Moving On

In an effort to re-energize my blogging, I've set up a new blog site. See you there! Grace and peace to all!

The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

You have heard it said, "The soul that sins, it shall die!" in a very prooftext-ish, condemning sort of voice, right? I've heard that most of my life as proof that certain eternal punishment awaits anyone who sins, even once. But, once again, upon reading the text in its context, that's not what it says, at all! Check this out, Ezekiel 18:20, "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself." So, this whole chapter in Ezekiel is an argument against the prevailing wisdom among his culture, the Jewish exiles in Babylon, that the punishment for the sins of the father carry on to his progeny. And they have Scripture for that, too! Right there in the middle of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:5-6 says, "You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." But God (my favorite phrase in Scripture), desires repentance and reconciliation, so He makes it clear that no one is condemned for the actions of anyone else, even their own family! His grace is extended to all! And we haven't even touched on the fact that the verse in question talks about death, not eternal punishment! But, I need to save that thought for later... So God's Good News to Ezekiel's generation, and to ours, is expressed in the final verse of Ezekiel 18, "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live." The world is watching!

The Walker - He Has a Name

"Even though virtually all of us have seen him as he wanders relentlessly, day and night, across and beyond his home town, few know his name.
Those of us who know him call him the Walker. That’s what he does. He is well over fifty years old and has not had an established home for years...
He has a name. A family. A history. A history that intersects – more than we would like to acknowledge – with many of us."
from Morf Morford's blog post on Red Letter Christians


Responding and reaching out to "The Walkers" of our community is the most godly and the most human thing we can do. These men, women and children are not problems ... they are PEOPLE, children of God, our fellow residents of God's creation!

The world is watching!

Death, Interrupted

Shane Claiborne's post, Celebrating the Interruption of Death, brought some clarity to my thinking about the death penalty. Since it is in the news, again, as it should be, I think we all have to find a way to reconcile our views on the death penalty with our other pro-life and Christ-following beliefs.

I love the way he ends this message:
"This is the good news - mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). Death has been interrupted by grace. No one is beyond redemption - no one - not King David or Saul of Tarsus, not Duane Buck or you or me. Their stories, and our own, remind us that we should never write any one off. God's grace is bigger than our mistakes. Death Thou Art Dead.

May the interruptions of death continue. And may our lives become a part of the interruption."

The world is watching!

The high cost of poverty

The urban prophet Larry James passed along this column from the NY Times' Charles Blow. There is indeed a huge cost in terms of emotional, spiritual and psychological resources for the poor!

His concluding sentence rings true:
"Until more politicians understand — or remember — what it means to be poor in this country, we are destined to fail the least among us, and all of us will pay a heavy price for that failure."

The world is watching!

Brian Fikkert coming to Tyler!

Fourth Partner Foundation is bringing to Tyler the author of an important new book on dealing with poverty issues, Brian Fikkert, co-author of When Helping Hurts. He will be here on May 10 and everyone is invited to a "Leadership Luncheon" at Christ Episcopal Church. Pre-registration is required at http://gcc.org/event/when-helping-hurts.php






I'm currently reading this book and highly encourage anyone interested in these issues to attend!

Hard Times Generation

This segment on the March 6 broadcast of CBS 60 Minutes is called "Hard Times Generation". It is about the "new breed" of homeless people, the families with children living in cheap motels; trapped there by their minimum wage jobs, having lost their homes and their possessions due to the recession. Can the poverty rate among children be 25%?!?


Its a little long, but you need to watch the whole video.


What is the church's response to this crisis right here in USAmerica? One church's response is noted here in Larry James' blog: $5.6 MILLION! What is the potential good that can be done by the USAmerican church, empowered by the Holy Spirit of God? It is limitless!

What does this mean for us in beautiful East Texas? Does this same issue exist here? Are there families renting cheap motel rooms, using nearly all the income they can generate? Absolutely! When the opportunity presents itself to be a part of the solution, please be generous, be ready, be Jesus to this generation! The world is watching!