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| Central Baptist Church, Little Rock Arkansas. |
”
With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and much grace was upon them all."
Acts 4:33
(NIV)
God lavished His grace upon the apostles. In doing this He
gave them strength to tell others about His Kingdom. These men didn't stay in
their own clique and talk to each other about Jesus. They went out places that hadn't heard of Him and taught the people of His love.
Churches send missionaries to people who need the Lord. Some
of these groups send emissaries to foreign lands either for a lengthy period or
for short terms-say a week or so. Our church has sent people on mission trips
to areas of our nation ravaged by hurricanes. Some groups have gone to
impoverished areas of Appalachia. More recently the missions committee has
focused on people’s needs here in our community.
Whenever a denomination has an annual conference or even a
general conference, the delegates spend time one day doing outreach to
distressed areas in that community, painting, building a ramp, or working with
children at a community center.
People who follow the LORD perform these tasks as a
testimony of God in their lives. No matter where these deeds are done, the
message is, ‘God loves you.’ They are able to do these acts because of their
receiving God’s love in their lives.
Now, a lot of us may not be able to go to a distant land or
to a distressed area of our nation. We may have some health issues that
interfere with our ability to build a ramp or install a bathroom, or build a
porch but we can support those who go either by financial donations or by
committing to pray for them. We might want to find a way to assist children
at-risk of continuing destructive behavior.
When I originally wrote this,I sat here in my living room
two days after the tragedy that has us praying for families in Newtown,
Connecticut. I wonder if the outcome for the young children and the adults at
that school would have been better, had someone taken the time to share the
love of Christ with the one who caused this disaster.
Listen to a modern song about grace. Your Grace is Enough
Yes, "how will they hear without a messenger?" "Many are called, but few are chosen..." We, as Christians, are all given the mandate to share the Gospel with our own Jerusalem first, and then on to the outermost parts of the earth. If each would do his/her part whereever he may be, what a difference we could make in this world. We may not be able to "go", but we can do what we can with whatever gifts we are given...writing, reading, singing, praying, sharing, caring...this is our mission field. Thank you for reminding me today.
ReplyDeletePamela: Thanks for stopping in. I appreciate your warm thoughts. I pray you have a wonderful weekend.
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