in my Bible reading this morning, relating to talents God has given us, in Matthew 25, Jesus tells us what pleases God in serving others.
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;
Naked…and you clothed me;
I was sick, and you visited me;
I was in prison, and you came to Me.
Truly, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me, said Jesus. Verse 20.
My Vision
- Yes, I would like to house Christians. A shelter for Christians has for many years been on my mind. That would meet their needs for accommodation, food and water, safety. Restoration of health in many cases for people living on the street. Yes, there are homeless Christians.
This is a transitional process to help people recover and be restored to independent living in a community. There could be teaching how to budget and handle money. What about addictions? What is the expectation of all involved? Not all shelters are safe, so how to provide that and encourage people to trust, when they have been betrayed? Do it, says Jesus.
Thankfully, there are groups who are practical in their outreach. Safe and Sound is an example of a Christian organization here in Canada that feeds about 200 people, twice a day, free of charge. Wonderful, hot meals, day after day. But is there someone near by where you live that that needs a meal? What about handing out a gift card for a grocery store, a restaurant, and other places to help feed those in need.
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Today, water has struck me most of all. Thinking of drilling a well in Africa comes to mind, for a whole village, but also meeting the needs of Christians in that village. Water is so often polluted. Children die from lack of clean water. There are organizations drilling wells in Africa, the poorest country, but also in other place.
I want to see a well dug and pump installed, etc in a village in Africa in 2026 to provide clean, safe water for drinking, cooking, bathing. Provide drugs to kill parasites in the people. Might we do this to honour the memory of someone we love? I will use a Christian organization who is drilling wells across that land. $3,000 to $5,000 per well per village. There are thousands and thousands of villages without clean water. Why not provide more than one well?
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Stranger and took me in.
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Clothed me. I love Thrift Stores. There are churches who run them to raise funds for missions and local projects. Why not go through one’s wardrobe to see what one could donate to those in need. Why not buy new things to give away to others. Is this your area of service?
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Visiting the sick. Hospitals and nursing homes are where most of these people are. Some like to visit and provide comfort through their presence, a service of music and Bible teaching in some cases. Taking someone to medical appointments.
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Prison ministry. As a young girl I did this and found it very difficult to engage in meaningful conversations. Now, I struggle to consider doing this. Sadly, there are Christians in prison, but the joy is how many are involved in correspondence courses to learn God’s Word, are being encouraged by those who have a special concern for prisoners. Even Christians suffer the humiliation of a prison when choices made did not follow God’s Guidelines. Let us not judge what in many cases we do not understand.
This post was prompted by thinking about my dying brother and about being practical in serving God. Are there ways we might come together to pool our resources in order to help people in need in the way Jesus mentioned? Sometimes in helping a Christian, others are blessed at the time. My concern reaches out to everyone.
Everything we do must be bathed in love, and that comes straight from the heart of God. Focusing on others gets our mind off ourselves, and that is healthy, and leads to a blessing.
Events Supported That You Might Do Also
The Relief of Poverty
- 150 pairs of eye glasses in new cases to a Clinic in a Hospital in Ghana, Africa in 2024. Collected from churches in the area. Sent via a doctor and his wife who were able to identify the prescription for each pair, and gave them out to those in need at no charge.
- Shoe Boxes of children’s school & other supplies sent across the world with Samaritan’s Purse. Each year a new shipment is gathered for Christmas distribution.
3. Travelling with a Youth Mission to distribute educational books and other material, giving musical concerts, answering correspondence courses, talking with locals in foreign regions of the world. Training young women.
4. Buying livestock, seeds, and other supplies to help feed families overseas and guide them to become self sufficient.
5. Growing crops on a farm to sell in Canada and sending those funds overseas to help those in need.
