|
 BE A HERO is a campaigned championed by General Eva Burrows
worldwide for The Salvation Army, and coordinated outside The
Army by beahero.org,
aiming
to raise up 10,000 heroes for children-at-risk.
To date many have responded and much has been done to help. You
can join. We've defined heroes as those who:
1. Pray the Bible
2. Sponsor a Child
3. Start a Children's Home
4. Advocate for the Marginalized
5. Take a Hero Holiday
1. Pray the
Bible.
We're all about praying the Bible, a habit popularized in this
generation by Stacey and Wesley Campbell. Why? The Bible tells
the story of a God who epitomizes transformative love for the
oppressed. Prayer glorifies God, disciples our own hearts, and
brings about His will on earth. Prayer is the fuel of all
spiritually revolutionary activity.
The best way to pray is to pray the Bible.
William Booth said, "The Bible is 'God's heart on paper'." So
when you pray the Bible you are praying God's heart back to
Him.
If personal prayer bores you to tears, you are not alone. Well,
we've got a solution. Pray the Bible out loud to God! We didn't
make this up. For thousands of years people have been growing
close to God through this habit. They used to say about to
David, "you thrill to GOD's Word, you chew on Scripture day and
night" (Psalm 1:2 Message).
The original word for 'chew' is hagah, which means: roaring or
growling over prey (see Isaiah 31:4); we growl like bears and
moan like doves (see Isaiah 59:11); and mediums and spiritists
whisper and mutter (see Isaiah 8:19). This chewing on Scripture
is a verbal, audible activity. Worshippers would chant the Law
in sing-song fashion, creating an ancient form of Hebrew hip
hop. This is the sound of Biblical chewing.
So that is how the Jews prayed the law (the earliest version of
the Bible), day and night, from way back in Moses' era. And
that is how you learn to pray- by praying. If you don't show
up, you don't learn. By David's era, it was a routine. "I call
to God. God will help me. At dusk, dawn, and noon, I sigh deep
sighs- He hears, He rescues" (Isaiah 55:16,17 The Message).
Later on, Ezra established 18 benedictions, coupled with
Scripture readings, over three set hours of prayer at the
temple, synagogue, and home. Every righteous Jew, including
Jesus, observed this daily custom. Once you make this a habit
in your life- praying the Bible out loud to God daily- you will
be transformed. The habit will fuel the revolution (for more
information, visit beahero.org or read the book BE A HERO,
which you can get from the eStore at armybarmy.com).
2. Sponsor a Child.
James 1:27 says that,
Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the
Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in
their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless
world. (The Message)
James is on about widows and orphans specifically.
Today in many lands there are millions of homeless and orphaned
children, as well as myriads of options for sponsoring a child.
In Sub-Sahara Africa the percentage of orphans is now a
staggering 10%; one in every ten children is an orphan!
Now, we're not all loaded. You might not even have a job. No
pressure from us. Well, maybe a little. You can sponsor a
child. Yes, you. How about giving up the daily slushie at 7-11?
That would do it.
For about a slushie a day you can sponsor a child every month.
The Salvation Army has excellent sponsorship programmes around
the world and all the money goes overseas.
Contact your local Salvation Army to find out more.
3. Start a Children's Home.
Isaiah (59:7) records God's idea of a great fast:
What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food
with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to
your own families. (The Message)
God is clear. Take the homeless poor into your home. Now, there
are two ways to do that. One is to invite the homeless poor in
your neighbourhood into your home. Excellent. God bless you.
But the reality is that there are millions more homeless poor
in the developing world, far from where you live, who also need
an invitation. It is too expensive to invite them all over to
the West for a visit. So, the other way is to build a home for
them over there.
Now, the good thing is that costs are much lower over there
than here. Why not pull together your cell group or your youth
group or your class or your church and scare up $5,000 for such
a project. Again, we can hook you up with a recognized charity
to make it happen. Contact us at revolution@mmccxx.net.
4. Advocate for the Marginalized.
God looked at Israel and was astonished because He couldn't
find one person with the guts to stand in the gap (Ezekiel
22:30). No one would stand up for the poor, the orphan, and the
widow. There was no one like Job who, "was known for helping
people in trouble and standing up for those who were down on
their luck" (Job 29:12. The Message).
Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of
all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for
the poor and destitute! (Proverbs 31:8-9. The Message)
We've been preaching this all over the world and people are
listening. In one Salvation Army conference in Australia, the
response was so passionate that the youth started a grassroots
movement called The Salvation Army Justice Wing. They mobilize
to demonstrate, protest, petition, pray, write letters, make a
difference. And that model has been copied elsewhere in the
world. Maybe God is stirring up some ideas in you.
When William Booth wandered under a London bridge on the way
home one night in the 19th century, he was shocked by the
number of homeless people huddled in the modest shelter from
the elements. He asked his son if he knew about their plight.
Bramwell admitted that he did and was soundly rebuked and
exhorted by his father, "Go and do something!"
That is Christian advocacy in a nutshell. See the pain of the
world, and then "Go and do something!" Here are two options:
abortionno.org (see the Genocide Awareness Project pages) and
The Salvation Army Justice Wing (in Australia contact
aaronstickspetersen@yahoo.com.au ; in Canada, contact coalfarm@gmail.com).
5. Take a Hero Holiday.
Go and visit "the orphan and the widow in their distress
(James 1:27)."
Sign up with a missions organization. Go with your
congregation. Go and see and smell life on the other side. It
will transform your life.
Go on a holiday to a developing nation and give your time to be
a hero in the lives of others. Relieve some workers who are
tired and burned out. Go hug babies, go and work amongst the
poor. Again, we can hook you up with some groups.
Look, God takes the plight of the oppressed and impoverished
seriously. Make a difference. There is a whole movement
involved in this endeavour. If you're in The Army, contact your
Divisional Youth Secretary for details (Be A Hero notes
excerpted from REVOLUTION, available at armybarmy.com eStore).
So, there you have it. You can be part of a revolutionary army
God is raising up to change the face of the earth and lives of
children-at-risk.
|
