October 9, 2005

• Looking out for others needs!

  
  

  … “I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” Phil 2:20,21

  
  

  I was reading a lady’s blog on the devastation of the earthquake in Asia and how she was overwhelmed with all those who have lost their lives not knowing Christ. Praise God for Christians who have a heart for the lost.

  
  

  This had me thinking about our neighborhoods and the overwhelming needs right here in America. I don’t have to walk very far from my front door to encounter those who are headed to an eternity of torment without Christ. There are needs right at my front door. We don’t need to go to a foreign country to serve the Lord Jesus Christ but praise God for those who have been called to do so.

  
  

  I live in a rural area but I still have neighbors. I have an elderly woman who is 93 years old that lives a stone throw from my doorway. She is in good health but is lonely. She loves to have people stop by so she can show them her newest quilt or potholder she is making. Then there is the Spanish family that speaks no English at the turkey ranch up the road just a bit. The mother works in the fields to make ends meet. She speaks no English but we are able to express our love for one another. Then there is the family around the corner that are also Spanish speaking. There are many who live in that home to make ends meet. The Mother of two of the children is in a wheel chair, 2 of the Sisters (?) are mentally challenged and the grandparents live there, too. The Father goes through the dumpster’s every morning looking for cans to earn a bit of cash. There are so many ways to minister to families such as these. Instead of saving aluminum cans that can be given to those who are in a greater need. A hot meal can be taken to a shut in. Extra eggs on sale can be given to help a family that is struggling to make ends meet. A Gospel tract can be included in each of these acts of kindness.

  
  

  Even if a family doesn’t live in a farming community such as I do they can still find needs and ways to minister Christ right in their own city neighborhoods. Possibly you have elderly people who could use an extra meal or their lawns  mowed. What wonderful training for young children to learn how to reach out and minister for Christ. We have those with new babies who could use a meal or someone to help baby sit in those early months. There are those children whose parents don’t have time for them and need a listening ear. Or the single parent who could use help in so many ways.

  
  

  Christ can be ministered to these situations and lives can be changed. I try to always carry English and Spanish tracts in my purse to leave with people I meet or to leave in restaurants, etc. It’s a non-intimidating way to minister the Gospel.

  
  

  1 Timothy 5:9 says that a widow in the church who would be put on a list( to be taken care of by the church) must be known for her good works. This list in Timothy should be a younger woman’s goal of how she lives her life. Her good deeds should include bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. Would others say of us that we are a woman whose life is devoted to good works and deeds?

  
  

  We are so busy with our own interests and our own lives that we can become hardened to the needs of others. It takes a constant dying to self to look to the needs of others.  The opportunities are endless and can be fit into any Mama’s schedule.

  • 12:33 pm
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