17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
Jesus was the Son of God, sent to earth in the flesh, and He was sent to proclaim God's truth and to bring salvation. We, as His ambassadors, are called to reflect His restorative nature - where there is brokenness, loss, and suffering, we can allow His Holy Spirit to bring the message of love and healing from our Savior. We can be confident that He will work through us to accomplish His intentions, so that hearts might be encouraged and discover His hope.
God uses His people so that others may see His glory, acknowledge His presence, and perhaps come into a saving knowledge of Himself. Our response in times of disaster and suffering can certainly
accomplish His purposes. Isaiah 52 states:
6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: 'Behold, it is I.' "
7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
We are continuing to process the extent of damage from Hurricane Michael several weeks ago, and we are seeing that Christian groups are on the ground in the afflicted areas, bringing critical physical and spiritual resources.
And, in the midst of the devastation, area churches, even some that experienced damage are leading the way in bringing hope and relief. Partnerships have been developed between churches outside the Panhandle and those on the Gulf Coast, and it's gratifying to see how the Church is being the Church in the aftermath of the storm.
ChristianHeadlines.com reports that Destiny Worship Center in Panama City Beach, despite losing the side of one of its buildings, has become involved in providing help:
Baptist Press reported that Michael damaged "at least 50 Southern Baptist church buildings in Florida and Georgia." One such church is Family of God Baptist Church in Panama City, pastored by Dwight Woods. There, "the fellowship hall collapsed and 30 feet of the sanctuary roof was ripped off by Michael, Woods told Baptist Press. The church's east campus saw half of the roof torn off and module buildings damaged."
Pastor Dwight Woods is quoted here in this excerpt: "'Some of the deacons are doing some reconnaissance for us, trying to find out some of the needs' in the community in order to initiate ministries."
Churches in nearby Walton County were quick to become involved in the relief efforts. The Walton Sun reported on a few of them, such as Oceans Church:
There are numerous principles to consider here in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. One is that destruction becomes a call for the church to swing into action. When we encounter a personal crisis or observe another person or group of people in crisis, that provides the open door to share Christ.
What is remarkable here is that even though they have been bruised themselves, churches are reaching out to the hurting. That's a good lesson for us - I've heard it said that if someone is suffering, perhaps part of the healing can be wrapped up in a willingness to serve others. These churches, while certainly on the receiving end of assistance, are also part of the process of giving to their communities.
We are not islands in and of ourselves, we are responsible for our brothers and sisters. Because we are part of one body of Christ. And, we are responsible, I believe, to shine the light of Christ into the communities to which we are called. God will motivate us to act.
Finally, we remember that in our consideration of how to be involved in disaster relief that churches are effective resources because of their proximity to damaged areas; accurate assessment of needs. Even large, international organizations will use churches as staging areas. God's call upon the churches in an area can result in tremendous fruit.
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God uses His people so that others may see His glory, acknowledge His presence, and perhaps come into a saving knowledge of Himself. Our response in times of disaster and suffering can certainly
accomplish His purposes. Isaiah 52 states:
6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: 'Behold, it is I.' "
7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
We are continuing to process the extent of damage from Hurricane Michael several weeks ago, and we are seeing that Christian groups are on the ground in the afflicted areas, bringing critical physical and spiritual resources.
And, in the midst of the devastation, area churches, even some that experienced damage are leading the way in bringing hope and relief. Partnerships have been developed between churches outside the Panhandle and those on the Gulf Coast, and it's gratifying to see how the Church is being the Church in the aftermath of the storm.
ChristianHeadlines.com reports that Destiny Worship Center in Panama City Beach, despite losing the side of one of its buildings, has become involved in providing help:
Wayne Asprodites, the pastor of the Destiny Worship Center in Panama City Beach, told CBN News, "Really we're beginning to communicate to take supplies here on the beach level and bring them over to Panama City and Springfield and Callaway, where the churches there were really destroyed, major damage, and allow them to be collection points for the supplies that people are giving us and distribute to the people in need."The CBN News story also profiled Lighthouse Church, located in the eyewall of the storm:
Lighthouse Pastor Cole Bailey told CBN News, "I think we all know that's just a building, it's just a building. We can build a building but we want to make sure our community is taken care of, we want to make sure our members are taken care of."
"We have seven teams out with chainsaws and front-end loaders, we're moving trees and making sure that everybody is accounted for, and that they can get out and that they get the aid that they need," he continued.He pointed out that his church, by reaching out to meet needs, is demonstrating the love of Christ.
Baptist Press reported that Michael damaged "at least 50 Southern Baptist church buildings in Florida and Georgia." One such church is Family of God Baptist Church in Panama City, pastored by Dwight Woods. There, "the fellowship hall collapsed and 30 feet of the sanctuary roof was ripped off by Michael, Woods told Baptist Press. The church's east campus saw half of the roof torn off and module buildings damaged."
Pastor Dwight Woods is quoted here in this excerpt: "'Some of the deacons are doing some reconnaissance for us, trying to find out some of the needs' in the community in order to initiate ministries."
Churches in nearby Walton County were quick to become involved in the relief efforts. The Walton Sun reported on a few of them, such as Oceans Church:
“You don’t need to have a church building to be the church,” Pastor Michael Janetis wrote on Facebook. “It’s so humbling yet powerful to see people of God coming together as the body of Christ to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are hurting, broken and in need.”
On Oct. 14 almost 400 people were given packed lunches, baby supplies, hygiene products, snacks, water and more than 100 gallons of gasoline.Shoreline Church in Destin was another church to be involved:
“Shoreline likes to partner with larger organizations that have the resources and knowledge to address the biggest needs,” said Shoreline Church’s Communications Director Molly Williams. “Some of our partners are ARC national, Pensacola Dream Center, Cajun Navy, and Baypointe Church in PCB. All funds will go toward those organizations and our serve teams will partner up with them as soon as we receive direction.”ARC is the Association of Related Churches. Baypointe's Facebook page says that it still is not having services, but will be used as a staging area for a group that is distributing supplies.
There are numerous principles to consider here in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. One is that destruction becomes a call for the church to swing into action. When we encounter a personal crisis or observe another person or group of people in crisis, that provides the open door to share Christ.
What is remarkable here is that even though they have been bruised themselves, churches are reaching out to the hurting. That's a good lesson for us - I've heard it said that if someone is suffering, perhaps part of the healing can be wrapped up in a willingness to serve others. These churches, while certainly on the receiving end of assistance, are also part of the process of giving to their communities.
We are not islands in and of ourselves, we are responsible for our brothers and sisters. Because we are part of one body of Christ. And, we are responsible, I believe, to shine the light of Christ into the communities to which we are called. God will motivate us to act.
Finally, we remember that in our consideration of how to be involved in disaster relief that churches are effective resources because of their proximity to damaged areas; accurate assessment of needs. Even large, international organizations will use churches as staging areas. God's call upon the churches in an area can result in tremendous fruit.
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