Our ministry has taken various people on mission trips to minister to desperately needy people, but they don't all respond the same way. Everyone feels compassion, but some individuals become quite determined to find ways to make a difference.
Indifference makes an excuse, but love finds a way. Everyone can do something!
I remember a woman who decided she had to help in some way. For a while she couldn't figure out what to do because she had no extra money to contribute and she couldn't go live on the mission field.
But as she continued to pray about the situation, God encouraged her to look at what she had, not at what she did not have. She realized she was very good at baking cakes, pies and cookies.
So, she asked her pastor if she could bake during the week, and offer her baked goods for sale on Sundays after church as long as the money went to missions. This became a way for her and other church members to be involved in missions, and it kept her active doing something to help someone else.
We all need to be loved, but I believe our personal joy is strongly connected to loving others. Something beautiful happens in our hearts when we give.
You CAN read the Bible through in a year. Start today!
Mon: Numbers 29:1-6, Matthew 24, Rev 11:15-19, 1 Cor 15:50-58
Tues: Ephesians 1:1-4:16, John 1:1-13, Psalm 92, Proverb 22:24-25
Wed: Ephesians 4:17-6:24, John 1:14-28, Ps 29, Proverb 22:26-29
Thurs: 2 Samuel 1:1-3:21, John 1:29-42, Psalm 131, Proverb 23:1-3
Fri: 2 Samuel 3:22-7:17, John 1:43-51, Psalm 23, Proverb 23:4-5
Sat: 2 Samuel 7:18-11:27, John 2:1-11, Psalm 110, Proverb 23:6-9
Sun: Esther 4:9-5:3, Hebrews 4:7-16
They are to do good, to be rich in good works,
to be generous and ready to share.
1 Timothy 6:18