The events of last Saturday in Tucson are disturbing and sad, but they are not surprising.

Man-stealing--While slavery was allowed in ancient Israel, trade in slaves appears to have been discouraged.

Love Your Enemies--The Law of God included the rudiments for loving not only our neighbors but also our enemies.

Our Neighbor’s Keeper--Two principles are suggested by this statute.

The eighth commandment

Deuteronomy 23.24, 25

“‘If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.’”

Two principles are suggested by this statute. First, Israel was to remember that the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it (Ps. 24:1). They held their property in trust for Him and were expected to use it as He Himself would – generously and with a view to the needs of others. We are our neighbor’s keeper, and we must always be prepared to share our property with those in need.

But, second, the needy must not take advantage. You could eat your fill of grapes or grain, but you could not put any in your bag or cut any with a sickle for later consumption. Our neighbor is to be generous, but we must always respect his property as just that – his.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.

Restoring Dead Animals--These statutes would seem to be addressed to a situation in which one person is responsible for the death of another’s animal, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Restoration--It’s not hard to see how these statutes would both discourage stealing and restore justice when transgression had been committed.

The Guilt of Thieves--People have a right to defend their property against unlawful seizure.

Oppression--Robbery is a form of oppression in that it deprives a person of that which God has freely given him for use in seeking the Kingdom of God.

Personal Mission Field/Conversation

Let who will laugh and scoff. I will not be silent, nor will I conceal the signs and wonders which the Lord has shown to me many years before they happened - He Who knows all the happenings since before the beginning of time.

  - Patrick, Confession (Irish, 5th century)

...but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you...

  - 1 Peter 3.15

Irish people are frequently described as having "the gift of the gab." Patrick wasn't Irish, but he was pretty good at talking with others about the Gospel. Did the Lord allow one of the greatest revivals in Church history to begin in Ireland because He knew no one would be able to shut those people up?

How many conversations do we engage in a given day? Ten? Twenty? Each of them represents an opportunity to sow something of the Gospel, whether to a fellow believer needing encouragement or exhortation, or to an unbeliever who seems quite content without Christ.

We are called to be witnesses for Christ, to gab about the Good News at every opportunity, with joy and gladness testifying out of our own experience that Jesus Christ really is alive from the dead, and we are His forgiven and commissioned brethren.

How can we make the most of our conversations for the Gospel of the Kingdom? I don't mean to suggest that every conversation has to include a full-blown presentation of the Gospel. We sow seeds, by small gestures, listening ears, and conversation that makes the concerns of others of paramount concern to us.

Let us not be silent when doors of opportunity open for words of witness from our lips. What God is showing us of His glory, goodness, and steadfast love, let us eagerly tell to others, as much as we can for as long as they'll listen. God will use whatever we sow of His unfailing Gospel for whatever His good and glorious purposes may be.

As you go forth today, go in a sowing mood, watching for the cracking-open of every door of opportunity.

Today at The Fellowship of Ailbe

Sin affects everything in this world, but in the midst of a sinful world, we are called to bring forth the beauty, goodness, and truth of the Lord. Check out today's ReVision.

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"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold..."

Personal Mission Field/Preparation

Today I gird myself with the power of the order of the cherubim, with the obedience of angels, with the ministry of archangels, with the expectation of resurrection for the sake of a reward, with the prayers of the patriarchs, with the predictions of the prophets, with the precepts of the apostles, with the faith of the confessors, with the innocence of holy virgins, with the deeds of righteous men.

  - Anonymous, Faeth Fiada (Irish, 8th century)

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

  - Psalm 91.11

It's easy to dismiss a poem like Faeth Fiada ("Patrick's Breasplate") as merely a curious cultural relic of little more than historical value. But these poems were used by serious people with a serious faith in Christ to prepare themselves for the day ahead.

Let's look at all that's packed into just this one stanza, which served generations of Celtic believers as a guide in preparing for a day of facing all manner of temptation and trial. First we note the invocation of angels, and the expectation that those angels will be sent and will do their job of protecting the believer. They are obedient to the One Who sends them as ministering spirits. Anyone who really believes this - and the Word does teach it - is likely to know a bit more boldness during the day than, well, most of us do.

Second, the view to the end: "expectation of resurrection." The psalmist would say "what can man do to me?" The worst that could happen on any given day would be that we die, but if we're focused on the promise of resurrection, we can say, like Paul, that dying would be "gain", for beyond this life the reward of heaven waits.

Next, the one preparing for the day with this poem expresses his confidence that the saints and angels in heaven ("patriarchs") are praying for him, a notion derived, perhaps, from texts like Revelation 5.8 and 8.1-4. Talk about encouragement!

Finally, note the confidence expressed in the Word of God (prophets and apostles), the faith of the Church (confessors), the holiness of virgins, and all of this - all this preparation - to pursue a path defined by the good deeds of righteous men.

I would say this Celtic dude had a great quiet time the day his preparations included all this.

So we can just dismiss this breatplate poem, or perhaps we can learn something from it about how to prepare for a day of living the faith once for all committed to the saints with a view to turning our world upside-down for Jesus Christ.

Which do you choose?

Today at The Fellowship of Ailbe

Congress is back in session. Will we back them in prayer? ReVision tells us why we should.

Need a little help managing your time in this New Year?  If so, then our January free download, "To Number Our Days," might be of help. Get your copy at the website right now, and share it with some friends.

And while you're there, don't miss Jess Slusher's lovely short story, "A Thin Place."

Our course, "The Writing Pastor," begins in just two weeks. Now is the time to sign up for this six-month webinar to help you make writing a more integral part of your own ministry for the Lord.

If you'd like some help in learning to pray and sing the psalms, visit our bookstore and order a copy of The Ailbe Psalter or Voices Together, two valuable resources than can give your spiritual life a lasting boost.

Finally, our mentoring course, "The Road to Maturity: Practicing the Kingship of Jesus," is all about setting up a workable program of spiritual and ministry disciplines that can help you to know ongoing revival in your walk with the Lord. Why not consider signing up with one of our Mentors today?

Spiritual Practice/Seeker

...while it was not of my own choice that I arrived in Ireland at that time when I was almost a lost soul, it was good thing for me, because I was reformed by the Lord and He prepared me to be today what was once remote from me; so that, whereas once I did not even consider my own salvation, now the salvation of others is my care and concern.

  - Patrick, Confession (Irish, 5th century)

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

  - Romans 10.1

Here's a prayer you can add to your list of what you pray for the people around you each day - neighbors, colleagues and co-workers, friends and family, perfect strangers. If we can do nothing else to express our care and concern for the lost, at the very least we can pray that God would save them.

Patrick did not particularly care for the Irish. Indeed, he fled them and their country, and sought the safety and comfort of his own home in Britain. He'd had enough of the Irish and the slaving ways.

He'd had enough, but not God. After some time of being restored to his home and family, Patrick was shaken to the depths of his soul by a vision of God calling him - an unschooled, unordained, unskilled 22-year old - to go to Ireland and bring the Gospel to the people there.

How would we respond to such a call from the Lord? Would we, like Patrick, defy family and church leaders, give up everything we owned, seek out someone to teach and train us, and then head out among the lost to bear witness to Christ?

We have such a calling: Matthew 28.18-20; Acts 1.8. The fact that it has not come to us as dramatically as it did to Patrick does not make it any less valid.

The difference between Patrick and us is not his call to evangelize the lost. It's his care and concern for the lost souls of people. Do we really believe in hell? In the devil's deceitful ways? That people who do not know Jesus aren't just missing a good thing but are condemned?

Jesus said that He came to seek and to save the lost (Lk. 19.10). He also said that as the Father had sent Him, so He is sending us (Jn. 20.21). Patrick got that, and his faithfulness catalyzed a revival that restored life to much of Western Europe. Patrick got it.

Do we?

Today at The Fellowship of Ailbe

Congress is back in session. Will we back them in prayer? ReVision tells us why we should.

Need a little help managing your time in this New Year?  If so, then our January free download, "To Number Our Days," might be of help. Get your copy at the website right now, and share it with some friends.

 And while you're there, don't miss Jess Slusher's lovely short story, "A Thin Place."

Our course, "The Writing Pastor," begins in just two weeks. Now is the time to sign up for this six-month webinar to help you make writing a more integral part of your own ministry for the Lord.

If you'd like some help in learning to pray and sing the psalms, visit our bookstore and order a copy of The Ailbe Psalter or Voices Together, two valuable resources than can give your spiritual life a lasting boost.

Finally, our mentoring course, "The Road to Maturity: Practicing the Kingship of Jesus," is all about setting up a workable program of spiritual and ministry disciplines that can help you to know ongoing revival in your walk with the Lord. Why not consider signing up with one of our Mentors today?