Happy International Justice Day

Today Friday July 17th is International Justice Day. Mocha Club is celebrating with not only a great new video, but a great new website at MochaClub.org. Please check it out. Please take some Christian action on this day. Please look at what Jesus calls us to do, to love the poor, and to have mercy and to help the sick. What would the world think if Christians became the driving force both socially and economically. We all have been given freely, and now we must give just as freely. Please give today. Please act today. Help those in need- As Jesus said in Luke 12:33- Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Loving him

Loving people sacrificially- is that what is all about for Christians? Is that what we show to the world? To those who don't know him? Or do we kind of count on evangelists to take care of that. Do we focus on loving Christ followers who go to the same church as us, who practice the same things as us? I find having a bag of food to provide a homeless person such a thrill. Such a blessing. Such a gift from God that when I do it, nothing satisfies more than being able to do it. Jesus was often seen with tax collectors, prostitutes, the hungry, the poor, those who were beaten down and oppressed by the society he lived in. He challenged rich people to give it all away, to sell what they had and give to others. To walk away from their daily jobs of fishing and tax collecting and families and pick up their cross and follow him. What cross do we pick up daily? Who do we follow?

Looking for change

I am becoming more and more aware of the amazing wealth we have here in America and the poverty that effects much of the rest of the world. I know it is an old cliche, but we probably waste more resources than most of the world has. We spend billions on movies, pets, eating out, wireless networking and cell phones so we can be connected wherever we go.

That is all great- and a blessing that we have the resources to use. But as a church, Jesus called us to love our neighbors as ourselves. He called us to give to the least, and if they take your cloak, do not stop them from taking your tunic. Jesus wanted us to give and give freely. To take what he provides us with and to give as much as we can. To feed the hungry, stand beside the broken, to help those in need. Let us go today- and never stop going

I need Africa more than Africa needs me

So who is our neighbor? Who are we called to love like ourselves? Isn't it everyone? We are called to love like ourselves..that is a lot of love, a lot of things I do for myself. Do I treat others the same? Or do I choose to ignore the struggles? Many times, it seems as though it is easy to just ignore them. We have been taught, they are homeless by choice, they are homeless because they don't fit in our society...but then that small still voice says...did Jesus fit in our society? Would he be found in an office going to lunch, and walking by the hungry? Would he drive his Tahoe by the guy on the corner? Would he engage the lowest of the low? I think we know the answer.

I need Africa more than Africa needs me from the Mocha Club

When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. "I am needed here," I think. "They have so little, and I have so much." It's true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in those same people. It's a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day.
The images spilling out of my television showed circumstances that could seemingly only equal misery, and I was fooled. I bought into the lie that circumstance defines happiness. The truth is, in Africa I find hearts full of victory, indomitable spirits. In places where despair should thrive, instead I find adults dancing and singing, and children playing soccer with a ball crafted of tied up trash. Instead of payback, I find grace. Here, weekend getaways are not options to provide relief from the pains of daily life. Relationships and faith provide joy. Love is sovereign.
My new reality… I know now that my joy should have no regard for my circumstances. I'm ashamed by my lack of faith, but at the very same moment I am excited by my new pursuit. I'm forced to redefine the meaning of having much or having little. I'm uneasy with the prospect of change and of letting go, but just the thought of freedom is liberating. I want what I have learned to trickle down from my head into my heart - I no longer want to need the "next thing" to have joy.
I'm not saying that Africa does not need our efforts. It absolutely does need our partnership. But for me, I've come to understand that I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME. Why? Because it is Africa that has taught me that possessions in my hands will never be as valuable as peace in my heart. I've learned that I don't need what I have and that I have what I need. These are just a few of this continent's many lessons. I came here to serve and yet I've found that I have so much to learn, and Africa, with all its need, has much to teach me.