Posted by
Sudi in
General on November 30th, 2006 at 10:36am
There seems to be a divide between the Christians who place the highest importance on evangelism and those who consider social justice the most urgent need. I’m trying to figure out why these two views can’t come together. Growing up, I attended an all-girl Catholic school in Mexico City for 7 years. The highlight of every year I spent in that school was the day we did community service. I visited orphanages, schools for blind children, nursing homes and very poor villages. I had a sense that we were changing the world. Those values were deeply engrained.
When I became a Christian in 1988, I was introduced to a different way of seeing things. I was trained to be a minister, and worked many years with children and youth. My biblical and theological training along with my church ministry experience taught me the paramount importance of the gospel. So at that point these two views married each other in my mind.
Not long ago we read an article about a billionaire who has given billions to charity and thinks that by doing so, his soul will be saved. It was sad to read, first of all because many charitable organizations mean well and attempt to do great things but without an eternal perspective there is not lasting impact. It is also sad, because his conclusion is that good works lead to heaven but the Bible says, “it is not by works, so that no one should boast”.
So what is better, to feed a hungry man a piece of bread or to share with him a verse in the Bible and invite him to surrender his life to Christ? If I had to choose one, I would always choose sharing the Gospel, because that hungry man will hunger again for bread, but if he is fed the Bread of Life, his soul-hunger will be satisfied forever. I believe that sharing the Gospel with someone is the most loving, selfless and life-changing gift anyone can give to another person.
But it doesn’t end there, I know which I would choose but I don’t have to choose one or the other, so it is very much one and the other. Jesus, while on earth, went around meeting a lot of people’s physical needs, he fed the hungry, healed the sick. His underlying and fundamental purpose was the spiritual redemption of sinners, but Jesus never forgot the immediate needs of the poor and the sick and the forgotten. He had a keen perception and deep sensitivity and compassion and he acted upon all of these.
I am reminded of what my pastor always tells us, “God gives to you, so you give to others”. We are so rich, we have so many opportunities, resources, freedoms and wealth in this country, so there is no excuse to not give to those who have less than I do. Giving was modeled by Jesus, he is and was and always will be the ultimate GIVER, He gave it all, He gave His life. Everything the Father entrusted to Him, he offered back as a sacrifice to pay for my sins.
All this to say that I think the best way to spend one’s life is to bring as many people as possible to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But this passion in no way lessens my responsibility to attend to the needs of people who are less fortunate. The Bible says that “by their fruits they shall be known.” The trademark of a Christian is and should be “giving”. Not giving leftovers, but giving the best, giving sacrificially. The greatest testimonies I’ve heard are those of people who received a blessing from a Christian and asked “Why? Why are you kind to me? Why do you give so selflessly?” Because Jesus gave so selflessly, He gave his life and died on the Cross so that you and I might live.
Sud “The Dude”
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Portrait
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Goof Balls
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Tough Guys
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Stars and Stripes
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Sudi and Jackie
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Frisbee Champ
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Photo Shoot
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The Fam
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Steven & Jackson-Our Car
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We found a kitten, her name is Star
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The Thanksgiving message from Pastor Jeremiah was superb. A timely reminder of what Thanksgiving is. A time for family and close relationships, a time to remember the blessings God has given us, a time to reflect on what this past year has brought, and a time to respond by giving to those who are less fortunate. My favorite part of the message however was an excersice he gave us to do.
Make a list of all the blessings God has given you, include at least 15-20 items.
Once the list is done, erase or delete each item and picture what your life would be like if you didn’t have that particular blessing.
After you have deleted all items, write them ALL again and thank the Lord with a grateful heart.
The greatest blessings in our lives are those that we are so tempted to take for granted.
As pastor said, it has been found that the degree to which a person is blessed is proportionate to the degree to which that person is ungrateful. Give a homeless person a piece of bread and he will be far more grateful than a rich man at a lavished banquet.
But souldn’t it be the other way? Shouldn’t those of us who have been given so much be the most grateful?
Psalm 30:12 ”O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever”.
Posted by
Steven in
General,
Home on November 6th, 2006 at 07:34pm
I just stepped out onto the balcony and counted eight airplanes and helicopters in the night sky, all visible at the same time. It struck me as interesting and so I am sharing it.
This is the first and only blog post I can categorize as “Home” and “Places” at the same time. On clear days I like to peek outside our bedroom window to see if I can see Mt. Helix. Today is especially clear… and with pretty trees. This is the same shot at different zoom levels.
No Zoom (Bedroom Window) |
12X Zoom (Optical) |
48X Zoom (Digital) |
On October 31st our church hosted its annual Royal Night, an alternative to Halloween. Families from the community were invited to bring their kids for free candy, rides and fun activities in a safe environment. Nine teenagers accepted Christ as their savior! 6,000 people attended – so many that hours had to be extended.
Our church has a Director of Servant Ministries whose name is Joyce. What she does is “connect” church members with opportunities to serve. First, she had us take the Spiritual Gifts Inventory. Sudi and I both came out exactly the same as #1 Mercy and #2 Giving. Joyce met with us both to listen to our life stories, our hobbies and abilities, etc. and then suggested some opportunities. For me, she said she had been praying for a photographer to take photos of servants in action, and doing something with photography is exactly what I was hoping for!
I decided that Royal Night would be my first event. With Sudi at my side, as the Name Collector and Target Finder, we managed to get about 12 great shots of servants in action (candid shots are the idea). Joyce plans to use the servant shots on the Shadow Mountain web site in Servant Profiles, on her Servant Photo Wall and in materials used to inspire more servants. She hopes to assemble a bigger team of photographers later so that we can shoot everything that goes on in our church.
Here are some shots from the night. “Servant Action Shots” withheld (with exception of Joyce’s below) since they’re for the Shadow Mountain site. I’ll post a link later when that section of the site is ready.
Kiddie Coaster
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Fun Factor
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The Octopus
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6,000 Attended!
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Giant Jugglers
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Joyce in a “Servant Action Shot”
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