Give Us This Day

Give us this day our daily bread. But what if you are giving the daily bread rather than asking for it? In part, this post is my Thank You for donig such a great job. But even the most sincere word of gratitude can contain a challenge for all of us!

Seeing Your Brother In Need

Our Father never fails! I saw brothers and sisters in need and shared their difficulties with close friends and our e-newsletter list. Too many demands on my time prevented me from generating a series of posts to serve as constanst reminders. But GOD…! Those two words always make the difference. Here’s what happened.

A few weeks ago, a storm hit the Dom. Republic. Friends in the D. R. reached out to me to let me know about the severe damage to a church building in the Barahona area. Pictures were sent to me so I could see the damage and share the news with others. The pastor, part of our Pastor Training School, was hopeful we could be of help. Those pictures were part of our e-newsletter and they are the ones shared in this post.

My desire to help is what the Lord used to challenge me. As I said, I want to share that challenge with you. It’s part of Equipping For Life. Let’s begin by taking a look at the words of James. Specifically, James 2:15-17 –

Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

That passage gives us a principle. But before I share it, let me show you the corollary principle from Romans 5:8 –

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Do you see them? James was writing about faith. Paul was writing about love. Here are the principles:

• Faith is a verb
• Love is a verb

Faith and love prove their existence in actions. And YOU have proven to have both! Stay with me, there’s more.

Give Us This Day

Right on the heels of a storm in the Dom. Rep. I got news of catastrophes in Belize. There was flooding in the northern part of the country. But almost no rain the southern part led to wildfires. That’s important because newly planted crops were burned up. And if you don’t know, all of our pastors are bi-vocational. Many of them have small farms and grow their own food. For the few who were able to replant, the rains didn’t come in time to get the second planting out of the ground. It was a left-right punch to our friends.

The need was urgent and I decided EquipUs would help in both situations. But there was no time to wait and see if fundraising efforts would bear fruit. And that’s when I was challenged.

Sometimes God intends for us to be the answer to the prayers we pray. How do I know? God included that concept in His Word. We see it laid out for us in Luke 19:2-4 –

[Jesus]: The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

Jesus told them (and us!) to Pray and then He told them to Go in answer to that prayer. The Lord confronted me with this reality as I was contemplating how to help so many. I was asking for Him to help meet their needs. He reminded me that He had put me (and you) in a position to help. Those friends were praying, Give us this day our daily bread, and I was going to be part of the answer. That is a very tall order. Here’s why.

How does God give to us? Pressed down shaken together and running over, Luke 6:38. And if He is going to use one of us, or many of us, to answer the prayers of His children then we need to represent Him accurately. He gives abundantly.

Equipping For Life – Serving

Friends here at home shared the needs with their churches and Bible Study groups. Others used speaking opportunities to share the needs. To date, we have received about $4,000.00 to help meet these needs. And that is all God’s doing, because I had so little opportunity to ask for help. But He caused the needs to land on receptive hearts.

We’ve been sending several hundred dollars each week to buy food in Belize. Bulk foods are purchased and then distributed by the local church. So our pastors are being equipped (it’s what we do!) to lead others in service.

When the Dominican pastor received funds for repairing his church building, I got a very unusual phone call. It was a video call and here are the reasons for it:

• So I  could see the pastor receive the funds
• For me to hear the pastor count the funds – see the receipt!
• To let me hear the pastor say, Thank You! 

Give Us Our Daily Pictures

There is much to notice in the pictures the pastors have sent back. We get an idea of what was purchased. And we see church members working together to make sure every family gets some food. But we also see other details of life that are very different than our own. The cover image is my favorite. We see the bare feet of village women on the dirt floor of a thatch-roofed house. And every house comes complete with a dog under the table and chicken walking through from time to time (left side).

On one hand, those things make us smile. On the other, I find them very encouraging. We see faith and love acted out. Loving people here answered the call to give and supply. That giving is also an act of faith. But faith was exhibited by those who received the gifts. They prayed in faith that God could and would meet their daily needs. And He did! Then when believers were equipped to care for their neighbors as themselves we see again that love is a verb!

Thank YOU so much for your:

• Faith
• Love
• Giving
• Prayers

Soli Deo Gloria!