Food For Thought

Pure and Faultless Religion

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -James 1:27

America is a country of excess. The majority of our population has excess of everything they could ever need.We throw food away, we throw clothes away, and we throw away old appliances and other electronics that make our life a piece of cake. I remember when I was little and I heard, “There are starving kids in China that would love to eat that,” after not finishing a plate of food, I’d think “Sure, but it’s not like I can do anything about it.” But the thing is, you can. And quite honestly, if you call yourself a Christian, then you should.

There are 143 MILLION orphans in the world. In a list of the highest populations of countries from around the world, orphans rank in at #9, just above the entire country of Russia. By the year 2020, there will be 20 MILLION orphans from HIV/AIDS. These children have done nothing to deserve this. They’ve just been born into it. We are extremely blessed to have been born into the USA and have the things we do. Why would we not want to give our excess and some of the things we want to provide those with nothing the things they need to simply survive.

There are many ways you can get involved.

Pray. Pray for what God would have you do for those less fortunate around the world, including here in our own backyards. Pray God would send Christians to go to the people and share his love for them.

Give. There are countless good organizations to give to. A few I can give with confidence are WorldVision (www.worldvision.org/sponserachild) and Compassion International (compassion.com). With these organizations, they pair you up with a specific child and for less than $40 a month you can provide the child with everything they need to thrive. It’s a neat experience because it’s personal; you can send gifts and letters and even meet the child one day. If you’re looking for a one-time offering, Long Hollow Baptist Church is in the middle of a campaign called Crazy Love Campaign. With the money raised through offerings over a few years, they will be building a village in Hatai for orphans, expanding local ministries, and giving to missionaries around the world. You can find more information at longhollow.com.

Go. Go yourself. Go forever, or for a week. Seeing poverty first hand will leave a mark on your life forever. Don’t pass up an opportunity to go and serve these people with your own two hands.

And remember, we have GOOD NEWS we need to be sharing with the world. It is SO good and it’s a privilege to be used as God’s hands and feet.

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