under construction….

1 john

eph.

Isn’t it amazing how far our world has come? If you go back 250 years think of what we didn’t have. No electricity, No phones, No cars and of course The United States was yet to be. Whether you believe the earth is 6,000 years old or millions of years old it is safe to say that the last two centuries have been two of the most significant and life changing. Today healthcare is better than it has ever  been in the world. Doctors have learned how diseases spread, how to treat them properly, how to vaccinate, and how to treat wounds and sickness. Around the 16th century in Europe, 40% of the population would die before they reached the ripe age of 28. Infection was treated by amputation. What are considered normal healthcare practices today were obsolete just a few hundred years ago. It is truly amazing how far we have come. We live in a world where people have come together to fight sickness and disease, and in many cases wipe these evils from the face of the earth. For instance, Polio is very close to being completely eradicated, it only remains in two countries.  We live in a world where we can travel from one side of the planet to the other in a matter of hours. We can speak to anyone in the world no matter where they live simply by pushing 10 buttons on a phone.  On a trip to Africa I witnessed poverty at its worst. I met families who slept on dirt floors and only ate what they could grow which was not much. But yet they somehow had cell phones. Cell phones have shaped our world in more ways then we’ll ever know. Families are able to communicate and stay in touch. Being able to communicate with someone several miles away can free hours and days of travel time. Being able to communicate like this helps humans navigate their plans and dreams with each other. In it’s own way communicating via cell phone or Internet helps promote Unity. Or it can promote Unity if we are willing to listen and help each other. Being able to communicate with other humans is essential. Being able to communicate with humans all around the world is a blessing beyond belief. In a matter of seconds we can get on the internet and see what is happening anywhere in the world. It’s a game changer when it comes to politics, businesses, world views and well almost everything. When a natural disaster happens in Haiti the entire world is notified. That is, if we are willing to listen. In America calling “911” has saved millions of lives. What a blessing that help is only 3 buttons away. What a blessing. Almost all of the blessings we experience today are possible only because people in the past have fought for and died for just causes: dedicating  their entire lives to pursuing “the peoples rights.”

History is full of disturbing stories. Stories of war, homicide, genocide and slavery. Man can be so full of selfish desires and evil.  But in the midst of these horrific stories logged in our history we also find stories of hope. Stories of love. Revolutionaries who stood up to challenge the status quo. People like Moses, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandala. These people recognized  that all men, women and children were created in God’s image and worth fighting for.  Equality. They put their lives on the line and helped change the course of history for the good. In todays world, we could quite possibly be the most blessed generation with our phones, cars, jobs and abundance of food. We have knowledge no other generation had access to. We are able to learn about almost anything with a few clicks of a button. Just ask Siri. Scientists and researchers make discoveries on a daily basis.

A few decades ago, that was not the case. We are blessed with an apathera of information and opportunities that we use every hour of every day. With the technology and knowledge we have today, I think, two major things have happened. The ability to raise Awareness of crisis situations around the globe is easy and immediate. Second, We have become numb to crisis situations around the globe. A lot of good is being done around the world, don’t get me wrong, But injustice, slavery, equality, starvation, and lack of water still plaque the earth. 5,700 children around the world will die today because they do not have access to adequate drinking water. The University of Michigan football stadium can hold over 100,000 people; Today, enough CHILDREN will die, due to lack of food, to fill Michigan’s stadium, TWICE! I know statistics are subject to circumstances and can be manipulated to either side of an argument. BUT I am unable to let this go unnoticed; When the number of children dying is well above 200,000 a day simply because they have no food. The debate of statistics has no place when standing over a single 3 year olds grave. We teach our children they should eat 3 meals a day to be healthy while millions of children around the world are lucky if they have 3 meals a week. Statistics can be uncomfortable to hear. We, the church, have a responsibility to be aware of the issues our world is facing. Let us pray that we can continue to do what Jesus taught us to do.

On sunday mornings churches across America are filled with a large portion of God’s army. They are motivated by sermons and spend time learning and worshiping God. This is awesome, but not enough. When the two hour service is over we hurry back to our lives. We work to secure our paychecks, to secure our home, to have a place to keep our “make life better toys.” That is, things like: cars, cell phones, comfy couches, swimming pools, TV’s, rain jackets, snowboards, boots, and clothing for almost any situation. We work to buy things to occupy our time and keep us entertained. Now, I don’t want to get too negative but I know that if every person we see in church on sunday had a place to serve in our communities and around the world things may very well be different. This would also change many peoples hearts about their opinions of the church. What I am essentially saying is On sundays I see a large and powerful army God has blessed with the power and resources to CHANGE the world. I believe with all my heart that we can change the world overnight.  But then comes monday and we forget the mission that was taught 24 hours ago. Instead of looking for a way to serve we look forward to Friday because then its the weekend and we can play with our toys that we worked to earn all week. In doing this, many times we turn our back to the world around us and the very thing we were created to be, Man in God’s Image.

6.7 billion people inhabit our home, Earth. If you consider yourself a christian think about our history and what that actually means; that is 6.7 billion grandchildren of Adam and Eve. We have 6.7 billion brothers and sisters. 6.7 billion neighbors we are to love. Way More than half of our 6.7 billion siblings, 4+ billion live on 2 dollars a day or less. I say that but I’m not sure most of us who grew up in America could ever relate to such poverty. So many fathers are so desperate to feed their families they are willing to do things You and Me can’t even fathom. If your anything like me the toughest food choice we’ve ever had to make was whether to eat Chewy Chips ahoy or Oreo’s for a nighttime snack:)  If you didn’t already know YOU ARE TRULY BLESSED!

Why are we so blessed? I think of all the pieces of history that had to work in such a way that we would arrive where we are today. The revolutionaries that gave up their dreams and comforts to help those around them. The countries that united to stop Hitler from killing a generation. Most importantly I think a lot about what Jesus Christ taught and how it has effected and changed the course of history. Jesus is the biggest X factor in history. The principles Jesus taught were adapted by so many. Why? Because he defeated the chance that evil would overcome good. We are in the midst of a very dangerous war. Spiritual warfare is happening all around us. Angels and Demons battle, The Holy Spirit and Satan are fighting for our decisions, our time and our lives. In a sense, man has been in Gorilla warfare since before the term existed. The rules of spiritual warfare are larger and more complex than our minds are capable of understanding. We are in the middle of a a battle field we can hardly see. Were in the middle of a war that most of us ignore 6 days a week and while many of us refuse to believe it even exists. If we believe the Bible is real we believe its history. If we believe its history we believe Jesus. If we believe Jesus we have to believe his teachings. Jesus did not come to destroy the evil men of the world. Jesus came to destroy evil at the source. And he left us with the power to carry this out. In the book of John 14 verse 12 Jesus tells his disciples that whoever has faith in him will continue what he has been doing and will do even greater things than he has done. That my friends is insane. I believe in Jesus. I believe His teachings. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. What did Jesus mean we would do greater things than him? Could it be, that today, in an age of technology and genius minds we are living the prediction Jesus made thousands of years ago? The blessings you and I are immersed in every second of our lives are truly magnificent tools and gifts we can use to help our 6.7 billion brothers and sisters. These blessings we take for granted are thousands of years in the making. We see them as blessings but maybe they are miracles put into action long ago and they are meant to be shared with the world. Do you believe you can perform miracles? Do you believe the Bible? If you do, than you must believe what John quoted Jesus saying “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these” (John 14:12 NIV). Are you doing what Jesus did? Is the Church doing what Jesus did? Within the American church I honestly believe we have the blessings and the resources to do global miracles. We have the resources to end extreme poverty throughout the entire world. That is a fact. It will require people coming together and getting creative and making sacrifices. Not only do we have the resources and means but we also have an obligation. Jesus told us things like, “Whatever you do for the least of these you do for me. There is no greater love than laying down your life for another. I am here to bring good news to the poor.” Revolutionaries may not have always given credit to Jesus or been the best teachers of his message but they did practice his teaching of love. In Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus tells us the two greatest commandments: Love God, which is the greatest commandment and love your neighbor as yourself. Their is an emphasis that the two are very similar. To love God we must love others, and to truly love others we must first love God.

You and me are capable of saving thousands of lives. We have resources that 85% of the world does not. America is rich. You are rich. I am rich. Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. We should take that to heart. Our churches are not living up to their potential. We can all do more. Do you agree that we have become numb to people in need? There is no urgency. There are urgent needs all around us and all around the world, yet I rarely see churches with an urgency to help the very people Jesus told us to care for. Generations before our time had legitimate excuses for not addressing the worlds major poverty issues. Not me and you. We know about the issues. We can get there. We can get help there. This is not something we should leave up to programs, organizations, governments  that work to fight poverty. This is something every Christian needs to be apart of. Whether by prayer, volunteering time, donations and simply keeping each other accountable so we can continue to urgently fight the evil we all too often end up ignoring.

You may have doubts about whether we can actually end extreme poverty. We think to end poverty its way too expensive. Not our problem. Or we should fix our problems here at home first. I’ve that phrase one too many times. I don’t recall Jesus teaching anything remotely close to preserving only those who live around us. The place we call home, America, is not mentioned in the bible. And its borders have hardly been around 100 years. Your home is earth. You were lucky enough to be born in a extraordinary country, America. And it’s up to you how you will use that blessing. Jesus spent a lot of time teaching us how to tear down walls between each other. While we have a responsibility to help those around us we also have a responsibility to help those in need, no matter where there are. The only thing that is too expensive to fix, is regret.