We just wrapped up a series at church called Hope Lives. This was a series focused primarily on missions and going where God has called us to go. I must say that it was overwhelming! We really laid out some tough challenges for our church body. In the beginning, I knew it would be a tough series because how do you express one central thought differently over 5 weeks so that it has an impact each week? How do you create worship sets for this topic? I mean we are talking about the hungry, the sick, the poor, the homeless, the poverty stricken, etc.
Our first week, we did what was called a reverse offering (we gave everyone in the church a $10 bill and challenged them to go out and do something for someone in need with it). Now you may think, "$10....that's not much" and you would be right. But for THIS church, it was more than enough. They really dug deep and racked their brains about what they could do with this $10 and how far they could stretch it. Let's just say that to scratch the surface, a car was given to someone who really needed it, medical bills were assisted, meals were purchased, tainted relationships were called out, homeless people were blessed, wheelchairs were repaired, children were sponsored, and that's just the beginning. Several other stories are still coming in with people creating organizations to send all proceeds to villages in Africa, and to put shoes on people who can't get them, and much much more.
The overall theme of this series was to simply love mercy, act justly, and to walk humbly with God (ref. Micah 6:8). To immerse yourself in areas and situations that are uncomfortable in order to share the love of God by building relationships. I was absolutely blown away by the response of our people. God is really doing something amazing here and I am so honored to be a part of it.
One thing that I still can't believe is at the end of the day, there are still over 2 billion people in the world who have not even HEARD the gospel of Jesus. Not heard it and walked away, but not heard it at all! Homelessness, hunger, poverty, sickness, all these things represent hopelessness. But TRUE hopelessness is not knowing that there is a higher being in Jesus who has overcome the world and was sent here by the God of the universe to pay a sinful debt that He did not owe so that we could have the mercy of eternal life after death. Wow.....
How does that make you feel? Does it bother you at all? Enough to do something about it?
