redeem us from the Fall and bring us back to Him.
• He conquered death so we would not have to be captive to fear

I was vocally persecuting those who followed Jesus. I wanted nothing to do with Christians or their God. In His outlandish love, Jesus reached out to this sinner – this enemy of God – in a way I could understand and spoke to me a message of love that I had never heard!

Please share some outlandish ways that God has shown His love to you.

We would all benefit from your sharing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Sorry.  I'm behind on my posts again. 

Praise God that He loves us when we are doing our best, and when we are not!

I'm going to bed tonight listening to the lullaby that God has just for me!

Fellowship-- part 3

Wow! I just got home from an amazing time with my Wednesday small group. We enjoyed an amazing dinner together, then spent about an hour and a half in Bible study (with many tangents.) We experienced profuse laughter, a few tears, and deep sharing. We had a new person join us and I think she may have been overwhelmed because we were so obviously connecting with one another and enjoying the time immensely. That is what Biblical fellowship is meant to be!

That time on Wednesday evening has become an essential part of our week. It is not one more meeting to fill up our schedule. One friend mentioned that she shares with so many people that she gets free “therapy” every Wednesday evening. Another mentioned that the small group time makes a huge difference in her week. Part of the benefit is what we study, but we benefit even more from the koinonia (Biblical fellowship) we experience with one another.

There are two other aspects of koinonia I want to look at.

• Common interests or goals

Our group is rather diverse. We have a finance guy, a waitress, a nurse, a military IT guy, a security guard, a retired pastor and his wife, and myself with a teaching background. We do not share a lot in common if you look at our occupations. We also have a broad age range. (My Monday group ranges in age from mid thirties to early seventies!) However, we all have the common interest in growing in our relationship with Christ. Jesus can bring together people from any background, every occupation, age, race, etc.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised with Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:26-28)

Jesus is our common interest. Growing in our relationship with Him and sharing that relationship with others is our common goal.

• being together and doing together
  
You cannot achieve koinonia without spending time together. A few minutes on a Sunday morning will not bring you into a deep relationship with someone. In the small group we have the opportunity to really get to know one another. We spend time together, and we have contact throughout the week. We learn to help one another out, or look out for someone going through a hard time.
My Monday morning group has been together longer and we have been able to DO some things together. We have sponsored a family for a Christmas hamper and have maintained an ongoing relationship with them through prayer, phone calls and birthday presents. We have helped with holiday meals for the homeless, and now we have sponsored a missionary in Asia. This morning one member in that group started a time of worship and praise in her home. It was so powerful and uplifting!

This is about half of my Monday morning group --- Otis, the dog, is a very faithful participant.

I encourage you to find a body of Christ that puts Biblical fellowship into practice – or start where you are and step out of tradition and into the will of God. Watch out! God loves to bless us far beyond what we can ask or imagine!

He is Risen!

HE IS RISEN!

Christianity IS different than the other world religions. Every other religion has a prophet or teacher that has directed the way to god or to peace with the universe.  That prophet or teacher died.

In Christianity, Jesus declared He is God, 

and he rose from the dead to prove it.

I was an atheist studying chemistry at university when I came face to face with this declaration.  I thought the Bible had been written hundreds of years after his life and death.  I thought all the miracles recorded were just myth.  What I didn't know changed my life. 

The New Testament was written within a generation of Jesus death and resurrection.  Hundreds of people saw Jesus alive and well after His crucifixion. Most of those who contributed to the New Testament died FOR the conviction that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to them.   I don't know about you, but I would not be willing to face jail time for something I knew was a lie, let alone face a painful death.  Yet, that is what these disciples faced. So, were they lying and willing to die for a lie, or were they telling the truth?

As easy way for Jesus' opponents to stop Christianity in its tracks would have been to produce the dead body of Jesus.  That didn't happen, because they didn't have it. If the disciples had stolen Jesus' body as their opponents claimed, why would they spend their lives facing extreme opposition and death -- for a lie?

If that isn't enough, then look at how the disciples changed.  When Jesus was arrested, His followers all scattered.  One of the disciples, Peter, denied three times to a servant girl that he didn't even know Jesus.  After Jesus' death on the cross, these men were hiding, afraid that they were next for the cross.  Then they meet the risen Christ and their fear was gone.  They brought the message of the resurrection to all the known world in their generation!  Transformation that begs an explanation -- I accept their explanation -- Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!  He has conquered death, and offers life to those who come to Him. He has transformed my life.  He is real and does live in the hearts of those who have died to themselves and are living for Him!

Take some time to think through this reality, and respond to it.

Happy Easter -- He is Risen!

Fellowship, part 2

Fellowship goes so far beyond the short, superficial visits that many Christians experience during or after a church service. In my last post I looked at parts of a definition for the original Greek word koinonia, translated as fellowship in Acts chapter 2. I want to look more closely at one part of the definition. 

Koinonia involves creating a bond between comrades where people are recognized, share their joy and pains together, and are united because of their common experiences, interests and goals... It is always linked to action, not just being together, but also doing together.

In a church of 50, or 200, or 2000 it is unlikely that you will experience koinonia in a full church gathering. There are just too many people for that intimacy to develop. I believe that one of the best ways to experience Biblical fellowship is in a small group. I want to look at the above definition in light of experiences I have been blessed with as part of a small group.

• where people are recognized

God has made us all with unique strengths and weaknesses. In 1Corinthians chapter 12, Paul discusses that every member of the body of Christ is needed. In a small group it is easier to let each other's strengths come out. My Monday morning small group has just sponsored a missionary through Gospel for Asia. Everyone started giving the money to me and I quickly pointed out that having me keep track of money was not a good plan. I am very absent minded and terrible at record keeping. Another member of the group immediately volunteered to take on that responsibility. This person is now blessed to be giving something to the entire group. Her strength was lifted up and everyone benefits.

• sharing joys and pains together
  In Rom 12:15 we are called to, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” That is a normal part of Biblical fellowship. Sometimes this can happen on the scale of the entire congregation, when we rejoice together in the joining of a couple in marriage or when we mourn at the funeral of a member of the body. However, for the joys and sorrows that we experience on a smaller scale, it is wonderful to be a part of a small group. We can celebrate birthdays together, sharing something we love and appreciate about the birthday boy or girl. We can celebrate with praise and prayer the victories of children or grandchildren. We pray for one another and rejoice together as those prayers are answered. We can assist the sick or injured. We can support one another through a job loss, or on a painful anniversary. When you truly experience koinonia (Biblical fellowship) in your small group, you will want to go to the group on a bad day, knowing your spirits will be lifted. My small group is so important in my own spiritual walk, supporting me through depression and health challenges.

I'll take a look at the other two parts of the definition above next week, after Easter.

May God bless you with a group of Christians with whom you can see your strengths recognized and your weaknesses accepted – a group where you can celebrate the challenges and joys of your life and those of the other members. Small groups are a vehicle to learn and experience the love of Christ and the deep fellowship we see lived out in His Word. They are mant to be a blessing – not just one more activity to fit into your already overbusy schedule.

Fellowship

(Ac 2:42-47) They devoted themselves to the apostles teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

When you hear or read the word “fellowship,” what comes to mind? For many Christians, they may think of coffee and cookies after church, or a potluck meal in the Fellowship Hall. The Greek word hold so much more meaning than the superficial chit chat that usually occurs at a potluck or in a brief time after service.

The Greek word translated “fellowship” in this passage is koinonia. Here are some excerpts from the definition of koinonia given at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koinonia.

To create a bond between comrades where people are recognized, share their joy and pains together, and are united because of their common experiences, interests and goals... This is the essence of koinonia. Fellowship creates a mutual bond which overrides each individual’s pride, vanity, and individualism, fulfilling the human yearning with fraternity, belonging, and companionship.

Fellowship is never passive in the meaning of koinonia, it is always linked to action, not just being together, but also doing together. With fellowship comes a close and intimate relationship embracing ideas, communication, and frankness, as in a true, blessed inter­dependent friendship among multiple group members.

The fellowship that we read about in the passage from Acts chapter two is much more like the fellowship in The Lord of the Rings than what we experience after a worship service on Sunday morning! Look at the rest of the passage –it describes the fellowship these new believers experienced. They spent time together every day. They worshipped together in the temple courts. They shared their belongings, even selling possessions and property to take care of one another. They ate together, spending time in each other's homes with sincere hearts. These Christians were totally committed to one another!

We will look deeper into how to experience koinonia in the next post. What are some great times of fellowship that you have experienced?