What are you doing?

As American Christians we have all sorts of definitions of what it takes to be a "good Christian." In TSC being a "good Christian" usually includes activities such as: accountability partners, daily devotions, church attendence, a floor Bible study, and Monday morning prayer(if you're REALLY holy). We're serious about sanctification and every once in a while we even fast.

That's sweet. God is working here. Still I think we're missing a huge part of the gospel. Prayer is key. It is good and right to come before our Father in prayer. To be asking him to do big things on this campus. But what are we doing about it? Religion He considers as pure and faultless is, "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. " (James 1:27)

He also says in Isaiah, "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. " (Isaiah 58:9b-11)

Both of these passages talk about sanctification and about service. We need to get rid of the accusations and slander and help the poor. Then God will hear us. This is the type of fasting he desires. (Isaiah 58) He doesn't care about our acts of righteousness that we do before men. He wants us to follow in his footsteps.

Jesus himself, "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!"

Okay, so we should be servants, right. We should also help poor people and stuff like that. That's all good, but aren't we as students the poorest people around? And we're supposed to be studying. I mean, that's what we're going to school for.

Yes, but I desperately want to be a, "well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." (Isaiah 58:11) And to receive the Lord's blessing in that way He says to spend myself for the sake of the hungry and opressed.

Do you see the poor and the hungry that are around you everyday? Do you see the janitor that cleans your bathroom? Do you see the International student who cries herself to sleep every night because she misses her family? What about the kid who always sits by himself in your class? They may not be poor in the traditional sense, but they are in need of our Savior.

Well, Jill needs her computer back....so in conclusion I guess just love people. Help the poor. Habitat has a bunch of build days starting in November. On October 6th and 13th a bunch of people are also going to help work on the Butterfly Freedom House which is for women who just got out of jail. Birthright is also always looking for volunteers. God bless.