Philadelphia Metro
By John | November 14, 2008
From the Word:
As part of my personal preparation for a Bible study earlier this week, I was reviewing again Zechariah 8, and focused on v3-5: “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘ Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ “ (Zechariah 8:3-5 NASB)
The image that the prophet describes here is one of a peaceful city where the elderly citizens are relaxing in the streets of their neighborhoods while the children safely play with one another. This picture certainly does not describe Philadelphia, nor probably any city in our country. For most urban areas the opposite is the case. We happen to live in a tranquil suburban neighborhood quite a distance from the problems of the inner city, but even here we are careful to monitor the activities of our children and feel uncertain about the security of our property - there was a rash of thefts of items from unlocked cars parked in driveways a year ago. I would imagine that most of us feel much less secure in our living situations than we would like.
In Matthew 24:12 Jesus said, ”Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” I see the inclination in myself to be more wary of extending a helping hand to a stranger, suspicious of whether or not the apparent need is legitimate. How can the good news of Jesus make a difference in these situations - and in me? What can we do in our cities where the problems appear so overwhelming?
Please pray with us:
This next week I will be in a planning meeting with a number of committed servants of Christ who have a heart and vision for the city of Philadelphia. We will be looking into a ministry in Minneapolis called Urban Ventures (check out http://www.urbanventures.org/). Both Philly and Minneapolis are dealing with similar inner city problems, and I am sure that there is much we need to learn from their experience. As with any gathering of people who have strong convictions and opinions, our time together could simply be an airing of competing agendas, or it could be the next step in laying a clear course for what God wants to do here. Please pray with us as we meet together that God would give us unity of spirit and purpose, and that personal agendas and aspirations will be set aside so that we may carefully listen to and consider what each person brings to the discussion. Thanks.
Topics: In the Word and Prayer |