Entries from October 2008 ↓
October 15th, 2008 — Radical Living, Volunteering, Walk 57
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the garbage pile in order to seat them among nobles… Psalm 113:7
Today is Blog Action Day 2008. Thousands of bloggers around the globe are focusing their attention on Poverty to raise awareness for the poor and downtrodden. The eradication of global poverty seems to be a gargantuan task, but there are little things that each of us can do to help out a little bit at a time.
“OK, OK,” you say, “hold up right there, dude. How can I (and heck, why should I) help with poverty when I’m on the verge myself? My stocks just crashed through the floor!” Well hang on there, cowboy; I’m about to tell ya.
I know that many of us are feeling the pressure of the economic downturn of the past couple of years. Gas is still (relatively) astronomically-priced, nobody can get a mortgage loan, and new jobs are seemingly a thing of the past. But believe me, God has blessed us tremendously and we have a responsibility to help those who are less fortunate. So, without any further ado, here are a couple of ways you and your friends can help combat poverty both in the United States and around the world:
So there you go, tons of ways you can help fight poverty by doing something little. Don’t sit back and wait to do something. Go now and spread the love of Christ through your actions.
He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. Proverbs 28:27 (NIV)
October 9th, 2008 — Politics, Radical Living, Walk 57
OK, is anybody else sick of the political junk that the two parties have been spewing forth in an effort to earn our pen-stroke on a tiny piece of paper? If you are like me, you just jumped up and yelled “Yes!” at the top of your lungs. The red and blue propaganda has somehow fused together into an unintelligible pile of purple crap. If that sounds like you then pay attention; I’m about to break this down better than a pre-1991 rapper.
I hate to break this to everyone, but I don’t think that Jesus is a Republican or a Democrat. I’m not even sure he’s registered to vote in the United States, but I’ll check and get back with you later. “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” was not an endorsement…in fact, when I read that passage I hear a twinge of sarcasm in his voice. I seriously doubt that God is worried about who is going to be in the White House for the next 4 to 8 years. It’s not like we are going to throw God a curve ball and He will have to change His swing to make His plan happen. No, God will put into power whomever God wants in power.
Now, that is not to say that Christians do not have a responsibility in the election process, because we do. Our votes need to align with the teachings of Christ so that his kingdom may come to earth as it is in heaven. I know, I know, that’s a tough one. Vote Democrat and the Freedom of Choice Act gets signed. Vote Republican and the poor of the country have a good chance of getting marginalized and ignored. How are we supposed to make that kind of judgement call?!
We aren’t. God is. Just pray. I promise that if you truly seek the will of God during the next several weeks, He will direct your path to the polls.
This article is the first of several being written about a Christian’s responsibility during the election season. I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings about political matters.
October 6th, 2008 — Books
Each week, I will (try) to review a recent book that I have read and give it a recommendation based upon my experience with the level of interest I showed in it, the difficulty of reading, and my personal feelings toward the content of the book. The books will not necessarily be “Christian” books, though they will probably have at least some aspect of spirituality in the most abstract senses of the word. 
Oh, and I can promise that whatever book was most recently discussed by 1303 will be reviewed because, well…its kinda like a freebie…
I love books that make me question things…books that make me think. They provide an opportunity to stretch our mental capacities and thought processes to new limits. But, I think that if a book is making an attempt to have its readers begin questioning what they know about God, that it should err on the side of caution (not that I disagree with stretching our beliefs and knowledge about God, I will get to that momentarily) and be solidly backed up by Scripture.
“Velvet Elvis,” by Rob Bell, is an interesting read. I will give it that, no questions asked. And very thought-provoking. I just feel that it lacks true substance. All I gleaned from reading it was to “question everything” and essentially disregard everything I know about Christian doctrine. But I believe there are things that are core to the Christian faith, e.g., sola Scriptura, that should not be questioned.
The best advice that Mr. Bell gave in the book was to include the book itself in the “question everything” mentality. 1303 Book Club had a wonderful and engaging discourse about “Velvet Elvis,” but we made sure to hold it a biblical standard during the discussion, meaning that there were a few things with which we had to disagree. One example off of the top of my head is the idea that solid doctrine is immediately detrimental to the expansion of the Christian faith. Of course, this is just my personal belief, but, to me, the virgin birth of Christ is a core tenet of the faith that is necessary in facilitating His perfection. If Sin (not any specific sin, but the general transgression of divine law that plagues humanity and separates us from God) is inherently passed through man, then man must be taken out of the equation in order for a spotless sacrifice to exist.
And that is not to say that there were absolutely no positive things about “Velvet Elvis.” I am a firm believer in the principal of grace and the fact that we have liberty through God’s bestowment of grace upon us: “…In non-essentials, Liberty…” the old adage states. (derived from Romans 14). Alcohol, dancing, speaking in tongues: these are things, I believe, that God gives each of us personal convictions about and we should not judge one another based upon non-essential doctrines. Rob Bell definitely gets this right. The point is for our actions to glorify the Lord and, by grace, we are free to determine how we show that.
Overall, I give “Velvet Elvis” three-and-a-quarter stars. Not quite enough to round it up to four. It definitely kept my interest and was an easy-read, but he fails to nail down any solid truths that a reader could apply to their life. I would only recommend it to a friend who was secure enough in their own belief and trust in God to make clear, scripture-tested judgments about its content.
