Random thoughts on Starvation, Obesity, and Organic Food

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/food_crisis_in_kenya/

RT @injusticefacts: 28 percent of children in developing countries are severely underweight while 45% of American children are overweight. My friend Stacy Leigh, over at My Messy Manger, had this posted as her facebook status yesterday and I've been thinking about it a lot.

Then I read this article from Samaritan's Purse about the food crisis in the horn of Africa right now and what they are doing to help and I couldn't help but think about that above quote again, and feel guilty.

I'm not obese at all but I do sometimes go back and forth about spending so much money on groceries. You see, I love to buy organic because of all the toxins, pesticides, and chemicals in just about all of our food here in America. It costs more. A lot of the reason it costs more is because it supports sustainable pracitices and provides fair wages and good working conditions for those harvesting the crops so this makes me feel good. But it also means that money I could be using to send to Samaritan's Purse or other organizations is going towards our grocery bill. I believe buying organic is worthwhile because it helps others and I believe it is a great way to steward the body God gave me and to take care of my family. But I just have these random conflicting thoughts that sometimes cross my mind and I sometimes wonder if its "okay" to spend so much money on groceries when there are so many starving. So that's my struggle. Can anyone relate? Ideally, one day we hope to learn more about homesteading and grow most all of our own food or participate in CSAs, etc. This would help bring the cost down immensely.

And then there is the obesity problem in America. It saddens me when I look at pictures like this:

And then I look at pictures like this:

There is so much wrong with these two contrasting pictures and scenarios that I cannot even begin to put my thoughts into words. Our country is so greedy and gluttonous it is sickening. We are so materialistic and consumeristic and ravenous really. It saddens me that parents allow their children to get obese and overweight because of the hazard it is for their health. (genetics just means you have to work harder at keeping the weight off, it is not an excuse for obesity) It also maddens me when I am reminded of the fact that there are children all over the world and even in our own country that are starving. How can this be?! It is not right! Even though I am not obese I am still guilty of over eating and indulging in food and goods that I do not need, while children die from starvation daily all over the world.

What will we do to help the starving children in Kenya, Somalia, and other areas in the horn of Africa? Will we turn away and pretend like it doesn't exist as we continue to stuff our faces and our homes with stuff we don't need? I am asking myself these questions as well. I know that the needs are so overwhelming all over the world and I am just one person. You are just one person. But one person + one person + one person, etc. can make a big difference.

Let us pray that God would open our eyes to our gluttonous hearts and our gluttonous stomaches and show us how He would have us help starving children all over the world and in our own back yards.

How should a Christian respond to the death of Bin Laden?

 

photo credit

How should a Christian respond to the death of Osama bin Laden?

This post is more of me just thinking out loud than any sort of a position paper or conclusion on the subject.

I think a good place to start is by saying that this is obviously a great victory for the U.S. military. After almost ten years of searching for this man that murdered many Americans he has been found and "justice has been served". It probably also brings a little bit of peace and comfort to the families of 9/11 victims. Let me also say, that I am so thankful for the men and women who serve in the armed forces and sacrifice so much to keep our country safe. I know that the military is necessary and on one hand I am very much pro-military. I would not protest at the funeral of a fallen military person, I would attend and love on the family and be sad for the loss. The loss of any life is a great tragedy...unless they know Jesus, then there is also an element of joy. 

Let me repeat that so it sinks in, the loss of any life is a great tragedy.

Now all politics aside...

Let us think about this biblically and try to set politics aside for a moment. Let us think about Jesus, remember him? The one who said to turn the other cheek and if your enemy asks you to go one mile to go an extra mile also. The one who said to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. The one who DID love his enemies and DID pray for those who persecuted him. The one who was led by his enemies like a sheep to the slaughter and opened not his mouth. The one who said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." The one who died for ALL sinners that would repent and place their faith in Him. The one who died for you and me and Osama bin Laden. 

When I heard the news this morning I didn't know how to feel. You see, I have prayed for Osama bin Laden and Qaddafi and Ahmadinejad. I have prayed that the Lord would give them visions and dreams of Jesus and draw them to Himself. I have prayed that they would come to know Christ. I suppose no one can know if bin Laden might have had a vision of Christ the night before he was killed. God is Sovereign after all and knew this was all going to happen. Maybe he decided to be merciful and draw him to Himself in the hour of his death. I don't know. None of us do. I have heard many stories of God meeting Muslims in their dreams to present Christ and the gospel to them. Many Muslims have been converted to Christ through such dreams. So I pray this will happen for all Muslims and also for the radical leaders like Qaddafi and Ahmadinejad. 

It makes me think of Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel. He was an evil king like many kings are past and present. He commanded that all bow to him and there were 3 young men who wouldn't. They were put in a blazing furnace to be killed and God protected them miraculously. Those looking on saw a "fourth person" in there with them. When they came out they didn't even smell of smoke. This was Neb's response:

 ²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

Let us remember that God can change anyone's heart. He can change the hearts of evil kings and rulers if he pleases. Remember Saul of Tarsus who became Paul? He persecuted and killed many Christians, yet God was merciful to him. Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and brought salvation, mercy, grace, and forgiveness to this "enemy". Jesus died for his enemies, even men such as Osama bin Laden.

It makes me sad as I see Christians putting up facebook statuses being excited about Osama's death and "go USA", "We got him." Oh, and not to mention the videos of patriotic country songs. Although I understand their excitement our allegiance is first to a King, not a country. Our allegiance is to King Jesus first. We are Christians first, and Americans second. This is not our home. We are citizens of heaven. We should not rejoice in a soul spending eternity in hell, no matter who it is. We should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Right?! I mean, please tell me if I'm wrong. 

 I just read the parable in Matthew 18 about the unmerciful servant. He owed a rather large debt to his owner and begged for mercy from the owner. The owner granted him mercy and canceled his debt. Then this same servant wouldn't grant mercy to a fellow slave who owed him money. When the owner caught wind of it this is what he said:

  ³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.    ³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

We are that servant who should be begging for mercy from God. Let us not forget the sin debt that we have incurred towards a holy God. We are all sinners and if it weren't for the grace of God in our lives we could all be "Osama bin Laden." Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15  "Here is a trustworthy statement that deserves full acceptance: Christ came into the world to save sinners- of who I am the worst." We should all echo that statement of Paul. As we come to grips with the holiness of God and our own sinfulness we should rightly say of ourselves that we are each individually the worst of sinners. Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ! 

Let us all turn to Jesus for salvation (if you haven't) and thank him for that salvation (if you are already his), American and Arab alike. Let us all seek to be like Jesus. Let us love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Yes, even radical Muslim leaders. They are not too far from the grace of God.

What are your thoughts? How did you feel when you heard the news? How should a Christian think through this and respond to the death of bin Laden?

And for another great post on this subject... How should Christians think about the death of Bin Laden?

Repost: A Great Royal Wedding to Come

picture from International Business Times
I couldn't have said it better myself....this is a beautiful post, please go read it!
A Great Royal Wedding to Come

As followers of Christ, we are royalty.  1 Peter 2:9-10 says that those who are followers of Christ are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. We are sons and daughters of THE KING; therefore, we are princes and princesses. We are royalty.

This morning the bishop of London said that every wedding is a royal wedding because we are all subjects of the King of creation.

I loved watching the wedding this morning (I recorded it so I could fast forward through hours of meaningless commentary), but I am more looking forward to my great royal wedding to come. My wedding where Jesus is the Bridegroom and I receive my eternal home in heaven. This is the wedding I look forward to!

Thinking about Japan, Praying for Japan, Helping Japan

John Piper has lots of great posts about Japan. Here they are...

Help Japan—At Least Five Options

Japan, people want answers...

The Tears of Christ

Prayer for Japan

More thoughts on Japan...

My heart is just so heavy for the people of Japan. Several of the International Students we used to hang out with here in Memphis are back home in Japan and I was so worried about them. It was several days before we heard from them but they are all safe. It still saddens me for the hundreds, maybe thousands, of others who lost their lives, many of which who probably did not know Jesus. My heart just breaks for these souls and for the people now living in rubble and breathing in radiation.

John Piper had a great blog post that I will simply repost here:

Father in heaven, you are the absolute Sovereign over the shaking of the earth, the rising of the sea, and the raging of the waves. We tremble at your power and bow before your unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways. We cover our faces and kiss your omnipotent hand. We fall helpless to the floor in prayer and feel how fragile the very ground is beneath our knees.

O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.

And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.

Have you not encouraged us in this? Have we not heard a hundred times in your Word the riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience? Do you not a thousand times withhold your judgments, leading your rebellious world toward repentance? Yes, Lord. For your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.

Grant, O God, that the wicked will forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Grant us, your sinful creatures, to return to you, that you may have compassion. For surely you will abundantly pardon. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus, your beloved Son, will be saved.

May every heart-breaking loss—millions upon millions of losses—be healed by the wounded hands of the risen Christ. You are not unacquainted with your creatures' pain. You did not spare your own Son, but gave him up for us all.

In Jesus you tasted loss. In Jesus you shared the overwhelming flood of our sorrows and suffering. In Jesus you are a sympathetic Priest in the midst of our pain.

Deal tenderly now, Father, with this fragile people. Woo them. Win them. Save them.

And may the floods they so much dread make blessings break upon their head.

O let them not judge you with feeble sense, but trust you for your grace. And so behind this providence, soon find a smiling face.

In Jesus’ merciful name, Amen.

Praying for Japan and the Middle East

Matthew 24:4-8
 ⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains."

There has been crazy stuff going on in this world. From everything in the Middle East to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, it makes me go "what is going on Lord?" And it reminds me that Jesus will come back. Each day we are closer than we were yesterday to the Day of the Lord. Because of that, those who know Jesus can have hope and peace. For those that don't, I pray they would be drawn to Him through these tragedies. We need to be praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ that are scattered all over the Middle East. We need to pray that they would be bold in the face of persecution, and that they would use every opportunity to speak the gospel and to declare where true freedom comes from--only from Christ. We need to also pray that those in the Middle East that do not know Jesus would come to know Him, that they would hear the gospel from believers there or that Jesus would meet them in their dreams. And for Japan, we need to pray that they would find comfort and peace in the only thing that is constant, in the firm foundation of Christ our Lord. He is a Rock and Stronghold. I pray too for the believers there, that they would rise up and serve their fellow countrymen and show Christ in word and deed. I pray for those there that do not know Him, that they would seek Him for answers and draw near to Him for comfort. Let us all be reminded of the frailty of our owns lives and not take a single breath for granted.