I recommend the Poverty and Justice Bible. It's from the Bible society and can be ordered for about 25$ on the Sojourner's website. In it, all the verses (well most of the verses) that deal with poverty & justice issues in the Bible are highlighted in orange. Over 3000 verses are highlighted.
Geek that I am, I immediately turned to some passages of Jesus' healing and found them not highlighted. I thought they should be because in the first century, someone afflicted with blindness or another incurable ailment would have been relegated to the fringes of society. So, they would have been marginalized and they would have been victims of injustice that Jesus freed. Why they weren't highlighted, I don't know.
That said, the Poverty and Justice Bible is a great help to the Christian who is truly interested in knowing God's heart. God is for the poor and God is for the hungry and the needy. That is not debatable. Read the passages highlighted in the Poverty and Justice Bible. If we take God's word seriously and we read these words of scripture, our lives will change. Our values will change. Our choices will change.
I am particularly grateful that my copy came just two days before Thanksgiving. I know Jesus appreciated a good party and there are times when feasting is appropriate. The food orgy I will experience with beloved family members over the next couple days is something to thank God for. However, the new Bible reminds me to keep the poor ever in my thoughts, and those thoughts guiding my actions.
I am equally grateful that I got to go on a mission trip to
So, today, I am thankful. I am thankful for what I have. And I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of God's work.
References to poverty and justice in orange. What an unfortunate choice. I think you can get plenty of resources on poverty and justice without an orange-letter Bible. It would be best to read a plain Bible without comment and get your "fad-of-the-day" fix from something else.
ReplyDeleteWhat an insult to my intelligence to call my observation a "fad-of-the-day." Have you spent two second actually reading the Poverty and Justice Bible? For centuries people have ignored the overwhelming blaring Biblical call to care for the needy in society. Now someone produces a Bible highlighting some of the passages and you have the shortsightedness to reduce it to a fad-of-the day. Read it. Spend some actual time reading it.
ReplyDeleteI read the Bible everyday, thank you. I think there have been people through the centuries that have cared for the needy in society and they did so with a black letter Bible. I don't think we need to wrap every issue of the day in its special Bible. If the needy aren't being cared for spend the $19.99 and go buy someone dinner.
ReplyDeleteDid not mean to insult your intelligence. I think you are very intelligent. I may not agree with everything though. I ordered the orange- (13.49) and green- (19.77) letter bibles from amazon and will see what they have to say for myself.
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