Take five minutes today and make someone feel like an all-star! This scene was orchestrated by a group called Improv Everywhere, whose mission is to cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places. How will you spread joy today? I’m going to serve my wife by scrubbing the toilets and bathtub. I’m going to… [Read more…]
Today – 2000 years after the birth of Jesus – Christmas celebrations are extravagant events, full of food and drink, gifts and decorations, laughter and merriment. We travel great distances to gather with family and friends. We reflect on God’s grace in our lives, and His grace revealed in the tender flesh of a baby,… [Read more…]
I work with refugees… and I have the best job in the world. Everyday I get to see refugees encounter Jesus, and be forever changed. I’m reminded of how people often responded to Jesus’ presence in the gospel accounts: they gawked in amazement; they broke into spontaneous worship; they fell down at his feet; they… [Read more…]
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (or UNHCR – the UN refugee agency) recently sent a delegation to visit the migrant detention centers on the Greek island of Lesvos (see here or here for some context). The conditions were appalling: Both men [the UNHCR representative and a Greek government official] condemned the poor conditions,… [Read more…]
Can I introduce you to a movement? One Day’s Wages is passionate about ending extreme global poverty. It’s challenge is simple: donate one day’s wage to provide practical help (e.g. dig a well, finance a business loan, provide mosquito nets, put kids in school) for the world’s poorest. Eugene Cho – who serves in an… [Read more…]
Our team has recently begun a discussion of vision. As a ministry, vision gives us purpose (what are we working towards), direction (how will we get there), and motivation (why go there). Vision is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be (this definition comes from… [Read more…]
Refugees and migrants have few protections. They are especially vulnerable to those who prey on the weak and defenseless. Because refugees often don’t speak the language and have forged documents, they become prime targets for scams, mistreatment, and abduction. When I read the article below (from ekathimerini.com), my mind went to God’s words through His… [Read more…]
Χρίστος Ανέστη! Truly, Christ is risen! It [our faith] will be counted to us [as righteousness] who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Therefore, since we been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord… [Read more…]
Every Thursday we offer showers to about sixty men. Two by two, we slowly work our way through the long list of those waiting. Most of these men sleep in the park or are squatting in a building without water, and rely on this weekly shower to feel human (not a hyperbole). While there is… [Read more…]
December 30, 2009
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