Serving Together

Tuesday January 20, 2015

After I moved to Africa, a couple living in America contacted me and said, "We´d like to make a financial contribution to help you with your ministry in Uganda." Because my job at the time didn´t require that I raise funds, I thanked them but declined their generous offer.

My friends were eager to help feed the hungry, show hospitality to strangers, clothe the poor and provide the thirsty with a drink as believers in Jesus are told to do in Matthew 25:34-39. For some reason, however, I didn´t think that I should accept money from them or anyone else at that time.

One month later, however, I was visiting some children at a rural hospital in northern Uganda when I met a little boy in desperate need of medical treatment that his family couldn´t afford. It was then that I believe that the Lord impressed on my heart to tell my friends about him so that together we could help him. And, of course, when they learned of his needs, my friends gave joyously and generously on his behalf.

As I spent days in the hospital tending to the child and visiting the sick (v.39), I was strengthened by my friends' prayers, emotional support and financial gifts. They helped equip me to minister lovingly to the little boy and other patients at the hospital. Conditions there were so bleak that "crowds of sick people - blind, lame or paralysed" were forced to sleep outside on hard porches, much like the poor and hurting described in John 5:2-4.

Today, consider how you can unite to serve "the least of these" through your local church and personal giving (Matthew 25:40). I can attest that, even in the face of suffering, few joys compare to working with others to help those in need. - Roxanne Robbins

Read
Matthew 25:34-40
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "

Mark 2:1-12
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He´s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying "We have never seen anything like this!"

Question to Ponder
How could you serve with others this week to bring glory to God as you help those in need?
Why is it important to work with others - those who know the true nature of the need and those who are in need - before moving forward with ministry plans?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue