What would you do for love? Would you go to prison? Calvin Fairbank and Delia Webster were teachers and abolitionists who helped Lewis Hayden, Hayden's wife, Harriet, and the Hayden's son escape from slavery.
The Hayden's made it safely from Kentucky to Ohio then to Canada. Fairbank and Webster were arrested and charged with slave stealing. Galatians 5:13-14 Amplified Bible says, "For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another. For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is complied with in the one precept, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself."
Calvin Fairbank, who was also a minister, agreed to plead guilty if Delia Webster was allowed to go free. Webster was freed. Fairbank was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Black people look different from white people. The Haydens, Fairbank and Webster prove difference can be dynamic instead of a reason for hatred and abuse.
Rafael, my son who has autism, and I live in Virginia which is a state next to the state of Maryland. Even though slavery has been abolished in the United States, and Rafael, I and other African Americans enjoy our freedom, racial problems still exist in America along with conflict among all kinds of people. In Frederick, Maryland, a young man, Robert Ethan Saylor, was killed in a movie theater in January 2013 because people didn't understand someone with Down Syndrome.
God made each person different. No two people not even twins and other multiples have the same finger prints, eye prints or scent. God made us different on purpose. God even made some people with disabilities. Exodus 4:11 Contemporary English Version Bible says, "But the Lord answered, “Who makes people able to speak or makes them deaf or unable to speak? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Don’t you know that I am the one who does these things?"
Yellow (huang) was a color reserved for the Chinese Emperor and members of the imperial family. The emperor had to grant permission for other people to wear it.
Partiality puts up barriers to treating people right. James, a brother of Jesus Christ and an apostle, writes in the book of James Complete Jewish Bible, "My brothers, practice the faith of our Lord Yeshua, the glorious Messiah, without showing favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your synagogue wearing gold rings and fancy clothes, and also a poor man comes in dressed in rags. If you show more respect to the man wearing the fancy clothes and say to him, “Have this good seat here,” while to the poor man you say, “You, stand over there,” or, “Sit down on the floor by my feet,” then aren’t you creating distinctions among yourselves, and haven’t you made yourselves into judges with evil motives?"
Welcome and accept whoever wants to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and to join la familia de Dios (the family of God) this Good Friday or any other day. La familia helps each other.
Lewis Hayden raised $650.00 which through a chain of other players helped free Calvin Fairbank from prison within four years.
Showing posts with label Bible Study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible Study. Show all posts
Friday, March 29, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Estas Loco! (Are You Crazy!) Part II
"I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask him the real questions," a quotation from the book Night by Elie Wiesel. In 2010 when Francis Chan left his mega-church where he served as pastor for 16 years to move to a poor section of Asia with his wife and four children and to give away profits from his best-selling book Crazy Love which has sold 2.2 million copies, some told him something like Estas Loco! (Are You Crazy!)
Yet God doesn't call everyone into Christian ministry to be a pastor or to even remain a pastor for life. God will compel us to change. Acts 6:1-4 New Living Translation Bible says, "But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”"
Like the apostles gained greater freedom to teach the Word by delegating some of their other duties, Chan has greater freedom to teach the Bible to more people now that he is free from being the pastor of one particular church.
Feeding people and being a pastor are important Christian ministries. Matthew 25:34-40 the Message Bible says, "“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’"
Ministry leaders are of various types. Ephesians 4:11 Amplified Bible says, "And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers."
Instead of calling people crazy who have the audacity to give up pastorates at the height of their success or to reduce job duties, why not encourage them in the proclamation of the Word of God? Romans 10:13-14 English Standard Version Bible says, "For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
Chan is both a Christian speaker and writer. The Apostle Paul was both a speaker and writer. Paul wrote most of the New Testament. Paul spent a lot of time studying the Bible and other reading materials. One of the nice things about the written word is one can stop at any time to pray, think and meditate without being compelled to go onto the next sentence. Use books, magazines, newspapers, CDs, DVDs, speeches and other media to study the Bible and apply its teaching to everyday living. 2 Timothy 2:15 Amplified Bible says, "Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth."
Intimate study of the Bible should establish that those like Chan are not insane but in tune with the will of God. Chan is now back in the United States after nine months of ministry in Asia. He is focusing on one-on-one discipleship. Civil Rights Activist Ella Baker who helped to found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and had various jobs with the NAACP including national director of branches said, "You didn't see me on television, you didn't see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is: strong people don't need strong leaders." Baker didn't mean that leaders shouldn't be strong but rather all people should be strong, and all people are called to lead. In Genesis God gave all people dominion over the planet. Genesis 1:27-28 Complete Jewish Bible says, "So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” "
Some families will consist of couples of domestic engineers and their spouses some with children some without children, singles, single parents, dual-income couples with children some without children and other types of families. All people can benefit from one year or more of paid leave from employment to help them fulfill God's command to rule the planet. Read my articles "Push for Paid Leave" and "Something Horrible Happened?"
Many women have spoken in favor of paid maternity leave. Dads and moms what do you think about one year or more of paid leave from employment? Singles what do you think of one year or more of paid leave for mission trips, volunteerism and other activities?
Do we even really need to give employers a reason for taking one year or more of paid leave?
Yet God doesn't call everyone into Christian ministry to be a pastor or to even remain a pastor for life. God will compel us to change. Acts 6:1-4 New Living Translation Bible says, "But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”"
Like the apostles gained greater freedom to teach the Word by delegating some of their other duties, Chan has greater freedom to teach the Bible to more people now that he is free from being the pastor of one particular church.
Feeding people and being a pastor are important Christian ministries. Matthew 25:34-40 the Message Bible says, "“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’"
Ministry leaders are of various types. Ephesians 4:11 Amplified Bible says, "And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers."
Instead of calling people crazy who have the audacity to give up pastorates at the height of their success or to reduce job duties, why not encourage them in the proclamation of the Word of God? Romans 10:13-14 English Standard Version Bible says, "For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
Chan is both a Christian speaker and writer. The Apostle Paul was both a speaker and writer. Paul wrote most of the New Testament. Paul spent a lot of time studying the Bible and other reading materials. One of the nice things about the written word is one can stop at any time to pray, think and meditate without being compelled to go onto the next sentence. Use books, magazines, newspapers, CDs, DVDs, speeches and other media to study the Bible and apply its teaching to everyday living. 2 Timothy 2:15 Amplified Bible says, "Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth."
Intimate study of the Bible should establish that those like Chan are not insane but in tune with the will of God. Chan is now back in the United States after nine months of ministry in Asia. He is focusing on one-on-one discipleship. Civil Rights Activist Ella Baker who helped to found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and had various jobs with the NAACP including national director of branches said, "You didn't see me on television, you didn't see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is: strong people don't need strong leaders." Baker didn't mean that leaders shouldn't be strong but rather all people should be strong, and all people are called to lead. In Genesis God gave all people dominion over the planet. Genesis 1:27-28 Complete Jewish Bible says, "So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” "
Some families will consist of couples of domestic engineers and their spouses some with children some without children, singles, single parents, dual-income couples with children some without children and other types of families. All people can benefit from one year or more of paid leave from employment to help them fulfill God's command to rule the planet. Read my articles "Push for Paid Leave" and "Something Horrible Happened?"
Many women have spoken in favor of paid maternity leave. Dads and moms what do you think about one year or more of paid leave from employment? Singles what do you think of one year or more of paid leave for mission trips, volunteerism and other activities?
Do we even really need to give employers a reason for taking one year or more of paid leave?
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Connection Between Reading and Studying the Bible and Love
Matthew 22:37-40 Amplified Bible says, "And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Each day is a day to walk in love. The main thing is the love of God.
Love seems simple but it is not always. God living on the inside of believers gives us the ability to love. The Bible helps us to learn about God living on the inside of believers.
Spend regular time reading and studying the Word of God. Spiritual forces of wickedness do not want us to read and study the Bible, so that they can get in the way of love.
Each day is a day to walk in love. The main thing is the love of God.
Love seems simple but it is not always. God living on the inside of believers gives us the ability to love. The Bible helps us to learn about God living on the inside of believers.
Spend regular time reading and studying the Word of God. Spiritual forces of wickedness do not want us to read and study the Bible, so that they can get in the way of love.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Goodness
Sometimes it is difficult to discern what is good because of many trials and tribulations. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Amplified Bible says, "But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast."
Good is not always clear in relationships. When clarity does not exist pray and regularly read and study the Bible.
Good is not always clear in relationships. When clarity does not exist pray and regularly read and study the Bible.
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