Seeing The World From The Bottom Up

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When [Jesus] noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:
"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.
If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Luke 14:7-14



Click on the arrow in the middle of the video screen below to learn more of how Jesus teaches us to see the world from the bottom up.







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Becoming The Poor

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"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30



Click on the arrow in the middle of the video screen below to learn more of Jesus as we are Becoming The Poor.







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What Do We Do With The Children?

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One of the biggest questions for many in the Western Church is "What do we do with the children?" Most of those believe that shipping them off to Sunday School to hear Jonah and the Whale 2000 times before they're 18 years old isn't the answer. Most of those also know that it's wrong at its core that they're trying to determine how to best "incorporate children into church," when Jesus simply said "Let them come to Me." What Do We Do With The Children, then?

The Eastern and Third World Church, by and large, practice the simplicity in this matter that Jesus commanded. The Eastern and Third World Church generally don't separate the concept of church and life, and they approach raising children in the faith in the same manner. Just as parents do not abdicate responsibility for their children's education when they send them to school, neither does "the church" bear the primary responsibility for our children's spiritual upbringing. That rests with the parents. Daunting as that challenge may sometimes be, it holds the promise of a shared journey in which child and parent alike become a mutual blessing in truly learning from God through one another.

Our friend Hamo from Perth, Australia, vividly shares this simplicity in a recent post, telling about a revelatory experience with his daughter, Ellie. Hamo writes:

"It was a short time ago that it dawned on me just how vital our input and role modeling is to the children we raise. On a Monday morning after making the kids breakfast I let them know I was going to spend some time in my study ‘talking to Jesus’. They have seen me do this each day and it is just part our routine now.

My 6 year old daughter Ellie, asked ‘Daddy can I talk to Jesus with you some day?’

‘Sure honey’ I answered. ‘Finish your breakfast, grab your Bible and come in!’

I began wondering what to do and how to teach my 6 year old daughter to speak to Jesus..."

A quiet smile and a nod of the head to Hamo for this post and to Terry for making us aware of the beautiful song in the video below, entitled My Father's Chair by David Meece.

Read the rest of Hamo's wonderful post.







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