All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need...But as the believers[a] rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food (Acts 4:32-35 & 6:1).
Did you read this part?
"There were no needy people among them." and there was "the daily distribution of food" among the believers in Jerusalem. Christian community urban life involved a radical approach to living that resulted in eliminating poverty among them. It involved a "daily" food distribution plan and it wasn't the government that fed the poor...but the church body caring for those in need. This is the kind of vision that I dream of being part of...not a soup kitchen or food bank but a community of faith, living creatively, sacrificially and organically and finding practical ways to become "good news" to the poor around them.
This is a "green movement" that I would believe in.
3 comments:
Impressive. The man has that unique ability to re-think how to do something as ancient & timeless as growing food. I was pleasantly surprised to see a story such as this carried on a major network. It will be great if this catches on in other urban areas.
Too bad that roof on Jacob's Well wouldn't support the weight. I could definately see this working in East Central.
Hi Wes!! Tell Joy hi for me. I was just looking at scrapbooks the other day and saw the pictures from Josie's baby shower.... It brought back a flood of memories.
Pastor Eric, this is such an awesome idea!
How I long for that, too, "no needy among us," to do so without it being forced on us by the government. I pray that the light of Christ would take hold and shine so brightly in our words and actions that we would truly learn to love others as we love ourselves, in every way.
Creativity, freedom to implement new ideas, faith that dreams are dreamt so that they can be made true... We need more of that.
Will do, Mel. Tell Kieth hi for me as well.
Josie is now 7 going on 17.
Looking for a convent in Boise, I am....
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