We have a new child in our family...sort of! I took the plunge & we're now a World Vision sponsor of Lazarus from Zimbabwe. How will we do this every month? Only God knows...literally! But as much as we waste at drive-thrus & on our own pleasures, it shouldn't be too difficult to trim only $35 from the budget each month...right?
But I couldn't wait for the budget to get in order. I've had this on my heart for a few weeks & then in James (of course!) I read 4:17, "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." [Maybe I should just quit reading James. LOL!]
There were a few cross-references:
"For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them." (2 Peter 2:21)
"Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)
How do I know the right thing to do? What is the holy commandment handed on to them? Whose burdens do I help to bear?? In other words, how do I know that this sponsorship is what I was supposed to do?
Because as I study Scripture & seek after the Holy Spirit, I come to know the heart of God. I cannot study God's revealed Word to us with out it becoming very clear that His heart holds a special place for the poor, the defenseless, the widow & the orphan. He cries out to us time & again through the Law, the Prophets & Jesus himself to take on the injustice & inequality of this world and try to do something about it.
So our family has a new child in it...sort of. I chose him for a few reasons: His mom is a single parent; He shares a birthday with our daughter Rebekah; We need another boy to be a part of our lives; He lives in a part of Africa that has been devastated by HIV/AIDS; but most of all, his name (Lazarus!) reminds me that Holy Spirit is bringing me back from the dead...end life that I was pursuing.
Now I have just one question...What do you have for our family next, Abba? I can hardly wait in anticipation of the joy it will bring! Amen!
But I couldn't wait for the budget to get in order. I've had this on my heart for a few weeks & then in James (of course!) I read 4:17, "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." [Maybe I should just quit reading James. LOL!]
There were a few cross-references:
"For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them." (2 Peter 2:21)
"Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)
How do I know the right thing to do? What is the holy commandment handed on to them? Whose burdens do I help to bear?? In other words, how do I know that this sponsorship is what I was supposed to do?
Because as I study Scripture & seek after the Holy Spirit, I come to know the heart of God. I cannot study God's revealed Word to us with out it becoming very clear that His heart holds a special place for the poor, the defenseless, the widow & the orphan. He cries out to us time & again through the Law, the Prophets & Jesus himself to take on the injustice & inequality of this world and try to do something about it.
So our family has a new child in it...sort of. I chose him for a few reasons: His mom is a single parent; He shares a birthday with our daughter Rebekah; We need another boy to be a part of our lives; He lives in a part of Africa that has been devastated by HIV/AIDS; but most of all, his name (Lazarus!) reminds me that Holy Spirit is bringing me back from the dead...end life that I was pursuing.
Now I have just one question...What do you have for our family next, Abba? I can hardly wait in anticipation of the joy it will bring! Amen!
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