Who is Rich

Do you consider yourself rich? I was downtown Baghdad again not too long ago. It changed how I look at wealth. The following week I facilitated a Bible study called "Rich," from the Nooma series. Those two events have changed me. The exposure that I recieved opened my eyes not only to the injustice in our world, but it also made me aware of how I was missing the mark in my understanding of how I am called to utilize the wealth God gives.

We are bombarded everyday with images and information and advertising that suggests to us that our stuff is outdated, unsatisfactory, or average. We get this sense that we don't have enough because we are shown or see people in our world who have even more.

It is a dangerous thing when we start to believe that "our" world is "the" world.

Look at these numbers...
America is 6% of the worlds population but we use 40% of its resources.
92% of the people on this planet cannot afford a vehicle.
No matter what kind of car you drive; you are in the top 8% in the world.
1 billion people do not have clean drinking water.
800 million people in the world will not eat one meal today.
Every couple of seconds someone dies because of hunger.

Are you discontent with what you have? If you are then what will it take?

To be a serious follower of Jesus we must be willing to ask the question, "what can I give?"

All of us can give something- here, now, today, right now.

1 Timothy 6:17-18 "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."

May God open our eyes to all of his blessings, everyday, so that we may see just how truly rich we are and may we use that richness to accomplish the good deeds our Lord and Savior calls us to. Amen

Keeping Love Alive

The world is falling out of love with love. A recent report indicated that for the first time a majority of young ladies in their twenties "see so few good marriages that they doubt that it is the best choice for their lives." Those polled indicated that they were "afraid that they will become just another divorce statistic." Ladies have always been the high water mark for believing in relationships. Now we are faced with a crisis.

How about you? Do you believe in love? Do you believe in Christ? God? Do your relationships reflect the love of Christ? When we get it right the rest of the world sees it also. I think sometimes it is so hard for these young people to believe in love because they can't see it. They have not grown up with it. There friends are failing at it. They just can't believe in what they cannot see. They need a demonstration of love that will inspire them to take the risk.

The world sees and hears people talking about love all day every day. there are like 12,000 songs with "love" in the title at Walmart.com. Everyone has an opinion and yet we are growing more and more skeptical with time. People do not want to settle for seconds, they want what is real.

Remember Jesus talking to the Church in the Book of Revelation? At first he goes on and on telling them all the things they got right. Then He shifts in chapter two and verse 4 He says, "But I have this against you. You have left your first love, repent, go back, and do the things you did before [or else...]."

They were busy building churches and going to churches but it is like they forgot why they were doing those things. There was no sacrifice, no passion, no beauty left in their love. Christ wanted none of it. He would not settle.

My wife and I are celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary today. We continue to work hard to honor Christ, the gift of his love and each other in our relationship. We continually assess our relationship, seek help and do the things we did in the beginning. It is the best of advice from the one who roots for us always.

He knows that when we get it right His story, His life, and His love continue on.