COVER STORY

“Reclaiming the Throwaways—Manila’s Street Kids”
by A. Brent Cobb

“Throwaway” describes yesterday’s newspaper, disposable razors, and rotten garbage. But children? Compassionate disciples are plucking the outcasts from the stench, one heart at a time.

Read this story now.

FEATURES

“Whole Persons, Whole Communities, Whole Love”
by Sherry Pinson
Compelled by the love of Christ, Arun Noah labors today for the whole person and the whole community of India’s teeming underclass.

“But for the Grace of God”
by Roderick T. Leupp
None of us is exempt from the diagnosis painted on the side of the local rescue mission: “the least, the lost, the lonely.” We are all naked by the side of the road.

“A Case of Discovered Identity”
by Rob L. Staples
Orphaned, disowned, and expelled, Gottfried did not know who he was. Discovering his identity required the help of a compassionate community of believers.

“The Least of These”
by Connie Potts-Thompson
Some outcasts live in modern facilities with clean linens and nutritious meals. God can enable us to look beyond the comforts to see people in need of human and divine love.

“Why Tell the Shepherds?”
by Wesley D. Tracy
An incarnation message, an unlikely audience, a gospel for all people. It’s all God’s plan.

COLUMNS

Commission: “Compassionate Holiness”
by Jesse C. Middendorf

We most genuinely take part in the Incarnation when we intensely and sacrificially identify with those who are suffering. In the act of touching the untouchable filth of the world we are most like the holy Christ.

The Deeper Way: “The Heartbeat of Love”
by Mary Rearick Paul

The Incarnation fully reveals God’s desire to hold each of us tenderly until we know His heartbeat of love.

Essay: “Providentially Compassionate”
by Gary Sivewright

Simply put, there is no room in God’s kingdom for “providentially hindered” compassion.

Family Tree: “Compassion Starts at Home”
by Jan Simonson Lanham

Our efforts to extend compassion to those around the world ring true when they are coupled with compassion toward those in our own homes.

Footprints: “Nobumi Isayama”
by Floyd T. Cunningham

By design as well as by gifts, leaders such as Nobumi Isayama were in the forefront of the Nazarene work in Japan.

Holiness: “Holiness and the Outcasts”
by Andy Johnson

This time of the year, we rightly engage in projects to help the poor and the outcasts of our society. But as we do so, perhaps we should ask ourselves if these projects actually invite and enable outcasts, who are very different from most of us, to become part of us.

Metro: “Oh, Calcutta, Oh!”
by Fletcher L. Tink

I see Jesus’ eyes fix on Calcutta, not in accusation but in compassion. Calcutta averts her eyes. How she wishes she could hide her deficiencies, suppress her disabilities!

Portraits: “Vern Englund: Heart Adjustment”
by Dean Nelson

Serving others was as much a part of Englund’s life as adjusting a patient’s neck or back.

COMING NEXT MONTH
DISCIPLINES OF A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE

“The Powerhouse of Prayer and Scripture”

by Rebecca Laird

If we could ask John Wesley, “How can we experience the presence of God and grow in grace in an ongoing way?” he would probably point us to his “General Rules.” All are essential, but two personal disciplines always top the list: daily prayer and searching the Scriptures.