Month: September 2010

Former British prime minister Tony Blair says that we should strive to understand one another’s beliefs and work together to build a better world

Blair and his father, Leo, in 2001. [Photo by Matthew Polak]

I remember very clearly what would nowadays be called my spiritual awakening, the moment when faith became something personal to me. Until that day, I had been an extremely lucky child. I had a loving family and a comfortable life, and my father was a successful lawyer.

When I was 10 … Read the full article here…Why Faith Matters | Parade.com

Here’s a brief recap of some of the things I shared today in my message “Conspiracy of Kindness” at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle. (The students came out and showed the simple things that we can do to demonstrate God’s kindness in our everyday lives. Their shirts spelled “Kindness of God”. When I got out of the way you could see it.)

“Be kind to one another” (Ephesians 2:4).

Kindness = Usefulness

Revelation 3:14-19 – The Point: God was disgusted because – in their self-sufficiency & pride – the church was not being a source of healing and refreshment; they were not fulfilling their purpose. (The Useless Church)

How we can be useful:

1. Speak Kind (useful) Words.
2. Practice Random Acts of Kindness (Simple things that meet needs and bless others.)

“God’s kindness leads you toward repentance” (Romans 4:2).

Repent = To turn around, re-think, think again, reconsider.

The BIG IDEA: My small acts of kindness demonstrate the love of God to people and cause them to consider and/or reconsider the message of Jesus.

Here are the questions for reflection & discussion:

• How are you actively partnering with God and being useful in His work?
• If you’ve been passive and indifferent about the things of God, what do you need to repent of today in order to make yourself useful to the Lord?
• What are the needs around you every day?
• What are three things you can do this week to demonstrate the kindness of God to people in your sphere of influence?

On one hand, I am glad this happened. I’m always on the side of truth and of defending the defenseless and weak. But I am also saddened. What a commentary on our generation. It’s tragic that we live in a day when we need to have a law to make people simply live by the golden rule taught by Jesus which has virtually unanimous agreement among world religions as the standard of human ethics and a guide to our interaction with others.

Here’s the report from Yahoo! News …

On Wednesday my girls began another school year. Claudia started 7th grade and Natalia started 4th grade. We had a good but very busy summer and it flew by so fast. I can’t believe their back in school already. We need a vacation! Oh, good … that’s coming up in a month-and-a-half!