Global Andy

Yesterday, we had our gathering of leaders from churches in Boulder County partnering together with iEmpathize to serve those helping to end human trafficking in Mexico.  It’s been a while since we met with summer and all.  It’s always good to each together with these folks who I have come to become friends with and I’m excited about what we are trustign the LORD to do together.  Quite frankly, I am always humbled by the time.

I wanted to start us off by sharing a passage about justice.  I felt we needed to just pause and remember why we do what we do.  You know there is easy to get our motives twisted because there are a lot of payoffs for a church in Boulder to be involved – its fun to do it with other churches, it makes Christianity look cool & hip, this issue touches people’s hearts and pocketbooks if you know what I mean, it provides opportunities for people to get involved...  But the real reason we should want to be involved is because its the right thing to do.  It is loving our neighbor in need.  it is a God-thing because He loves justice and mercy.  And there are little kids all over the world who are being abused and need to be rescued & restored.

I hadn’t  decided to which verse to pick on God’s heart for justice.  Just that morning thought of a few and decided that the last two verses of Psalm 10 might be appropriate.  As I got ready to read it,  felt I should just read the whole Psalm for context.  You know its like reading one line of a poem and not getting the full meaning of the author.  I hadn’t read the whole chapter in a while and was amazed at how appropriate it fit the context.

I encourage you to read it with me and think of a little girl – imagine a sweet innocent face – being tricked by a predator perhaps by a promise of a better life.  A little girl – maybe orphaned, certainly vulnerable – being taken captive.  Maybe she’s in mexico.  Maybe she’s in Thailand.  She could be Russian, Chinese or even a little American girl in your own town.  Now she is being used an instrument of vile, gain counted not even as a life by her traffickers.  Her little body being abused over and over again.  She is tramped, helpless.  Innocence is shattered.   Imagine her calling out in despiration for help.  Maybe she doesn’t even know there is a powerful God who hears, who cares – the one who is a helper of the fatherless.  As we read it, let’s join in the call for God to arise and make things right… to see His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Psalm 10

Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.  He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked does not seek him;  in all his thoughts there is no room for God.  His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him;  he sneers at all his enemies.  He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me; I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.”  His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;  trouble and evil are under his tongue.

He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.  His victims are crushed, they collapse;  they fall under his strength. He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.”

Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself,  ”He won’t call me to account”?  But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;  you consider it to take it in hand.  The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.

The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

We have a common enemy you and me.  In fact, this enemy is the enemy of us all – short or tall, slender or heavyset, young or old, male or female, rich or poor, no matter your race, no matter where you were born, or what you believe.  We all have the same enemy.  This enemy is death.  We all face the reality of death.  It has affected all of our lives or will one day.  We can’t escape it.

Death, cruel death.  This enemy, this curse, separates loved ones.  It creates pain and suffering.  It evokes grief and sorrow.  It devastates.   It destroys.  We can try to deny it.  We can try to ignore it.  We can try to tempt its fate.  We can become numb to it when we read the headlines or see a movie where lives are wasted left and right.   But there is no denying.  We are live in its cross-hairs. The clock is ticking.  One day when we least expect it, we will face death.  Maybe today.  We know this.  We see it when we look in the mirror.  We don’t want to think about it.  But we know it.

Death should not be.  It is wrong.  It was not God’s plan.  There once was no death.  There was no pain, no suffering, no separation. Death entered the world with its twin – sin.    And how painful & cruel  the first death must have been for Adam & Eve who not only lost a child but a a child murdered by the hands of their only other child.

But yet though we all face it – generation after generation – in every place on the planet –  death is sure to lose .  The creator came.  He to save us all from this common enemy.  He looked death in the face.  He experienced  its pain.  He took on death.  Then… He defeated death.  He conquered it.  He arose. He took away its power.   He gave life in its place.

And this is not just some wish or a blissful thought that we try to envision to numb the pain of death.  Its not some fairytale.  More than five hundred were eyewitnesses to this firstfruit victory.

One day this reality will be fully revealed.  Now I see through a dark glass.  Then I will fully understand.  We will shout in victory:  “Death, you slime, you have been swallowed up!  Game over – you lose.   Hey Death, where’s your victory?  Come on now.  Where, tell me where, O Death is your sting?” One day.  The last enemy to be destroyed will be Death.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.  He will make everything new!  Death will experience death. How ironic is that!

And yet right now, I – we, all of us on planet earth - still face this enemy.  We still feel its sting.  Even in a sure victory, we still live under its curse.  We still grieve.  We still know its pain and the hole it creates in our lives.  But the paradox is that this future is also a reality.  Death has no more power.   I don’t have to fear death.

I hurt, but I have hope.

In Matthew 25, Jesus gives that famous theology-rockin’ passage of separating the sheep and the goats based on how they responded to the least of these my brothers & sisters.  It’s in the feeding the hunger, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, providing shelter to the homeless, ministering to the sick and visiting the prisoner that we meet Jesus and in turn receive the reward of entering into his Kingdom.  Parenthetically when we don’t do these things, we are cast out of his presence.  Paired with other passages found in James and I John will rock your theology!  …Hopefully.

This past week in the South African township of Nellamapius working with Beam Africa Network, our team has encountered Jesus.   Because kids are in school  (its winter here) our mornings are filled with going into the community and visiting people in their homes.   People either live in 1 bedroom cement block homes and tin shacks called Makukus.  The Makukus are often have no electricity or running water and are 1-room homes in that everything – kitchen, sitting area, bedroom are all one room smaller than most bedrooms in America.

The people are always at home because unemployment may be as high as 80% in the townships.  One family I visited had several generations living in the homes and surrounding makukus all trying to survive on just the granny’s pension.  It barely covers the rent, electricity and water bills.  We have come across sick because they can’t afford the clinic (or it has no medicine).  And since they can’t afford the clinic, the are still sick or injured.  And since they are injured or sick, they can’t work.  And since they can’t work, they can’t afford the clinic.  Do you sense the despair?

But the worst….  the most grievous, the most painful, the most unjust situation I have seen I first saw on Thursday.  A widow and her two children were living on the outskirts of Nellmapius on a farm.   Her husband had been a worker for this white farmer.   He died after being gored by a bull.  They live (if I can call it living) in a depapillated farm house with a partial roof.  There is no electricity.  There is no water.  There is no toilet.  They have to walk several kilometers to a river to bath or go to the toilet.  or they go in yard as it reeked of fowl odors.  The widow can’t work because she has arthritis.  She can’t get assistance for medicine.  The officials give her once look over and deem her not sick enough for aid.  She has nothing.  She has no kitchen.  She has no food.

But the worst is this cruel farmer.  His farm is surrounded by similar shacks.   He does not pay his workers.  He cares more for his cows than these people.  It is inhumane.  He is ruthless.  He is oppressing them.  He would force this woman off his land but she has no where to go and who would live in this ‘building’ anyway.

I had so much rage when I saw this condition.  This women is the six-fold least of these.  She has them all.  I had just led our team that morning to look at Jeremiah 22 where God condemns a king who did the same thing.  He compares this cruel king to his father Josiah who did what was right and just, who cares for the poor and the widows.  God himself says: “Is this not what it means to know me!”   But he pronounced judgment on the cruel king that he will die with no one mourning his death and his very body will be drugged outside the city like a dead ass.

Yesterday, we delivered a food parcel to this family.  It is still very small.  They will die unless this condition changes.  The red-tape of government and the racist hate of the landlord stand against her.  Beam Africa will continue to stand on her behalf.  To help her with relief and fight with her until change happens.  I don’t know what it will take perhaps the equivalent of 60 minutes needs to expose this to the nation and shame others into action.

I have resolved that I will not leave this when I return in a few days.  I can’t leave this from my mind.   I will cry out to the Righteous Father on her behalf.  I will be like the persistent widow in Luke 18.  I will not stop until this prisoner has been set free.

Yesterday I was amazed when I read in my Sunday Denver Post articles on the charitable giving – or lack their of for the most part – for the 4  running for Senate for Colorado.  One article compared the democratic hopefuls – Sen. Michael Bennett and his challenger Andrew Romanoff.  The other compared the Republicans – Jane Norton and Ken Buck.

This is not meant to be a political statement but I do think its interesting that only Jane Norton gave anything significant.  Norton averaged giving 10-21% of the income while Buck gave 0.01 to 4 %.  And Buck would come across as a philanthropist compared to the other side of the aisle.  Romanoff rarely reported any charitable giving on his income tax returns in past years and paltry claims when he did.   He says he gave to charity but it didn’t exceed the standard deductions.  (That would make sense if he was single but just means to me that he didn’t give that much.) But Sen. Bennett takes the cake.  One year he made $6.5 million in income and gave $624 in contributions.  The next year, his ‘generosity’ increased as he reported $5.3 million adjusted income and $1,910 in charitable giving.  So he barely based  met the national average of $1620.  But if you made 5.3 million, it seems like you are making way more than the average person.   His average would be like me givign $3 in one year and $15 in the next.  That’s absolutely embarrassing!

What dies this mean?  Of course, we are not required to give.  We live in a free country.  And these stats would have remained private except its news as they are running for public office.  (Or if like those running for Governor of Colorado, they had refused to share them.)

But to me its sad.  What kind of person repeatedly turns their back on those in need or non-profits that help those in need?   Where are we as a nation if our  leaders don’t have generous hearts?  Do we want to be a nation of people who take or give?  A generous heart is a heart of compassion.  A heart that looks on others and not yourself.  It evokes not just petty alms but giving sacrificially.  It’s a heart that bleeds rather than hands that are tight-fisted.  We need leaders to set the example.

I am reminded of Jeremiah 22 where God gives a judgment against evil leaders. One king was greedy building spacious palaces with large windows and cedar paneling.  He was exploiting workers in the process of his home improvement too.  God said:  ”Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?  Did not your father (King Josiah) have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him.  He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?”

Its not what you have… money, the ability to make money, position, palaces, title, power – that makes you a real leader.  It’s what you do for those in need.  Its by reaching down to help lift others help that you become a real leader.  Notice that when Josiah did those things, he had all he needed (food and drink) and all went well.  And to top it off, God says that this what it means to know me.  And that’s life and the ultimate even more than having enough and things going well.

You can see all the updates on iEmpathize’s blog.  (Note the upload may take a while, but worth the wait.) When Brad was at the safe home for the  shoot yesterday, I was mediating on Psalm 68:6.  Seems appropriate:

God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

My friend Brad is right now in Mexico creating a media experience around the issue of human trafficking.  Brad and his team are at the safe house that I wrote about back in February.   (Or they were a couple of hours ago) Brad and his team are capturing the story of  survivors and Rosi Orozco.

Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. – Psalm 106:3

Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice  - Psalm 112:5

From this footage, Brad will create an iEmpathize experience solely around this issue in Mexico.  And then we will use this tool to tell the story and help raise resources both in US and Mexico to help set more captives free.  My hope is that there will be a string of safe houses around Mexico helping young women and children experience restoration and wholeness.  Actually, ultimately, I long for the day where there is no need of safe-homes because Jesus has made all things right… that things are on earth as they are in heaven.

Look God’s home is among His people!  He will live with them, and they will be His people.  God himself will be with them.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever.  And the One sitting on the throne said, ‘Look I am making everything new!’ – Revelation 21:5

Until that day may we have the heart that God has.  May our hearts be broken for the things that break His heart.  May we desire to set captives free – not just a transformation of knowledge – but a real freedom, a transformation of soul.   A deliverance from the enemy.  A new life.  A new hope.

Yesterday, my friend Gabe shared a passage he has been mulling over….  I John 2:3-6.   Since then I have been mulling it over too especially verse 6: “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did”.

I John is book about the subjective.  It’s all about what should be true of us if we say we know Him or believe in Him.  Interestingly, its John’s gospel that focuses on how one come to faith that is used most by evangelicals.  We like John 1:12, 3:16, 5:24…   Yeah  5:24 –   “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life”  Hear + believe = crossing from death to e’ life.  Cool you are in the club! Done deal. But John, the same John, also writes:  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.    You think, you are in?  Well dude if you don’t have love, if you don’t love like Jesus’, you’re still dead.

I started thinking of the circle and the dot.  The circle is the ‘bonded community’.  Clear lines.  Are you in or out?  This is the way we have gone about evangelism in the church.  Are you saved?  Have you been born again?  Have you prayed a prayer?  Do you believe these propositional truths?  If so, you’re in.  If not, you’re out.  It’s like joining a club or something.  But the dot is a ‘centered-set’.  There are now lines but a center we should be moving toward.   The center is Jesus.  He is life.  ”Do you want to follow Jesus?”   “Are you following him?”   “Come follow me?”   “Walk as He walked, live as He lived.”   The question doesn’t become did I do something way back when to get in me or out.  The question is today, right now, ‘am I following Jesus’?   ‘Am I moving toward him or away from Him?’  ’Am I looking for life from Him or somewhere else?’  If not, I need the gospel.   If I say I am in the club – a believer, a Christian – and I’m not following Him, then I’m a liar.  I am still in darkness.  I am still dead and in need of life.

I needed the gospel yesterday as I mulled over this passage.  I had a crappy attitude about this service I was doing.  Long story but this refugee family moved to a new apartment so instead of walking to school they need to ride the bus but are in a zone for a different elementary school. I’m still working on getting the school system to pick them up on a special bus like they do another refugee family.  But I’m in the middle of gov’t red tape right now.  So until it happens, Robin and I are shuttling them to school and back every day.  Yesterday I woke up and really didn’t want to go get these kids.  I did it…   but I was grumbling.  I wasn’t walking as Jesus walked.  I needed the gospel.

What if we talked in these terms?   What if we stopped worrying about ‘works salvation’?   What if we focused on just being true followers of Jesus?  What if right now as I sat in this coffee-shop, I think ‘am I following Jesus?’  What if I ask as I parent, ‘am I walking as Jesus walked’?  I know it evokes the old WWJD bracelets.  But maybe that wasn’t such a token cheesy thing.

What if I loved as Jesus loved and lived as Jesus lived?   What if I called others to this as well?

No not the Radio/TV show of the 50′s…

Been reading the Book of Amos of late.   If you like judgment books, this is a good one as its 8 1/2 chapters full of God venting.   But beware, as it gets personal.

Amos, a shepherd prophet (what a combo!) in pre-Isaiah days starts off with pronouncements from God towards the naughty neighbors.  (Yeah, those pagans and there 3, no 4 sins get what’s coming to them.) But then starting midway through chapter 2, the judgments turn on the house of God.  Judah has disobeyed and followed idolatry.  But Israel?  It’s judgments of injustice… and it makes me feel uncomfortable.

“You sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.”

“You  trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed.”

“You cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you who oppress the poor and crush the needy…”

“You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground”

“You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,  you will not live in them;  though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.”

“You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.”

“Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying,  ’When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?’ — skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.”

I look at my own life.  I think I am not wealthy but when I compare myself to the world, I am swimming in wealth.  I have so much.  I have easy access to stuff.  I think I need things to satisfy me.  Surely I have bought sandals (or coffee or something) without thinking that I could give that same money to help the needy.  Do I leave my corners for the poor or do ‘I sweep up the scraps’ for my own prosperity?   Okay my house is not a stone mansion but maybe it is.   When I buy those cheap clothes do I even think a worker might have been exploited so I could save a few dollars?  Maybe a child?  Do I even think of the poor?  Do I even think of injustice?  Its easy such to turn my eyes.   I am no better than the Israelites.

There judgment was swift by a God who cares for the poor and is a defender of the weak.  In His mercy, He leaves behind some and promises that they will return from exile never to be uprooted again.  (That’s happening in our midst.)   But if God did not spare His the root, how do I think i will escape judgment?  How will the Western church escape our selfish excess?

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! – Amos 5:24

What comes to mind when you think prostitution?  Probably not a good thought.  Some call it a victimless crime which by definition is an illegal act with no obvious injured party.  But its not.  There is a victim… the woman or the child.  The number of prostitutes worldwide is estimated at more than 50 million with 75% being between the ages of 13 and 25.  In surveys, 95% of these women and children say they want to leave.  95%!

It’s really modern day slavery, human trafficking.  It’s a lucrative business and it ranks second worldwide in the illicit trafficking behind drug trafficking and ahead of gun running.  It’s worse because the victims are human beings with value who are used and abused over and over and over again.

Saturday morning, I awoke and thought of Rahab.  (I ended the night thinking of her too while at an iEmpathize event. ) Every time Rahab is mentioned in the bible, her profession, her shame, is mentioned alongside her.  All except the genealogy of Jesus passage in Matthew 1:5.  Why?  Why don’t we say ‘Paul, the murderer’ or ‘David, the adulterer’?  Why is her past always mentioned?

Rahab spared the spies that were sent into the Promised Land and by this saved she herself and her family were saved from destruction. (Joshua 2 and 6).  She acknowledges that the God of the Israelites is the God of heaven and earth.  Her acts of faith are made mention in the Hall of Faith (Heb 11:31).  When James gives examples of those who had faith and works, he mentions Abraham and Rahab.

But she is a prostitute?  (I know some versions tag a note that perhaps the Hebrew word is ‘innkeeper’ but the writer of Hebrews and James don’t follow this supposed translation.) She also lies?   How worthy is this?  Of course, Abraham and Peter for example lied too.  But we cut them some slack even though they lied to save their own hide and in Abraham’s case perhaps even caused his wife to be raped by Pharaoh as a result.  But Rahab?  What a liar!  Even though she lies to save the lives of these spies and God’s people.

But why still refer to her as a prostitute?  Does she always carry this shame?  I don’t think so.  She is referred to as Boaz’s mother in Matthew 1.  There’s a clue.  Boaz who has held honor in the book of Ruth would have been shamed if his mother was shamed.  I think Joshua, James and the write of Hebrews are pointing to her story as one of redemption, and restoration.  God took on her shame.  She was justified and made anew by her faith.  She was a victim of abuse that was rescued by men who treated her with dignity.  Think about it, they could have decided a prostitute, a pagan prostitute was not worth sparing even if they did make an oath.  But Joshua (Yeshua, a type of Jesus), says “Go into her house and bring her out according to your oath.”  He is saying she is worth saving.  She is honorable.,  She has been made righteous.  She is valuable.

In a few weeks, I am going down with a friend to Mexico to be a part of a forum that is the start of a Congressional Committee on helping end this issue in their country.  (Mexican Congress, not US).  It’s a total God-story of how I came to be invited.  I feel like Brian and I are like those two spies  handpicked by Yeshua.  This journey is the beginnings of a partnership with some ministries in Mexico and a network of churches and ministries in Boulder.

Everyone hasn’t weighed in on the name but as I studied this passage, I thought of Red Cord (or Cuerda Roja in Spanish).  Among those who want to end trafficking, they don’t like using the word ‘prostitute’ since it carries a false perception so in many ways using the story of Rahab could send the wrong message.  But I was struck by this symbol, Rahab let down the spies through a window with a scarlet cord (or rope).  It was this same scarlet cord that was to be the symbol that she was to tie to her window when they came back to destroy Jericho.   That cord symbolized her protection, her resuce, her redemption.  A cord is a strong bind of several threads.  It’s hard to break.  Like our partnership, it is made of several coming together as one for one purpose and in this case, of rescuing a woman from this form of slavery.  The cord in the story is scarlet like our sins (Isaiah 1:18) and the scarlet blood of the Messiah by which He rescues us from our sin and shame and redeems us as His own.

So unless I get major pushback, I am going with Cuerda Roja as the name of our effort in hopes that we will be like a Scarlet Cord of rescue to countless thousands of children and women in Mexico who need rescuing.

Yesterday I was reading Hebrews and I was struck by the how in the last three chapters the author writes (or perhaps, Paul preaching a sermon states) three things that please God.   Sounds like a good ‘New Years Resolution’.

Faith > Heb 11:6  ”And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” This is the one we might most know.  Faith is not only what pleases God but its also a prerequisite. It’s absolutely impossible to please Him minus faith.  I must believe that He is.  Yahweh!  Creator.  Real.  Personable.  Powerful.  All-loving.  All-knowing.  Able.  Present. He is who He says He is.   He, and He alone, is God.

I must also believe that He is rewards those who sincerely seek Him.  Rewards.  Now there is a word skewed by my 21st Century American perspective.  I am reminded by something I read in one of my favorite books: Hope Lives.  The poor have something I don’t.  The poor in this world live in a state of desperation that allows them to more likely live a life of dependant faith.  When I am more keenly aware of need, my own desperation, I am more likely to live by faith.  God is rewarder.  He is good.  He provides.  How can I ignore all of Jesus promises on prayer? He gives.  He is a good Father.  He’s not a Genie at my beck and call.   But He is still God.  He still rewards me when I sincerely seek Him.  And yes, if I read the whole of chapter 11, I know that the rewards are not always given when I want and in the way I want.  But that doesn’t change reality that He is a rewarder of those who sincerely seek Him!

In 2010, may I believe in Him and His character.   May my faith please Him.

Worship > In Heb 12 :28-29, we read, ” Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.” Worship pleases God.  Not some self-gratifying-put-on.  Not playing church.  But real worship.  A worship that is based in gratitude.   As I live in a world that is teetering on the brink of destruction, I am receiving an unshakable Kingdom.   Wow!  Therefore, I should worship Him in holy fear, in awe and wonder.   He is a devouring fire.  What an incredible description of God!   He is just.  I  am not worthy to stand in His presence.  And yet He is giving me a Kingdom.  How crazy is that?   I should fall on my knees.  I should be in awe of Him.  I should live in awe of Him.  How do I have this life?  How could He bless me so?  How could He love me so?  How could He forgive me?  Who am I?  How does He even know my name?  I am not worthy.  He is.

In 2010, may I live in awe of Him and His goodness.  May I respond out of gratitude.  May my worship please Him.

Service > “And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God”.  – Heb 13:16 Sharing with those in need both in word and deed.  Do I do good by the way I live and interact with my fellowman?   Do I share with those who don’t have the blessing I have?  Or do I horde and just spend on my own foolish pleasures?   Am I greedy with the grace and goodness given to me like I earned it? Do I see Jesus in others?   Do I please God through sacrificing for others?

While completling this passage, the words of Shaun Groves’ song “Jesus” from the Twilight album rank through my earbuds:

When we love the least When we love the weak When we love these We love Jesus

Jesus brings a meal for tips Jesus trying hard to quit Jesus raising two alone Jesus drives a heavy load

Chorus: When we love the least When we love the weak When we love these We love Jesus

Jesus with worn wrinkled hands Jesus sows a patch of land Jesus hides a tattooed arm Jesus keeping dinner warm

Chorus

Jesus waves a foreign flag Jesus wrings a washing rag Jesus leans on prison bars Jesus swinging in my yard

Chorus

In 2010, may I not forget to do good and share with those in need.  May I live sacrificially as unto Jesus and thus please the God sacrificed all for me.