Tag: poor

The Poor You Will Have Always

May 14, 2019 by ChristianHolinessDaily

In just a couple of days, Jesus would be betrayed. He had been warning His closest disciples of His impending death, but it seems they did not – or did not want to – understand. Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, seemed to understand. She knew that if Jesus returned to Jerusalem, that He would be put to death. She also knew that He planned exactly that, to return to Jerusalem.

To honor Him, and to let Him know that she worshiped Him, she took a jar of pure nard – or spikenard – and anointed Him, first His head and then His feet, as was tradition.

What a waste. It would take most people a year’s wages to fill a jar that size with such an expensive perfume. Even if it was used for the benefit of one such as Jesus, it is a sin to waste it. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor. The disciples seemed to be in agreement on this matter.

Jesus, though, defended Mary. “Leave her alone,” He said. “She intended to save this for the day of my burial.”

Such a statement must have profoundly confused the disciples. Before they could ponder it, though, Jesus added a reference to the Law (Deuteronomy 15:11). “The poor, you will have always, but you will not always have me.”

There are many lessons to be found in this passage, but we will emphasize only two. First, Jesus knew that, because we are human and we comprise a physical body, intellect, and spirit (or – as I grew up hearing it: body, mind and soul), we must pay equal attention to our physical needs and our spiritual needs. There is, in other words, a time for worship and a time for ministry. There is a time to build our bodies, a time to build our minds, and a time to build our relationship with our Heavenly Father. This was Mary’s time to build her spirit through worship.

The second point is this: Jesus did not say, “The poor you will have always; there’s no fixing that problem, so instead of throwing money at it, we should instead build a cathedral that will outshine the ones that John the Baptist’s followers built out on the highway.” No, this passage is not an excuse to take money from the ministry column of the budget ministry and move it into the building fund (or elsewhere). Quite the opposite. The words of Jesus hearken back to a passage that commands the nation of Israel to take care of the poor and destitute in their nation. Because there are poor and will always be poor people in the land, we need to plan for them, to minister to them, to teach them, and love them, and help them as a part of an ongoing process. Ministering to the poor should be a part of our church budget.

Does ministering to the poor make one holy? No, but those who attempt to be holy as God is holy will help the poor.

Side Note: Perfume such as that which was made from the root of nard was used in many ways
in Jewish Antiquity. It was used in the making of incense Anointing oil was used for three main purposed ”

They Are Not Alone or Forgotten

April 4, 2019 by ChristianHolinessDaily

I often preach that many churches have forgotten their mission and rely too heavily on the government to look after their flock. Churches (usually unintentionally, but often intentionally) neglect the poor, the sick, the dying, the widowed, and the imprisoned. The same may be said about those who suffer with depression and other emotional and mental conditions that can lead to suicide.

While most churches will tell you they do not have the capacity to deal with these situations – and that is likely true, given the shrinking size of the median Evangelical Church – they can be on the lookout to protect their flock from tragedy.

No, pastors don’t have to be trained psychologist and lay leaders need not be qualified counselors, but there is one sure sign that the clergy and lay person can watch for. This sign applies to every part of the body of Christ, and especially the sick, the poor, the widowed, those who are dying, and the imprisoned… And, those who may be dealing with conditions in their lives that are so tragic that they are considering suicide. Here it is. Here’s what you can do:

Watch for those who have withdrawn from the church body either emotionally or physically. It is they who need you most. Reach out to them. Call on them. Love them. Pray with them. Stay by their side. Help them before you lose them.

A smile and a hug coupled with the love of Christ may be the first step to healing.

Suicide Statistics in the U.S.

While in the most of the world, suicide rates are in decline, suicides in the U.S. have increased. While not nearly as prevalent in the U.S. as in Eastern Europe, Russia, or East Asia, the number of people who in the U.S. who take their own lives is still far too great.

The U.S. is listed as 27th, with 15.3 people out of every 100,000 committing suicide. Lithuania (31.9 per 100k), Russia, Guyana, South Korea, and Belarus are the top 5.

On average, 129 Americans commit suicide daily.
In 2017, 1.4 million Americans attempted suicide. For every completed suicide, there are 25 attempts.
90% of those who die by suicide had a diagnosable mental health problem.
Men die by suicide 3.5 times as often as women.
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in Americans age 15-34.
Suicide is the 4th leading cause of death in Americans age 35-54.
Suicide rates are 1.5 times higher for veterans than for those who never served in the military.
The U.S. State with the highest suicide rate is Montana (28.89 per 100k), followed by Alaska and Wyoming.
The lowest rate in the U.S. is in District of Columbia, with 6.35 per 100k, followed by New York and New Jersey.
Suicide rates have risen in the past 20 years in every state but Nevada.
White males accounted for nearly 78% of all suicide deaths in 2017.
According to an article on Charisma News in 2013, 3.7% of American adults have thought about suicide.
According to a study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry in December 2004, attempted suicides among those who are not affiliated with a religious body was significantly higher than those who endorsed religious affiliation.
Dr. Sterling C. Hilton showed in a 2002 study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology that suicide rates among those who belonged to one particular denomination were dramatically less than the general population. In this case, the suicide rate in the general population was 7 times that of this religious group.
More than half of pastors have counseled people with mental illness, and 23% report that they suffer from mental illness themselves.
In a 2015 study by the Shaeffer Institute, 58% of pastors said they have no true and good friends. 52% felt their church had unrealistic expectations for them. 34% battled discouragement or depression. 35% felt inadequate.

Reach Out and Touch Someone

October 23, 2016 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

For two decades Bell Telephone, and later AT&T, promoted themselves through a campaign with the slogan, “Reach out and touch someone.” One particular spot shows a sad clown calling his mother and transforming into a happy clown, followed by toddlers smiling when they hear a voice on the phone, and a grandmother calling her family, and a marching band crowded around a phone booth to speak with a bandmate who broke a leg. The point was that reaching out to loved ones can change their lives, at least if you do so over a Bell Telephone line.

The point is a valid one: we need to reach out and touch people. We’ve always had outerunrivaled in society. Victims of contagious diseases, the homeless, the mentally ill, the aged, the jobless, the working poor… are all left behind in post-Christian America.

There were no untouchables in Jesus’s mind. He ate dinner with folks considered the dregs of society. He made disciples of tax collectors. His best friends were crude fishermen. He accepted praise and offerings of women of ill repute. He asked assistance of a woman who had had several husbands and carried on affairs. He touched a leper.

If we want to live like Jesus… If we want to be Christ-like… If we want to reach the lost, then we too need to reach out and touch those that may seem untouchable. We need to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, shelter the homeless, find help for the mentally ill, spend quality time with the aged, minister to widows and orphans, and visit the imprisoned.

We need to offer a tender, loving touch to the untouchables.