{"id":4,"date":"2010-06-02T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/redletters\/2010\/06\/lost-the-kingdom-of-god.html"},"modified":"2010-06-02T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-06-02T07:00:00","slug":"lost-the-kingdom-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/2010\/06\/lost-the-kingdom-of-god.html","title":{"rendered":"LOST & The Kingdom of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

I'm not a fan of LOST, and don't have much time for TV in general. Now that the series is over, many look back in wonder at how a show that tackled science fiction, spirituality, adventure, and romance won such a large and devoted audience. <\/p>\n

Reading through the post-finale analysis, I found this article<\/a> and had to read this part again because I could not believe what I was seeing. Referring to the characters' situation in the finale, the author writes:<\/p>\n

\n

If you draw breath in this
\nworld, you have a responsibility to engage it and redeem it. You don't
\nget to hide away from the problems of the world or the concerns of your
\nfellow man. And even if you try, the world will find you, whether you
\nlike it or not. … Like it or not, you're a member of
\nthe family of man. Deal with it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This little paragraph hits at the heart of what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. As Christ-followers, we have a responsibility to engage and redeem the world. We don't get to hide. We have to deal with it.<\/p>\n

Over the past several weeks, many of you have asked, What can I do?<\/strong> Particularly as it relates to the issue of sex trafficking and child slavery. This issue has "found" many Christians over the past month. What can you do?<\/p>\n

God has blessed His people with the resources to end every significant global problem we face. Listen to how the Message Bible describes this in Psalm 23:5:
<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We Christians in America have more<\/strong> than we need. More food, more money, more time, more security, than literally billions of other human beings in this world. If we shared more, we'd wipe out the orphan crisis and eliminate extreme poverty in this generation. What can you do? Share.<\/p>\n

Share the blessing that overflows from your cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is true that you cannot run from the world's problems, and equally true that the solutions lie in the blessings God has already given you.<\/p>\n

Have we become like the people on the show "Hoarders" who have saved up all of God's blessings in our home, unable to put them to practical and good use?<\/p>\n

Jesus links money & stewardship with a proper understanding of the kingdom. The parable of the talents, Lazarus and the rich man, "store up your treasures in heaven," and "where your treasure is there your heart will be also."<\/p>\n

What can you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Give away some the blessings God has showered upon your life. We don't like to hear the message that what we can do is share our blessings. What does this look like?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Give Away More Money. <\/strong> Christians give 2% of their annual income. Of that, only 2% goes outside the church to issues like extreme poverty and sex trafficking. 2% of 2% is pathetic. You cannot out-give God's ability bless you. Make a sacrificial gift, and give it monthly. Join Five for 50<\/a>, a ministry outreach of HopeChest to provide additional food, starting at $5\/month–or whatever you can give.<\/li>\n
  2. Sell Your Possessions. <\/strong>It's time for Spring cleaning. Hold a garage sale, sell your stuff, and donate the money. Or, just give away the stuff to a local shelter. For example, may domestic violence prevention organizations need furniture, clothing, and household items to re-settle women and children. Extend your blessings to those families.<\/li>\n
  3. Volunteer Your Time. <\/strong>My time is like gold. How about yours? Sometimes by just "being present" you can make a huge difference. I know it sounds unglamorous, but do you know what a HUGE help it would be to have a volunteer at HopeChest who just helped out with clerical tasks that bog down our ministry staff? We'd love that. E-mail Sarah Byrd<\/a> to come in.<\/li>\n
  4. Be a Missionary. <\/strong>Go on a trip with HopeChest or another missions organization. We have a number of trips to Africa and Russia for you, email Nicole Irwin<\/a> for details. Or visit our partners Adventures in Missions<\/a> and The World Race<\/a> for other opportunities.<\/li>\n
  5. Join iFast58. <\/strong>Based on the *true* fast described in Isaiah 58, the iFast58 movement is a group of people who fast on Wednesdays and meet via conference call to pray for orphans and victims of sex trafficking. Get the details at iFast58<\/a>. You will be blessed and challenged by this group of intentional believers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let's share our blessings with the world. God has filled our cups to overflowing, and there's only one logical reason he would do this. To share the excess with others. Don't hoard the blessing. Don't run from the world. Engage. Connect. Transform.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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He and his wife Emily have seven children, including two adopted daughters from Russia.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/author\/tdavis"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}