Good Morning Friends,
On the news last week there was a segment on the 18% rise in homelessness during 2024. I have often wondered why Christianity has ceased to be popular in the face of such problems. I wonder why all of our Christian denominations are in decline despite the great importance of the church. Some research that I have read claims that 95% of all churches in America have plateaued or declined and of the 5% that are growing, only 1% are growing by conversion. Maybe that is true but maybe I just do not see in all. And yet I do know that just 50 years ago the majority in America attended church and evangelism seemed more effective than it is today. Even today some people misguidedly hold to the notion that America is a “Christian” nation. If it is Christian it is an underground movement. When those doing the counting claim that less than 20% of the population is in church on a given Sunday, it is not a pretty picture. A relationship with God is so important and so awesome that it baffles me that we’re apparently failing to reach the new generations. I wonder what God has in mind. Perhaps America is similar to the culture the first Christians encountered in Acts…worshipping just about anyone or thing. But now it seems that the older generations are the most “churched” in history, but the youngest generations may be the most spiritual generation in history. They just aren’t looking to fulfill that spiritual need in the church. Why not? I wonder if too many are exposed to Christ but fall short of being Christian. The thing is that even those who do not go to church are largely familiar with many Bible stories and teaching. Maybe it is not that people do not know and are bad people but that they just don’t find institutional Christianity important. Why? Maybe it is prejudice. And one of the most enduring prejudices is undoubtedly against the poor. Maybe it had to do with making money. And this is rather strange because God loves the poor. There are four categories into which the poor fall in the Bible. For some poverty is chosen for righteousness’ sake. Perhaps you are familiar with those that take a vow of poverty. Think of Jesus’ direction to the rich young ruler and the life of the early church and of Catholic orders. Others come to poverty as a result of a calamity or disaster. Think of Job. But injustice is by far the predominant reason for poverty. Scripture tells stories of poverty as a consequence of oppression by the powerful. The smallest group of those in poverty are those that are poor as a result of sin or laziness. So today we explore what it might mean to repent of our disdain and disgust toward the poor when we realize that the poor are typically poor not because of laziness but because of systems of exploitation. Friends, today we face the reality that frankly most of us have what we have by privilege of birth…. We are rich because our fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers and great grandfathers and great grandmothers passed on an inheritance that lasts through generations. So, Are You Moved To Respond to the Poor In The Hope Of Their Conversion With A Conviction That We All Be More Christian In 2025?
Scripture: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:19-24 (NRSV)
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NRSV)
To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.’
Acts 26:22-23 (NRSV)
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:16 (NRSV)
The good leave an inheritance to their children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22 (NRSV)
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
Amos 5:24 (NRSV)
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
Psalm 72:1-4 (NRSV)
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NRSV)
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3-12 (NRSV)
Message: You cannot serve God and money both. So, think to the future in setting your priorities and serve God. This may be the best way to evangelize engaging business by the Good Book. But the ways of working have forever changed. Fewer and fewer make money in hard labor manufacturing and in farming and fishing. We have more time than ever to set our sights on a heavenly purpose. Many of us have found ways to make money while we sleep and can repurpose our time. So set your sites on eternity and look to serve the poor each day as an act of worship and thanksgiving to complete the work God has set before us. Friends, money is trapped energy waiting to be released for God’s purposes. It is released when we release our will to God…. released when we open our eyes to the wide wonder of the world. The message here is more transformational than writing a check. This is not a message about stewardship giving. It is about embracing a life of worshipping God. It is about integrating our service to the poor as an act of worship. You can have it both ways and should, because when you do, you store up wealth on earth as in heaven. Imagine for a moment what it would be like if you took the words of Jesus seriously. It is obvious to the poor and yet difficult for those with wealth to see. That is one reason that Jesus says to help the poor. We can never ignore these words. But don’t think it is a burden. We are expected to already know that this is God’s will for us to give to the poor so we might learn. He wants us to help them as an act of worship, as an act of releasing our will to His. Indeed, the challenge is that of an Ebenezer Scrooge and his money. Joy is only found in the giving not the keeping. That is why people that have not learned this lesson fall and perhaps why churches fall as well. That is why there needs to be a ministry to the poor that responds to the miseries of the rich. Jesus is the example. Though He was rich he became poor. Here in today’s Old Testament wisdom, we learn not to judge a person’s financial success as a sign of maturity in the faith. We learn that the real poor are those that have yet to find riches in Jesus Christ. We are to meet the poor, who need food and shelter and comfort, and are often more willing to admit that they need a Savior and Lord than a wealthy person filled with the arrogance of self-sufficiency. At the bottom of the social-economic barrel are often people ready for the help you can provide. But when financially wealthy people become poor in their brokenness, they too may be willing to ask for help and the Holy Spirit can provide exactly what is needed…. Selfish human nature does not like to admit its weakness but when it does something very special happens. When the wealthy become broken and are restored, when we out of pain and suffering they see Jesus in the lives of others who are in need…we all receive a double blessing for the Kingdom. The poor and broken sharing the Good News of Christ contains the hope the real poor need. We live in a paradox…that the wealthiest nation on earth is also the poorest… that the poorest can be the wealthiest when we show love for one another. And here we share a wonderful experience; for God has promised those who are poor in the eyes of the world and love Him to become rich in faith.
And So, the world needs to know what it means to be a real Christian. We need to convince the world that what we say is worth hearing, that it’s not just irrelevant mumbo-jumbo. And to do that I think we must first love God. See all of those things an almost Christian does can be done just out of a sense of duty, and while the world sees the person as a model of goodness, there is no joy in what they do. These people often burn out very quickly. They do a lot for the church for a few years and then suddenly drop out of everything. The Christian life starts with love of God and service flows out of that. There’s a popular saying that sometimes we get so busy serving God that we forget to spend time with Him. The real Christian realizes that above all else God is their all in all. He is the one we go to first in every morning and last in every evening. Being with God is part of our every day, not something we run to as a last resort. There is joy in our life, even in the worst of circumstances, that can’t be explained or taught. The real Christian desires nothing but God. The things of the world are fine but seen as totally unimportant compared to a relationship with God. Next, we need to love our neighbors as ourselves. I’m just talking about living out the Great Commandment here, but we often get so busy in our churches that we forget these two things, which is why we’re not connecting with our culture. When Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself, he meant your friends and your enemies. You love every person on earth like your own soul. You love every man, woman, and child, whether you like them or not, with the kind of love the Bible describes. You see, brothers and sisters, this is radical. This is what will start a revolution. Acting like the almost Christian will get you the praise of the world, but will make little, if any, eternal difference. Loving God and neighbor above all else is not easy and certainly goes against our nature of doing good things for others to see them. But living out our lives in this manner is what will change our world. The third mark of a “true” Christian is that they totally depend on Jesus for their salvation. A lot of people work very hard for the church because they think it will improve their standing with God. We have to understand that nothing we do will affect how God perceives us. First of all, God loves us unconditionally – meaning no matter what we have done or will do. Secondly, even Mother Teresa, now Saint Teresa, didn’t do enough good deeds to earn her salvation. And yet, we try. We go through life with this attitude that when bad things happen it’s because of something we have done, and the same for good things. We try to earn God’s approval. The true Christian understands that you can only have a relationship with God because of the blood of Jesus Christ, which is a free gift that we couldn’t pay for in a million years. Our culture has so ingrained in us the notion that you don’t get anything for free that we just can’t accept God’s gift of salvation, and yet that is what allows us to have a true relationship. When we accept God’s offer rather than trying to earn it, we experience the true joy of a relationship with Jesus. Friends, this New Year’s Eve, I am not a fan of us making any resolutions. After all, those are broken two weeks after we make them. I want a New Year’s Revolution where we stop trying to be almost Christians and start being real Christians. Wesley said if he had ten people totally dedicated to Christ he could change the world. And you know what he and Calvin and others did just that. Almost all history scholars, even the secular ones, agree the movement Wesley started in England saved England from a revolution like France endured. So, what if ten people in the place where you worship took this challenge seriously today? What effect would that have on the places where we live and work and worship? What if we stopped trying to work for God and worked with God? What if we stopped trying to be a good people and instead started loving God and others with every ounce of our being? I say it’s time we stopped asking “what if” and find out. There is a need both for doctrinal zeal and also for energetic living out of the Christian faith.
Pray that we answer the call to serve the poor whether we are Presbyterian, Methodist or Catholic or Baptist or Assembly of God. Pray that we become examples of God’s blessings before others and learn from each other for a common goal. Pray that we understand that giving to the poor is lending to God. Pray we hear the cries of the poor and give.Pray we realize that the poor in spirit will always be with us even as we work to eliminate financial poverty. Pray that we be good stewards with the resources we have been provided. Pray that we realize that we have all the stuff we need, the talk, the smarts, the love and the desire but too often fall short when it comes to taking action. Pray that we not be sidetracked when it comes to the grace of giving. Pray that we give because we find great joy in being obedient to God’s call on our lives. Pray that we have a heart for the poor. Pray that we discover we are ministering to Christ when we respond to the poor with the dignity, intimacy and knowledge that we are serving…suffering with Christ himself.Pray that we teach others how to handle suffering and poverty (both financial and spiritual) by not relying on ourselves but by working together. Pray we embrace the economic faithfulness of the grace of giving generously. Pray we realize that we cannot separate the secular and the sacred when it comes to giving. Pray we earn as much as we can, save as much as we can and share as much as we can. Pray we continue to reform our ways.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 