Before you answer that
question, perhaps you should
reflect upon the plight of the people in Mozambique.
"Last year
Mozambique had one of the highest economic
growth rates in the world."
according to Brady Anderson, administrator of
the U.S. Agency for International
Development.
But with the rising flood
waters came famine
and poverty. According to President Joaquim,
"the tragedy has affected
2 million people, with 250,000 displaced or
without homes, women forced
to give birth in the treetops, and the death
toll likely to reach several
thousand."
Perhaps your finances
aren't what you want them
to be and as you look around, you see many
people with more than you.
But as bad as times may be for you, when's the
last time you had to fight
with 12,000 other people to find a dry spot atop
utility poles, trees and
rooftops to avoid 36 feet of rising
disaster?
"And he would answer and say
to them, 'Let the man
who has two tunics share with him who has none;
and let him who has food
do likewise.'" (Luke
3:11 NASB)
CHARITY
Jesus walked where the people could see him;
even the needy ones. Luke
tells of ten lepers who could see him and called
to him while he was passing
by. Jesus stopped and healed them. (See Luke 17)
If the city of Santa Barbara,
California has its way, it will become more
difficult for the needy and
the charitable to pass.
The city is planning to realign its sidewalk
benches to deter homeless
people from accosting pedestrians. They plan to
rotate all benches 90%
so homeless folks on the benches will have their
backs to the people on
the sidewalks.
--The Week, February 4, 2011 p. 6 Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson and
Rodger Russell
I wonder if Jesus would change his walking path
and walk in the street
where those needing his ministry could see
him.
Luke 10:25-37 (CEV) An expert in the Law of
Moses stood up and asked
Jesus a question to see what he would say.
"Teacher," he asked, "what must
I do to have eternal life?" (26)
Jesus answered, "What is written
in the Scriptures? How do you understand
them?" (27) The man
replied, "The Scriptures say, 'Love the Lord
your God with all your heart,
soul, strength, and mind.' They also say, 'Love
your neighbors as much
as you love yourself.' " (28) Jesus
said, "You have given the
right answer. If you do this, you will have
eternal life."
(29) But the man wanted to show that he knew
what he was talking about.
So he asked Jesus, "Who are my
neighbors?" (30) Jesus
replied:
As a man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, robbers attacked him
and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up
and ran off, leaving him
half dead. (31) A priest happened to
be going down the same
road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on
the other side.
(32) Later a temple helper came to the same
place. But when he saw the
man who had been beaten up, he also went by on
the other side.
(33) A man from Samaria then came traveling
along that road. When he saw
the man, he felt sorry for him (34)
and went over to him. He
treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and
bandaged them. Then he put
him on his own donkey and took him to an inn,
where he took care of him.
(35) The next morning he gave the innkeeper two
silver coins and said,
"Please take care of the man. If you spend more
than this on him, I will
pay you when I return." (36) Then
Jesus asked, "Which one of
these three people was a real neighbor to the
man who was beaten up by
robbers?" (37) The teacher answered,
"The one who showed pity."
Jesus said, "Go and do the same!"
CHARITY
Rock star Jon Bon Jovi has traveled the world and
eaten in the world’s
finest restaurants. Now, he is opening a
restaurant of his own, The Soul
Kitchen, established in a former auto body shop
near his hometown in central
New Jersey. Several years ago, Bon Jovi started a
foundation to help those
in need by building 260 homes for low-income
residents. His latest venture
is a “pay-what you-can” restaurant providing
gourmet-quality meals for
the hungry while enabling them to volunteer for
community projects without
the stigma of going to a soup kitchen.
The idea for the restaurant
grew out of Bon Jovi’s wife Dorothea volunteer
work helping at a local
food pantry. The restaurant took over a year and a
quarter million dollars
to take shape, but it rivals the other
establishments in the trendy Red
Bank area.
The star says he knew he needed to expand the
foundation’s work when
he learned one in six people in America go to bed
hungry. With the economic
downturn, he also realized fewer families had the
extra money to go out
to eat and make special memories. He says
there are no prices on
the menus at “The Soul Kitchen.” The
Musician said, “If you come
in and say, ‘I’m hungry,’ we’ll feed you. But
we’re going to need you to
do something. It’s a very important to what we’re
trying to achieve.” He
added, ”This is not an entitlement thing.
This is about empowering
people because you have to earn that gift
certificate."
Jon Bon Jovi's charity restaurant opens in NJ,
http://news.yahoo.com/jon-bon-jovis-charity-restaurant-opens-nj-172118923.html;
October
20, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell.
2 Thessalonians 3:10-11 (CEV) We also gave you
the rule that if you
don't work, you don't eat. (11) Now we learn
that some of you just loaf
around and won't do any work, except the work of
a busybody.
CHARITY
Ruth
Reed and her husband resolved to help
customers at the local gas station/
convenience store in Medford, NJ. When the
customer in front of her was having
trouble with his debit card she offered to
pay for his snacks. The customer
turned to her and said, “Thank you. My name
is Keith, what is your name?” After
telling him her name she said, “Does anyone
ever tell you that you look like
Keith Urban?”
“I
am Keith Urban,” the country music star
said. He was on his way to perform at a
concert when his debit card failed. Seeking
to help someone in need, she helped
someone famous. Jesus said any time we help
someone in need we are helping
someone even more famous than Keith Urban.
—Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.
