I can't save the world....I know that, but it sure hurts my feelings when I am reminded of it. I received my Brookwood Weekly Newsletter from Donny Lee this morning and at the end (as always) was the reminder of opportunities to serve. I've been fighting God for months about teaming up with Hub Ministries to volunteer the monthly church service for the homeless of our city. I always seem to have an excuse, there's always other plans or something "comes up." How convenient....Until today...Today I went to the Hub's website http://www.hubministries.com/ and was confronted by pictures...Pictures of the homeless worshipping God, being given Bible and homeless eating a meal of hot dogs...Hot dogs that I can get up right now and go make just because that's what I (or more importantly, Savannah) want. I have a cabinet, a refrigerator and freezer overfilled and overflowing with pizzas, hot dogs, steaks, milk, Pepsi, eggs, Shells and Cheese, green beans and the list goes on and on. But for the grace of God, there go I. Always an excuse...Why do I have such a heartache for these people? People whom society reasons are bums, drug addicts, criminals, alcoholics or all of the above. In order to make ourselves feel good, we convince ourselves that their circumstances are of their own making, but what if they aren't? Could it be a man loses his job and finds that he has no means to pay his rent? Perhaps her husband died and she has no way of keeping a roof over her children's head, not to mention her own. It's easy to sit up on our high horses and reason that these people made their own beds, but what if they had help? What if they didn't? That could be me....But for the grace of God.
Today I received my "Voice of the Martyrs" monthly magazine (http://www.persecution.com/). As I flipped the pages I came to the page of items to purchase. Staring back at me was a t-shirt that stated "I worship in a church. Thousands of Persecuted Christians worship in a prison." What a strong reminder as a Christian living in America how blessed I am...I can go to Brookwood Baptist Church three times a weekend and freely worship God with no worries of the Shreveport Police Department coming to arrest me, but there are people all over the world that can't....But for the grace of God....
As a Christian we are called to help our fellow man, but seriously, I can't go to Pakistan and organize mass prison breaks for imprisoned Christians. I can't build house after house to give to homeless people. I can't cure cancer and I can't stop wars. What can I do? I can pray and I can save the world ONE person at a time as God presents me with the opportunity. So what does that mean? Everyone knows that I do not have unlimited resources to donate to every cause that solicits money from me. So what do I do? Do I sponsor a child through World Vision? Do I buy and fill an Action Pack through Voice of the Martyrs? Do I get up off my lazy butt and go help the Hub Ministries?
My answer became clear as I wrote this blog, I stop fighting Him and do what God tells me...I just have to take off the "It's all about me and my comfort" blinders I have been wearing for so long. It is NOT all about me. It is about furthering God's kingdom one soul at a time. So, what are YOU doing to step out of YOUR comfort zone and to further GOD'S kingdom and not your own? I'm challenging you today....Get up and do something, volunteer with the Hub, write a check to World Vision, go fill an Action Pack and mail it to Voice of the Martyrs. When I'm standing before God, I want Him to recount what I did for HIM, not what I did for me...
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