Does your faith need strengthening? Are you confused and wondering if Jesus Christ is really "The Way, the Truth, and the Life?" "Fight for Your Faith" is a blog filled with interesting and thought provoking articles to help you find the answers you are seeking. Jesus said, "Seek and ye shall find." In Jeremiah we read, "Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall seek for Me with all your heart." These articles and videos will help you in your search for the Truth.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Sucesso Moderado

Marcus Vernier
http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/sucesso-moderado/

Fui lembrado recentemente sobre moderação com relação a rotinas de exercício, pois parece haver uma linha fina para mim entre sentir-se bem e energizado depois de malhar e cansado demais ou com a cabeça um pouco aérea. Como a maioria das coisas na vida, a moderação parecer ser o segredo.

Ao buscar na Bíblia sobre o assunto, só encontrei uma referência sobre moderação: “Seja a vossa moderação conhecida de todos os homens.”[1]

Moderação é uma qualidade que poderia ser interpretada como de pouco valor, um sub ponto em comparação com outras qualidades espirituais mais notáveis ou mais faladas tais como amor, alegria, mansidão, etc., a moderação quase parece um fracasso, um nada. O que tem de tão especial em ser moderado? Eu me perguntei. Mas a maneira como ela faz a diferença nas coisas práticas do nosso cotidiano, tais como exercício como me referi acima, com certeza mostra que ela tem o seu lugar.

Para sermos moderados, precisamos ter restrições e seus resultados. Ser moderado significa que não seguimos demais para um lado nnem para outro, mas nos impomos, ou permitimos que o Espírito de Deus nos imponha, certas restrições, para nos manterem no caminho “estreito e apertado”.

Eu estava lendo um artigo outro dia e vi como isso até se relaciona ao estresse:

Algo que nos ajuda muito a reconhecer e superar algumas formas de estresse é seguir uma vida balanceada. Onde há equilíbrio, deve haver restrição, e aprender limites e disciplina vai ajudá-lo a evitar o estresse.

O estresse tem tudo a ver com ir além dos limites de uma maneira que não é saudável, ou passar tempo demais se preocupando com os limites. Para derrotar o estresse você tem que estar agradecido pelos seus limites, e aprender a permanecer dentro deles, porque eles lhe dão equilíbrio.[2]

Um artigo mais antigo, escrito em 1976, chamado “A Terra do Nada Demais,” ilustra ainda mais este ponto. Apesar de infantil em sua simplicidade, ele nos dá uma nova maneira de ver a moderação e como esta qualidade está longe de ser algo insignificante, mas é sim um fator chave para resolver os problemas de todo o mundo!



A Terra do Nada Demais
Um Sonho sobre o Milênio
De David Brandt Berg

Na “Terra do Nada Demais” era impossível fazer algo demais. Você não podia comer demais, nem beber demais não podia trabalhar demais nem dormir demais.

Não podia ver demais, nem ouvir demais, nem aprender demais, nem falar demais. Também não podia brincar por tempo demais, não podia correr demais nem se preocupar demais.

Você simplesmente não podia fazer nada demais. E isso parecia resolver os problemas. Ninguém queria demais, de modo que ninguém tinha demais, e assim ninguém lutava para ter demais nem havia lutas e guerras, porque ninguém queria demais, ou mais do que os outros. Ninguém queria nada demais; ninguém tinha nada a mais.

Havia muita paz e muita segurança e felicidade, mas não demais—apenas suficiente para todos. Todos tinham o suficiente para comer e beber, e o bastante para vestir, mas não demais. Ninguém tinha demais.

Ninguém ficava com muito frio nem com muita fome nem molhado demais nem forte demais. Ninguém era muito de nada ou tinha muito de nada nem tinha demais de nada.

E todos tinham a verdade, e a verdade era que ninguém tinha demais ou era nada demais de coisa alguma. E isso parecia resolver o problema de todos.

Tudo era resolvido por não haver demais. “A Terra do Nada Demais”, onde todos estavam contentes com nada demais. Ninguém queria demais, de modo que todos tinham o suficiente e isso resolvia todos os problemas. Ninguém era bom demais nem mal, orgulhoso ou mal demais, nem era demais de nada.

Era simplesmente impossível ter demais ou fazer algo demais ou ir longe demais ou rápido demais. Você simplesmente não podia ter nem fazer nada demais, e assim todos eram felizes. Todos eram tão felizes porque ninguém tinha demais nem era demais nem falava demais na Terra do Nada Demais.

Acho que a razão para todos terem o bastante era porque ninguém tinha demais, e é por isso que ninguém tinha que trabalhar demais ou fazer demais, porque todos tinham o suficiente, faziam o suficiente, faziam a sua parte e não demais—simples assim! Ninguém era justo demais, apenas o suficiente, na Terra do Nada Demais. Isso não é demais? Não, isso não é demais. É apenas suficiente, não é?



Apesar da palavra “moderação” só seja mencionada uma vez na Versão King James da Bíblia, há outra palavra, que significa basicamente a mesma coisa, “temperança,” e ela aparece poucas vezes no Novo Testamento, mas notavelmente com referência aos frutos do Espírito em Gálatas 5:22–23: “Mas o fruto do Espírito é amor, gozo, paz, longanimidade, benignidade, bondade, fé, mansidão, temperança, contra essas coisas não há lei”.

Em outra versão em inglês, temperança se torna “domínio próprio,” sugerindo que nos cabe fazer algo para regularmos nosso comportamento.

Vamos terminar com uma citação de Jostein Gaarder:

Saúde é uma condição natural. Quando há doença, é um sinal de que a Natureza saiu do curso por causa de um desequilíbrio físico ou mental. A estrada para a saúde para todos é através da moderação, da harmonia e de “uma mente sã em corpo são”.

Tradução Denise Oliveira. Revisão H.R.Flandoli.


[1] Filipenses 4:5 ARIB.

[2] De uma mensagem de Jesus, falando em profecia, publicado em novembro de 2006.

The Things That Count

A compilation
http://anchor.tfionline.com/post/things-count/

Audio length: 9:39
Download Audio (8.8MB)

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.—1 Corinthians 13:131

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I read something recently that got me thinking: Giving up some of the things we enjoy or desire can seem like a sacrifice, but when we get to heaven and see things in proper perspective, we’ll be ashamed that we didn’t make those little sacrifices more cheerfully.

Even now I feel bad, remembering little jobs I weaseled out of, arguments that I had to have the last word in, times I was sure to get the biggest piece of the pie. I’m beginning to see how temporary those things were and that the things that have really counted were the times I gave up a few minutes of my downtime to help someone out, the times I let a mean comment pass without answering back, the times I helped someone save face, and the times I saved that biggest piece of pie for someone else—in short, the times I gave when I could have taken or when I made the day a little better for someone. It doesn’t seem like such a sacrifice anymore, giving up these inconsequential things, when I consider that I’m investing in forever.—Michael French

*

Out of this life I shall never take
Things of silver and gold I make.
All that I cherish and hoard away
After I leave, on earth must stay.
Though I have toiled for a painting rare
To hang on my wall, I must leave it there.
Though I call it mine and I boast its worth
I must give it up when I quit the earth.
All that I gather and all that I keep,
I must leave behind when I fall asleep.
And I wonder often what I shall own
In that other life, when I pass alone.
What shall they find and what shall they see
In the soul that answers the call for me?
Shall the great Judge learn, when my task is through
That the spirit had gathered some riches, too?
Or shall at the last it be mine to find
That all I had worked for I’d left behind?
—Edgar A. Guest

*

Some people spend so much time and energy trying to make themselves attractive and perfect their bodies, but they neglect their inner selves, the unique and eternal spirits I gave them. This is short-sighted, because in time their bodies, their mere outer covers, will be no more. What matters the most is what’s inside, your spirit. I would prefer that you devote more of your time to activities that beautify your soul. My love is what will bring true contentment and make you glow.

Your body is an outer covering that is only for a time, but your spirit will last forever. When you invest in your spirit, you’re investing in eternity.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

*

A quote hanging in Albert Einstein’s office read, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” In other words, a lot of the things you do in a day or week can’t be “counted.” I’m talking about things like time spent in prayer, energy spent pouring into the children, doing what you can to invest in the mission, or forgoing something that you wanted to do in order to sacrifice for someone else. They’re not things that you can tick off of your to-do list—and yet they are vital, defining moments.

We must be sure to always keep in the forefront of our minds that love is the most important thing. If we don’t have love, all of our ticked-off to-dos, all of our great accomplishments, will be of no benefit.

The number-one priority is and always should be love! If you can go to bed at night knowing that you have shown love, then you can rest well, knowing that you’ve accomplished something truly great.—Maria Fontaine

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You are investing in eternity when you invest your time, love, and effort in your children, because children are forever. Those eternal lives are going to last forever, and everything you've put into them is going to count.—David Brandt Berg

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I’ve seen everything that you have ever done for others, and I haven’t forgotten any of it. I am like a faithful accountant, and I make note of all these things in My book. Every kind word, every bit of love, and every unselfish deed is entered into My book. I also see every affliction, every hardship, every wrong you endure, and every trying of your faith. These are also recorded in My book.

In all of these things, you have been investing in eternity. You don’t realize how much you have invested or how much interest your investment is earning for you. In the day of accounting, when I tally the books and you see how much you have stored up in the next life, you just might be surprised at the rewards that await you!—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

*

The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, “What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?” So he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.—Luke 12:16–312

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It’s been wisely said that life on earth is a testing ground and a learning experience, and with Me as your guide and coach, you will be successful in this life. Your success may not always look like success as it is popularly perceived, but you will be successful in the things that matter, the things that count, the things that last beyond this life and into eternity.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Published on Anchor July 2014. Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso. Music by Michael Dooley.


1 NLT.

2 NKJV.

Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) Have NOT Been Proven Safe

Carole Bartolotto, Huffington Post, July 24, 2014

The resounding claim of GMO proponents is that GMOs have been proven safe. Some scientists are quite emphatic about this, such as Dr. Pamela Ronald from UC Davis, who says:

“Genetically engineered crops currently on the market are as safe to eat and safe for the environment as organic or conventional foods.”

Dr. Roger Clemens, from the USC Department of Pharmacology, also weighs in, saying:

“They’re tested and evaluated in voluminous documentation that would fill this backyard. We don’t know of any health risk at this particular time.”

Dr. Clemens also defends food additives, sugar, and processed foods, but I digress…

The problem with concluding that GMOs are safe is that the argument for their safety rests solely on animal studies. These studies are offered as evidence that the debate over GMOs is over. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Animal studies have value in that if something demonstrates harm in animals, it will also likely cause harm in humans. Although some animal studies have found harm from a GMO diet, these hotly debated studies are not the point of this article. The point is, if an animal study does not find harm with a particular substance, it could still cause harm in humans.

A good example of this is what’s happened with artificial sweeteners. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved artificial sweeteners for use using animal toxicology studies. Once these sweeteners were added to the food supply—and labeled as such—scientists were able to do epidemiological studies (also called observational studies) in humans. Several of these studies found that artificial sweeteners are linked with negative health effects.

The Framingham Observational Study found that both diet and regular sodas are associated with metabolic syndrome (a constellation of symptoms such as abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, elevated triglycerides, and high blood pressure that are linked to an increased risk of heart disease). Yet another study revealed that diet sodas may increase the risk of diabetes. The Nurses’ Health Study found that two or more diet sodas a day were associated with a 30 percent decrease in kidney function over time. Yet none of these results were found in animal studies. Clearly, there are still many unknowns about the impact of artificial sweeteners on human health.

Dr. Walter Willet, from the Harvard School of Public Health, sums things up nicely by saying:

It’s difficult to make blanket statements about the safety or risks of low-calorie sweeteners because all are very different in their structure and how they work in the body. The reality is, some studies have been done in animals, but we really don’t have good long-term data on humans with any of these.

And the same is true for GMOs.

Considering that biology, gene regulation and expression, and the impact of a substance on a particular gene can vary so much, it makes perfect sense that animal research is not the best model to determine the long-term health effects of GMOs in humans.

In fact, Dr. Ralph Heywood, past scientific director of the Huntington Research Centre (U.K.), found that the agreement between animal and human toxicology tests is below 25 percent. He has determined that there is no way of knowing what kind of toxic effect will show up in animals versus humans.

Instead of animal studies, epidemiological studies have been identified as the best way to verify the effects of a substance and its risk to humans.

Ultimately, we need GMO labeling so we can do the epidemiological studies that are essential to determine their risk. Without long-term data—in humans—no one can make the claim that GMOs are proven safe.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Realçar o Positivo

http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/realcar-o-positivo/
Uma compilação

Sejam sempre agradecidos, haja o que houver, porque esta é a vontade de Deus para com vocês que pertencem a Cristo Jesus.—1 Tessalonicenses 5:18[1]

*

Muitas vezes adquirimos o hábito de dizer, “Que dia bonito”, quando está sol, e “Que dia feio” quando chove. Mas os dias de chuva também podem ser lindos, principalmente quando o Senhor os dá para nosso bem, para reduzir o calor ou fazer as plantas crescerem. Em alguns lugares, as pessoas ficam muitíssimo agradecidas por dias de chuva. Quando estamos numa seca e sem água, e precisamos de água para as flores, para a grama, e para as plantas que nos dão alimento, ficamos muito gratos pela chuva e não consideraríamos um dia de chuva um dia ruim, mas sim um ótimo dia.

O Senhor deve ficar um pouco ofendido e triste quando consideramos ruim a linda chuva da qual muitas vezes precisamos, e que muitas vezes não é nada ruim, principalmente se as flores, as plantas e as árvores precisam dela. E, claro, se elas precisam, nós precisamos, pois precisamos delas para obter o nosso alimento, para ter ar puro e para nos inspirar. Por isso, se queremos ser mais positivos e pensar de maneira mais positiva, devemos mudar o nosso vocabulário para ser mais positivo, pois é bastante difícil pensar num dia positivamente se dizemos que é um dia "ruim". Então, temos que mudar não só a nossa maneira de pensar, mas também a maneira como qualificamos as coisas.

As palavras que você usa, a maneira como qualifica as coisas, a maneira como as diz, influi muito o seu modo de pensar. Se for negativo, o impede de ser positivo.

A Bíblia diz, "Em tudo dai graças. ”[2] Ou seja: em cada situação dai graças. Nós podemos Lhe agradecer por todas as coisas, pois todas elas contribuem juntamente para o nosso bem, pois nós O amamos.[3] Se algo "ruim" nos ensina a orar e nos ensina lições de fé, paciência, amor e perseverança, então podemos ver que não foi ruim, mas sim bom. Ou seja, teve mais efeito positivo do que negativo.

A maioria das coisas na vida tem um efeito bom e um efeito ruim. A maioria das coisas tem um lado negativo e um lado positivo. Tudo tem os seus prós e os seus contras. Mas se o positivo exceder o negativo, então podemos dizer que é uma coisa boa. E na nossa vida para Jesus, o Senhor faz com que o bem exceda o mal em tudo o que nos acontece.—Maria Fontaine

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Desejo que as minhas palavras e os meus pensamentos sejam sempre agradáveis a Ti, Senhor, minha Rocha e meu Libertador.—Salmo 19:14[4]

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Jamais esquecerei a ocasião em que eu estava guiando uma reunião na qual minha mãe estava pregando no lugar de L. P. Lehman numa cidadezinha nas minas de carvão no Oeste da Pensilvânia. Era uma igrejinha numa noite chuvosa e fria com um grupinho muito pequeno de umas doze pessoas. Eu não parava de dizer: "Sinto muito não haver mais gente aqui, não sei onde estão as outras pessoas.”

Eu estava insistindo no negativo e nos lugares vazios em vez de os elogiar por serem tão corajosos e saído numa noite daquelas e lhes dizer: "Vocês são maravilhosos por terem vindo e enfrentado o mau tempo!" Eu deveria estar falando do positivo e encorajando-os, animando-os e elogiando-os em vez de pôr todo o mundo na fossa mencionando todos os lugares vazios e falando sobre todas as pessoas que não foram e por que não foram.

É sempre melhor enfatizar o positivo. Levei um grande sabão de L. P. Lehman, que era um bom empresário e um promotor inteligente. Ele tinha os melhores programas de rádio em toda a Pensilvânia.

Ele me chamou de lado e disse: "David, você não deveria ter falado em todas as pessoas que não estavam lá e por quê elas não vieram e se queixar a toda a hora dos lugares vazios. Deveria felicitar as pessoas que vieram, dando graças a Deus por elas, animando-as, agradecendo-lhes por terem vindo com um tempo tão mau, e salientar como foi maravilhoso que tantas pessoas tivessem saído com um tempo daqueles, em vez de falar das muitas pessoas que não vieram! Insista no positivo. Enfatize o positivo, o fato encorajador e inspirador, tentando levantar, e não esteja sempre falando sobre o negativo e o lado mau. Olhe para o lado positivo.”

É a velha história de como o otimista vê a rosquinha e o pessimista vê o buraco. O otimista diz mil maravilhas da qualidade da rosquinha e como é deliciosa e como é maravilhoso ter uma rosquinha, e o pessimista se queixa: "Puxa, eles nos enganaram! Colocaram um buraco no meio! Cadê o resto da minha rosquinha?" Muitas vezes somos tentados a fazer a mesma coisa com Deus. Em vez de Lhe agradecermos pelas bênçãos, somos tentados a nos queixar das provações, tribulações e sofrimentos

Lehman disse que se você não chamar a atenção para alguns erros no seu programa, a maioria das pessoas nem vão notar. Ter poucas pessoas na sua reunião é melhor do que não ter reunião nenhuma. Testemunhar para poucas pessoas é melhor do que não dar nenhum testemunho. Tente ressaltar o positivo, realçar o positivo!—David Brandt Berg

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Tenham uma conversa agradável e sensata, pois assim vocês terão a resposta certa para todo o mundo.—Colossenses 4:6[5]

*

O poder do louvor e da positividade é contagioso. Seja um portador! Se você tem tido uma atitude negativa para consigo mesmo, situações ou pessoas é hora de virar uma página na sua vida e pedir ao Senhor para lhe transformar em alguém cheio de louvor, positivo e uma influência para melhor na vida dos outros. É possível, “porque para Deus nada é impossível.”[6] Você pode mudar e não apenas superficialmente, mas radicalmente. Sua fraqueza pode passar a ser o seu ponto forte! Sei que é possível, porque eu mesma vi pessoas que pensavam negativamente o tempo todo superar a própria natureza, graças à sua determinação de mudar e à infalível ajuda do Senhor.

O Senhor pode mudar seu coração, sua mente, seus desejos e até sua natureza, se apenas Lhe entregar tudo. Entregue tudo ao Senhor, peça-Lhe para transformar sua vida, e Ele o fará.—Maria Fontaine

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Quando você age em um espírito positivo, está vivendo em um espírito de fé e confiança. Está reconhecendo a Mim, confiando em Mim e aceitando que sei o que é melhor e estou no controle de tudo. É preciso ter fé para ser positivo. É preciso fé na Minha Palavra, a qual diz que todas as coisas vão concorrer juntamente para o bem. Não importa como se sinta na ocasião, sabe que todas as coisas vão por fim concorrer juntamente para o bem, não importa como pareça no momento. Quando acredita nessa promessa, age em fé, com credulidade, e em um espírito positivo, feliz e de confiança.

Eu não o deixo se meter em situações ruins das quais Eu não o possa tirar. Por isso, nunca considere uma situação difícil uma perda total, um fracasso ou sem esperança. Você pode considerar qualquer coisa de maneira positiva e com fé, por pior que pareça.

É claro que precisa ser realista e admitir quando tem um problema, mas lembre-se que Eu sou o Deus do impossível. Sou o Alfa e o Ômega, o onipotente, onisciente, e estou do seu lado. Então, você não tem razão para se preocupar ou temer. Nada é sem esperança, existe possibilidade para tudo, e posso fazer com que qualquer coisa concorra para o bem de alguma forma.

Quando você vive em um espírito de fé e fala fé, por mais difícil que sejam as circunstâncias, cria um vácuo para o Meu Espírito fluir e fortalece a sua fé. Você colhe o que semeia, e se estiver semeando fé, falando palavras de fé e confiança, colherá os bons frutos da fé. Ficará inspirado e inspirará a outros. Terá um espírito de paz, seu semblante reluzirá, suas palavras serão edificantes e positivas, e você abrirá o canal para o Meu amor poder fluir através de você.—Jesus, falando em profecia

Publicado em Âncora em julho 2014. Tradução Denise Oliveira. Revisão H.F.Flandoli.


[1] Bíblia Viva.

[2] 1 Tessalonicenses 5:18.

[3] Romanos 8:28.

[4] Bíblia Viva.

[5] Bíblia Viva.

[6] Lucas 1:37.

One Person’s Impact

A compilation
http://anchor.tfionline.com/post/one-persons-impact/
Download Audio (10.2MB)

What does love look like? It has hands to help others. It has feet to go to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and sadness. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.—St. Augustine


After the mutiny

The story of “The Mutiny on the Bounty” has fascinated readers and moviegoers for generations. What happened afterward, however, isn’t well-known—yet is equally fascinating.

For reasons that are still debated, in 1789 the crew of the HMS Bounty mutinied against the alleged cruelty of their captain, William Bligh. Bligh and a few others were set adrift in a small boat, but the mutineers stayed with the Bounty and eventually landed on an isolated, uninhabited speck of land in the South Pacific called Pitcairn Island. There were only twenty-five of them—nine British sailors and six men and ten women from Tahiti—and shortly after landing they burned the Bounty and set about forming a permanent settlement.

But their experiment soon turned into a disaster. Conflicts rose between the rough British sailors and the Tahitians, leading to violence and murder. One sailor also discovered a method for distilling alcohol from a native plant, turning their tropical paradise into a den of drunkenness, vice, and debauchery. Finally only a handful of the Tahitians and one British sailor, John Adams, survived.

One day Adams discovered the ship’s Bible that had been rescued from the Bountyyears before, but then forgotten. He began reading, and God used its words to convict Adams of his sins and lead him to faith in Christ. His life was dramatically changed, and almost immediately he began sharing Christ with his fellow exiles. Both Adams’s changed life and the Bible’s message spoke to them, and they too were converted. When some American sailors stopped by Pitcairn Island in 1808—the first visitors they had ever had—they found a prosperous and harmonious community... God had used the witness of one man, John Adams, to transform the … colony.—Billy Graham1


Nehemiah

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said: “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants.—Nehemiah 1:4–62

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Stephen Olford, a well-known preacher (now deceased), was asked, “What is the secret of ministry?” He replied, “Bent knees, wet eyes, a broken heart.” Nehemiah wept sorrowfully and for days mourned and fasted and prayed over the brokenness of God’s holy city and the people he loved.

What is it that sits so heavily upon us about the needs of this world which expresses itself from the deepest core of our being? Sadly, there are people who not only don’t go to that place within themselves, but can’t even get there because of defenses they’ve built around themselves. But the needs of our broken world can only be met by people with broken hearts. Something inside us must resonate with the heart of God, and until we have felt the pressure of His pain and compassion deeply within our souls, we will not fully participate in the work of God.

… It is ordinary men and women He uses for His purpose, and it is the condition of our hearts that He looks upon. It is this brokenness, the very depth of touching the heart of God, and God touching our hearts that will sustain and energize us. We are actually fed by our tears.

Nehemiah was impassioned and driven to fulfill the will of God, not out of pity, but out of genuine sorrow and compassion that resonated with God, and became a driving force. If the ingredients of fruitfulness in the Christian life are bent knees, wet eyes, and a broken heart, then as people of God, we need to make ourselves available to Him and, like Nehemiah, be driven by compassion for God’s agenda in this world.—Charles Price


Amy Carmichael

Amy Carmichael lived for one reason, and that was to make God’s love known to those trapped in darkness. She was born in northern Ireland in 1867 and was the oldest of seven children. Her father’s unexpected death when she was 18 had a profound effect on her, leading her to think seriously about her future and God’s plan for her life.

At the age of 19, after hearing Hudson Taylor speak about missionary life, she realized that nothing could be more important than living her life for Jesus, who, with nothing of worldly possessions, had given His life for her. She knew He was calling her to do the same and give all of herself to Him. This meant she must become “dead to the world and its applause, to all its customs, fashions, and laws.”

In many ways she was an unlikely candidate for missionary work. She suffered neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her whole body weak and achy and often put her in bed for weeks on end. Still, Amy wanted to be a missionary. She prayed about it and wrote down the reasons she thought it couldn’t possibly be God’s intention. One of the first things on the list was her sickness. But in her prayers she seemed to hear the Lord speak as if He were standing in her room, saying “Go.”

For over a year Amy tried to find a place to go, but no one wanted her. Eventually she set off for Japan in the company of three missionary ladies. She had a constant passion to witness. On board the ship, even the captain was converted to Christian faith after observing how cheerfully Amy faced the dirt and insects onboard.

Amy’s neuralgia later became so bad that the doctor told her she must leave Japan for a more suitable climate. After some struggle, Amy accepted that she would be better off in India.


“There have been times of late when I have had to hold on to one text with all my might: ‘It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.’ Praise God, it does not say ‘successful.’”—Amy Carmichael

In 1895, Amy was commissioned by the Church of England to go to Dohnavur, India. She eventually served 56 years there without a furlough, difficult though it was at times.

Mission work in India was hazardous. With each conversion of a high-caste Hindu, a wave of persecution followed. The community would leave no stone unturned to make life difficult for the Christians. They would force mission schools to close, burn others, vandalize churches, beat up missionaries, and file endless lawsuits.

Amy traveled and preached at first, going native in her dress, which was considered disgraceful by all the other missionaries. Dressed in a sari with her skin stained, she could pass as a Hindu.

In the end, a major part of Amy’s work was devoted to rescuing children who had been dedicated by their families to be temple prostitutes. Amy used to say, “You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving.” She lived this so deeply that it got her into lots of trouble.

One time it seemed certain that Amy would be arrested and sent to an Indian prison on kidnapping charges. And technically Amy was a kidnapper—many times over, because she often sheltered temple runaways. Temple children were young girls dedicated to the gods and forced into prostitution to earn money for the priests.

More than a thousand children were rescued from neglect and abuse during Amy’s lifetime. To them she was known as “Amma,” which means mother in Tamil. Her work was often dangerous and stressful. Yet she never forgot God’s promise to keep her and those in her care.

“There were days when the sky turned black for me because of what I heard and knew was true . . . Sometimes it was as if I saw the Lord Jesus Christ kneeling alone, as He knelt long ago under the olive trees. … And the only thing that one who cared could do was to go softly and kneel down beside Him, so that He would not be alone in His sorrow over the little children.”


“It cost God Calvary to win us. It will cost us as much as we may know of the fellowship of His sufferings, if those for whom He died that day are ever to be won.”—Amy Carmichael

Amy died in India in 1951 at the age of 83. She asked that no stone be put over her grave; instead, the children she had cared for put a bird bath over it with the single inscription “Amma.”—Peter Amsterdam3


How can one person make a difference?

Even the little things you do can mean a lot: A little bit of love goes such a long way! The light of your smile, the kindness of your face, the influence of your life, can shed light on many, and have an amazing effect on some people you think might be the least likely to be impressed.

When people feel your love and you tell them it’s God’s love, they kind of feel like, “Maybe somebody up there does love me!” It changes their whole outlook and gives them a real uplook.

There are so many people searching for love. People everywhere are looking around for some little ray of hope, some salvation, some bright spot somewhere.—A little love, a little mercy, someplace where they can find some relief. If you can show them that love exists, then they can believe that God exists, because “God is love.”4—David Brandt Berg5

*

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.—Attributed to Helen Keller

Published on Anchor July 2014. Read by Jon Marc.


1 The Journey (Barnes & Noble, 2006).

2 NIV.

3 Originally published November 2008, adapted..

4 1 John 4:8.

5 Originally published April 1974, adapted..

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Are you raising nice kids? A Harvard psychologist gives 5 ways to raise them to be kind

By Amy Joyce, Washington Post, July 18, 2014

Earlier this year, I wrote about teaching empathy, and whether you are a parent who does so. The idea behind it is from Richard Weissbourd, a Harvard psychologist with the graduate school of education, who runs the Making Caring Common project, aimed to help teach kids to be kind.

I know, you’d think they are or that parents are teaching that themselves, right? Not so, according to a new study released by the group.

About 80 percent of the youth in the study said their parents were more concerned with their achievement or happiness than whether they cared for others. The interviewees were also three times more likely to agree that “My parents are prouder if I get good grades in my classes than if I’m a caring community member in class and school.”

Weissbourd and his cohorts have come up with recommendations about how to raise children to become caring, respectful and responsible adults. Why is this important? Because if we want our children to be moral people, we have to, well, raise them that way.

“Children are not born simply good or bad and we should never give up on them. They need adults who will help them become caring, respectful, and responsible for their communities at every stage of their childhood,” the researchers write.

The five strategies to raise moral, caring children, according to Making Caring Common:

1. Make caring for others a priority. Why? Parents tend to prioritize their children’s happiness and achievements over their children’s concern for others. But children need to learn to balance their needs with the needs of others, whether it’s passing the ball to a teammate or deciding to stand up for friend who is being bullied.

How? Children need to hear from parents that caring for others is a top priority. A big part of that is holding children to high ethical expectations, such as honoring their commitments, even if it makes them unhappy. For example, before kids quit a sports team, band, or a friendship, we should ask them to consider their obligations to the group or the friend and encourage them to work out problems before quitting.

Try this
• Instead of saying to your kids: “The most important thing is that you’re happy,” say “The most important thing is that you’re kind.”

• Make sure that your older children always address others respectfully, even when they’re tired, distracted, or angry.

• Emphasize caring when you interact with other key adults in your children’s lives. For example, ask teachers whether your children are good community members at school.

2. Provide opportunities for children to practice caring and gratitude. Why? It’s never too late to become a good person, but it won’t happen on its own. Children need to practice caring for others and expressing gratitude for those who care for them and contribute to others’ lives. Studies show that people who are in the habit of expressing gratitude are more likely to be helpful, generous, compassionate, and forgiving—and they’re also more likely to be happy and healthy.

How? Learning to be caring is like learning to play a sport or an instrument. Daily repetition—whether it’s a helping a friend with homework, pitching in around the house, or having a classroom job—make caring second nature and develop and hone youth’s caregiving capacities. Learning gratitude similarly involves regularly practicing it.

Try this
• Don’t reward your child for every act of helpfulness, such as clearing the dinner table. We should expect our kids to help around the house, with siblings, and with neighbors and only reward uncommon acts of kindness.

• Talk to your child about caring and uncaring acts they see on television and about acts of justice and injustice they might witness or hear about in the news.

• Make gratitude a daily ritual at dinnertime, bedtime, in the car, or on the subway. Express thanks for those who contribute to us and others in large and small ways.

3. Expand your child’s circle of concern. Why? Almost all children care about a small circle of their families and friends. Our challenge is help our children learn to care about someone outside that circle, such as the new kid in class, someone who doesn’t speak their language, the school custodian, or someone who lives in a distant country.

How? Children need to learn to zoom in, by listening closely and attending to those in their immediate circle, and to zoom out, by taking in the big picture and considering the many perspectives of the people they interact with daily, including those who are vulnerable. They also need to consider how their decisions, such as quitting a sports team or a band, can ripple out and harm various members of their communities. Especially in our more global world, children need to develop concern for people who live in very different cultures and communities than their own.

Try this
• Make sure your children are friendly and grateful with all the people in their daily lives, such as a bus driver or a waitress.

• Encourage children to care for those who are vulnerable. Give children some simple ideas for stepping into the “caring and courage zone,” like comforting a classmate who was teased.

• Use a newspaper or TV story to encourage your child to think about hardships faced by children in another country.

4. Be a strong moral role model and mentor. Why? Children learn ethical values by watching the actions of adults they respect. They also learn values by thinking through ethical dilemmas with adults, e.g. “Should I invite a new neighbor to my birthday party when my best friend doesn’t like her?”

How? Being a moral role model and mentor means that we need to practice honesty, fairness, and caring ourselves. But it doesn’t mean being perfect all the time. For our children to respect and trust us, we need to acknowledge our mistakes and flaws. We also need to respect children’s thinking and listen to their perspectives, demonstrating to them how we want them to engage others.

Try this:
• Model caring for others by doing community service at least once a month. Even better, do this service with your child.

• Give your child an ethical dilemma at dinner or ask your child about dilemmas they’ve faced.

5. Guide children in managing destructive feelings. Why? Often the ability to care for others is overwhelmed by anger, shame, envy, or other negative feelings.

How? We need to teach children that all feelings are okay, but some ways of dealing with them are not helpful. Children need our help learning to cope with these feelings in productive ways.

Try this
Here’s a simple way to teach your kids to calm down: ask your child to stop, take a deep breath through the nose and exhale through the mouth, and count to five. Practice when your child is calm. Then, when you see her getting upset, remind her about the steps and do them with her. After a while she’ll start to do it on her own so that she can express her feelings in a helpful and appropriate way.

What Faith Knows

http://directors.tfionline.com/post/what-faith-knows/
by M. Fountaine:

No matter how dreadful, devastating, irreversible or hopeless things seem when you’re facing a major setback or even a life-threatening situation, the fact that you continue to actively trust in Jesus and refuse to let go of that abiding trust shows that you have great faith. Your faith is what pleases Him.

Faith isn’t all about you and your getting what you think is best. It’s all about Jesus and what He knows is best for you and others.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for. We wouldn’t be hoping for something if we already had it in our hands. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. We wouldn’t need evidence that something is real if we could see it with our eyes.

When I look at some of the miracle-claiming men and women in the Bible, at a quick glance they seem to be so confident, so certain of the things they’re about to do. Next to such seemingly unwavering faith, we can start to feel a little wimpy and unsure of our own faith.

That’s because we’re seeing those miracles of the Bible through the perspective of hindsight. But try to put yourself in their shoes.

Consider how impossible the situation must have seemed for them at the time when they couldn’t see the outcome. Their perspective may have been very much like how you feel today when faced with something impossible. It can be encouraging to take a close look at their circumstances and what they were facing from their perspective.

For example, look at the three Hebrew men who were about to be thrown into the fiery furnace for not bowing down and worshipping the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. It might look like they were glowing with confidence in front of the head of the world empire, certain that nothing could happen to them in that fiery furnace. But could it be that they also battled fear and the uncertainty of what would happen?

It’s true that their friend, Daniel, held a great deal of power and influence, and he might have been able to stand up for them and rescue them from their fate, but he was away on a trip to another part of the empire. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were on their own, standing up for what they knew was right, and there they were, bound and forced to kneel before a king who saw himself as God, surrounded by the king’s jealous counselors for whom the presence of these Hebrews in the king’s court was a threat to their power. Those angry counselors had probably been instrumental in whipping up the king’s fury against the three Hebrew men.

Beneath the bold declaration of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that they would trust in God no matter what happened, they were just human and prone to the same fears that any one of us facing such a painful and horrifying fate would experience. Imagine the harrowing struggles they must have faced at the prospect of that raging furnace and the impossibility of any alternatives but to either bow to the image or face the torturous flames.

Faith isn’t the absence of fear; faith is what overcomes fear. My guess is that they dreaded with everything in them what was about to happen, but they still knew what they had to do. Their faith didn’t seem to be based on any assumption that their bodies would miraculously be impervious to the heat and fire. At least, that’s not what their words in the Bible indicate.

They said, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image which you have set up.”

They didn’t know what would happen, but they had faith that God was in control. Their faith was in the fact that no matter what, they knew God had a plan and they trusted Him to take care of them as He saw fit. They weren’t setting conditions according to what seemed best to them. They didn’t tell the king that their bodies couldn’t be burned. They knew God could do anything, but they weren’t basing their faith on God necessarily keeping them from burning up in the furnace.

Their faith was in God’s love and power, not in the results they thought would be best. Try to put yourself in the place of those who have faced impossibilities like this. What would your thoughts be? What would your fears be?

You know that God will ultimately make things right in the next life, but that knowledge doesn’t lessen the struggles of possibly facing very painful experiences or death. At this moment in time it’s not the next life that you are having to deal with, it’s the present.

Let’s take a look at Moses. There he was at the Red Sea, facing what looked like the certain extinction of himself and the Hebrew people. Behind him, only temporarily blocked by that pillar of smoke by day and fire by night, was an army of men who had not only suffered terribly through plagues because of him, but many had also lost parents or children or siblings to the final plague.

Those soldiers weren’t just following the Pharaoh’s orders. I imagine they wanted revenge and were bent on making these fleeing slaves suffer in the worst possible ways for what their God had done to the Egyptian people. I expect that Moses and the children of Israel were well aware of that.

Imagine the fear that may have threatened both Moses and those with him. It might have looked like their God had left them pinned down with no way of escape. Imagine the doubts that could have assailed Moses. While they had managed to leave the Egyptians behind for a while, he could have been hit with fear that he might have gotten it wrong somehow, and it could have appeared as if the men, women, and children who had followed him were going to be killed.

I don’t think that there was any doubt that Moses was desperately seeking God’s guidance; however, even when God told him what to do, it must have seemed impossible. Who had ever heard of the sea separating so people could walk through the middle of it? Moses just had to follow instructions, step by step, trusting that somehow God would come through for them.

When the sea parted and the people had to run into the now dry seabed, I imagine it would have been a pretty terrifying thing to do—a multitude of people scrambling down and down with the walls of water rising higher and higher on both sides.

If you had wanted to escape, where could you go? In the distance behind you, you could see the dark outline of that ominous army, starting to make its way after you onto the same seabed you were hurrying across. How long would it be before they caught up with you?

Moses just had to trust that no matter how bad things looked, no matter how impossible it seemed for them to make it to safety, they were in God’s hands come what may.

Jesus, the ultimate example of trusting His Father even unto death, still faced the fears. The Bible says He went through such struggles in the garden of Gethsemane that He sweat drops of blood! Faith isn’t the absence of fear, but the overcoming of fear with the truth. To overcome fear, you have to face it.

It can be pretty scary when you’re in a bad situation and you can’t see any natural way out of the dilemma. But that’s when faith that is built on Jesus, rather than on what you think has to happen, really comes to the fore. You just have to keep believing and trusting, no matter what things look like, as did Shadrach and his friends.

You have to keep walking on the solid ground of what God has told you to do in spite of dire circumstances, like Moses, knowing that no matter how hopeless it looks or how bad things get, Jesus has you in His arms.

I don't know what the future holds, but I know the one who does.

You may feel afraid of what you’re facing. You may not see anything you can do to fix the situation you’re in. But God’s intervention in your life isn’t based on your self-confidence. It’s based on your belief in Him and your trust in His unlimited power, goodness, and love.

You don’t have to believe that what you want to happen will always happen. You just have to believe that God can bring about what is best in His time and His way, if not in this life, then in the life to come, because you trust Him.

Faith knows what is most important to know: God will never leave nor forsake you.

None of us know what lies ahead. We often can’t know if that setback we’re facing or the things we’re suffering will be gone in a minute or a month, or if they will last a lifetime. Our faith can’t be built on expected results that make sense to us. What faith knows is that Jesus will not leave us comfortless; He’ll be there walking with us through the fire, as He was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We’ll make it through whether by His supernatural care or by arriving in heaven at the end of our life, but either way, we can’t lose.

Believe Him and expect the best; it’s worth waiting for.

Jesus loves it when we look at the waves and the winds of adversity and do like Peter did with Him. Peter said to Jesus, “Bid me come out to you on the water.” He was ready to jump right into the challenges because he’d seen God’s power in Jesus and was ready to put himself into those hands that he trusted would never fail him.

What are the challenges that you’re facing? What impossible situations are looming big in your life? Will you step out on the waters to meet Jesus right now so that His power can be manifested in your life? Take the step of faith, and even if you feel that momentary sinking feeling at times, you only have to call out to Him and He’ll bring you through in His perfect time and way.

The Stories Jesus Told: The Rich Man and Lazarus

by P Amsterdam:
http://directors.tfionline.com/post/stories-jesus-told-rich-man-and-lazarus-luke-16193/

The story of the rich man and Lazarus is another of the stories Jesus told regarding the proper attitude toward wealth and its use. The parable of the rich fool (which I spoke about earlier) and the parable of the unjust steward (which is next in the series) also touch on the topic of wealth. This parable makes a comparison between the lives of two men—one rich, the other poor. As we’ll see, the comparison extends beyond this life and into the next. Let’s take a look at how Jesus described the rich man.

There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.[1]

Not a lot is said in this brief introductory description, but the original listeners would have drawn some definite impressions from it. This man was not only rich but he made a point of showing off his riches by the clothes he wore. He dressed daily in purple cloth, which was something only the very wealthy could afford. The process of extracting purple dye from a shellfish called murex was labor intensive, thus making purple cloth very expensive. Royalty and those of high rank wore purple robes.

The rich man also wore fine linen. The Greek word translated as “fine linen” means a delicate, soft, white, and very costly linen. Wearing white linen garments under purple robes was indicative of great affluence. On top of that, he feasted sumptuously every day, which might mean that he entertained guests on a daily or regular basis, which would be very costly. The point being made, both here and later in the story, is that the man was very rich and self-indulgent.

And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.[2]

In keeping with the brevity of the parables, the information about Lazarus is also sparse. However, one outstanding point is that his name is given. This is the only one of Jesus’ parables in which people are named. Further on, Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, is also named. The name Lazarus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Eliezer orElazar, meaning the one who God helps.

Lazarus is so poor he must beg for food. He is also ill, covered with oozing sores, and cannot walk. Either his legs are paralyzed or he is so weak and ill that he isn’t able to walk. The wording “was laid” in the Greek is passive, meaning that he had to be laid at the rich man’s gate by others. In first-century Palestine, there were no governmental services that provided care for the poor, so such care had to be given by the community or individuals. Almsgiving, the giving of money or food to those in need, was the main way people like Lazarus survived. Lazarus depended on others to daily carry him to the rich man’s gate, where he could beg, and where he hoped that he would receive food which fell from the rich man’s table.

When guests ate at feasts, they would break off a piece of bread and use it to scoop food from the common dish. Throughout the meal, when they wanted to wipe their hands they would break off a bit of bread, use it to clean their hands, and then throw it under the table. It was this food that Lazarus would have been hoping to receive.

Every day Lazarus would sit at the gate of the rich man, knowing that daily feasts were being eaten there, knowing that his hunger could be satiated if he were just given some of the food being tossed on the floor. He desired that food, but did without, as it wasn’t given to him; or if it was from time to time, it wasn’t enough to assuage his hunger.

The dogs would come and lick Lazarus’ leaking sores. Most Bible commentators presume that the dogs were dirty, mangy street dogs. One commentator expresses the possibility that these are the guard dogs of the rich man’s house, and that their licking would help the sores.[3] In either case, having such sores and being licked by dogs made Lazarus ritually unclean. If in fact the rich man had guard dogs, we can assume that the dogs were the ones being fed the table scraps thrown on the floor, rather than Lazarus.

Lazarus was in a miserable state—unable to walk, covered with sores, always hungry, completely dependent on others for help to move from one place to another, and sitting day after day begging outside the gate of the rich man, who apparently ignored him. He was a ritually unclean social outcast.

The parable continues:

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.[4]

Being by Abraham’s side, or at Abraham’s bosom, as it’s sometimes translated, expressed the blessed state after death, and was compared to dining with the patriarchs, as seen in Matthew 8:11:

I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.[5]

Lazarus, who was never invited to the rich man’s feast, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table, is now reclining at a feast in the place of honor next to Abraham, the father of faith. The rich man, meanwhile, experiences a very different fate.

The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.And he called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.”[6]

The unnamed rich man has died and been buried, undoubtedly with an expensive funeral. However, his existence is now very different from what it was in his time on earth. He who feasted daily with copious food and wine is now the one in need and dependent on others for help.

He called out to Abraham, making sure to call him “father,” perhaps hoping that reminding Abraham of his Jewish descent would in some way obligate Abraham to help him.

At this point in the parable, the surprising discovery is made that the rich man knew Lazarus’ name. He was apparently well aware of Lazarus, who sat daily in front of his house in desperate need. However, he shows no remorse about his neglect of Lazarus; instead, he’s instructing Abraham to send Lazarus to perform a service for him.

Kenneth Bailey expressed the situation well when he wrote:

The rich man’s first demand is unbelievable. When Lazarus was in pain, he was ignored by the rich man. Now the rich man is in pain and something must be done about it—immediately! After all, he is unaccustomed to such things. Instead of [giving] an apology he demands services, and from the very man he refused to help in spite of his great wealth! He wouldn’t even give Lazarus some of his “dog food.” He might as well have said, “Now that Lazarus is feeling better and is on his feet, I would like a few services. Given who I am, and he, being of the servant class, such service is expected. Send him down, Abraham—and hurry up about it. Unlike Lazarus, I am not accustomed to discomfort!”[7]

There’s no sign of remorse, no asking for forgiveness, only continued self-concern and self-importance.

But Abraham said, “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.”[8]

Abraham doesn’t answer harshly; rather he calls him “child.” He then instructs the rich man to think back on the life he led and all of the good things he received, as opposed to the bad things Lazarus experienced. Abraham reminds him that what he possessed wasn’t truly his; it was on loan from God, and he was meant to use it wisely. Now his earthly life is finished, and due to his actions in that life he is in anguish.

Lazarus, on the other hand, is now comforted. Having lived a difficult life, he is no longer in pain and torment. He is no longer neglected. He has been comforted after his death.

Abraham then said:

“And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.”[9]

Even if Lazarus compassionately wished to dip his finger in water and cool the rich man’s tongue, it would be impossible. Lazarus would have been well within his rights to point out how ridiculous it was for the rich man to ask that he be sent to help relieve his pain. Hadn’t Lazarus been in pain daily at the rich man’s doorstep and received nothing? Yet Lazarus says nothing, as is the case throughout the whole parable.

The rich man then comes up with a new task for Lazarus.

And he said, “Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.”[10]

Realizing that his predicament isn’t going to change, the rich man asks that Lazarus be sent on a mission to warn his brothers. He sees that the same fate awaits them, most likely because they live in the same manner as he did, pursuing their own selfish pleasure with no concern for those in need.

But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.”[11]

Abraham states that they have the five books of Moses, known as the Torah, as well as the books of the prophets, called in Hebrew the Nevi’im, available to them. Abraham is saying that the Scriptures, God’s written Word, are sufficient to instruct his brothers in righteous living and faith. If they will hear those words, meaning to obey and follow them, they won’t end up as their dead brother has.

This answer doesn’t sit well with the rich man. He’s used to people doing what he says. His response is argumentative.

And he said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.”[12]

This is ironic given that the rich man himself is at that moment seeing someone “from the dead,” Lazarus, who is reclining at the table with Abraham, and he hasn’t shown any sign of repentance. Yet he’s convinced that if Lazarus will appear to his brothers, they will repent. Abraham lets him know that’s not the case.

He said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”[13]

The rich man is seeking to send his five brothers a sign. He assumes that if Lazarus, who is dead and who his brothers know is dead, goes to them, they will believe. The rich man’s brothers would recognize Lazarus, as for years they walked right past him as they entered the house for feasting. The rich man knows his brothers ignored Lazarus just as he did, and that their fate is going to be the same as his.

He also knows they either don’t read or don’t believe God’s words. The rich man is asking that a sign be given to his brothers. In Scripture a request for a sign indicates unbelief, as shown in John 6:30 and other verses.[14]

They said to Him, “Then what sign do You do, that we may see and believe You?”[15]

Although it isn’t specified, as parables don’t give a lot of details or historical facts, it’s possible that the rich man and his brothers were Sadducees. The Sadducees were the aristocracy of Israel and many were very wealthy. The high priests at that time came from the Sadducees. The rich man was clothed in purple, which could indicate he was a member of the aristocracy and therefore possibly a Sadducee, or at least Jesus may have been alluding to the Sadducees’ beliefs.

The Sadducees did not believe that life continued on after death. There was no expectation that there was any life beyond this one; as such, if a man lived prosperously and happily, died in peace, and was honorably buried, he had all that a man could ever expect.[16]However, Jesus’ parable shows that this is not the case. The rich man, contrary to the belief of the Sadducees, finds out that there is life beyond the grave and that our actions in our earthly life do in fact have something to do with life after death.[17]

T. W. Manson writes:

The rich man now thinks of his brothers, who are living as he had lived, believing what he had believed, and so dooming themselves to join him in torment. He asks that Lazarus may be sent to them to testify to them. Of what? Of the only thing to which one returned from the dead could bear witness; the fact that there is a life beyond the grave, and the nature of it is retribution. The five brothers are in danger of punishment after death precisely because they do not believe in it. … The creed of the five brothers is the Sadducean creed.[18]

Whether the brothers were Sadducees or not, what is clear is that the rich man knew they weren’t living in obedience to what God’s Word taught, and that they were going to end up in the same state he was in if they didn’t receive a sign. But Abraham says that no sign would be given to them, as they had God’s Word available to them and that was sufficient. They knew enough from the Torah, the Scriptures, to know what God says about how to live righteously and how to treat the poor.

So what was Jesus teaching with this parable?

Many of those Jesus was speaking to would have initially assumed that the rich man was blessed by God and that Lazarus was being judged, as they believed that prosperity was God’s blessing and the lack of it was God’s judgment. Jesus was expressing that this wasn’t necessarily the case. Being rich isn’t necessarily a sign that one has received God’s blessing or that they are righteous; nor are those who have less, or who suffer illness or poverty, being judged by God.

Another point Jesus was making was that being of the lineage of Abraham wasn’t enough to keep the rich man from torment. At a different time and place, Jesus expressed that being of the physical line of Abraham wasn’t sufficient, rather one had to live as Abraham lived.

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did …” [19]

The parable also shows the wealthy how not to act. The rich man was aware of Lazarus and his needs but was indifferent toward him. He took no action to help him, though he clearly had the means to do so. It’s so easy to look away when one sees a beggar, especially when they are unsightly, as in this graphic example Jesus uses of Lazarus’ oozing sores being licked by dogs. Instead of seeing a human being, one made in God’s image, one whom God loves, it’s easier to avoid them or to look away and not take notice, to be indifferent toward them. As Christians, as disciples, we are meant to respond with love and compassion when we see the condition of those in need.

While Jesus is using a wealthy man as a bad example in this parable, there’s nothing inherently wrong with being rich. Even Abraham was wealthy. There is, however, danger when riches wrongly affect one’s attitude. It has to do with the place of importance we give our possessions and how we use them. Are we like the rich fool in Luke chapter 12 who plans to store up his bumper crop and use it for himself? Do we serve our money and possessions, or do we use them for God’s glory? Do we live self-indulgent lives like the rich man in this parable, or do we help others? Even if we don't have enough to give much financially, do we do what we can to help those in need, perhaps by giving some of our time, attention, or in some way helping to meet their need? What is our attitude toward the poor and needy? Are we indifferent? Do we look down on them? Do we judge them because we feel they deserve to be in that situation? Or do we show compassion, care, and concern in our actions?

The parable also gives a warning about ignoring or rejecting God’s Word. The rich man either had no belief or wrong belief. He knew his brothers were in the same condition. He asked for a sign to be given to them, but Abraham said no sign would be given because they had God’s Word available. God held the rich man accountable because he had God’s Word available, yet didn’t live in alignment with it, as evidenced by the fact that he didn’t treat the poor in accordance with Scripture.

How we live our lives affects our eternal future. Our actions, or our lack of action, make a difference not only in our life today, but in our life forever. We should be mindful of the choices we make, how we live, how we use our money and possessions, and how we treat those in need. The sum of our decisions, choices, and actions not only make us who we are today, but affect our future in the life after this one.

As Christians, as disciples, an additional point we should take away from this parable is that we are surrounded by many who, like the rich man, either don’t believe or realize that there is life after this life. They may not understand that believing God’s Word and receiving salvation through His Son Jesus will change their lives now and for eternity. Our job is to share our riches of spiritual truth with them. We shouldn’t be like the rich man in the parable, content with our spiritual riches, with the wealth of heaven we possess, and pass by the “Lazaruses” of this world who are so in need, not just physically, but spiritually.

Whether or not we have much money or possessions to share with those in need, as Christians we each possess the most valuable thing anyone can have—eternal life and a personal relationship with the one who makes it possible, Jesus. There are multitudes from all walks of life around us who are in desperate need, and we have the spiritual riches of faith, of salvation, of God’s deep love to share with them. Let’s do the very best we can to bring them comfort and salvation, shall we?

The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31)

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.The rich man also died and was buried,
23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—
28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Footnotes: 

[1] Luke 6:19.
[2] Luke 16:20–21.
[3] Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 385.
Dogs lick their own wounds. They lick people as a sign of affection. But more than this, recent scientific scholarship has identified that saliva contains “endogenous peptide antibiotics,” which facilitate healing. A dog’s saliva contains such peptide antibiotics, and the ancients somehow discovered that if a dog licked wounds, they would heal more rapidly. In 1994 Professor Lawrence Stager of Harvard University discovered more than 1,300 dogs buried in ancient Ashkelon. The graves dated from the fifth to the third centuries BC when Ashkelon was ruled by the Phoenicians. These animals were probably linked to a Phoenician healing cult. The dogs were in all likelihood trained to lick wounds or sores, whereupon a fee was paid to their owners. This may explain the background to Deuteronomy 23:18, which forbids the worshiper from bringing “the wages of a dog” into the house of the Lord.
[4] Luke 16:22.
[5] Matthew 8:11.
[6] Luke 16:22–24.
[7] Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, 388.
[8] Luke 16:25.
[9] Luke 16:26.
[10] Luke 16:27–28.
[11] Luke 16:29.
[12] Luke 16:30.
[13] Luke 16:31.
[14] “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So He left them and departed (Matthew 16:4).
The Pharisees came and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven to test Him (Mark 8:11).
While others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign from heaven (Luke 11:16).
So the Jews said to Him, “What sign do You show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:18–19).
[15] John 6:30.
[16] T. W. Manson, The Sayings of Jesus (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1979), 299.
[17] Manson, Sayings of Jesus, 300.
[18] Manson, Sayings of Jesus, 300–301.
[19] John 8:39.

Friday, July 25, 2014

What I learned from totally unplugging and shutting up for three days

Edward Morrissey, The Week, July 22, 2014

No one has ever mistaken me for a rebel or a counter-cultural warrior, not even when I was at an age when it might be expected or even appropriate. I never once ran away from home. (Heck, I didn’t even move out on my own until I was 22.) My tastes in food, art, and fashion run solidly to the classics, if not the outright conventional. Yet late last Thursday afternoon, I found myself escaping work and my social life to do something that has become downright transgressive—going silent for several days.

This wasn’t just a routine slowdown in public communication or a brief break in traveling between internet connections, either. For almost four days, no one would hear from me—not family, not friends, and certainly not readers or Twitter followers. I entered a Jesuit retreat center, where I engaged in almost no conversation—spoken or otherwise—from Thursday evening to Sunday evening. Cell phones had to be turned off, and no television, radio, or newspapers would be available. No wi-fi networks would be in range for miles. Instead of overloading on moment-to-moment social networking and news updates, all of the men would cut off from the world and contemplate God.

Not one phone call. Not one tweet. Not even a text, or a breaking-news update. Just … silence. “You cannot make a good retreat,” the priests advise right from the beginning, “unless you are recollected, and you cannot be recollected unless you keep silence.” Recollection involves disconnection—and disconnection means facing yourself as well as facing God.

This was not my first visit to the Jesuit retreat center. For the past three years, I have spent one long weekend each July at the retreat, housed on the former estate of a Minnesota industrialist. Each year I have disconnected from the hyperconnected world in which we live, and that produces feelings of panic and obsession that feel very similar to withdrawal. Each year it gets easier, but not once has it failed to provoke anxiety, dread, and occasionally outright panic. On my first retreat, I spent my first night wondering how I could break into the garage to retrieve my cell phone and make sure I was not missing any important messages, big stories, or career-ending mistakes. Now that’s addiction, or at least the paranoia that it sometimes causes.

While on this retreat, I dedicated my time to spiritual growth. But after my return, I began to think more about the effort required to just stop and reflect for a few days. We used to live in an un-networked age. We had conversations around the water cooler at work, but became incognito once on the road home. Vacations didn’t carry an expectation of checking in constantly on company performance. Social networking meant going on a tour with your lodge or parish, and twitter was a heads-up for bird watchers on nature hikes. Every vacation allowed for silence in some manner, and every factory whistle started a retreat of sorts.

The digital age brings with it many blessings, especially in terms of ready information and instantly accessible research, but the most seductive are the instant connections we make on social media. Those who make a living in online media thrive in this environment. We can know about the smallest developments on the most arcane stories and issues in real time, communicate them to our friends and colleagues, and get instant feedback on what the broader community believes it means.

That’s surely not all bad, but it’s not all good, either. More and more, all of us live under the expectation of constant connection. We barely get time for sleeping, let alone having regular intervals of the quiet solitude needed to process all of this data to find its meaning. Ubiquitous connection rarely goes unused, either by those looking for people who are taking a break, or more so by the break-takers themselves. We feel compelled to post to social media when we should be socializing with family and friends, and tweeting life as observers instead of living it.

It’s easy to feel victimized by this, but it’s really a self-inflicted conceit. We become the center of our own worlds, with the constant connection a validation of our own importance. The removal of that connection does not disturb anyone else, but the removal of that validation makes it clear that the world spins on without us. And when we return, we discover that not much really changes in the time we spent away from social media, away from the office, and even away from friends and family.

Even when I knew it was coming, that realization still had its shock effect. When I returned home this time, I tarried on the drive, making a couple of stops along the way for groceries after discovering (in a cell phone call that began just as I cleared the gates of the retreat center) that my wife had missed me but otherwise had a perfectly fine weekend without me. Over 280 emails awaited me when I got back to my computer—but only three of them required a reply. While stories arose and developed on the newswires, media outlets, and Twitter, my colleagues handled them just fine without me. It took me very little time to re-enter the online media environment, and few noticed my absence or my return.

Withdrawing from the world turns out not to be transgressive after all, but it’s edifying. What really frightens us about going entirely silent, disconnecting, and gaining some perspective is also what make it so valuable. We depart believing in some way that we’re God, and then return realizing that we’re not. Even if that’s all I gained from this retreat—and it’s not—it would have been time well spent.

As Coisas Essenciais

http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/coisas-essenciais/
Uma compilação

Ame o Senhor, o seu Deus de todo o seu coração, de toda a sua alma e de todo o seu entendimento’. Este é o primeiro e maior mandamento. E o segundo é semelhante a ele: ‘Ame o seu próximo como a si mesmo’. Destes dois mandamentos dependem toda a Lei e os Profetas".—Mateus 22:37–40[1]

*

Meus queridos, quando chegarem ao Céu verão o que realmente era importante na sua vida na terra. Viver para Mim não está relacionado a obras. É pela graça. É vital que a Minha graça e o Meu amor fluam através de vocês. Obras são consequência. Não precisam ficar se esforçando e preocupando. Há um limite para o que podem fazer. O que pode ajudá-los quando estiverem muito ocupados é lembrarem-se de priorizar o que é essencial.

Primeiro, passar tempo Comigo nunca é desperdício e deve ser uma parte essencial da sua vida. A sua segunda prioridade é sempre amar aos outros, ser gentil e prestativo para com os outros. Eu sou um fiel provedor e posso suprir tudo o que precisa, bem como tempo para fazer as coisas mais importantes. Mas alguns dias você talvez precise mudar suas prioridades e deixar algo em segundo plano para cuidar de outra coisa. Vem Me consultar a respeito e saber o que, onde, quando, por que, quem e como.—Jesus, falando em profecia

*

Quando entende o que é essencial, ou seja, que é para Me amar, amar os outros e levar a Minha mensagem (como parte desse amor), então o resto se encaixa. Quando estiver absorvendo a Minha Palavra, Me dedicando tempo durante o seu dia, então será bem-sucedido no que Eu orientá-lo a fazer, porque será obra Minha, não sua.

A melhor ordem de “fazer” as coisas é primeiro orar. A segunda melhor coisa é agir em um espírito de oração e com o coração e a alma cheios de amor por Mim, tendo ouvido a Minha voz e lançado os seus fardos sobre Mim através da oração. Se fizer isso, no final do dia saberá que foi um dia bem vivido, vivido para Mim, para os outros, e até mesmo para si, porque quando segue o Meu plano, as coisas ficam mais fáceis para você, transcorrem com mais tranquilidade e você se sente mais feliz também. Sabe disso, já viveu isso, mas vale a pena Eu lembrá-lo. Quando mantém esse foco, esses conceitos da visão global frescos e vivos, o seu relacionamento Comigo e com os outros e o seu trabalho por Mim reluzem com aquela glória que provem de Mim.—Jesus, falando em profecia

*

Apesar de todos os trabalhos, das prioridades e necessidades de última hora, [oro] que não nos esqueçamos de como o amor é importante, tanto no quadro geral como nas pequenas decisões e prioridades do dia-a-dia.

É fácil perder o foco ou a clareza de perspectiva.É algo que todos nós já fizemos sem querer em alguma ocasião. Sabemos que o amor é a coisa mais importante, e que o amor é a força motriz do nosso serviço para o Senhor; é a nossa base. No entanto, é fácil tomar decisões que, de alguma maneira, excluem o amor, quando existe a opção entre dedicar um tempinho a um ato de amor ou fazer outro serviço, ou fazer algo mais rápido, ou caso surja uma situação que exija mais amor e altruísmo.

Por alguma razão, mesmo sem querer, esquecemos como são importantes esses pequenos atos de amor que muitas vezes se manifestam em gentileza, amabilidade, ou simplesmente em se dar um pouco de atenção a alguém. Às vezes nos esquecemos que todas as nossas realizações não são nada sem amor.

É mais fácil se concentrar nas metas maiores e ver o quadro geral por causa da colheita e nos esquecermos que cada uma das muitas decisõezinhas que tomamos cada dia ou hora, de agir com amor, é o que na realidade vai dar fruto que permanece.—Maria Fontaine

*

Um novo mandamento lhes dou: Amem-se uns aos outros. Como eu os amei, vocês devem amar-se uns aos outros.—João 13:34[2]

*

Como o Pai me amou, assim eu os amei; permaneçam no meu amor.—João 15:9[3]

*

O meu mandamento é este: amem-se uns aos outros como eu os amei.—João 15:12[4]

Publicado no Âncora em julho de 2014. Tradução Denise Oliveira. Revisão H.F.Flandoli.


[1] NVI.

[2] NVI.

[3] NVI.

[4] NVI.

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