pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: homeless


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Forsaken

If God forsook His own Son, it is possible that at times we too are forsaken?  If God turned His back on Jesus in one of His greatest times of need – there on the cross – won’t we too experience times when we feel God is not near?  These ‘dark nights of the soul’ are times all believers experience.

Personally, when we feel times of separation from God, it is an uneasy feeling.  God’s promise to always be there and never to leave us seems to be in question.  But it is His presence we miss.  Or the feeling that God is near.  I believe God is there – we just are struggling to feel His presence.  In these moments I think God is refining, molding, reshaping our faith so that we are more than we were before the experience.   It grows us and our faith to trust in and rely on God when we cannot sense His presence.  It requires blind or total faith.

At times groups of people feel forsaken.  We can certainly find many examples of this in the Old Testament and in the world today.  We certainly know how to pour out prayers of lament when we feel personally forsaken.  We must remember that God created and loves us all.  Each day may we seek to lift up those who feel forsaken by God – from the homeless and hopeless to the one who just lost a loved one to those who are victims of a tragedy near or far.  Cry out to God.  Be a voice for those who feel forsaken.  Draw God near to them so each may again feel His presence.

Scripture reference: Psalm 22: 1-8


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Engaging Systems

Our sins are not always the things we do.  Sometimes they are the things we fail to do.  Our sins are not always personal; sometimes they are communal or corporate.

About once a month we have a homeless person come to church on  Sunday.  Sometimes it is some other individual who is noticeable because they are different from the regular worshiper.  As the people of God we are called to love all people and as a whole we really do well at this.  But not always.  Some days we are only as loving or good or welcoming as our weakest or lowest part.  So it is our task as fellow believers to notice these weaker parts and to build them up in love for all people.  We cannot and should not accept less.

As a society there are ills and things that are not ‘right’ in all of our communities.  These are things that certainly cause a tear to roll down God’s cheek.  As the people of God we are called to address the issues in our communities.  This does not mean simply jumping on the latest Facebook bandwagon and adding your ‘like’.  It means being on the streets and in the shelters and in the jails.  It means going to the places where the least, the lost, and the broken are and entering into relationships with them.

To truly be the people of God and to really love all of our neighbors, we must roll up our sleeves and get a little dirty.  We must truly walk alongside those in need to begin to see things at a systemic level.  It is at this level that we must begin change.  To end prejudice, injustice, and hate we must begin with fixing the systems that cause these evils.  As Christians we must engage the evils of the world.  We are called to be the light in the darkness.  Our light needs to shine into these dark places to begin real change at the base level.

Scripture reference: Psalm 51: 1-12