Tried With Fire

Ministries of Mercy  by Timothy J. Keller, P&R Publishing, 1997. The book is divided into two sections: principles and practice. In the first part, Keller gives a biblical basis for mercy ministry. We may have the misguided idea that poverty is strictly lack of material wealth, but it's spiritual. We are all needy in the sight of God. We've been alienated from Him and each other by sin, the result of which is poverty and injustice. But as those who have been shown mercy, we should extend mercy to others by ministering to them in word and in deed. This includes meeting physical needs but also seeking to meet the deepest need of all with the gospel. The second section gives practical advice for fleshing out mercy ministry in the context and under the leadership of the local church. Keller doesn't promote a single model as every situation is different. He gives examples of ministries that have worked well and those that have not. Also the goal is to help the  ind...

Grace is not unconditional acceptance, but it is undeserved . That is a very difficult balance to strike! God's grace comes to us without prerequisites, finding us as we are . God's grace does not  come to the "deserving" (there is no such person), and it does not discriminate. Rather, initially it comes to us freely. But once it enters into our lives, God's grace demands changes; it holds us accountable. Why? Grace demands our holiness and growth for our sake as well as for God's glory .  Grace intercepts destructive behavior, protects us from the ravages of sin, sanctifies us so we can be "holy" and "happy", two inseparable qualities. Ministries of Mercy ,  Timothy J. Keller, P&R Publishing, 1997, pp. 226-227.

I knew he was going to ask for money as soon as I saw him walking across the parking lot. The average citizen isn't wearing a down jacket, sweat pants, and sandals on an 80 degree day in Virginia. He asked if I had a dollar. I then asked if he heard of the Peninsula Rescue Mission. He said he did but he was living in assisted living nearby so he wasn't homeless. I did give him some cash not knowing if he was going to buy food or go the liquor store in the strip mall. This is a tough, these on-the-spot situations. You don't want to be hardened to people in need and yet you don't want to enable sinful patterns. I wasn't prepared with gift cards for Chick-fil-A or canned goods in my trunk.  I didn't have any tracts on hand either. But like most things, there is never a perfect way to handle a situation. As we drove away, my daughter said, "All you can do is commit this to God." Which I did and still do.  I have so much to learn. [W]e should show mercy...

The ideology of the Left believes big government and social reform will solve social ills, while the Right believes big business and economic growth will do it. The Left expects a citizen to be held legally accountable for the use of his wealth, but totally autonomous in other areas, such as sexual morality. The Right expects a citizen to be held legally accountable in areas of personal morality, but totally autonomous in the use of wealth. The North American "idol" - radical individualism - lies beneath both ideologies. A Christian sees either "solution" as fundamentally humanistic and simplistic. The causes of our worsening social problems are far more complex than either the secularists of the Right or Left understand. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but with powers and principalities! We have seen there is great social injustice - racial prejudice, greed, avarice - by those with the greatest wealth in the country (and sadly, within the evangelical chu...