(14) ..."Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
We can make sure that our eyes are open to how God wants to work in our lives. We can learn to rely on Him to show us what He wants to do and then trust Him to provide the necessary resources in order to fulfill our assignment. We have the equipping of the Spirit, who will enable us to follow in the way that He has directed - we can rely on Him to help us manage that He has entrusted to us, so that His name will be glorified.
During the concluding section of the book of 1st Thessalonians, in chapter 5, the apostle Paul
highlights the importance of spiritual readiness and response. We can read:
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
25 Brethren, pray for us.
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus reinforces the element of provision, including the statement, "Give us this day our daily bread." However, we know that around the world, there are many who go without that daily portion of adequate food.
The Church can be instrumental in making sure that people are fed. I have spotlighted ministries in the past few weeks that are being used greatly to minister to those who are hungry in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis. I think of the Dream Center in Los Angeles, where thousands have received food in the name of the Lord. Or of Convoy of Hope, which has partnered with local churches to bring food to communities across our nation. We should never take the provision of food for granted, and recognize that in these difficult times, where you have almost 15 percent of Americans unemployed, that Christians have the opportunity to show the love of Christ, providing physical food, combined with spiritual food.
There is a church in Memphis that has taken the concept of food as ministry a step further, combining several elements in an effective strategy. We recognize that seniors are especially vulnerable to the Coronavirus, and visitation in senior care centers has been restricted. So, this church has stepped up, while bringing economic relief to local restaurants. According to WMC Television, the Senior Pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, J. Lawrence Turner, said: "Our seniors are so precious," adding, "It's a risk if they do go out, if they want to do something special, such as have a meal that's out of the ordinary from what they have access to..."
But, there have been limited restaurant options. The article goes on to say:
Think about this simple and profound plan: the church saw the need and became the catalyst. It put the recipients and providers together and presumably provided the funding. This is efficient management of resources that meets the needs of the community.
We can consider how we have been strategically placed by God into the midst of people we are called to serve. We can trust God for a plan to meet a need or multiple needs around us and the provision to carry it out. His Spirit will give us direction and resources to fulfill the call or the assignment that He has given to us.
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During the concluding section of the book of 1st Thessalonians, in chapter 5, the apostle Paul
highlights the importance of spiritual readiness and response. We can read:
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
25 Brethren, pray for us.
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus reinforces the element of provision, including the statement, "Give us this day our daily bread." However, we know that around the world, there are many who go without that daily portion of adequate food.
The Church can be instrumental in making sure that people are fed. I have spotlighted ministries in the past few weeks that are being used greatly to minister to those who are hungry in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis. I think of the Dream Center in Los Angeles, where thousands have received food in the name of the Lord. Or of Convoy of Hope, which has partnered with local churches to bring food to communities across our nation. We should never take the provision of food for granted, and recognize that in these difficult times, where you have almost 15 percent of Americans unemployed, that Christians have the opportunity to show the love of Christ, providing physical food, combined with spiritual food.
There is a church in Memphis that has taken the concept of food as ministry a step further, combining several elements in an effective strategy. We recognize that seniors are especially vulnerable to the Coronavirus, and visitation in senior care centers has been restricted. So, this church has stepped up, while bringing economic relief to local restaurants. According to WMC Television, the Senior Pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, J. Lawrence Turner, said: "Our seniors are so precious," adding, "It's a risk if they do go out, if they want to do something special, such as have a meal that's out of the ordinary from what they have access to..."
But, there have been limited restaurant options. The article goes on to say:
Senior Pastor Turner has seen the impact it has had on members who own restaurants in Memphis. He said some restaurant owners in his congregation have had to close down and some have had to to lay off workers.One of the restaurants is owned by a church member and provided meals for senior centers in the area. As of the next-to-last week of April, the church had fed about 300 people - residents and members of the facilities' staffs - over a two-week period.
So, he and his congregation came up with a plan to help.
"We decided to partner with our Boulevard member-owned and operated restaurants," he said.
Think about this simple and profound plan: the church saw the need and became the catalyst. It put the recipients and providers together and presumably provided the funding. This is efficient management of resources that meets the needs of the community.
We can consider how we have been strategically placed by God into the midst of people we are called to serve. We can trust God for a plan to meet a need or multiple needs around us and the provision to carry it out. His Spirit will give us direction and resources to fulfill the call or the assignment that He has given to us.
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