Archive for January, 2010

22
Jan
10

THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT HAITI

By wbradfor Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized

haiti 6 Like many of you I’ve been in shock over the images that I’ve seen from television depicting the devastation of Hahaiti 2iti following last week’s earthquake. Some of our pastors from Healing Place Church have been on the ground in Haiti with a team of physicians and other volunteers. The reports they are bringing back are all too surreal.

I very lucidly recall the devastation that Hurricane Katrina brought to the Gulf Coast, and in particular the evacuation of New Orleans. I remember katrina 2 being in the airport and seeing bodies lying on cots or slumped over in wheelchairs. I remember seeing bodies laid out on the floor tagged with the color “black” because there katrina 1was no chance of survival, and I remember how the room reeked of death.  I have to tell you though what I’m seeing and hearing from Haiti is more  troubling than anything I’ve ever seen or heard before. Reports say that an estimated 200,000 people are dead and many more missing. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti had approximately 138,000 orphans. That number will undoubtedly increase. The number of amputees is astronomical, and many have crushed limbs just waiting to go to surgery.

I don’t know much about Haiti, and what I do know is not good. I’ve heard about the supposed “pact with the devil” years ago, the common practice of voodoo and witchcraft, the political corruption, and the extensive poverty. Yet, despite all of that, I believe that the haiti 5 Body of Christ has an obligation and a responsibility to act, and to act with the heart of the Father. The church should be the first ones reaching out to the people of Haiti and the last ones to leave. God is a lover of humanity, and the Scriptures tell us that He takes no delight in the events that unfolded this past week. His heart is broken, and what breaks His heart should break ours. 

When you read the Scriptures, and it doesn’t matter whether you read a prophet book or a poetic book, a Law book, or one of the Gospels, one thing is clear, the poor, the widow, the orphan, the prisoner, the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger all matter to God. There will always be room in God’s heart for them. Can I say the same about my heart? You see, this is not just about Haiti, this is about my heart and who I do or do not have room for.  If I simply watch the images on television and feel sorry for the people of Haiti and do not act, then the truth is there is no room in my heart for them.  My compassion must be followed by action, or there isn’t any compassion.

orphanage Church, this is our moment to shine. This is our moment to show the love and compassion of the One True God. This is our moment to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. We can’t allowhaiti 1 our hearts to be turned away because of the busyness of our schedules, the images of looters, the distance that separate us, or the differences in culture. As we begin to meet the physical and emotional needs of the Haitian people, this country will be open to hearing the Gospel like never before. When you are impoverished you not only lose your place to live, food to eat, and clothes to wear, but you lose your capacity to dream. You lose hope!  Who else can bring hope to a broken and devastated people like the Body of Christ. It’s time to respond! It’s time for us to ask, God what would you have me to do?   

18
Jan
10

The Name You Leave Behind

By wbradfor Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized

Wow! Can you believe it’s 2010? It’s not that a new year has begun, but a new decade. Seems like yesterday the world was in a panic over Y2K and now we begin the year 2010. Life doesmedical-weight-loss-programn’t stand still does it! As we usher in a new year, excuse me … a new decade, undoubtedly there will be those infamous “new years resolutions”. You know the ones I’m talking about, lose weight, join the health club, get out of debt, attend church more frequently. The list goes on and on. Why do new years resolutions almost always involve  something changing on the outside?  

For me in 2010, its not going to be about the weight, the health IMG_1031club, or the money saved; instead, its about the name I leave behind. It’s about the next generation. IMG_2260It’s about two little girls – one named Emily and the other Rachel and a little boy named Connor.   It’s about every lost, hopeless, and hurting soul that crosses my path whether its at the parish prison, the Baton Rouge Dream Center, or the line at Wal-Mart. 2010 will be about the name I leave behind!

Instead of resolutions for 2010 that reflect short term change on the outside, I’SANY0027m pursuing change that is new, fresh, and intimate. The kind of change that only God can bring. In 2010, I want to create as many memories as I can with those that God has placed in my life. God has impressed upon me to live a life beyond myself. A life that points others to Christ.     

In Matthew 1, we read of the genealogy of Jesus, which if taken out of the Scriptures could be the most boring and innocuous words ever penned; yet, each name carries with it a record of who they are,  and the life they lived. The name they IMG_2061left behind. Matthew did not have to include this in his gospel, but he did, and I believe that he did this as a reminder to us that it matters to God how we live our lives. Some of the names mentioned were very courageous and some were very less fortunate, but they all brought something into the world  that pointed others to Jesus. They lived their lives in such a way that long after they passed, they continue to speak to us.

The truth is that we will all leave a name behind.  The name we leave behind will be left up to each individual. Leaving a name behind that reflects Jesus does not come without cost, but if we’re not willing to make that sacrifice then there will be regret. Nothing good can be built on regret, and regret is not the name we are called to leave behind.