A refuge for the oppressed

Genesis 20:1-22:24, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalm 9:1-12, Proverbs 2:16-22

"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord have never forsaken those who seek you ... For he who avenges blood remembers, he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted." Psalm 9:9, 10, 12. This year, one of my goals is to share with Christian women in the US how Christian women in Asia are addressing issues of concern to women in the name of Jesus. This runs the gamut from human trafficking to poverty to crime to race relations. Since most of these are "social justice" type issues, I've been reading the Bible through that lens. The Bible has a lot to say about social justice and meeting human needs. These verses in Psalms and today's passage in Genesis remind me that God cares about oppression and injustice. As His hands and feet, we should do what we can to address these issues, and more importantly we should introduce those who are suffering to the One who cares for them.

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Saturday, January 9, 2010

A refuge for the oppressed

Genesis 20:1-22:24, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalm 9:1-12, Proverbs 2:16-22

"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord have never forsaken those who seek you ... For he who avenges blood remembers, he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted." Psalm 9:9, 10, 12. This year, one of my goals is to share with Christian women in the US how Christian women in Asia are addressing issues of concern to women in the name of Jesus. This runs the gamut from human trafficking to poverty to crime to race relations. Since most of these are "social justice" type issues, I've been reading the Bible through that lens. The Bible has a lot to say about social justice and meeting human needs. These verses in Psalms and today's passage in Genesis remind me that God cares about oppression and injustice. As His hands and feet, we should do what we can to address these issues, and more importantly we should introduce those who are suffering to the One who cares for them.

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