Check out this video....amazingly beautiful. This is from the TV SHOW "Ukraine's Got Talent" in the Ukraine. She is depicting the "Great Patriotic War" that her country is quite familiar with. What great art!
October 2009
October 19, 2009
October 10, 2009
1 Billion People
Did you have a glass of water today? Brush your teeth? Take a nice, clean refreshing shower? Chances are if you are reading this post that you did just that. As a matter of fact the average American uses 150 gallons of water per day! However 1 Billion people in the world aren't as fortunate as you and I. That's right....1 Billion people do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. Their water is dirty, diseased and discolored and would probably make most of us throw up. I believe that is not right. As the church...it is our responsibility to bring help & healing in Jesus' name. Thankfully there is an organization that is doing something about it. Charity Water is a group that raises money to take on these issues. This comes straight from their website.
"One billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in six of us. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects."
Giving $20 can give 1 person clean water for 20 years!!! Crazy....and one thing I love about this organization is that 100% of the donations actually go to help people. They raise their administrative costs separately so that every cent that someone gives goes for the ultimate good.
This week I had a chance to attend Rob Bell's "Drops Like Stars" tour in Tampa..where he spoke about this organization. I took a snapshot with my iPhone which you can see below of him speaking about this.
What gripped me most about this picture is the baby bottle behind Rob. As a father with 3 kids, it tears me up to think that other children are facing injustices such as a lack of clean water. To me this just isn't right and we can't sit around and let this happen here in our world. When Jesus was here...he cared deeply about people's physical state. Jesus loved people, period. He fed, healed, raised, rebuked and deeply cared for every individual. Jesus came to free us from the separation that our sin had caused. Jesus came to renew us to the Father... Jesus came to bring hope in the midst of injustice and suffering.
The Church can't keep quiet any longer! It's time to stop worrying about our programs, budgets, classes and services and truly meet people where they are. We speak much of doing that which will last for an eternity but yet we are caught up with our own methods of relevant ministry.
I think that is makes God sick when we are more passionate about defending doctrine than defending the helpless & oppressed. I think it makes God sick when we try to build our own empires instead of expanding his Kingdom through His Gospel. The Gospel is the beautiful Good News that God hasn't given up on the world. The Gospel is a proclamation of a new way to live through Jesus than our old system. What will you do? I pray that God will touch of all our hearts that we may grow burdened over the pain and brokenness of the world. What will you do? If you want to make an immediate donation you can by texting "water" to 20222. By texting this from your mobile phone you will donate $10 to charity:water. This charge will show up on your next mobile phone bill. 1 billion people hurting by this crisis....and you can make the difference.
Matthew 25:34-35
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"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.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
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