Thread by @jleeinGA

This should grieve us. It is a historic low for the US. We must hope that the ceiling of 30k could be reached, though doubtful w/this POTUS. Through this weekend just under 22,000 #refugees had arrived in US(only 2 weeks remain in 2018 fiscal year)
apnews.com/db40014c014b45…

Christians, this # is pathetic,while a call to resettle #refugees isn't biblically commanded a call to rescue & serve them is. A Lifeway survey shows only 12% of evangelicals' views on immigrants & refugees are shaped by scripture. Read this & change that bit.ly/BiblicalMandate

Proverbs 24:11-12, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,...... #Refugees

Prov. 24:11-12 con't "...& will he not repay man according to his work?” To be a rescuer of the helpless is a clear biblical command,yet complacent hearts have caused many to turn a blind eye to the plight of refugees(& many other vulnerable groups, the unborn,orphans & homeless)

Refugees are vulnerable people made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) & Jesus calls us to serve, love & welcome them in His name. If we profess to know Jesus as Lord & Savior, then we must seek to obey the biblical mandates to minister the gospel to our #refugee neighbors

The Bible calls us to speak up/advocate for, do justice for,& rescue vulnerable peoples(i.e.#refugees). Prov. 31:8-9 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up & judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor & needy."

While I'm deeply saddened of the news of this 30k refugee admissions ceiling for 2019 by @SecPompeo & @POTUS , I grieve more deeply that American evangelicals aren't outraged by it. It so saddens me as I share at various churches & venues & see biblical ignorance on this subject

Please read & study Psalm 82(only 8 verses). I recently preached 2 sermons on it(sorry, no audio) called "Embracing Our Call to Rescue." I labored as hard as any passage I have preached. While the heart of the passage is verses 3-4 & a call to justice for the vulnerable....

The beginning & end of Psalm 82 is a call to judgement b/c God's people didn't seek justice for the vulnerable. Friends, let it not be true of us. There are over 68 million forcibly displaced people globally that need our help & hope. The church must embrace our call to rescue.

For those interested we unpacked 4 commands from Psalm 82:3-4 that we MUST OBEY and they help us embrace our call to Rescue: 1)
Do Justice for the Vulnerable 2) Defend the Rights of the Vulnerable 3)Rescue the Vulnerable. 4) Deliver the Vulnerable from the Hand of the Wicked.

In order to understand Psalm 82 & obey the commands we looked at first having a biblical understanding of 4 things: 1)The Gospel 2) A Robust Understanding of "Disciple-Making" from Jesus. 3) Who are the poor/vulnerable 4) What is doing "justice".I cannot stress how key these are.

We must have a proper biblical framework for who the vulnerable are. The Old Testament helps us here in places like Zechariah 7:9-10.

Folks, I am grieved over the news on refugee admissions for 2019, I am more saddened how the church has responded & I am in deep anguish on arguments going on how we engage in "social justice"-But it is time for me to log off & obey Psalm 82- I hope to share more on it Tuesday:)

Picking back up, I'm prayerfully considering how to con't this convo but struggle to know if this is the best venue; & trying to recognize by limitations knowing that yesterday's news adds another layer of work for me today & this week. You see, @ClarkstonIBC in NE Atlanta we....

You see, @ClarkstonIBC in NE Atlanta where I serve as a pastor we have 9 different ethnic churches/church plants represented from r campus. They serve our city-where a few blocks away over 50 languages are spoke in the elementary school-most of these folks came here as #refugees

& we all have an unwavering commitment to proclaim the Gospel to a lost & dying world in our community & to the ends of the earth. We believe that should happen through evangelism in peoples' heart languages that results in churches being planted but we unapologetically embrace..

...our call to minister Christ-centered compassion; not in place of Gospel proclamation, but along side of it. We prioritize making disciples! We have at least 90 unreached-people groups(UPGs) represented around @ClarkstonIBC (out of the 3200+ UPGs in the world from @IMB_SBC)...

..& we need churches in Atlanta & in the south to partner w/us @acts_17 in our 1.4 square mile zip code to proclaim the Gospel to & minister to these 90 UPGs, help us plant churches, & stregthen our churches. Would you partner with us? We have little control over @POTUS' policies

if 22,000 #refugees or 110,000+ refugees come to the US thru resettlement. But in the community I minister around @ClarkstonIBC we have 1000s already here that need to hear the Gospel & have needs you can meet to live out our call to "love our neighbor." I hope 2 hear from you..

Thanks for all on the interaction w/this. Still thinking through how to get evangelicals to move past policy and focus on ministry with people. I would love to interact with you more about partnering with us and what that looks like. For now let's let @ThreadReaderApp unroll this