I was listening to K-LOVE recently and they were talking about people in Rwanda who do not have clean water.  Parents have to make the decision between giving their children water to drink that may make them sick, or to buy wood (which is expensive) in order to boil the water to make it drinkable.  The little money they have would be spent on wood, instead of food, which creates another problem.  K-LOVE was asking listeners to donate to Compassion International in order to provide filters so these families can have clean water for life.

As I sat in my car listening to this, I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in that kind of reality.  I went over in my mind all of the times during my daily routine I use clean water that is right at my fingertips.  I just couldn’t fathom the heartbreak of not having clean water to give to my child.

Then I started thinking about the joy these families must feel when they receive the water filter and realize they no longer have to worry about getting access to clean water.  What a wonderful experience to be there and witness this organization being the hands and feet of Jesus – not only providing clean water for physical needs, but also sharing the Gospel with these same families.

In John 4:13 Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman at the well:  Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  The water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Then the Holy Spirit gently reminded me…I don’t have to go to Rwanda in order to offer “the water of eternal life” to others.  God has placed me in my own little mission field…in my neighborhood and in contact with certain people in order to do the very same thing.  Sometimes in the busyness of life, it’s easy to forget that people we see everyday who do not know Jesus personally are thirsting for the water of eternal life that only comes from Him.  As followers of Jesus, we are called to share the Gospel with them so that they, too, can experience true joy and freedom in Christ.

Melissa

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the need around you?

I sure have!  I especially feel this every time I join a team from my church for our annual ministry trip to the beautiful country of Honduras.  The need is so great and so evident there, one can easily feel overwhelmed by it.

My dear friend, DaNetta Fernandez – who is our team leader during our trips to Honduras – was experiencing these feelings at the beginning of this month.

“Oh, Ana,” she’d told me, “our Honduran friends have so many needs!  There is so much I wish I could do for them, but I just don’t have the money.”

“Is there anything we could do?” I asked her, trying to be helpful.

“What about a garage sale?” she responded, half-heartedly.

It was a plan.

We asked our friends for donations, hoping to collect enough items to make our efforts worth something.

I have to confess that at first, I wasn’t too hopeful.  But as the donations began trickling in, my faith grew bigger and stronger.

“I think God will provide, DaNetta,” I told my friend.

“We’ll see,” she responded, feeling weary.

The donations poured in more abundantly during the week of our sale, and on Saturday morning, our customers flooded DaNetta’s driveway ceaselessly.

When it was all said and done, we had made 670 dollars!!!  By 11 am, exhausted and sunburned, we were ready to close shop.  We packed what was left and filled DaNetta’s truck to the max.  She and Paige (one of our team members) took the items to GoodWill.  Before that, we filled Lord only knows how many bags of clothes that we took to our church’s Food Bank.  We also filled two big suitcases with children’s clothes to take with us to Honduras.

Talk about God coming through!

This experience reminded me of the time when Jesus told His disciples to feed the hungry crowds that had been listening to His teachings all day long.

“[But] we have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they had answered. (Matthew 14:17)

That didn’t matter to Jesus.  He took the little that had been given and multiplied it.  The Bible says that “those who ate [were] about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (vs. 21)

It also says that the disciples filled twelve basketfuls with what was left over.

I thought about our friends who gave their contributions to us: a few fish here; a couple loaves of bread there.  Yet Jesus multiplied their seemingly small offerings and showed us that He is indeed a faithful and compassionate Provider!

Our team will leave for Honduras today.  So I am asking you again, dear friends, to offer your “small” contribution of prayer as we embark in this adventure.  We will have a chance to teach, to minister, to encourage, to pray and to share God’s love and message with the people of Honduras.  And we really can use your help, again.

Can’t wait to tell you what God does next!

Thank you so much,

Ana

http://anastinescorner.blogspot.com

I like how my feet look in a cute pair of shoes. I’m quite partial to a peep-toe. But as cute as I think my feet look in a peep-toe, I know God isn’t always pleased. He doesn’t care that my toe nail polish might be chipped (ok, it is chipped) but He does care that the attitude I sometimes walk around with is chipped. The ‘shoes’ God wants me to wear are ones that show off His peace offering to mankind, which is Jesus.

As part of putting on the armor of God, the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:15 to “…shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” I like the New King James version of this passage because it uses the word ‘shod’. It reminds me of how a horse is shod. The shoes are nailed on to the hooves. A shod horse does everything with her shoes on. Can you imagine having the gospel so securely attached to you that you did everything with God ‘on’?  That would include shopping, talking with your kids, discussing a sensitive issue with your spouse, resolving a problem with a co-worker, driving in rush hour traffic…

The other word that gets my attention in Ephesians 6:15 is the word ‘peace’. Our Father offers reconciliation and eternal peace to everyone through Jesus. As His representatives, we are to carry this offer to the world around us. But if we aren’t living peaceably with others, we won’t be able to effectively share God with them. I struggle with this when it comes to my Dad. We clash on so many things and I often do a poor job of being a peacemaker with him. I thought avoiding him would help keep the peace but I then read in John Bevere’s book, The Bait of Satan, that Jesus did not say, “Blessed are the peacekeepers.”  Bevere says,  “A peacekeeper avoids confrontation at all costs to maintain peace, even at the risk of compromising truth. But the peace he maintains is not true peace. It is a touchy, superficial peace that will not last. A peacemaker will go in love and confront, bringing truth so that the resulting reconciliation will endure.”

A few weeks ago I asked for my Dad’s forgiveness for my bad attitude. I’m praying I don’t remove the shoes of the gospel of peace. Unlike a horse who has no say in having shoes nailed to her hooves, we have a choice in whether or not we wear all the armor of God. So don’t go barefoot. If you put on God’s peep-toe shoes, you can show His beauty to those around you. A nonbeliever might take notice and ask, “Where did you get those shoes?”

Shagufta

Earth to Ana. Earth to Ana, my husband enjoys saying when he wants to get my attention.

Yeah, yeah, very funny…

Well, I guess I should be glad my husband has a sense of humor. It must be frustrating living with someone whose mind is often in Analand.

Yet who can blame me? Analand is an amazing place, filled with creative ideas, inspiring music, beautiful landscapes, and meaningful conversations with my own very agreeable self. It is no wonder I love visiting so often.

But eventually duty beckons, and I make the trek back to reality.

My reality, however, isn’t bad either. I live in a cute little house with a family that loves me. I have a great job and wonderful friends. I’m seldom cold and never go hungry. And even in times of struggle, I have an enduring conviction that God loves me and will be there for me through it all.

In fact, my reality is usually so cozy, I seldom stop to think about anybody else’s. But is that the way it is supposed to be?

Not according to Jesus.

Christian artist Matthew West challenges me with these lyrics:

What if there’s a bigger picture?
What if I’m missing out?
What if there’s a greater purpose
I could be living right now
Outside my own little world?

Truth is that outside my own little world there is need, heartbreak, strife, illness, poverty, loneliness, bondage… All of the things Jesus died on the cross for.

His resurrection message offers hope, healing, freedom, love, joy, peace, and so much more. But this powerful message needs to be shared by people who are willing to look outside their window and into a world crying out for help.

The Apostle Paul said that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”. But “how”, he continues, “can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
(Romans 10:13-14)

Oh, that my heart would be filled with passion for the lost, the broken and the needy, that I’d be willing to step out of my comfort and share the Lord with those who haven’t yet heard His message!

Earth to Ana, Earth to Ana! I hear the world calling.

http://anastinescorner.blogspot.com/