Helping the fatherless

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 1:17 NIV

On Sunday, our church met to repair and clean a mobile home for a single-mom with three kids. This house would really help them get back on their feet. They were at the Walmart shooting in August, and our pastor met them through his day-job, following up with the victims.  This was an opportunity to tangibly demonstrate the love of Jesus.  

We had just started fixing a broken floor in the boy's room when I spotted a shiny penny stuck in the corner of the floor and the wall.  At Jill's funeral, we gave everyone a penny as a reminder of Jill's experience finding pennies throughout her cancer treatment, which was a constant reminder to her that God was right there with her.  Jill loved restoration projects, and I felt like, in a way, she was there with us in spirit, smiling over our shoulders as we worked on repairing and decorating the house.  It reminded me of when Brandi and I first joined Paseo.

As I was driving back and forth from the nearest home improvement store, I was thinking about how my mom and dad lived an example of serving people.  I hope my children see the joy of serving.

Father, thank you for the opportunity to serve.  May our lives be lived in honor of Jesus's sacrifice.  Holy Spirit, show us which opportunities you want us to join today.  I love you.

2020 Peace

My one-word focus this year is "peace".  I especially want to grow in peace with myself.

Romans 14:17‭-‬19 NIV

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.  Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Father, thank you for peace with you through Jesus.  Jesus, thank you for being the Prince of Peace.  Holy Spirit, thank you for giving me your fruit of peace.  I love you.

I am a "Hebrew" - "one from beyond"

In General 14:13, Abram was referred to as a "Hebrew" by a fugitive.  I looked up the meaning of the Hebrew word, "Hebrew" (Strong's 5680, עִבְרִי, `Ibriy), and it means, "one from beyond", presumably meaning a person from the other side of the Euphrates river.  A few generations later, the word "Hebrew" was predominantly used by other people referring to the descendants of Israel (Jacob).  This seems to me similar to the term "Christian", first used in Antioch by people referring to followers of Jesus.

I was thinking that "one from beyond" could be metaphorical for "one from Heaven". I am a son of God, a citizen of Heaven.  I am a foreigner here.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:13‭-‬16 NIV

Father, thank you for adopting me as your son.  Jesus, I want to live like you, revealing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.  Holy Spirit, thank you for your presence and power.  I love you.

Lifeblood

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

Genesis 7:11 NIV

That is an oddly specific date if the flood was only a fable.

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"But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.  "Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

Genesis 9:4‭-‬6 NIV

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. ...

Romans 3:25a NIV

God graciously allowed the innocent lifeblood of Jesus (image of God and very God) to be shed by human hands as an accounting for all of the lifeblood that had ever been unjustly shed.  What an incredible irony! What an amazing love that would motivate such grace!

Father, thank you for your love and grace.  Help me receive your love and grace and be changed by it.  Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice.  Holy Spirit, lead me today in honoring the image of God in every person.  I love you.