Good day dear friends.
Our prayer focus today is to pray for our seminaries, particularly some needs at Asbury Theological Seminary. Pray for those who head these institutions. I ask special prayer for my friend, Dr. Jeff Greenway and his family.
We continue to explore the myth that says, "With all the suffering and evil in the world that proves there is no God." Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Mark 14:3-9 shares a powerful story about a generous act of kindness. What does it say to you about those who are poor?
Here is that passage from Mark 14:3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. 4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly. 6 "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
The homeless have been on my mind lately. Our youngest daughter in college in Denton shared with us how she and a new friend walked to a fast food restaurant near the campus. While ordering a homeless man stood beside them and began to order as if he was with them. Not having enough money to cover that, Caty and her friends explained that the man was not with them. The man got angry and began yelling at them that they were rich and could afford to pay for his supper. He followed them to their table and kept telling them that they were going to h-e-double hockey sticks (as Caty related in her story, but she said, "The man said the actual word!"). One of them pulled out their cell phone and said they were going to call the police and he replied he would call his lawyer. The other pulled out pepper spray and the incident was over. Tuesday night at our Emmaus gathering, the fourth day talk centered on the homeless and how this family was raised giving to them. The homeless are the poor that we will always have with us. We don't know their story, we know some are mentally ill and chose not to stay or were not allowed to stay institutionalized. Others made bad choices about life and were overcome with addictions and eventually found themselves in ruin. Someone once said that anyone who loses his or her job is only three days from being homeless.
In the story shared in Mark's gospel, Jesus is shown an act of expensive act of kindness. A woman pours what someone there says is a year's salary worth of perfume on his head. A year's salary is a lot of money. And the person noting it says, we could have used this to feed the poor! If you're a giving person you know that either a little voice within you or an exterior voice next to you will always second guess your decision to give. In this case this woman was led by God to do this act of significance and like most acts of obedience towards God someone will point out that we could have done something other than what we did. In the realm of our relationship with God, these God-acts are just between God and us. The fourth day speaker shared how he had a bottle of water to give a man at a traffic light and did not have a dollar bill. He found a $20 bill in his pocket and it was his daughter that said he should give it to the man and he did. And some of you reading are saying, what? Think of what that man did with that money!! It's a God-act. Think of what God is doing because of that act of kindness.
Jesus knew the reality of poverty. Every nation has it. Some nations are poorer than others. Even if a nation declares a war on poverty, it seems we just can't win. Just yesterday in the newspaper the prediction is that in the years ahead our children will be poorer than we are right now. It's a scary thought. And is it God's fault? Does that prove there is no God? No. God continues to touch hearts and move us to God-acts to help how we can. My daughter and her friend are giving people, they were just frightened by a man who demanded help in a scary way. We leave it to the leading of God's Holy Spirit in our lives to respond how we can and we continue to affirm that yes, there is a God and He does love the homeless. Do we?
PRAYER: Lord, it is sometimes difficult to know what to do when confronted by poverty and the needs of others. We cringe when we see men and women standing at street corners asking for money. We assume that anything we give them will be used for drugs or beer. Yet we know that some of us do give what we have and usually it's not much, but we leave that to You and them and what they're doing with it. Touch and guide our hearts to faithful obedience, not to judge and demean. Let me truly be Yours today, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
