August 31 I Monday

Psalms 132-134

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand.”  —1 Chronicles 29:14

We live in a needy world. With the impact of COVID-19, the needs in this world are greater than they were before. When we surrender our lives, align ourselves with Christ and are obedient to His desires, we allow His generosity to flow through our lives. As we give, we reflect His love to a broken world and our joy is made complete because that joy He has placed in us gets to be shared with others. We saw evidence of that in Venezuela and Colombia through our mission partners.

Last December, The Peoples Church in Toronto, Canada, drew attention to the refugee crisis that was taking place in Venezuela with millions of Venezuelans fleeing the country because of its economic and social collapse. Many of those refugees pouring into the Colombian borders were mothers with young children.

Many of these mothers did not have resources, money or jobs. They were homeless, sleeping in parks and vulnerable to predators. Things in their life were dire. The churches in Colombia came alongside to help as many mothers as possible, but many of the mothers who did not have employment and resources had to resort to selling their bodies on the street so that they could put food on the table for their children. They did not want to do this, but it was their last resort because they were watching their children starve. Out of love for their children, these mothers were laying down their lives.

Nearly a million dollars was raised between The Peoples Church and Living Truth to help support the Colombian churches to reach these mothers. These funds were used to help the mothers feed their families so that they would not have to sell their bodies on the street. Moreover, many of these mothers were in biblical trauma care counselling, gathering together not only to support one another but to also understand the love of Christ. By the grace of God, many had come to faith.

As we are moved by God’s love, would we consider the words of John Wesley:

Do all the good you can, By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,

At all the times you can, To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

May the world know that God is love through our love towards others as we do all the good we can for as long as ever we can. Would you consider giving?

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for providing me with all that I have. Open my heart to share Your love and consider giving generously to the needy world around me. Praise You!