WORD: "In that coming day," says the LORD, "I will gather together those who are lame, those who have been exiles, and those whom I have filled with grief. Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and on smooth paths [...]
WORD: “For I will bring them from the north and from the distant corners of the earth. I will not forget the blind and lame, the expectant mothers and women in labor. A great company will return!" (Jeremiah 31:8, NLT) THOUGHT: God brings people who are marginalized into the centre of His community. Just as with the [...]
Putting people into categories goes right back to the Bible, as in the New Testament the early church had conflict between the Jews and the Gentiles and the church could not agree on how to achieve unity. It is clear from the Old Testament that God intended all along that people love Him and live at peace with God and others.
WORD: “Then the LORD asked Moses, 'Who makes a person's mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD?'" (Exodus 4:11, NLT) THOUGHT: This verse is not primarily about whether God gives people disabilities, but to demonstrate that our [...]
WORD: “Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is." (1 John 3:2, NLT) THOUGHT: God has, from eternity, had our future on His [...]
WORD: “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows." (Isaiah 1:17, NLT) THOUGHT: This verse is filled with action: Learn. Seek. Help. Defend. Fight. The progression of these actions is significant. Too often, to fight is our first response. We must always humbly "learn" and [...]
WORD: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27, NLT) THOUGHT: We too quickly forget, when we see another, that they too are image bearers of God. People with disabilities often have their value and worth questioned in society. [...]
WORD: “Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living." (Amos 5:23-24, NLT) THOUGHT: Justice is the primary theme of the prophets' writing. God's warning is that people of privilege, position and [...]
WORD: “'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" (John 9:2-3, NIV) THOUGHT: The call of the disciple of Christ is to recognize the works of God displayed in others. [...]
WORD: “Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.” (Mark 2:3, NIV) THOUGHT: It can be easy to believe that it is only remarkable and extraordinary things that make a difference. Yet, the simplest actions can be transformative. These four men did the most practical thing they knew – each [...]
