{"id":4134,"date":"2019-08-13T00:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T05:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=4134"},"modified":"2019-08-15T14:17:30","modified_gmt":"2019-08-15T19:17:30","slug":"we-must-give-hope-to-the-strangers-among-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2019\/08\/13\/we-must-give-hope-to-the-strangers-among-us\/","title":{"rendered":"We Must Give Hope to the \u2018Strangers\u2019 Among Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

As of June of this year, there were 36,300 homeless people living in the streets of Los Angeles. The causes include mental illness and substance abuse. According to an article in the New York Times<\/i>, city officials in Los Angeles say the primary cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. That complaint is being heard in more and more major cities throughout the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, churches are not absent in this crisis. A Google search of \u201cchurches helping the homeless in Los Angeles\u201d produced nearly 13,700,000 hits, proving that Christians are stepping in to offer aid in this situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people find themselves temporarily homeless for short periods of time. They lose their jobs, and then they lose their homes or apartments because they cannot pay the rent or mortgage. They have no family nearby, or family is unable or unwilling to help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some homeless people are also overwhelmed by high medical bills. Some are veterans who are unable to function due to post-traumatic stress. Some are fleeing forms of abuse and have nowhere to go. I encourage you to listen to an excellent podcast by IPHC pastor Kent Bell, whose church in Pennsylvania is helping women escape from sexual abuse and sex trafficking. You can listen here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And yes, there are some homeless people who simply choose to drop out of society and live on the streets. They have little motivation to change their lifestyle. They receive what assistance they can from government or charitable programs. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of us have seen people on street corners with signs asking for help that say, \u201cGod bless you.\u201d I\u2019ll have to admit they often pull at my heart. But I\u2019m also aware that in many instances they are part of a syndicate scam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While traveling overseas, I\u2019ve seen children begging on street corners. Yet many of them are part of a human trafficking ring. Someone is exploiting them for profit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As I think of these tragic situations, I think about Acts 16 and the Apostle Paul\u2019s visit to Philippi. When Paul and Silas first entered Philippi, they met Lydia, a woman who was economically successful in her own right. She and her household came to faith in Christ and were baptized, and she opened her home to host the first house church in the city (see Acts 16:12-15).<\/p>\n

The apostles then encountered a situation where unscrupulous men were using a \u201cslave girl possessed with the spirit of divination.\u201d We are told that her owners were using her to make \u201cmuch profit by fortune-telling.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we call this economic slavery or human trafficking. The Apostle Paul rebuked the demonic spirit operating in the girl. She was immediately released from the greedy oppression that had been controlling her life (see Acts 16:16ff). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The account in Acts notes that it was her abuser’s economic loss that led to the imprisonment of Paul and Silas. The rights of these two apostles, as Roman citizens, had been violated by the mob\u2019s rush to judgment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The remainder of the story in Acts 16 is well known to most of us. After the midnight earthquake that freed Paul and Silas from their chains, Paul said to the distraught jailer: \u201cDo yourself no harm, for we are all here\u201d (16:28). Another household in Philippi came to faith in Jesus and was baptized, perhaps starting a second house church in the city.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting that once Paul and Silas were released from prison, and after the magistrates apologized for violating their rights, the two men went back to Lydia\u2019s house (Acts 16:35-40). They spent time \u201cencouraging\u201d the small band of disciples with exhortation and instruction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I wonder if the people in the jailer\u2019s house attended church? Perhaps more importantly, I wonder if the formerly possessed servant girl was there. The Bible doesn\u2019t tell us what happened to this unnamed young woman. But it\u2019s hard to fathom that she was forgotten once she was set free.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope Lydia searched for her and offered a place of hope\u2014a refuge to start life afresh with the Holy Spirit. I also hope the greedy men who used her ultimately heard that they, too, can be forgiven. I hope they, too, found themselves at home with Lydia and the jailer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament is hospitality (see Romans 12:13; Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; Hebrews 13:2; 1 Peter 4:9). This gift involves so much more than being a gracious host at a meal or in a home. The word for \u201chospitality,\u201d in the Greek, literally means \u201clove or friendship shown to a stranger.\u201d<\/p>\n

This type of hospitality is part of the Christian response to those who are unknown to us, to those who are different from us. We desperately need this gift today.<\/p>\n

The \u201cstranger\u201d among us today might be a refugee, a migrant worker, an immigrant or perhaps a homeless person. The \u201cstranger\u201d might also be the well-educated, the elite, the self-sufficient or the so-called \u201cone percent\u201d who have all the luxuries of the world but remain spiritually empty. They have houses, perhaps even mansions, but do not have a true home.<\/p>\n

May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to know how to discern the times in which we live. And may He open our hearts to all who are searching for the hope and love of Jesus Christ. \u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Originally published in Encourage<\/em><\/a> Magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":4135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,305,1,610],"tags":[618,6,46,37,149,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-4134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bishops-blog","8":"category-encourage-magazine","9":"category-general","10":"category-justice","11":"tag-618","12":"tag-august","13":"tag-doug-beacham","14":"tag-encourage","15":"tag-encourage-magazine","16":"tag-iphc","17":"entry"},"title_es":"Debemos dar esperanza a los "extra\u00f1os" entre nosotros","content_es":"A junio de este a\u00f1o, hab\u00eda 36,300 personas sin hogar viviendo en las calles de Los \u00c1ngeles. Las causas incluyen enfermedades mentales y abuso de sustancias. Seg\u00fan un art\u00edculo en el New York Times<\/i> , los funcionarios de la ciudad en Los \u00c1ngeles dicen que la causa principal de la falta de vivienda es la falta de viviendas asequibles. Esa queja se est\u00e1 escuchando en m\u00e1s y m\u00e1s ciudades importantes de todo el mundo. \u00a0<\/span> Afortunadamente, las iglesias no est\u00e1n ausentes en esta crisis. Una b\u00fasqueda en Google de \"iglesias que ayudan a las personas sin hogar en Los \u00c1ngeles\" produjo casi 13,700,000 visitas, lo que demuestra que los cristianos est\u00e1n interviniendo para ofrecer ayuda en esta situaci\u00f3n. \u00a0<\/span> Muchas personas se encuentran temporalmente sin hogar por cortos per\u00edodos de tiempo. Pierden sus trabajos y luego pierden sus casas o apartamentos porque no pueden pagar el alquiler o la hipoteca. No tienen familia cerca, o la familia no puede o no quiere ayudar. \u00a0<\/span> Algunas personas sin hogar tambi\u00e9n est\u00e1n abrumadas por las altas facturas m\u00e9dicas. Algunos son veteranos que no pueden funcionar debido al estr\u00e9s postraum\u00e1tico. Algunos huyen de formas de abuso y no tienen a d\u00f3nde ir. Les animo a escuchar un excelente podcast del pastor de IPHC Kent Bell, cuya iglesia en Pennsylvania est\u00e1 ayudando a las mujeres a escapar del abuso sexual y el tr\u00e1fico sexual. Puedes escuchar aqu\u00ed. \u00a0<\/span> Y s\u00ed, hay algunas personas sin hogar que simplemente optan por abandonar la sociedad y vivir en las calles. Tienen poca motivaci\u00f3n para cambiar su estilo de vida. Reciben la asistencia que pueden de los programas gubernamentales o de caridad. \u00a0<\/span> Todos hemos visto personas en las esquinas de las calles con carteles pidiendo ayuda que dice: \"Dios te bendiga\". Tengo que admitir que a menudo me tiran del coraz\u00f3n. Pero tambi\u00e9n soy consciente de que en muchos casos son parte de una estafa de sindicato. \u00a0<\/span> Mientras viajaba al extranjero, he visto ni\u00f1os mendigando en las esquinas. Sin embargo, muchos de ellos son parte de una red de trata de personas. Alguien los est\u00e1 explotando para obtener ganancias. \u00a0<\/span> Al pensar en estas situaciones tr\u00e1gicas, pienso en Hechos 16 y la visita del ap\u00f3stol Pablo a Filipos. Cuando Paul y Silas entraron por primera vez a Philippi, se encontraron con Lydia, una mujer que era econ\u00f3micamente exitosa por derecho propio. Ella y su familia llegaron a la fe en Cristo y se bautizaron, y abri\u00f3 su hogar para albergar la primera iglesia en casa de la ciudad (ver Hechos 16: 12-15). Luego, los ap\u00f3stoles se encontraron con una situaci\u00f3n en la que hombres sin escr\u00fapulos usaban a una \"esclava pose\u00edda con el esp\u00edritu de la adivinaci\u00f3n\". Se nos dice que sus due\u00f1os la estaban usando para obtener \"muchos beneficios con la adivinaci\u00f3n\". \u00a0<\/span> Hoy llamamos a esto esclavitud econ\u00f3mica o trata de personas. El ap\u00f3stol Pablo reprendi\u00f3 al esp\u00edritu demon\u00edaco que operaba en la ni\u00f1a. Inmediatamente fue liberada de la codiciosa opresi\u00f3n que hab\u00eda estado controlando su vida (ver Hechos 16: 16ff). \u00a0<\/span> El relato en Hechos se\u00f1ala que fue la p\u00e9rdida econ\u00f3mica de su abusador lo que condujo al encarcelamiento de Paul y Silas. Los derechos de estos dos ap\u00f3stoles, como ciudadanos romanos, hab\u00edan sido violados por la avalancha de juicio de la mafia. \u00a0<\/span> El resto de la historia en Hechos 16 es bien conocido por la mayor\u00eda de nosotros. Despu\u00e9s del terremoto de medianoche que liber\u00f3 a Paul y Silas de sus cadenas, Paul le dijo al angustiado carcelero: \"No te hagas da\u00f1o, porque todos estamos aqu\u00ed\" (16:28). Otra familia en Filipos lleg\u00f3 a la fe en Jes\u00fas y fue bautizada, tal vez comenzando una segunda iglesia en casa en la ciudad. Es interesante que una vez que Paul y Silas fueron liberados de la prisi\u00f3n, y despu\u00e9s de que los magistrados se disculparan por violar sus derechos, los dos hombres volvieron a la casa de Lydia (Hechos 16: 35-40). Pasaron tiempo \"alentando\" al peque\u00f1o grupo de disc\u00edpulos con exhortaci\u00f3n e instrucci\u00f3n. \u00a0<\/span> Me pregunto si la gente en la casa del carcelero asisti\u00f3 a la iglesia. Quiz\u00e1s lo m\u00e1s importante, me pregunto si la sirvienta anteriormente pose\u00edda estaba all\u00ed. La Biblia no nos dice qu\u00e9 le sucedi\u00f3 a esta joven sin nombre. Pero es dif\u00edcil comprender que fue olvidada una vez que fue liberada. \u00a0<\/span> Espero que Lydia la haya buscado y le haya ofrecido un lugar de esperanza, un refugio para comenzar la vida de nuevo con el Esp\u00edritu Santo. Tambi\u00e9n espero que los hombres codiciosos que la usaron finalmente escucharon que ellos tambi\u00e9n pueden ser perdonados. Espero que ellos tambi\u00e9n se hayan encontrado en casa con Lydia y el carcelero. \u00a0<\/span> Uno de los dones espirituales mencionados en el Nuevo Testamento es la hospitalidad (ver Romanos 12:13; Timoteo 3: 2; Tito 1: 8; Hebreos 13: 2; 1 Pedro 4: 9). Este regalo implica mucho m\u00e1s que ser un amable anfitri\u00f3n en una comida o en un hogar. La palabra \"hospitalidad\", en griego, significa literalmente \"amor o amistad mostrada a un extra\u00f1o\". Este tipo de hospitalidad es parte de la respuesta cristiana a aquellos que no conocemos, a aquellos que son diferentes a nosotros. Necesitamos desesperadamente este regalo hoy. El \"extra\u00f1o\" entre nosotros hoy podr\u00eda ser un refugiado, un trabajador migrante, un inmigrante o tal vez una persona sin hogar. El \"extra\u00f1o\" tambi\u00e9n podr\u00eda ser el bien educado, la \u00e9lite, el autosuficiente o el llamado \"uno por ciento\" que tiene todos los lujos del mundo pero permanece espiritualmente vac\u00edo. Tienen casas, tal vez incluso mansiones, pero no tienen un verdadero hogar. Que el Esp\u00edritu Santo abra nuestros ojos para saber c\u00f3mo discernir los tiempos en que vivimos. Y que \u00c9l abra nuestros corazones a todos los que buscan la esperanza y el amor de Jesucristo. \u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\nPublicado originalmente en la revista Encourage<\/em><\/a> .","author_name":"Doug Beacham","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Beacham-Cover.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-14G","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}