Responding to Disasters

The church responds to disasters all over the world- Katrina, Haiti, Alabama, 911 in NY, and now Joplin. 

This is the church being the church; the bride of Christ being the hands and feet of her groom.  It's awesome to hear on CNN and other major news outlets about the Christian response to the deadly tornado that hit Joplin.  I am proud to be a Christian and to be affiliated with the men and women in the city where I found Christ nearly eleven years ago.  Joplin was my home for about five years, but even though I am in Oswego, KS now that was the WalMart and Aldi we shopped in every other week.  It's a horrible thing to happen it a town that you love, but it's fantastic to see the relief efforts that are going on in Joplin.  

This reminds me of Psalm 34:2, "My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice."

We may not realize it, but there are disasters going on all the time in the lives around us week after week.  It may not be the extent of Katrina or the Joplin tornado, but it is very real and devastating to the individual or family that is afflicted by a tragedy.  Sometimes we may not respond because we don't want to be nosy or we don't want to embarrass them by asking if they need help.  Whatever the case may be, often times, we do not respond to the seemingly minute disasters that happen to people in our own communities throughout the year. 

In speaking about the separation of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, Jesus reminds us, "The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

The church has food pantries, counseling ministries, clothing ministries, benevolence budget, and other disaster relief ministries, but I have seen the mighty power of God working through the church and this power is like no other, I know that the church can do so much more to respond to personal disasters in our community day to day.  There are teen issues that become semi-disasters that need godly wisdom from parents or mentors, divorce, sickness, drugs, dating, friendships, teen pregnancy, etc.  God has prepared us to do respond to these disasters that come up in people's lives around us.  

We should pay attention to the words that Paul told the church in Ephesus, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

There are five things that we can do to be better enabled to carry out the good works Christ prepared for us:
1.  Relationships- keep in touch with friends even if things seem to be a little shaky; we never know when the Spirit will use us to reach out to them or perhaps they could end up ministering to you.

2.  Love- whether it is tender and compassionate love or tough love that involves discipline.  Unconditional love is how we are supposed to respond to one another.  Love will cover a multitude of sins.

3. Listen- two ears - mouth equals more listening than sharing time.  We need to pay attention to what our friends and family are telling us.  Empathy is when we try to walk in the shoes of someone else.  Before making conclusions about one's lifestyle, ask, "How would I respond to that situation if that happened to me?"

4.  Know the Word of God-

a. Know the word of God to know how to act when a disaster comes your way.
b. Know the word of God enable to pour out wisdom to a loved one who is troubled.
c. Know the word of God so that you can encourage and rebuke in all righteousness.
  
5. Have Generous spirit with friends and family- send "thank you's," spontaneous gifts, drop in just to say hello, and take a family out to eat once in a while.

These acts of kindness will definitely open up more opportunities to share the gospel message with others in your community.  I hope and pray that we can be a beacon of light in a world of darkness each and every day and in each and every community!   

Sharing in His Sufferings



"Today you will be with me in paradise"-- Jesus



Imagine being on that cross and still having the sacrificial mindset to bring one more person to Christ.  None of us will ever die on a cross or suffer to the extreme that Jesus did, but as Christians we should expect to experience traumatic events that cause a lot of deep pain and suffering. 

The verse that caught my attention this week is from Philippians 3:10-11,

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death..." 

Like Paul, if I want to be more like Christ, I'm acknowledging that I will experience a great deal of exhausting trials as Jesus did.  "He (Jesus) is the revelation of God's design for human life.  Consequently he is the judge, the standard agaisnt whom we are measured and into whose likeness we will be conformed" (Stanley Grenz. Theology for the Community of God 339).  Yes, I want to be conformed to be more like Christ and with that comes discomfort, but it's definitely worth it because Paul also wrote that in becoming like him we also "attain the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:11).  

"By definition, pain is unpleasant, enough so to force us to withdraw our fingers from a stove.  Yet that very quality saves us from destruction.  Unless the warning signals demand response, we might not heed it" (Philip Yancey. Where is God When it Hurts 34).  Pain and suffering is a characteristic of the world that lets us know that things aren't right.  It should tell us that this world isn't a place that we want to continue to live.  It should force us to think and act more heavenly even amungst the low valleys in life.  If you have been mocked for standing up for your faith at work, depressed about how another Christian has treated you, or maybe you don't understand why something bad happened to you or someone in your family, know that we also share in His comfort.       

If you're praying to be more like Christ, expect to experience some pain and suffering.  However, we also get to share in His comfort.  Paul wrote to church in Corinth, "For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows" (2 Corinthians 1:5).

We don't live isolated lives, but in a community with other people that go through trials as well.  We know people who are going through a lot of problems, but what are we doing to save them?  It's like watching someone put his hand on a hot stove but not saying anything to him.  We could reach over and help him remove his hand, and sometimes we do, but sometimes we just sit and watch without reaching out.  Right before Jesus died on the cross, he spoke the words to the man on the cross right beside him, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).  He saved one more person right before his death.  As we go through our own difficult trials lets not forget to reach out to just one more person so that he too can live in paradise with us some day.               

Looking Closer at Jesus and the Word

Anyone who has been a part of a small group has probably heard the verse, "For where two or three are gathered, there I am with them."  The passage shows up in Matthew 18:19-20, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Have you ever questioned the context of that verse before?  Is that verse really supporting a small group of people worshiping together?  When we look at a verse, sometimes we don't spend enough time looking

at the context.  We glance at it and then rush to an application.  It's like the picture to the left, glace at it and tell me what you see.  Then, stair at the three dots in the middle for thirty seconds and then look away from the screen.  Now tell me what you see.  After spending more time looking at the picture, you're able to see the picture more clearly. 

Lets spend some time looking at Matthew 18:15-20 in context so we can see a clearer interpretation and application.  

The above verses from 15 to 17 talks about how to resolve a situation between a Christian sinning against another Christian.  Then, verse 19-20 says if the two people come together and agree then Jesus is with them.  In context, it sounds like the Lord favors or is united with those brothers who come together after arguing, disagreeing, or have fought about something and asked the Father for forgiveness.  συνηγμένοι (come together) could also mean to lead together or to be brought together.  I could also see this apply to leadership meetings that begin with strife but the leaders come together at the end and agree.  Hence, verse 19 says, "if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you." 

This verse says nothing about the Lord being in a worship service or small group when only two people show up.  Though, the Lord is with all Christians even when we are alone, but that's not what the passage is referring to.  It should also be noted that Jesus doesn't just support those who reconcile their differences, but those who reconcile their differences because Jesus is their Lord.  Hence, "come together in my name."