Revolt Towards

AnnouncingThe Revolt Collective

“Return to Him you have so greatly revolted against...”
              - Isaiah 31:6

 

Revolt: (verb) casting off allegiance or subjection to the status quo; breaking away from or rising against all injustice and living towards love, justice and Jesus. (noun) the act of revolting, an active expression or movement of spirited protest towards love and Love Himself.

I want to introduce you all to the Revolt Collective. 

We are a faith-based collective of people just like you. Activists, thinkers, students and teachers. Artists and creatives. Poets, writers, designers and filmmakers. Cubical dwellers and blue-collared works. Entrepreneurs and up-starters. Crust punks and squatters. Rock ‘n rollers and holy rollers. Soccer moms and baseball dads. And everyone in between. 

We are a collective who finds unity in the demand of heaven to be the greatest lovers this world has ever seen.

We root ourselves in love and Love Himself–the man Jesus–because we know that it is only from this place of Love that the world will never be the same. We revolt towards and not against. But this isn't about the trendy catch phrases of camps, seminars and long-forgotten conferences. Rather, it is about a present-tense movement and way of life in the here and now, every day and every night. Because we will know no matter what comes at us, no matter what they call us and no matter how they try to stop us, Love has already won.

To join us at the collective, head on over to the RevoltCollective.com. Also, please add us as a friend over on Facebook and Twitter.

Ash Wednesday &40 Days of Starve

 

So today is Ash Wednesday. Today is also the start of Starve, something I created a few years back now it's taking shape and life. Or should we say death?

The purpose is this: let us have a Season of Lent in preparation for Easter in seeking the face of the One who loves us by starving our life so we can find real love and life again. Starving our hunger. Our apathy. Our technologies. Our consumption. And our wallets and greed.

I invite you to join us with as we call for 40 Days of holistic fasting from from today-Ash Wednesday, February 17th, 2010, and ending on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010. Following Isaiah 58 and Joel 2, this is a call to starve ourselves so that we might see a new Spirit of Love on the face of the earth. 

You can check out more information on Starve over at the Revolt Collective site and sign up for daily emails. You can also check out the Facebook Event page too.

Love you all. Here's to starving our lives that a greater glimpse of the One who gave Himself up for us may be revealed.

I leave you with an Ash Wednesday liturgy:

We have chosen to fast 

Not with ashes but with actions 

Not with sackcloth but in sharing 

Not in thoughts but in deeds 

We will give up our abundance 

To share our food with the hungry 

We will give up our comfort 

To provide homes for the destitute 

We will give up our fashions 

To see the naked clothed 

We will share where others hoard 

We will free where others oppress 

We will heal where others harm 

Then God’s light will break out on us 

God’s healing will quickly appear 

God will guide us always 

God’s righteousness will go before us 

We will find our joy in the Lord 

We will be like a well watered garden 

We will be called repairers of broken walls 

Together we will feast at God’s banquet table

Satan does not mind family values and social justice as long as...

Here’s a helpful quote from Russell Moore reflecting on Satan’s third temptation of Jesus:

Satan ultimately has a power that is not found most importantly in moral decay or in cultural chaos. His power is in the authority to accuse. The power of accusation. The power of holding humanity captive through the fear of death and the certainty of judgment...

Satan is not fearful of external conformity to rule. Not even to the external conformity of the rule of Christ – provided there is no cross. Satan does not mind family values – as long as what you ultimately value is the family. Satan does not mind social justice – as long as you see justice as most importantly social. Satan does not tremble at a Christian worldview. He will let you have a Christian worldview as long as your ultimate goal is viewing the world...

He will let you get what it is that you want, no matter what it is – sanctity of marriage, environmental protection, orphan care, all of these good and wonderful things – he will allow you to gain those things provided you do not preach and proclaim and live through the power of a cross that cancels his power of condemnation.

Call It Going Green or Going Blue...It's Still Short of the Kingdom.

My good friend Joey Briglio over at TheBlessedNaturalist.com just posted a blog about the next push in the environmental movement to go BLUE. There are three objectives of the BLUE movement. "First, to measurably improve the quality of life of the people who join. Second, to engage as many people as possible in the effort. And third, to increase their effectiveness in making a difference in their community and the world."

The interesting this is that I was at the Earth Day Fest a year and a half ago in Ojai when the LEEDS guy brought up that "the next thing is BLUE". So what does it mean and how do we use it? I laughed when I read the BLUE article that said:

How do I use it in a sentence?

"I'm totally into the environment," she says as she updates her status on Facebook, "but I'm the type of person who's BLUE and not only green."
 

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As I was laughing at this statement and commenting on Joey's blog the other day, it hit me—I wonder if the coming push to BLUE is humanity's take on the Gospel of the Kingdom. Because as some of you might know or have figured out, I've struggled with Green from the get-go, not as a bad idea, but an incomplete one. Blue is way closer to solving the frustration in my heart about Green. At least Blue has goals and a concentrated push of the three values behind it. 

But as I was saying—maybe, just maybe, the real answer we all need, even the Church (because God knows they don't get it at all) is the Gospel of the Kingdom that encompasses Green, Blue, and every other spectrum of the rainbow with the promise from God himself that He will not destroy the earth again. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean we ourselves are free from destroying it. For better or worse, He has entrusted it to us to care for it because "the earth is the Lord's and everything it"—man, woman, animal, plant, land, water, sky.

I truly love that our faith and our God is mindful of all these things. He's mindful to the concerns of the planet that is groaning and the sparrows and the blades of grass, as much as He is mindful to the my own yearnings, cries and desires in my own life. And then on top of it, the renovation He does in my heart to pursue His heart makes me love the things He loves which is the groaning planet, the sparrows and the blades of grass and my brothers and sisters around the world with their own yearnings, cries and desires. It's a cyclical faith that we live where the outflow of our relationship with Him spills out ONTO and INTO the world around us.

If the cyclical reality of our faith—our hearts to His heart and back to our heart for 'all creation'—is not happening in our lives, then we are missing some integral points to the whole Gospel itself.

One Blood All Nations Under Heaven

God has made of one blood all nations under heaven. No man can suddenly become my enemy just because he happened to have been born on the other side of a river or a boundary line, and his government has issued an ultimatum against mine. Is it not time that we refused to fight?

- Muriel Lester,

social reformer and pacifist (1883-1968)

Pray With Africa

 

  

Pray With Africa is a viral movement to inspire people to connect across continents, to pray each other’s prayers, and to put those prayers into action. It is about building relationships and bridges between here and there and changing the world through prayer. Their hope is to inspire millions of people to pray together harnessing not only the immense power of prayer but also the immense power of a worldwide community working together to make a difference.

There are already plenty of people around the world doing that very thing. Instead, Pray With Africa is asking people to pray with Africa—to be in relationship with others across the world and, through those relationships, change the world for the better.

See an awesome video here on Facebook.

Check out their website.

Prayer For The Week

Good morning friends...

I was just reading the BBC about how the Sri Lankan government killed more than 430 people over the weekend, 100 of them being civilian children. (You can read about it here.) 

I thought it would be good to start this week off with a liturgy written by Christine Sine of Mustard Seed Associates. One where we could start the week off right, in the presence of Jesus as we give Him our week ahead as well as remembering and joining with the prayers of those we are connected to around the world:

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We gather as members of God’s eternal family to share life together with our brothers and sisters from around the world. Let us remember that sharing life with brothers and sisters in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, Australia and the many islands of our planet means entering into their joys and sorrows. 

God, you offer us wholeness, not alone, but as part of your redeemed community from every tribe and nation and culture.

You ask us to love each other and to be more concerned for the needs of others than for our own. Yet often we focus on our own needs, greedily holding to ourselves what you intend us to share. 

God renew our hearts and our minds so that we may in word and deed be your witnesses throughout this world.

(Take a moment of silence)

God who created us is with us

And with our brothers and sisters from every tribe and nation

Christ who saved us is with us

And with our brothers and sisters from every tribe and nation

The Holy Spirit who brings us unity is with us

And with our brothers and sisters from every tribe and nation

Psalm 67

Isaiah 2: 1-4

Eph 4: 1-6, 11-16

Matt 28: 18-20

Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

God be in our heads and in our understanding,

God be in our eyes and in our looking

God be in our mouths and in our speaking

God be in our hearts and in our thinking

God be in our end and in our departing

O Lord our God,

Listen to us in this place

Accept also the prayers of our sisters and brothers in Africa, Asia, Australia, America and Europe.

We are all one in prayer 

So may we, as one, rightly carry out your commission to witness and to share life together.

In the church and around the world

Accept all our prayers graciously,

Those in our words, and those in strange languages.

They are offered in Jesus’ name.

Amen

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The whole liturgy can be found here.

The Restoration of All Things

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,  and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." 

- Acts 3:19-21

In this series we have walked through a lot of theology, a lot of definitions and a lot of study. We have covered why we must pursue justice, not simply from a place of "doing" good works, but from a place of intimacy with our King—every action, gesture and effort to bring the Kingdom to Earth must flow out of our friendship with Jesus.

This article opened with Acts 3:19-21, which states that we should repent so times of refreshing may come and that "He [God] may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things".

What does this mean for us? It means that heaven and Father God have a hold on Jesus until the earth is restored to the way God intended it to be. How can this be, you might be asking? Why would the Father be withholding His Son from the world? What is God waiting for? The Father is waiting for us.

This does not mean that the Father and the Son are twiddling their thumbs while we fumble our way through our own messes, as we strived to usher in this "restoration". Jesus intentionally left the world and intentionally left His Spirit for us to be our counselor (John 16:7). In the Greek text, the word for counselor is "paracletos", which means: one called to the side of another for the purpose of helping him in any way. Many of you will hopefully find yourselves on your faces, in worship and in your prayer closets protesting through prayer the injustice in our day. It is in these places we need to give space for the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. 

THE HEART TRANSPLANT

I truly believe that heaven is waiting and the world is watching the Bride of Christ to see what we do and hear what we say. There will always be the many soothsayers out there that say Christianity is a dying religion. The 'Revival of Justice" has started, but as history reveals time and time again, revivals come and go. Frankly, simply reviving the heart of Church won't work in this next season. Even worse, the world cannot afford it. Rather, Heaven is looking to give us a complete heart transplant, where we replace our hearts with His. This transplant comes from us going to the deep places and the secret places with our God. It will only be out of intimacy that we can get there because justice and righteousness start from the inside, out. In fact, God leads us into righteousness and one day we will be judged by how much our righteousness aligned with His:

He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness (justice) 

for his name's sake.

Psalm 23:3

Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, 

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Psalm 94:15

Our journey to usher justice and righteousness on the earth is an inner one that begins in my heart and yours and the outflow of that is supposed to reach to the ends of the earth.

THE NEW BREED OF LOVERS 

I know and believe there is a New Breed of Lovers arising who will understand the deep places found in the heart of Father, who want to see everlasting justice and righteousness here on earth. This new breed doesn't look like the generations before it. Many have swung the pendulum to one side or the other, putting too much weight on justice and action while forgetting the relationship, worship and prayer. Or on the side, spending so much time on the relationship, worship and prayer that opportunities for justice and action were ignored or missed altogether. 

This New Breed of Lovers know what it takes. They know the cost. They know that good works and deeds in the streets, alleys and public squares alone won't cut it. They also know that the prayer closets alone are too boring. But they know it takes both—starting with the secret histories alone with God so that the strategies of Heaven can be fashioned and fleshed out in the public arenas. 

I hope as you read this, you want to be a part of this new breed. Next week, I will be giving you an outlet to how all this is fleshed out with a new website I will be launching. Stay tuned, my friends. If you have any thoughts or comments, please send them my way as well. Would love to hear them!

Prayer As Protest

Thanks to the encouragement of my friend Maggie, I have resurrected my "Justice and Righteousness" series, which we will walk through in these next few weeks. I also have a surprise for everyone at the end as well. 

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So here is a question for everyone who has ever seen films like Invisible Children, sponsored an orphaned child, taken a trip to a foreign country, been moved by the slavery in our world—any host things that might have moved your heart in recent years:

How important is prayer in our pursuits of justice in our world? 

The world of Christendom is finally undergoing what Jim Wallis of Sojourners has called a "revival of justice" (and finally catching up to other parts of the world like the Western Europe). We are finally waking up to the plight of billions around the world who live in extreme poverty and the millions enslaved, with AIDS, going hungry and dying—amen to that!

As people of faith in Christ, we are required and called on of the Lord:

"He has told you, O man, what is good; 

And what does the Lord require of you 

But to do justice, 

to love kindness, 

And to walk humbly with your God?" 

(Micah 6:8)

There is so much injustice in the world today and frankly, good ideas to combat injustice are not enough. The wars we rage in the flesh are only the tip of the iceberg to what we cannot see in the spiritual realm around us. I have seen in my own life and experience, what it looks like if one embarks on justice without intimacy with Heaven—it's one sided and frankly, all about me. However, when I go beyond myself, and like Abraham being willing to give up God's gift of Isaac, we form a partnership where God Himself can take my good ideas and turn them into everlasting strategies of justice on the earth.

Ephesians 6:12 states, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

The reality is that we need divine help and prayer needs to be our first line of defense. Prayer puts us right on the frontlines of these battles. Prayer, simply put, puts us in direct communication with our King, Jesus. He is the one holding the "scepter of justice" (Hebrews 1:8), so we had better be interacting and talking with Him!

Case In Point
In the Book of Daniel (Daniel 10:2-4, 12-13), we read how Daniel was led into a 21 day season of fasting and prayer and when he was finished, an angel appeared to him stating that he (the angel, not Daniel) had in battle (detained) with the Prince of Persia, until Michael, the archangel, came to help him because of Daniel's fasting and intercession. 

We must understand that so much around us is rooted in the unseen realities of darkness and we are called to bring the light. Prayer, fasting, intercession and worship are all tools of the Kingdom of God that help us usher in righteousness and justice here on earth and we must understand these things are just as important, if not more important, than any strategy or plan we could create on our own.

"...Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's." ~ II Chronicles 20:15

Let us be encouraged that the battles we wage are His. We just need to be willing and give ourselves over to Him, in friendship and intimacy. And how does this start? With prayer and within our quiet moments with Him. Prayer needs to be our first act of protest to our call to "do justice" in our world. As we move on in this study, we will discover next week what justice and righteousness truly mean and how, as people of faith, the two are inseparable in our quest to bring about "the restoration of all things" (Acts 3:20-21) on the earth.

Jesus Is In The Car...

This woman is amazing.

 

"Don't you spend it on whiskey either!"

A Public Prayer of Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving

As many of us sit down today to reflect, be thankful and eat a ton of food, this historic proclamation of “A Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer” was supposedly issued by George Washington during his first year as President:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their Joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be--That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions--to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us--and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go. Washington

Prayer as Protest: Somali Christians struggle in Kenya

Let's use this day before Thanksgiving to pray and remember our friends around the world being persecuted...

In a secluded house just outside the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, a group of men and women meet at least once a week to worship in secret. 

Their prayer session is simple and conducted in Somali. Elders take turns to pray or read verses from the Somali bible before a sermon is delivered. There are dozens of Somalis living in Nairobi who have converted from Islam to Christianity. Some say they have been practising Christianity for more than 10 years. But they live in constant fear of persecution from members of the Somali community, which is predominantly Muslim. There is a sizeable Somali community in Kenya, comprising ethnic Somali Kenyans, and a large number of refugees from Somalia. Most of the community lives in Nairobi's Eastleigh Estate, which is now referred to as Little Mogadishu, after Somalia's capital.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7464035.stm

Liturgy for the Week: Celebrating Life Together

This weekend I found myself in Big Sur, California, among yuppies, hippies and yippies, artists and New Agers, Congolese dancers and Native American histories. I thought I would start out the week from this collective vantage point, where we could share in a liturgy written by Christine Sine of Mustard Seed Associates, about us Celebrating Life Together.

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Let us gather with God’s faithful followers from every tribe and nation, With people of every language and culture to worship the God revealed in Jesus Christ.

• We gather as members of God’s eternal family to share life together with our brothers and sisters from around the world.
• Let us remember that sharing life with brothers and sisters in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, Australia and the many islands of our planet means entering into their joys and sorrows. 
• God you offer us wholeness, not alone but as part of your redeemed community from every tribe and nation and culture
• You ask us to love each other and to be more concerned for the needs of others than for our own. Yet often we focus on our own needs, greedily holding to ourselves what you intend us to share
• God renew our hearts and our minds so that we may in word and deed be your witnesses throughout this world

(Silence)

God who created us is with us
And with our brothers and sisters from every tribe and nation
Christ who saved us is with us
And with our brothers and sisters from every tribe and nation
The Holy Spirit who brings us unity is with us
And with our brothers and sisters from every tribe and nation

Psalm 67
Isaiah 2: 1-4
Eph 4: 1-6, 11-16
Matt 28: 18-20

Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

God we want to share life together,
Enable us to break down the barriers dividing us from our brothers and sisters around the world
Lord have mercy,
God we want to share life together 
Move us beyond our prejudices to rejoice in our diversity so that we may live in unity and peace with those who are different from us
Lord have mercy,
God we want to share life together
Open our minds to appreciate our differences so that we may come to mutual understanding and care for those who suffer and are in need
Lord have mercy,
Where there is war, may we bring glimpses of peace
And share life with all who are torn apart by violence, oppression and dissension
Christ have mercy,
Where there is despair, may we bring the promise of hope
And share life with all who live in poverty, sickness and injustice
Christ have mercy,
Where there is hate may we be instruments of God’s love
And share life with all who are divided by race, culture, disabilities or gender
Christ have mercy,
God we want to be your image bearers
Unite us in that great community of sisters and brothers from every nations that is Christ’s body 
Lord, have mercy
God we want to be your image bearers 
Bind us together with the love, peace, mutual concern and cultural diversity that represent you
Lord have mercy,
God may we be your image bearers 
One family living and serving together under the lordship of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 
Lord, have mercy

God be in our heads and in our understanding,
God be in our eyes and in our looking
God be in our mouths and in our speaking
God be in our hearts and in our thinking
God be in our end and in our departing

O Lord our God,
Listen to us in this place
Accept also the prayers of our sisters and brothers in Africa, Asia, Australia, America and Europe.
We are all one in prayer 
So may we, as one, rightly carry out your commission to witness and to share life together.
In the church and around the world
Accept all our prayers graciously,
Those in our words, and those in strange languages.
They are offered in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Be Not Afraid

In the final days of this election campaign, a new message has emerged. For the entire political year, the overriding theme has been change—with each candidate competing to be the real champion for a new direction. With 80 percent of Americans unhappy with our country’s current direction, it seemed that no other theme could break through. 

A new message has, and it is this: “Be Afraid—Be Very Afraid.”...

Regardless of whether one favors Obama or McCain, this development should be of concern to all Americans, and especially people of faith. There is now a new spiritual dimension to this election, and it is decidedly evil. Christians believe that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear...” (1 John 4:18.) There are, of course, good and decent motivations to vote either way in this election. Strong people of faith will be marking different boxes on Election Day, but for people of faith there will be a spiritual decision to be made as well. Will we put our trust in the power of fear or Jesus? 

Fear has always been the dark side of American politics, and we are seeing its resurgence in the campaign’s final days. Demagoguery has come from both the right and the left in America, and the most dependable sign of it is the appeal to fear over hope. Facts don’t matter when fear takes over. Fear covers over the debate on a candidate’s tax plans, the wisdom of their foreign policies, their experience and judgment to handle the economic crisis. Fear attacks character and lies with false prophecies of what a candidate would do if they are elected. 

Some of the worst fear-mongering has sadly come from leaders of the Religious Right who are worried about losing their control over the votes of the evangelical and Catholic communities, especially a new generation of believers. Their apocalyptic rhetoric has been among the worst and most irresponsible. When religious leaders sound so desperate and seek to stoke fear and hate, they have lost their theological perspective by putting too much of their hope in having political power. It is that loss of power and control which seems to be motivating the current campaign of desperation and fear now being waged by so many conservatives. 

Instead, scripture points to a better way: 

For "Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit; let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you." (1 Peter 3:10-15, emphasis added) 

With that reminder that Christ is our ultimate hope, let us pray that, on November 4, the need for change will finally prevail over the appeals to fear. Pray that the voters will choose either Barack Obama or John McCain as the best agent of change, rather than submit to the tyranny of fear. It is always better to live (and to vote) in the light of hope than in the darkness of fear. It is always an act of faith to believe that, in the end, hope will prevail over fear. So pray, and vote.

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This is an excerpt from the Sojourners email I received today. 

Written by Jim Wallis.

my 12 seconds of the week

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