1250 Sedgwick Ave., Bronx, NY – Birthplace of Hip Hop, Photo by Stephanie Morillo, Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/bixodococo/2956735624/ (CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic)
“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29: 13).
The South Bronx has been a symbol of urban decay since the 1960s.
Located in a long forsaken borough of New York City, the South Bronx includes such neighborhoods as Mott Haven, Tremont, Morrisania, and Hunts Point. Once upon a time, these were home to German and Irish, then Jewish immigrants – working class families, proud to own their small piece of the American dream.
The 1950s saw a demographic shift toward African American and Hispanic residents with lower incomes. Widespread abandonment by landlords of their property, so called “white flight” (relocation to the suburbs by white residents anxious over racial integration and decreasing property values), and construction of the infamous Cross Bronx Expressway accelerated the decay. The Cross Bronx literally cut the Bronx in two – displacing thousands from their homes, and decimating once lively and functional neighborhoods. Read more…
A Raspberry, Photo by Vassil
We are in the final “dog days” of summer. These summer days are the Lord’s gift to us – along with peaches, plums, blackberries, watermelon, and sweet corn.
Surely, the Lord at least once trailed His fingers lazily in the cool waters of the Sea of Galilee. Surely, He at least once savored the taste of a ripe peach, as the juice ran down His chin. We know He enjoyed the shared laughter of friends.
It cannot be a sacrilege to consider such things. The Bible is filled with detailed descriptions of flora and fauna. The Lord loved His creation then as He does now. He knows our lives – our flaws – intimately, and loves us despite them.
The question is whether we love Him.
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls –
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3: 17-18).
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the lushness of this season, as we do for all good things. May this time of plenty strengthen us for whatever hardships may be in store. May our abundance not blind us to those in need. In all seasons of our lives, Your love remains constant.
Amen
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
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“He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday” (Ps. 91: 4-6).
An intended repeat of the recent movie theater shootings was, thankfully, thwarted today. There seems to be violence on every hand. We hardly know which way to turn.
We grieve for the victims and their families, yet long for assurances of safety for ourselves and our own loved ones. Read more…
There has been another mass shooting. This one took place in Wisconsin; the last in Colorado, just over two weeks ago. During the interim, two dead bodies were found abandoned in Michigan.
Death Toll
The headlines include only deaths considered newsworthy – not the majority of deaths by violent means occurring daily in cities across our nation. As an illustration, at least a dozen corpses have been unceremoniously discarded on the streets of inner city Detroit, over the past twelve months.
Drug dealers and addicts, prostitutes and exotic dancers, gang members, teenage boys with basketball dreams, teenage girls trying to escape abuse, elderly men and women relying on Social Security checks, single mothers working two jobs, children not yet in the third grade. Retail cashiers, teachers, students, subway token clerks, cab drivers. Fathers, mothers, grandparents, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons.
This is ugly arithmetic. Surely we can do better. Read more…
Dry ground of Negev Desert, Israel, Author MinoZig (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
Though He parted the Red Sea for them, the Lord did not lead the Israelites directly to the Promised Land. Instead, they spent 40 years in the desert learning to trust Him.
That is how it works. Over and over, we are drawn to Him in need. The more self-reliant we think we are, the less we have learned.
God uses our very needs as His tools. This is not abandonment – nor even “hands off” management – but loving care, based on an intimate knowledge of each of us.
Wherever we may be in our lives, He is with us, guiding our steps with the goal of bringing us home.
“You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation” (Ex. 15: 13).
Lord God, You parted one sea and stilled the waters of another. Powers and principalities are as nothing before You. This is the strength You offer us.
Like Moses before us, we call on Your name. You have purchased and will plant us in the mountain of Your inheritance. We praise and thank You for all You have given us, and all we know You will accomplish in our lives.
Amen
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1: 1).
Having crafted us for the law, Lord Jesus, You filled us with words. We generate them. We analyze them. We interpret and reinterpret, define and redefine, moderate and mangle them. We utilize them both as swords and shields – to serve and skewer; to threaten and placate.
With this powerful tool comes great responsibility.
Engrave Your name on our hearts, Lord, that we may use words for their ultimate end of praising You and spreading the Gospel.
Amen
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
“ ‘And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another’ ” (Matt. 24: 10).
It is an increasing challenge to remain faithful. Jesus prophesied that many would offend one another and worse, as the end of days approached (Matt. 24: 10, 12). The walk of faith, in any case, gets more challenging the farther along toward Calvary we go.
It can be difficult to locate a Bible believing church. It can be difficult even to find other Christians with whom to fellowship. Devout Christians can feel isolated, as if fighting a battle of one on a forgotten hilltop – sometimes against believers and non-believers, both.
Mature Faith
Faith is a journey. Consequently, not all Christians are equally mature in their faith.
- Some are simply new to the faith, and inexperienced in it.
- Although sincere, a few may hold mistaken beliefs, along with the Gospel message that Jesus died for our sins.
- Many are uninstructed, and unaware what they lack – however long they may have been Christian.
- And a number claiming to be Christian are not, thereby causing enormous harm when they violate Christian tenets. Certain televangelists come to mind.
This range of belief can be a great frustration to more mature Christians – particularly when incorrect statements about doctrine (or practices in conflict with doctrine) draw the ridicule of non-Christians.
We cannot disown our less mature brothers and sisters. That is not what Jesus would have us do. Their faith is not for us to judge (Rom. 14: 10). And there may be room for growth on our own part. Read more…
An Open Fortune Cookie, Photo by Lorax (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported, GFDL 1.2 or later)
We are surrounded by attempts to manipulate the fates, and pierce the veil between this world and the next.
Major newspapers run daily horoscope columns. “Lucky” buddhas can be found in all sizes. Feng shui is discussed seriously, and Wicca considered a legitimate belief system. Chain letters abound. Psychics advertise openly. Charlatans – and others sincere, but deluded – even claim to speak with the dead. Read more…
As Christians, we view the Old Testament from the perspective of the New. We know Salvation was accomplished. The Messiah in the Person of Jesus Christ arrived some 2000 ago, fulfilling all Messianic prophecies to the letter.
What, however, was the understanding of an afterlife, in the Old Testament?
Resurrection – Release from Death’s Snare
There are certainly despairing statements contained in the Old Testament.
“I am counted with them that go down to the pit; I am as a man who has no strength, adrift among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, and who are cut off from Your hand” (Ps. 88: 4-5).
“Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Eccl. 9: 10).
Such statements tend to be a response to circumstance, rather than a reasoned analysis of the evidence for or against an afterlife.
The statements are often despairing of life, itself, more so than of the existence of an afterlife. The approach by King Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes is particularly world weary.
In some instances, the negative statements may well be comparing the fate of a righteous man, i.e. the author (who can expect to be resurrected), with that of an unrighteous – who will be condemned and forgotten, cut off from God by reason of his misdeeds.
The Book of Job is in sharp contrast with this. Writing around 2000 BC at the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Job – a “blameless and upright” man – makes a powerful statement in favor of life after death, despite his own physical and emotional torment:
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19: 25-27).
At the opposite end of the spectrum of human emotion, the prophet, Isaiah (who writes eloquently about the Suffering Servant), about 1300 years after Job, makes this joyful prediction:
“Your dead shall live; together with my dead bodythey shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead” (Is. 26: 19).
Census figures being released in the Fall are expected to show that poverty has risen to the highest levels since the 1960s. A rate of 15.2% – 15.7% would erase the gains of President Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty.”
Poverty is spreading across groups from the underemployed middle class to the poorest of the poor.
Long-term trends such as globalization, outsourcing, increased automation, and reduced unionization have combined to push median household income lower. These trends are not expected to reverse any time soon.
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://www.avoicereclaimed.com
A Lawyer's Prayers 