Do good: Help build a kindergarten

"Do good" is a new feature where i will be telling you about some cool projects you can get involved in to make the world a better place.

Over at the awesome blog Stuff Christians Like this week, there has been a project going to raise money to build a kindergarten in Vietnam. The original project was so successful that the entire US$30,000 was raised in less than 18 hours. Now Stuff Christians Like is aiming to raise the funds to construct a second kindergarten in Vietnam. I think this is a really cool project, so please do consider contributing if you are able.

Project information part 1
Project information part 2

From beliefs to behavior

Last week in one of my sociology classes the lecturer was discussing why religion is important in understanding how groups within society interact. He said something to the effect of a persons religious belief shapes their world view which determines their behavior.

I find it interesting that sociologists grasp something about how the Christian life should work that we Christians sometimes miss. Our faith should translate into a Christian worldview from which should flow Godly behavior. Too often we profess to be Christian but don’t let that filter down into how we view the world in regards to money, success, relationships or any number of things. We might hold a sufficiently Christian worldview on an issue but fail to let it determine how we behave. I think it is this last transition from worldview to behavior that is the hardest bit. It's an important bit though. The bible talks about faith without works being dead (James 2). If we don’t put our Christian belief and worldview into actually doing good, both of those are meaningless. I think Romans 12-13 is a great place to start looking for things to work on. After 11 chapters dense with Christian theology he breaks down how that translates into Christian behavior.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

(Text from Romans 12-13, ESV)

Book review: John Rucyahana- The bishop of Rwanda

The bishop of Rwanda: Finding forgiveness amidst a pile of bones
John Rucyahana
256 pages
Published by Thomas Nelson 2007

In 1994, the tiny African nation of Rwanda experienced one of the great tragedies of the 20th century. As the world watched on, doing little, over a million Rwandans were brutally murdered in an attempt at ethnic cleansing. Bishop John Rucyahana tells the story of what caused the genocide, the tragic events and Rwanda's ongoing recovery. Even though he had some of his own family killed, today he works for reconciliation of the people of Rwanda, even those who killed.

This is a shocking and disturbing book. Given the immense depravity of the genocide it could not be any other way. It may be a story of tragedy but it is also a story of great hope. Amazing examples of forgiveness, hope and faith have been shown by the people of Rwanda since the genocide.

I encourage you to read this book.

Featured song: Israel Houghton- Just wanna say

Free John Piper audiobook

Every month Christian audio makes available a free audiobook available. This months is Desiring God by John Piper. Its become something of a contemporary theological classic. It can be quite a challenging read (or i guess listen in this case) but it is worth the effort.The .pdf version of the book is also available free from John Pipers website. The .pdf will remain available but the audiobook is only available for this month.

Audiobook free download

.pdf format free download

New and improved site features

I took a break from study for the evening and used it to upgrade a few things on the site.

• I have upgraded from the blogger commenting system to the intense debate system. This makes all sorts of cool stuff like replying to individual comment writers possible. There may be a very glitches in the implementation so let me know if it isn't working properly. Don't worry, the old comments have not been lost, i just haven't gotten to transfering them across yet
• The categories section was getting absolutely out of control with way more tags than was helpful. I've thinned it down to half a dozen main categories. If you are looking for something specific, there is also the search box at the top of the page.
  

Please pray for me

Being here in Singapore has for the most part been a wonderful experience. At the moment i am finding things a bit tough and could really use some prayer.

At the moment the deadlines are arriving way too quickly and the exams aren't too far away. Things have gotten so bad that i'll be staying up for a lot of tonight to get an essay done. I have another one due next week that is not so far going to plan. Of particular concern is my international relations unit. I've been working hard but my first two test results came back with fairly poor marks. My major essay got handed in today. Please pray that the person marking my my essay would be happy enough with the essay to give me a decent mark and that I'd be able to learn what i need to so that i can do really well on the final exam. I absolutely cannot afford to fail this (or any other) unit.

Contributing to the study problems is that I've been sick. I've had a fairly bad cold, something strange going on with my eyes and been quite weak as well. Please pray that i'd get better really quickly because being unwell is making life difficult and getting in the way of my studies.

Featured song: Guy Sebastian- Taller, Stronger, Better