All Things

It’s so tempting to look away from the current border crisis. It’s uncomfortable and politically divisive. It feels too big and too hopeless. But this past week a photo of a father and daughter who drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande and enter the US as asylum seekers grabbed our attention and our hearts. It put a human face and story to the numbers at the border. May we have the courage to look at the photo of Oscar and Valeria, to ponder their plight and that of all migrants at the border, and to develop a God-honoring perspective on the whole situation. In this episode of All Things we consider a Biblical view of ourselves, a Biblical view of migrants, what Scripture has to say about loving the sojourner and the vulnerable, and we ponder how we might prayerfully respond. May Jesus not say to you or to me, ““For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me… Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (Matthew 25: 42-43; 45).

Helpful links:

A grim border drowning underlines peril facing many migrants - Associated Press

The U.S. Migrant Detention Centers Explained - Relevant Magazine

Fleeing North in the Full Armor of God - Christianity Today

‘There Is a Stench’: Soiled Clothes and No Baths for Migrant Children at a Texas Center - NY Times

The Global Refugee Crisis Hit a Record High. The US Welcome for the Persecuted Is at a Record Low - Christianity Today

worldrelief.org

World Relief Challenges Americans Not to Look Away, Help the Children in Detention at Our Border - World Relief

A LAMENT FOR THE U.S. CHURCH’S RESPONSE TO IMMIGRANTS - Sojourners

Books to Consider:

Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate

Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis

The New Odyssey: The Story of the Twenty-First Century Refugee Crisis

It’s so tempting to look away from the current border crisis. It’s uncomfortable and politically divisive. It feels too big and too hopeless. But this past week a photo of a father and daughter who drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande and enter the US as asylum seekers grabbed our attention and our hearts. It put a human face and story to the numbers at the border. May we have the courage to look at the photo of Oscar and Valeria, to ponder their plight and that of all migrants at the border, and to develop a God-honoring perspective on the whole situation. In this episode of All Things we consider a Biblical view of ourselves, a Biblical view of migrants, what Scripture has to say about loving the sojourner and the vulnerable, and we ponder how we might prayerfully respond. May Jesus not say to you or to me, ““For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me… Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (Matthew 25: 42-43; 45).

Helpful links:

A grim border drowning underlines peril facing many migrants - Associated Press

The U.S. Migrant Detention Centers Explained - Relevant Magazine

Fleeing North in the Full Armor of God - Christianity Today

‘There Is a Stench’: Soiled Clothes and No Baths for Migrant Children at a Texas Center - NY Times

The Global Refugee Crisis Hit a Record High. The US Welcome for the Persecuted Is at a Record Low - Christianity Today

worldrelief.org

World Relief Challenges Americans Not to Look Away, Help the Children in Detention at Our Border - World Relief

A LAMENT FOR THE U.S. CHURCH’S RESPONSE TO IMMIGRANTS - Sojourners

Books to Consider:

Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate

Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis

The New Odyssey: The Story of the Twenty-First Century Refugee Crisis

Headlines coming out of China in just the past couple weeks have been alarming. There are reports of disappearing mosques and Muslims, new and crowded “thought transformation camps,” evidence of widespread harvesting of prisoners’ organs for the black market, tenuous political freedoms in Hong Kong, and a drastic increase in the persecution of Christians across the country. What’s going on? How might we Christians in the west respond?

The following websites and articles contributed to the content in this episode:

Faith in ruins: China's vanishing beards and mosques - BBC (video)

Inside China's 'thought transformation' camps - BBC (video)

Harvesting human organs in China - The World and Everything in It

‘Sing hallelujah to the Lord’: Christians are a highly visible presence in Hong Kong protests - World Magazine

Remembering the Tiananmen Square massacre - The World and Everything in It

30 Years after the Tiananmen Square Massacre: One of the Darkest Days of the 20th Century and its Meaning - Albert Mohler, The Briefing

Too dangerous to forget": Three decades after the Tiananmen Square massacre, the citizens of Hong Kong are confronting their own Communist incursion - World Magazine

China: World Watch List - Open Doors USA

Expelled from China: Missionaries say the Communist country is kicking them out, one by one - World Magazine

Thousands of Chinese students become Christians in US universities - Evangelical Focus

Headlines coming out of China in just the past couple weeks have been alarming. There are reports of disappearing mosques and Muslims, new and crowded “thought transformation camps,” evidence of widespread harvesting of prisoners’ organs for the black market, tenuous political freedoms in Hong Kong, and a drastic increase in the persecution of Christians across the country. What’s going on? How might we Christians in the west respond?

The following websites and articles contributed to the content in this episode:

Faith in ruins: China's vanishing beards and mosques - BBC (video)

Inside China's 'thought transformation' camps - BBC (video)

Harvesting human organs in China - The World and Everything in It

‘Sing hallelujah to the Lord’: Christians are a highly visible presence in Hong Kong protests - World Magazine

Remembering the Tiananmen Square massacre - The World and Everything in It

30 Years after the Tiananmen Square Massacre: One of the Darkest Days of the 20th Century and its Meaning - Albert Mohler, The Briefing

Too dangerous to forget": Three decades after the Tiananmen Square massacre, the citizens of Hong Kong are confronting their own Communist incursion - World Magazine

China: World Watch List - Open Doors USA

Expelled from China: Missionaries say the Communist country is kicking them out, one by one - World Magazine

Thousands of Chinese students become Christians in US universities - Evangelical Focus

How can we have it all? Get it all done? Do everything we feel we’re supposed to do? Well, we can’t. Turns out, we are finite. On this episode we’re looking at the idols of perfectionism and productivity and I’m encouraging myself and my listeners to plan on failing more. If we’re going to succeed at what really matters, then we have to be ready to fail at what doesn’t.

How can we have it all? Get it all done? Do everything we feel we’re supposed to do? Well, we can’t. Turns out, we are finite. On this episode we’re looking at the idols of perfectionism and productivity and I’m encouraging myself and my listeners to plan on failing more. If we’re going to succeed at what really matters, then we have to be ready to fail at what doesn’t.

You may have heard about the 17 year old girl in Holland who ended her life this week after concluding that her emotional and mental suffering was unbearble. Did you know that euthanasia for children is legal in Holland (and Belgium)? In this episode of All Things we look at why suicide is wrong in all cases and that we are indeed our brothers’ keepers. We must choose life and relentlessly protect the marginalized and the suffering at all times.

Five Reasons for Assisted Suicide (And Crucial Responses to Each One) - Jen Oshman

A Climate of Death: The Collateral Damage of Legal Suicide - Breakpoint

A Godlessness that Leads from Despair to Death: Devaluing Life at Both Its Beginning and End - Albert Mohler

An Appeal to the Church to Resist 'Death With Dignity' - Jen Oshman

Most Americans Say Assisted Suicide is Morally Acceptable - LifeWay Research

Dutch Teenager’s Death Sets Off Debate, and Media Corrections - The New York Times

Legality of euthanasia - Wikipedia

You may have heard about the 17 year old girl in Holland who ended her life this week after concluding that her emotional and mental suffering was unbearble. Did you know that euthanasia for children is legal in Holland (and Belgium)? In this episode of All Things we look at why suicide is wrong in all cases and that we are indeed our brothers’ keepers. We must choose life and relentlessly protect the marginalized and the suffering at all times.

Five Reasons for Assisted Suicide (And Crucial Responses to Each One) - Jen Oshman

A Climate of Death: The Collateral Damage of Legal Suicide - Breakpoint

A Godlessness that Leads from Despair to Death: Devaluing Life at Both Its Beginning and End - Albert Mohler

An Appeal to the Church to Resist 'Death With Dignity' - Jen Oshman

Most Americans Say Assisted Suicide is Morally Acceptable - LifeWay Research

Dutch Teenager’s Death Sets Off Debate, and Media Corrections - The New York Times

Legality of euthanasia - Wikipedia

We are in the midst of a major demographic decline—meaning the US population is shrinking because of falling birth rates. Why aren’t young people having babies? What’s so bad about a demographic decline? And how does Scripture inform how we think about life and procreation?

The following articles were referenced in this episode:

America just had its lowest number of births in 32 years, report finds - CNN

What Do We Do About Demographic Decline? - Breakpoint

Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for First Time in U.S. History - Census.gov

'WHY DON'T YOU WANT KIDS?' 'BECAUSE APOCALYPSE!' - Wired

Banning Babies: Humans Are the Solution, Not the Problem - Breakpoint

The Idolatry-of-Children Fire Brigade - Breakpoint

This is why American millennials aren't having enough babies - Indy100.com

Social Security Is Running Dry, And There's Only One Politically Viable Option To Save It - Forbes

How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Child in the U.S. in 2018? - The Street

We are in the midst of a major demographic decline—meaning the US population is shrinking because of falling birth rates. Why aren’t young people having babies? What’s so bad about a demographic decline? And how does Scripture inform how we think about life and procreation?

The following articles were referenced in this episode:

America just had its lowest number of births in 32 years, report finds - CNN

What Do We Do About Demographic Decline? - Breakpoint

Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for First Time in U.S. History - Census.gov

'WHY DON'T YOU WANT KIDS?' 'BECAUSE APOCALYPSE!' - Wired

Banning Babies: Humans Are the Solution, Not the Problem - Breakpoint

The Idolatry-of-Children Fire Brigade - Breakpoint

This is why American millennials aren't having enough babies - Indy100.com

Social Security Is Running Dry, And There's Only One Politically Viable Option To Save It - Forbes

How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Child in the U.S. in 2018? - The Street