Some of my favorite quotes from a book by one of my favorite people (Chip Huber)God's miraculous, stupendous ways included making the impossible reality through the most unconventional of ways... Only a God who is in the business of supernatural, irrational, and brilliant workings could make prayers answered, schools appear, and lives changed through this most extraordinary example of what He is capable of and longs to do in our world with so many needs.
God is in the slums, in teh cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them (Bono).
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. An what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humble with your God (Micah 6:8)
One of the most compelling and longest-lasting lessons of our involvement in Zambia is the simple reality that our work there isn't something radical, but in fact it is actually what God designed us to be doing all along.
God longs to connect us as a gloabl church when we respond to injustices. All those in need don't just need our help, but instead they deserve it, and we have the power to help them, even more so as we join together with others who have been blessed to be a blessing.
Og this we can be sure, that poverty... mars the image of God within humanity; it mars the image of God in the poor, the sick, the oppressed, the leaset as it deprives them of opportunities for abundant life. IT mars the image of God within those of us who have more than enough, but who through greed, complacency, or even ignorance fail to do the justice to embrace the loving kindness that our God asks of us (Njongonkulu Ndungane)
The real danger in our wold may not be people failing to read the Bible- it may be what happens when people actually do read it- especially the over 2000 verses on God's heart fo the poor and oppressed. Be warned... the pages of Scripture can change everything (The Poverty and Justice Bible).
globalrichlist.com
God, I was a nobody, and still am. But use me anyway! (Laura Finch)
Obedience is better than sacrifice... In other words, recognizing where God is working and then joining Him in that work is always better than conjuring up another great-sounding committee or ministry arm out of my own imagination (Laura Finch)
There is no better word to describe people giving to development work that the word investment. The truth is that opposed to a donation, an investmetn almost always brings returned while a donation can mean anything.. An investment brings transformation and often can be seen by all (Fordson Kafweku)
Jesus' love for mankind is contagious. When people genuinely avail themsevles for service, He does not look at who they are but what He can do to make them a challenl of blessings. He looks at their availability and commitment. He sees only the condition of their hearts and their willingness to serve (Fordson Kafweku).
The complexity of our world can lead to a sort of paralysis where we choose inactivity and do nothing to change that which we know cannot be right because it just seems like it won't truly accomplish much in the end.
The brokenness of our relationships and our world is undeniable in every rural village and every wealthy major metropolitan area.. Jesus calls us into the mess and empowers us to be HIs hand of touch and love, His feet bringing medicines and medical care, and His heart of love that knows no boundaries, no statuses when it comes to seeking to take that which is broken and try to put it back together. None of us deserve the matchless grace and mercy found at teh Cross, and yet God gives out this incredible grace and mercy without finding fault to all who allow it to come into their lives.
It's not really about Africa: it's about allowing ourselves to pursue the calling of God on our lives to love our neighbors.
I've learned that there is a danger in entering deeply into the issues and pain of those you know and care about. And I am sure that sharing in the suffering of other people is exactly what God designed us to do in following our compassionate Savior who was regularly broken and distraught at what He saw happening to people in the days He spent living on earth.
Matthew 5:3-10
We can see something beyond where we are now, and we long to first of all live, and then to live the life we feel called to pursue (Zambian children)
We believe that the heart of God expressed in Scripture is to be an advocate for justice and compassion and mercy in a world where competition and self-reliance wants to rule the day.
If you step out in faith and take some risks in dreaming and them following through with taking on the biggest problems and issues in our world today, God will show up and multiply the bread and fish you gather to feed and heal more than you can ever believe.
Isaiah 58:6-7. 10
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