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One of the most moving stories in the bible takes place early in the book of Acts. The church is gathered in Jerusalem. They've received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. They are praying together, living together, and loving each other. One concrete expression of their love for each other is their desire to meet the physical needs of each other. This even included some of them selling property they owned to create money that could be given to others for their benefit.

Can you imagine? In our culture, owning property is a goal. It's a big deal. It is often the culmination of a long struggle to save money and obtain a mortgage. When the day comes that you buy your first house, you are elated! Happy! Then imagine: selling it to benefit another person.

What those early Christians were doing was in fact a representation of God's justice. When we consider the word justice, we often think of a law court and justice being served by the conviction of lawbreakers. But in God's view, justice is much more than that--justice represents God's vision of equality and equitable living for his people.

That is why Christians would sell their property to benefit another person--because they saw that God's vision was larger than their own and was inclusive of the well-being of others.

And that is why, in Amos 5, the prophet speaks against the wealthy who use bribes and unfair practices to deprive the poor of what little they actually have. Amos says, "Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! ... Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice."

Hating evil is much more than despising sin and trying to live a moral life. Hating evil is the opposite of loving good. To hate evil, you must love good. Love, in the bible, is an action word. To love means to do something. To love good, then, means to do good, to work to bring about God's justice for all.

The actions of the early Christians, in selling property to care for others, represents God's justice, because those acts of love ensured that all were cared for. The actions of the wealthy that Amos spoke against, in trampling poor people, represented evil, because they cared for themselves and actively worked against others to benefit themselves.

God calls us to hate that kind of behavior. To hate evil. To love good. Today, look for the good you can do in the life of another person, and do good.
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Click the "play" button to listen to this 2 minute (approx.) audio reflection about paper cuts and the word of God. The text of the reflection is below.
Have you ever gotten a paper cut? They're usually gotten quickly, when you don't expect them. And they hurt! They usually hurt a lot more than you would think when you look at the actual cut. Most paper cuts are not too deep but because sensitive nerves were cut, the pain is immediate and real!

I'm reminded of paper cuts when I think about the conversion experience of the Jews who heard Peter's preaching in Acts 2. Peter preached a stunning message about Jesus, summing everything up with this declaration: "So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!"

The bible then lets us know that those who heard this message were pierced to their hearts. The message they heard implicated them and because their hearts were open to the word received through Peter's preaching, their hearts were opened to the truth.

That's what "being pierced to the heart" means. It's the job of God's word to cut us, to lay open our hidden intentions and secret motives so his truth can expose our falseness. Only then can he begin the work of creating a new heart within us.

This is what this passage of scripture from Hebrews 4 means: "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires."

Have you ever picked up the bible and begun to read, only to be stopped by the glaring immediacy of God's word as something leaps right off the page to confront you? That is the power of God's word. When God teaches us, when he pierces us to the heart with his word, it is only so he can then change us, reform us, and reshape us to be a person who does his will.

Today, resolve to give thanks the next time God's word pierces you to the heart and be receptive to the new thing God is doing in your life.
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This is my brief video summary of what James Sanderson spoke with us about yesterday. I cover his sermon and his bible study, focusing especially on the discussion about bible translations and looking at the context and genre of the biblical material being studied.
The video is low-quality. Sorry about that, but my recording equipment is limited to my netbook!
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As you know, James Sanderson will be with us this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

On Sunday, he'll be teaching and preaching about God's desire for outreach with two lessons called "God Wants All Christians to Evangelize."

On Monday and Tuesday evening, from 6:30-8pm, he'll be teaching about personal evangelism. Topics include: Can We Trust Our Bible?; Sin--The Problem and Solution; The Covenant Theme of the Bible; Becoming and Staying a Christian; The Importance of the Church.

James has extensive experience in evangelism and has written a book about personal evangelism. He'll be using his book, as well as the Bible, as the basis for his teaching.

Please plan to be here on Sunday, and to attend one or both of James' weeknight sessions.
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