Tag: Lord have mercy

Where is the American Church?

My daughter is an Americorp volunteer. She just received news today that her program is shut down. Effective immediately. This week I heard that the CASA/GAL program is losing their funding. These are programs that help children in foster care who have suffered abuse or neglect. Another news item said that the suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth will be shut down. Federal funding that sent food to local food banks has disappeared. Programs that help poor people pay for housing and help the homeless get housing have had their funds reduced. 

This is all part of Making America Great Again. 

I read an article this past summer where some Christian Nationalist groups were interviewed and one man said it was not the business of the government to be doing charitable work, it was the work of the church, and if Trump got in power things would be fixed. 

So, if the government is not supposed to be involved in helping the poor, the needy, the sick, the homeless, and certainly not the strangers and aliens in our country, then, where is the American church? 

I’m not talking about the churches who are already working with the poor and the needy and the sick and the homeless. They’re already doing their job and are maxed out to what they can do. Where is the rest of the American church? All of these government funding cuts are affecting real people in real time. Right now there are people suffering hardship because of these funding cuts. So, what’s the plan? Who’s going to take over caring for these needs? 

The Bible is pretty radical in what it says about helping others in need. Here’s a tiny tiny sample: 

Luke 3:11  “John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”


Proverbs 31:8-9 “Open your mouth for the voiceless, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” 

Mathew 25:37-40 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Jesus desires humilty, grace, love, compassion. His followers seek the good of their neigbhors. We change the world by loving one person at a time. 

Where is the promised revolution where the American church will take care of charity so the government can turn its focus to whatever it’s thinking is more important? 

I am not worried about my daughter losing her funding for the work that she is doing. She is determined to serve and she will find a way to do so. But people like my daughter are kind of rare. And they can’t take care of everyone. I am waiting to hear about the flood of sermons preached in the Maga churches where the pastors will exhort their congregation to go out and get their hands dirty and help the needy in their immediate communities. Hey, guess what, the local food pantry is no longer being funded, let’s step up and fund them as a church. Hey, the program that helps homeless people achieve stability and housing just lost their funding. Send around the offering plate, let’s fund it. Hey, the foster care system is overflowing and they need foster parents, and lawyers, and volunteer workers, and open homes, and counselors, and doctors, and teachers and a whole other giant list of things, let’s make it happen. 

If I see the American church doing this on a large scale, and if this becomes our definition of Making America Great, then maybe there will be hope for us. 

And I pray, Lord have Mercy on Me, I have not done enough to help those in need. Lord have mercy on the American church, let us step up and obey your word. Lord have mercy on the downtrodden, the desperate, the needy. Change our hearts, soften our hearts, give us your compassion and love for those around us. Give us your eyes to see the value and beauty in the homeless person we drive by on our way to work. Break through our pride and apathy. Help us to lift our eyes up from our entertainment and see the suffering world around us. Give us vision and strategy to help our communities. Lord have mercy.

A Prayer

Today has been declared a day of prayer by our President.

Last night a friend of ours called to tell us that he had been laid off from his job at a Casino. This is a friend who has been trying his whole life to raise himself out of poverty.

“Lord Jesus, please provide for all those who’s jobs are being affected by this pandemic. Please help them Lord. Send provision. Send neighbors and friends to help. Let our government come up with ways to help this very vulnerable section of our society.”

I saw a Meme someone had posted asking people to remember the kids who don’t have a safe environment at home and now have no neutral place to retreat to at their schools.

“Lord, we ask for protection for these kids whose families struggle to function in a healthy way. We ask for mercy for these children, we ask for provision for them. We ask that neighbors and friends and community would step up and find creative ways to reach out and help them. We also ask for all the kids who will be missing school and getting behind in their school work. We ask for special grace for them to be able to learn quickly when they return to school.”

As so many of us are contemplating being stuck in our homes, all of the health professionals are looking at overtime work with little rest.

“Lord we ask for protection for those medical workers who are working with those infected by the virus. We ask for provision that they will have all the medical supplies they need to keep themselves safe and to be able to provide for their patients. We ask that they will not get infected themselves. We ask for special wisdom for the administrators of the hospitals and clinics. We ask for strength for the firefighters and ambulance workers and policemen who’s jobs will be getting harder, not easier with all these changes. We ask for special protection over them that they won’t catch the virus while they are trying to help those who are affected.”

“Lord we ask for special help for our elderly population. We ask for provision for them, that they would be able to access every thing that they need. We ask for protection over them. We ask that the friends and family and neighbors in their lives would step up and reach out to help.”

“Lord we also ask for help for the medically fragile population in our country. People who’s bodies can’t handle getting yet another sickness. Please Lord, protect them. Please help their medical care to not get interrupted by all that is happening. Please let the people in their lives be especially careful about exposing them to this virus.”

“Lord we ask that the people who are in charge of protecting our communities would have special wisdom as they make difficult decisions.”

“And Lord, I ask that in all of this people would turn to you, be drawn to you. I ask that our country would go through a time of repentance and turning to you. That you would take this time of turbulence and bring good out of it.”

We ask all of this in Jesus’ Name.

Amen