About the Confession of Belhar     

 

What is the Confession of Belhar?

 

The Confession of Belhar is a powerful confession of Christian faith that emerged in South Africa during the years of Apartheid. It is named for the city in South Africa where it was first adopted. It is a statement that focuses on three themes, Unity, Reconciliation, and Justice, in a church environment where racial separation made it impossible for brothers and sisters in Christ to worship together or come to the Lord’s Table together. Churches around the globe have recognized the power and theological insight of Belhar as an expression of Scriptural truth for their own contexts.

 

Who wrote the Belhar Confession?

 

The Belhar Confession was originally adopted by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church as it protested the sin of apartheid. Just a few years later it became the confession of the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa, the reunion of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa. The two principal authors were Russel Botman and Dirkie Smit.

The Least of These  

 

                        I was hungry and you fed me,

                        I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

                        I was homeless and you gave me a room,

                        I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

                        I was sick and you stopped to visit,

                        I was in prison and you came to me.’

Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

                                                            Matthew 25:34-40  (The Message)

 

Lent provides us a time to think about the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  And may make us wish to take action to be more like Jesus in our daily lives. 

 

In this scripture passage, Jesus tells the story of the sheep and the goats who are divided by the Son of Man.   The King tells those who have been blessed by God to take their inheritance because they provided him with food, drink, shelter, clothing, and companionship when he needed it.  The listeners do not believe him and ask when they provided those necessities of life.  The King replies that whenever people helped one of the least of the brothers and sisters, they did it for the King.  And by doing so, the righteous will have eternal life.

 

Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of problems we see in our nation or community, we can take this lesson to heart and reach out to help one person.  Whether it's someone we know personally or a complete stranger, our assistance can mean a great deal to the person who is in pain.  During this period of Lent, as we prepare for the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, let us look around to see where we can assist someone in need.  For by helping another, we are serving the King, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for the blessings you have poured down on us.  Help us to remember that our inheritance awaits us in your kingdom.  If we see someone who is hungry, thirsty, homeless, sick, or in prison, let us remember that what we do for any one of them, we do for our Lord. 

 

Contributed by Robin Hadfield

 

CIRCLE OF FORGIVENESS    

 

Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger do not sin”…..

 

Colossians 3:13  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

 

“I hate you!” shouted my angry sixteen-year-old self at my inebriated, alcoholic father one cold February evening. He had disappointed me again, and we had argued. After stalking dramatically out of the room, I left the house to go wherever small-town teenagers might have gone on Tuesday nights in the 1960s. Library? Play practice? I can’t remember. What I do remember vividly, however, is what happened early the following morning as my three siblings and I got ready for school. Our uncle, Mom’s brother, appeared unexpectedly at our front door bringing with him the devastating news that there had been an accident during the night, and Dad was dead!

 

As the world crumbled around my family, I internalized my grief and began to wonder. Wow! Was it possible that I had somehow caused this horrible event? I had sinned by lashing out in anger. And I had long blamed Dad and his drinking for everything that wasn’t quite right in my life and in my family. I had pleaded and bargained with God, praying fervently that the drinking would stop. Well, now it was stopped, but in a way that I certainly never anticipated. That self-assumed burden of guilt was heavy, but impossible to share. Bringing added pain was the knowledge that my last words to my father had been so hateful. Why had I been so mean?  Did he know that I loved him?  Could I ever be forgiven?

 

Biblical scriptures and my Christian faith eventually brought assurance that God, my heavenly Father, had graciously forgiven me for no other reason than that He loves me. Over time, as my family survived, and as I gained better understanding of alcoholism, it became easier for me to forgive Dad for all the ways in which he had failed us. I could only hope that Dad had forgiven me for my last angry words. Forgiving myself has been the most difficult of all, and I’m still working on it after all these years.

 

Prayer: Thank You, God, for Your endless grace and forgiveness. I ask, as did the psalmist in Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” 

 

Contributed by Judith Keller

Change Our Selfish Hearts    

 

Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].  For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].  (AMP)

 

Romans 12:10-11  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (NIV)

 

James 4:17  If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. (NIV)

 

The other day, I was reading about the importance of loving others in Rick Warren's book, The Purpose-Driven Life.  He suggests praying: “God, whether I get anything else done today, I want to make sure that I spend time loving you and loving other people--because that's what life is all about.  I don't want to waste this day.”  (Being a champion time-waster, I definitely need to pray this daily!)  The next sentence I read really hit me: “Why should God give you another day if you're going to waste it?”  Ouch. That's a good question. 

 

Somehow, I've managed to fill my spare time more with self-serving fun activities than with serving God.  I'm not saying that fun and relaxation are bad necessarily; nor am I saying that I don't spend any time serving God.  I'm saying too much time spent on ourselves and not enough time spent on others makes us lose sight of their needs.  Sometimes I “forget” to check in with those God wants me to care for because I'm too consumed with my own fun and/or comfort.  Do I actually “forget”?  Sometimes, yes.  But sometimes, I admit, I hear God's call, but choose to ignore it.  I want to wait for a more convenient time.  However...time is fleeting.  The opportunity may be lost if I don't act now.

 

When I choose my own comfort over what God wants, the sin of selfishness rears its ugly head.  It's so hard to change my selfish habits, but I want to.  When He calls me, I need to trust that He has a greater purpose in mind, even though I may not understand it.  If I make loving and serving Jesus most important in my heart, hopefully I'll be more willing to make sacrifices for Him--giving up my time, comfort, energy and more, for the benefit of someone else.  I pray that I can: “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.  He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” (Ephesians 5:2)

 

PRAYER: Dearest Savior, forgive us when we ignore your call to show our love to others.  Help us to change our selfish hearts, so we may be ready and willing to love and serve you. And thank you so much for offering yourself as the ultimate sacrifice--so we can forever live in your amazing love. Amen.

 

Contributed by Sharon Irvin

Do Right   

 

Deuteronomy 6:18a  “You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord.”

 

James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers only, who deceive themselves.”

 

I Peter 3:14 “But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.”

 

Galatians 6:9 “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up.”

 

When our children were young, bedtime prayers were part of our daily ritual.  Many families repeated variations of this familiar bedtime prayer:

 

            “ Now, I lay me down to sleep,

            I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

            If I should die before I wake,

            I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

 

I felt this prayer might be scary for my children.  After each of my children said their nightly prayers of praise, thanksgiving, and asking God’s forgiveness, I would conclude with the following prayer.

 

“We ask God to keep you safe through the night and help you to do right tomorrow.”

 

I sometimes wondered if my children understood the meaning of “do right.”  Parents and teachers often admonish children to “be good.”  Do children really know what it means to “be good?”  Likewise, do they understand what it means to “do right?”

 

How do we know how to do right?  I believe that God’s love for us, and our love and appreciation for God will lead us to do what is right. It will lead us to spend time with God, and love others more.  Sometimes, we know the right thing to do.  The hard part is doing it.  Scripture and the Holy Spirit guide us in knowing ways we can do right. We know that no matter what, God is with us and forgives us when we fail to do right.  Lent is a time that we focus on how we can more closely follow God’s direction.

 

PRAYER: Dear God, help us to not grow weary in doing what is right.  Thank You for Your assurance that You are always with us.  Thank You for forgiving us again and again.  Amen.

 

Contributed by Lois Poppe

A Prayer for Belfast  

 

In 2013, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, then Lord Mayor of Belfast, commissioned a prayer for the City of Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Throughout the year prayer vigils were held throughout the city so that the people of Belfast could join in prayer together.  The revolutionary part of the prayer meetings lies in the meaning of that word - together.  Gladys Ganiel offers the following reflections on a prayer vigil held December 11, 2013:

 

"Those of us who work or live in North Belfast know that the claiming of space for political and sectarian purposes is a common practice, and the point is to exclude others from that space. 

And while I acknowledge that Christmas carol singing may exclude non-Christians, I appreciate the organizers’ intent to be as inclusive as possible and to welcome others to share a space in an ‘interface’ area….

As Northern Ireland prepares for how we ‘deal with the past,’ I am struck by the theme of reconciliation that runs through the prayer. 

It is a vision of reconciliation that does not settle for a ‘peaceful co-existence’ or a ‘benign apartheid.’ And it is a vision of reconciliation that is orientated towards a future together. Events like the Prayer Vigil for Belfast are just one example of what such a future together might look like.”

 

A Prayer for Belfast

God of love whose love streams

unceasingly and relentlessly to all, we cry to

you for our city.

We pray for peace on our streets, for

economic well-being, for understanding

across our differences.

Build us as one community, though diverse,

that being reconciled to you we might be

reconciled to one another.

Lord, turn our hearts to you that your glory

might dwell in this city

In the name of Jesus, who is Lord of all.

Amen

The Widow's Offering    

 

Mark 12:  41-44  He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury.  Many rich people put in large sums.  A poor Widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.  Then he called his disciples and said to them,” Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of heir abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all that she had to live on”.

 

Lent is a time for repentance, prayer, preparation and deprivation.  These traits are highlighted in Mark's Gospel.  This story also appears in the Gospel of Luke.

 

When we were children one of the big questions we asked or were asked was “What are you giving up for Lent?”

 

How often do we give from our abundance?  Someone once said give until it feels good. That is good advice. Whether we are giving money, time, talent, service to others or giving Kindness.

 

Prayer: Dear Lord God, thank you for all the gifts you have given to us.  Help us to realize that all things belong to you and we are required to share what we have with others. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

Contributed by Kathy Kuehn