Tag Archives: Occupy Staten Island

How quickly we forget!

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Cold, I am blessed by the churches that go out of their way to rise early and prepare food. They drive to the disaster areas, park and start feeding those that come. No requirements for identification, they feed people. I want to do that and need partners. It can happen quickly but it requires the parts of the body, like fingers and thumb to come together to do this.

Today, the world wants to go on. Happy New Year, forget those in pain, forget others, I am doing ok. I am happy. I, I, I, but they have nothing. Jesus spoke these words to his family and to his church. He left his home and family and went to the streets and when he did go to church, they hated him because he pointed out errors and even beat the wealthy from the church because they wanted to make money off of God.

How many churches do I go to where they have coffee shops and book stores and sell things when there are people right here who have nothing. They have been wiped out by the storm. They are not professional street people but trying to keep the thieves from taking their remaining lives, their history, their prized possessions. A heater, a dehumidifier, the thieves are here to pick the carcases of the bleeding and hurt on the beaches.

Robberies have been happening and the things that were bought to help people have been stolen. If it were you, God would want to help you but he left it to us. It is in our hands.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Pentecostal-Church/475104245866412

Don’t get too comfortable in this world.

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Christmas and it is happening around the world.

People are caught up in materialism and want to be appreciated, loved, accepted and “normal.”   study people and things and places and often wonder why it is, people deceive themselves into thinking that tomorrow, things will be better.

Sure, there is temporary pleasure and there are plenty of opportunities for folks to be comfortable but the things of this world are… well, they are temporary and the things that are coming, are coming for all of us.  Life, birth, death and the things beyond are there for all of us.  Each of us is living a life filled with pain and suffering.

I read the news.  War, famine and trouble nearly everywhere and yet, one family has … something and their neighbor, down the street or on the waterfront, has nothing.  If the pain is close, a close family member or someone we can mentally be a part of, we might deny ourselves something and maybe make changes in something but if we can (and with TV and the internet, we find it simple) we tone out and turn down the cries of the needy and ignore everyone we can for the sake of being happy or on our own.  Stuck in our own little area of the world, we seek to be happy and well fed no matter what the rest of the world is doing.

I just want to be … normal.  I want to have a family with friends and sit around on Sunday, watching football.  I want a house full of stuff and things I can have around, even if I never use them.  I want to be free of care and pain and if someone else is, I am sorry but I have my own broken fishing reel and my car needs new speakers.  Selfishness is acceptable for me but not for you.

When I am hurting and in pain, you should do something.  When you are hurting and in pain, perhaps a little more volume on the football game, some more chips and food and maybe, if I am feeling better, later, and have no immediate needs, I will drop a bit more in the plate at church or give away my new shirt (the one that does not fit anyway).

But, why should I care about them?  They are way, way, way over there and if they are right down the street, suffering from cold and exposure, what is that to me?  God did not make me just to deny myself and help others.  That is for the strange ones, those that are – out there, praying and fasting and living a life of solitude –

I watch as people go from poverty and pain to some success and become involved in materialism.  A little rest, a little folding of the hands and, oh yeah, turn up the volume for me.  No, I have that new remote control.  I have a car (next one will be better).  I have food (new appliances are on the way).  I have and I am happy and can no longer remember being poor and cold and devastated by that stupid hurricane or war or famine.  It really doesn’t matter, I mean … I was helped and am now comfortable, why go out of my way to help others?  It certainly is not my fault they are in pain, suffering from disasters or wars or famines or, well… whatever.  I am not my brothers keeper.

Still, if things go wrong, I am sure that there will be those “do gooders” out there that will give all they have to help me (again).  I deserve help.  So, please stop by the store and bring me some stuff so I can turn up the volume and ignore the pain, suffering and ugliness of, well… whatever out there.  I used to spend my time helping people but they just did not appreciate it.

Please, pass me the chips and a drink.  I am going to do something good but I have all these parties to go to.  I am not going to help those in need but I am going to go to the ones that have good food and are warm.  I am Ok and that is important.  Them?  I will think about them when I am one of them but right now, I think I will take a nap and forget about all that pain and suffering.

What does it take for God to move us?

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Jesus told us to go to the ends of the earth. I have done quite a bit of trouble and find that most people want to build a cave (house, well protected that you can leave but others cannot get into) and the stay there. I was in a house recently that was fenced, had video surveillance and all of the windows and doors were barred. Reminded me of a really nice comfortable cave.

So, Jesus told us to go to the ends of the earth and sometimes the only way Jesus can achieve that goal is through … disasters. Yup, it took the crushing of the Jews in Jerusalem to make them leave and go to the ends of the earth.

It would be funny but only to a sadist. Hurricane Sandy caused untold damage and motivated people from all around the world to help. Yup, Christians had to go and in their going, preach the Gospel. Unprepared, untaught and certainly not willingly, people from all races, creeds and religions came together to help those that had been stepped on by life (God?). I listen to the volunteers and they come from everywhere and each has their desire to help and need to talk about what they believe.

I am in a Pentecostal Church that provides room for volunteers. I am housed with people from Rastafarians and Buddhists, Scientologists and just plain unbelievers of anything (so they say) and a lot of Christians who have to defend themselves and what they believe, even when they don’t really want to. I mean, who wants to come out of their cave.

So. Volunteer or not, you will go and do God’s work. You will either be prepared or un-prepared or just confused. But, you will go. You will go to the store where the Hindu fellow or girl sells you something or buy gas from someone who is a believer of Islam. Once you get past hello, you are into the weather and weather or not you are a well-prepared ambassador of Christ or maybe a confused candidate that misrepresents God to others.

Hrmmmm… Yer call baby. What are you going to do when God makes you an evangelist?