Ramblings...

I went out with my friend Django to help him look for a job today.  I want to tell you a secret.  It is not easy for a smart, well-spoken young man from another country without some of the exact educational background, etc. to get a job here.   He has papers and all that but there are just so many obstacles to overcome. It is real work looking for work.It got me thinking about the great privileges I have been given. How I have so many blessings that I don't even realize that I have.  (For example, it was an interesting thing for both of us to go up to the counter to ask for a job application - I would go one time and he would go another - educational, I will tell you that! It was crazy to watch racism right in front of you.  It is hard to believe how real it is qnd it wasn't just people that looked like me that treated us radically differently either.)  It also got me thinking about how desperate I would be tempted to feel in Django's position if I didn't have any support. I thought I might pass along this quote from the Desiring God blog."In addition to the all-important need for faith and forgiveness and personal holiness, there are other needs that Isaiah—and Jesus—are passionately concerned about.Here are five kinds of need we should be concerned about. 1) The need for freedom from bondage and oppression. Four times in Isaiah verse 6 and once in verse 9 he hits on this. * Isaiah 58:6 - "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke" * Isaiah 58:9 - "...take away the yoke from your midst..."2) The need for food. * Isaiah 58:7 - "Is it not to share your bread with the hungry..."3) The need for housing.* Isaiah 58:7 - "...and bring the homeless poor into your house..."4) The need for clothing. * Isaiah 58:7 - "...when you see the naked, to cover him..."5) The need for respect.* Isaiah 58:9 - "...if you take away...the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness." In other words, stop accusing unjustly, belittling, and exploiting.Isaiah preaches justice to the people of God, and Jesus displays justice to the people of God. And not only does he display the justice he expects, he suffers to cleanse and empower us, so our piety will produce a passion for social justice and practical mercy.If it doesn’t, our piety is empty.And if it does—if our devotion to Christ produces a passion for freeing the oppressed and feeding the hungry and housing the homeless and clothing the naked and putting away belittling talk and demeaning gestures—then we will break forth like the dawn."