Happy Thanksgiving, Pay it Forward

Hey
So, this Thanksgiving I was thinking. Here in America, we're really well off. The grocery stores are well stocked, we have grocery stores, there are no homeless people on the side of the street, the unemployed are [supposedly] cared for, and the list can easily continue.

Now, look elsewhere in the world: children die daily of malnutrition; store shelves lie empty; over 90% of the global population live on less than $1 a day; parents sleep uneasily, knowing that their children might be taken in the night, and this is only the top of the list.

So, this Thanksgiving, be thankful for the luxuries you possess in your 1st world universe, despite the economic collapse, and maybe, just maybe, give a thought to the less fortunate in the world and consider those less fortunate.

Some causes/charities I recommend and support
CauseLife
Freedom 4/24
Invisible Children
ONE
Samaritan's Purse

We are the Revolution

Revolution [1]:

1. the overthrow and replacement of a government or political system by those governed
2. a radical, pervasive change in society and the social structure; usually sudden and accompanied by violence
3. a sudden, complete or marked change
4. a procedure/course back to the starting point
5. a single turn

This year seems to have been a year for revolutions. From the masses of riots in the Middle East earlier this year to the Occupy Wall Street movement, there has been a recent fever of revolution, of replacing or overturning an established system. "Revolution" has become a catchphrase in a world dissatisfied with its current situation. It's a common theme in today's pop culture, sparking artwork and banners urging people into motion [2-4].

* Just because I have a Ron Paul image, don't assume I support him. I am making no statement of political support.

Now, did it ever occur to you that Christianity is a revolution? In fact, it satisfies, as an exception, definition number 2, and completely satisfies nos. 3 & 4. Don't believe me? Christ's message and life demonstrated a life markedly different from the surrounding, and modern, culture. Christianity also proposed and enacted a radical overturn of social strata: masters and slaves were declared equal, all races were declared equal and men and women were declared equal. All of this, though, serves only to underlie the main reason for Christ's coming: to return humanity to a right standing, the original standing, with God. As an example, let me show you some excerpts of Christ's teachings:

21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will even rise up against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. [5]

Now, before you all scream  "Heresy!" or "Contradiction!" and attempt to condemn me to hell (which is a real place, consisting not of little fires and cartoonish devils prodding you with pitchforks, but of pain, agony, and anguish for eternity with no hope of relief or rescue), let me explain the context. In the overall passage from which this excerpt is taken, Christ is speaking to His disciples as He is sending them out into the province of Judea and warning them of persecution that they will receive if not then, then in in the future.

Later on, Christ, again, makes a radical statement

37 The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And whoever doesn't take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. 39 Anyone finding his life will lose it and anyone losing his life because of Me will will find it. [6]

This time Christ is speaking about the priorities one holds in life in a revolutionary manner. One would normally think to care for and love one's family first and attend to one's own life before following God. Not so. Christ declares that, in comparison to how much you love God and put Him first, you hate your parents, siblings, children. Not only that, but we are called to selflessly lay aside our own lives and priorities, submitting to God and enduring, in His name, the hardships that come our way.

Christianity is a revolutionary concept. Want proof? Francis Chan describes the early church as "powerful," "spreading like wildfire," and unstoppable by torture, riots or other persecutions [7]. Don't just take his word for it, though. Read stories of the martyrs of the church as compiled by John Foxe or Voice of the Martyrs. Read the entirety of the book of Acts, in the Bible, and see the eyewitness recordings, or recordings of eyewitness accounts, of the actions and persecutions of the early church.

Face it, Christianity is supposed to be revolutionary, so arm yourselves, put on the whole armor of God and go. Proclaim the good news of the saving sacrifice of Christ for our sin. Spread the news of the revolutionary, Biblical way of living. Live life as though tomorrow's the day Christ returns.

Did somebody say Revolution?

Yeah, Christ did.

[1] "Revolution." Dictionary.com

[2] qasimsahi.blogspot.com

[3] tattong.com

[4] activistpost.com

[5] "Matt. 10:21-22." Holman Christian Standard Bible 

[6] "Matt. 10:37-39." Holman Christian Standard Bible 

[7] F. Chan, Forgotten God. David C. Cook Pub.: Colorado Springs. 2009. pp 155. Print.

#OWS

Okay, first off, I agree, to a degree, with the Occupy Wall Street movement. I've felt the difficulty of obtaining a job here (see: American Nightmare) and I know and have met others who, despite being extremely well qualified, have been laid off and have been searching for a job for, in some cases, two years.

Not only this, but the inefficiency, inelasticity and relative incompretency of many major American companies are actually hurting the national economy and, to a lesser degree, the global economy and environment. One example of this is the oil companies and the manner in which they have their fingers in every major pot.

The OWS movement, however, has taken a slightly disturbing turn:

• Protesters have been injured, shot at with rubber bullets and gassed. One such protester in Oakland actually sustained a concussion from a rubber bullet at point blank range in the head.
• Anonymous is becoming involved. This is partially a good thing and partially a bad thing. Anonymous is a hacktivist organization with mild anarchic leanings that works in a Robin Hood-esque manner. (See their latest publication here)
• The use of Guy Fawkes and V for Vendetta imagery in media like this, evoking the idea of rebellion, coups and, in the case of V, anarchy.
• The mimicry of the ideology and actions of the riots that rocked the Middle East earlier this year.

What can we, as Christians, do?

• We can pray. Pray for the safety of the protesters, that an acceptable action will be taken by Wall St. and the associated "1%" and that the protest will remain a peaceful one.
• The movement is still continuing and expanding. Winter is approaching and the protesters will need supplies and food to stay warm. The OWS movement has, in fact, sent out a Winter Donation Request, which, I would encourage Christians to not only assist with, but to use as a witnessing opportunity.
• Become involved. Not necessarily in the protesting, but perhaps in providing for and ministering to the protesters. both the "99%" and the "1%" are people and both are in need of God and salvation. Not only that, but the protesters are searching for hope and life. We can provide that. 

We can't just sit back and let motions like this pass us by. Let's get our hands dirty, represent Christ and serve.

After all, we are legion.

Prayer Blog - Prayer Group Edition (24 Oct 2011)

Hey, So I wanted to send out a quick shout and prayer request.
First, thanks to all of you who have been praying for the Brasil trip.

Second, the matter at hand. Tomorrow, in prayer groups, I'll be speaking to my prayer group about 1) the sin nature of man and 2) salvation. So, if all of you readers could please be praying for my prayer group (Isaac Ohman, Temitope Olufotebi, Rob Cochrane, Brandon Hall, Christian Watkins) that God would be at the forefront of what I speak to them and that He would seriously work in their hearts (some of them are not saved).

Please and thank you.

Prayer Blog!

So, as many of you faithful readers are aware, I am one member of a mission team from my university headed to Northern Brasil. Before any of us go, though, there are a number of goals that need to be reached and the easiest way to address these goals is prayer. In light of this, I thought it might be good to give all of you a list of prayer requests and the team members' names so that you can pray for them specifically.

Team Leaders
Chris
Tom

Team Members
Brandon
Michael
Yujin
Steven
Audrey
James
Jessica
Ashley
Josh
Josh
Hannah
Jessie
Christina
Joe
Kiersten
Lydia
Ben
Heather

Missionary Liasons
Dick & Cledie
Rick & Kim
Greg & Ane

Prayer Requests

• Visa applications
• Health (of the team and missionaries)
• Managing schoolwork effectively
• Travel (when we finally leave) - safety, pilots, boat, etc
• The inhabitants of the villages we'll visit
• That the Gospel would be clearly spoken, presented and acted out by us.
• God's blessings on the team, missionaries and locals
• That God would go before us and prepare the hearts of the natives for the Gospel
• That each team member would be able to raise their portion of the team funds*
• That the team members would grow closer to each other and to God
• Protection for the missionaries now and for all of us during the trip
• Greg & Ane's unborn child

and, finally,

• That God would be glorified and people be brought to Him.

*For information about donating, email me at mkdude.kaapstad@gmail.com

Seeing and Remembering

So, I currently have a fair bit of free time due to Fall break (and having finished all of my work I'd planned to do) so I thought I'd rehash something from an earlier post and combine it with something new.

So, previously, in my post "Got Revolution?", I ended with a thought saying how we're in a war for lost souls, for captives and hostages and how we need to set them free. Looking back at this statement, two questions come to mind, "Who are these lost souls?" and "How do we set them free?"

As for the first question, Christ said, "Open your eyes and look to the fields, for they are ready for harvest" (Jn 4:35). These lost souls about which I write are all around us. See that person in the next cubicle over at work? That lady walking her two-year-old child through the park? That lonely old man sitting on the bench? You know what the crazy thing is? Most of these people, these lost souls, aren't who usually pop into our heads when we think of people needing salvation. We need to train our hearts to see them, to remember them.

So often we pass these invisible people by, We look past them and forget them a handful of seconds later. need I remind you of Christ's example in John 4? Christ purposefully spoke to a woman while sitting by the well, a woman whom many Jews would probably have ignored and forgotten moments afterwards.

This brings me to the second question. how do we answer it? Simple - we start by seeing and remembering. You see, Jesus intentionally chose not to ignore the woman, but to see her, to speak with her. Likewise, we need to see people differently. People have worth; they deserve to be seen, not just glimpsed. They deserve to be remembered, not forgotten.

"Okay, that's all well and good for a start, but what next?"

I'm glad you asked. You have now seen this "invisible" person. Pray for him/her. You'd be surprised, but it's hard to forget someone for whom you've seriously prayed. even better, if you have the chance, go talk to the person. Get his name, learn where she's from.

People don't just go up to random strangers and say "Hi, you don't know me. Wanna talk?"

No, no they don't, but even a simple "hello, how are you?" or offering to help with something will catch their attention. You see, people today so rarely go out of their way to engage with someone that when someone does, it's surprising. It prompts "Why?"

And that's the golden question.

So,
See the Invisible,
Remember the Forgotten

Up the River!

So, those of you who follow me on twitter or have friended me on Facebook know that I've been accepted onto a missions trip, from the 14th-26th of May, headed up into the Amazon. So, I figured, you all might want to know what I learned about the trip at our first meeting.

So, we'll fly in, here, to Manaus.

Then, we'll head to Itacoatiara.

Then, from Itacoatiara, upriver into a side river and a lake.
























Here's a closer look at the lake where we'll be doing the bulk of our work.
























In case any of you were wondering, on this trip we'll be partnering with doctors from Word of Life ministries and we'll be doing light medical and optical clinics in villages on the river. We'll be hitting a different village each day. We'll also be working with children during this whole time, playing games, doing Bible messages, the whole nine yards. If you were wondering about living quarters, we'll be sleeping and living on a riverboat.

Now comes the fun part. For me to head on this trip, I need to raise $3200. I have faith that God will provide for me to be able to go, but that money does have to come from somewhere. So, if any of you readers feel called to donate, please begin considering it. as soon as I know exactly how and to whom the money should be donated, I'll blog about that, too. If you don't feel called to donate, or are unable to, please pray for the trip, the team and the missionaries with whom we will be working.

God bless!