Homeless, Not Abandoned

Luann Prater

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." Isaiah 61:1 (NIV)

I got a text saying my sister was on the news in our home state. I raced to my computer to pull up the local station. As director of a home that houses young, troubled women, she was pleading that the homeless be counted in the 2010 Census.

It seemed like not too many years ago my sister and I could have ended up in that home. Our lives could have taken a "Mary turn." I met Mary at a fundraising banquet for the Rescue Mission. She sat next to me and we immediately connected. Two years earlier she had stepped into the wrong car. A man took what he wanted from her, then left her for dead on the side of the road.

She'd already known a hard life. As a child she'd rebelled against her parents and run away. For 21 years she had lived on the streets. But then she went with a fellow homeless girl to the Rescue Mission. When they entered, she witnessed something that touched her deeply. The Mission folks embraced her friend and told her how much they had missed her and been praying for her safety. In 21 years no one had ever done that for Mary.

There was something different in this place. Mary physically healed there while Jesus ministered to her soul through the love of His servants. She discovered what it meant to be a child of the King and gave her heart to Him. She learned how to make wise choices, obey Mission rules, and become faithful to herself and to Jesus.

Mary now has two jobs, lives in her own apartment and serves at her church nearly every time the doors are open. She glows with God's brilliant grace and looks like she just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Her smile lights up the room.

She said her momma never stopped praying for her. She now praises God for the years of heartache and hardships because they put her in touch with the Savior.

My parents, too, were on their knees for my sister and me many times. Maybe that person you see on the street has parents with calluses on their knees.

Watching my once wayward sister stand up for the homeless on TV that day made my heart smile. Our parents would be smiling too, for she displays the Lord's splendor in the Rescue Mission.

Are you His witness? Go display His splendor today because I see His brilliant grace shining on you!

Dear Lord, forgive me for walking right by the hurting without even noticing. Open my eyes to see the world through Your eyes. May I point a broken heart to the Great Healer. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Do You Know the Great Healer?

Visit with Luann on her blog and Encouragement Café

Sponsor a child; change a generation - Compassion International

Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most by Dr. Wess Stafford

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself by Mary Lance Sisk

Application Steps:
Volunteer at a Rescue Mission in your area.

Pray about releasing a child in poverty through Compassion International.

Reflections:
What am I really doing to reach out to the brokenhearted?

How can I make a difference in my corner of the world?

Who around me needs God's love to flow through me and onto them?

Power Verses:
Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (NIV)

Mark 12:31 "The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV)

© 2010 by Luann Prater. All rights reserved.

Only One Thing

Zoe Elmore

"You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)

I had a college professor who told our health class to be sure we had eight hours of sleep, eight hours of work, and eight hours of leisure. It was her opinion that this formula would bring about a balanced life.

I can see you rolling your eyes and thinking, "Really?"

While I don't agree with my professor's formula I do agree that our lives must have balance and in order to achieve that balance we must return to putting our relationship with the Lord first.
Remember the story where Jesus told Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus that she needed to rethink her priorities? Martha was upset with Mary because she dropped what she was doing to sit at the feet of Jesus. Martha, however, continued with her hostess responsibilities until she had enough.

"But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'" (Luke 10:40, NIV).

But Jesus told Martha that it was Mary who had put her relationship with the Lord first in her life. "'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her'" (Luke 10:41-42,NIV).

Martha was one smart lady and she learned her lesson well. After this encounter, when Jesus arrived to call Lazarus from the grave, it was Mary who stayed in the house and Martha who went out to greet Him.

I love that it was Martha to whom Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26, NIV).

Her reply confirms just how much Martha's priorities had changed: "'Yes, Lord,' she told him, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world'" (John 11:27,NIV).

Setting priorities in today's fast-paced life can be challenging for sure. We try to squeeze as much as we can into the twenty four hours in each day. Yet when we've had enough and can't take any more, that's when we find ourselves crying out to the Lord for help. If you're anything like me you will hear His sweet words whispering to your heart, "Only one thing is needed."

The simple truth is when we put God first in our lives; everything else will fall into place. Our responsibilities will continue and the demands of life will go on but God will be there to help us bring order out of chaos. "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6,NIV).

Dear Lord, I confess that my life is pulled in too many directions. When I am anxious about doing things I have trouble hearing Your Word. Help me to treasure the "one thing" that I need and trust You to put the rest in order. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?

Visit Zoe’s blog for more encouragement

All I Need is Jesus & a Good Pair of Jeans by Susanna Foth Aughtmon

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

Find a bit more balance with our free resource, Good Thing or God Thing?

Application Steps:
Prioritize all the commitments and responsibilities you have.

Ask God to reorganize your list and follow His leading.

Reflections:
What is your number one priority today?

Power Verses:
Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (NIV)

Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)

© 2010 by Zoe Elmore. All rights reserved.

6:47

Marybeth Whalen

'"How many loaves do you have?' he asked. 'Go and see.' When they found out, they said, 'Five—and two fish.'" Mark 6:38 (NIV)

I glanced at the clock on the bottom of my computer. It was 6:47 pm and the email had been sent hours earlier. I kicked myself for not checking my email that afternoon and regretted not being able to respond to my friend's plea for prayer as she prepared to share her testimony in a small group at her church. I scanned through her email again and saw that the time she was supposed to begin was at 6:30. Feeling a little foolish, I typed a quick email:

"Dear Karen," I wrote, "It is 6:47 and I am praying your testimony will be effective in the hearts of those who listen." I had no idea why I included the time, it just felt like the right thing to do. I guess because I wanted her to know I did what I could as soon as I could. The next morning, I woke up to this email:

"NO WAY!!!!!!!!!! I was told to arrive at 6:30 and we'd start once the ladies got their kids settled. The leader had me start.....AT 6:47!!!!"

There are too many times that I have been in a situation like that and done nothing because I couldn't do it "right." I beat myself up with thoughts like: A better friend would have prayed as soon as the email came out. A more organized person would have checked her email earlier. How often do we feel like we fall short of what we could be doing as Christians? We wish we could give more, pray harder, speak up more, offer more time. And in the end, because we can't do as much as we want, we throw up our hands and do nothing. Because we can't do it all, we don't do anything at all.

As I read my friend's response, I was glad I did something, taking the little I had to offer and giving it anyway. I was too late by my timing, but not by God's. I had missed the opportunity to pray for my friend before but God miraculously had me open the email at the moment she was beginning and pray then.

In Mark 6:35-44, Jesus performs the miracle of feeding the 5000 men. The disciples told Him that they didn't have enough to feed the crowd. They were ready to give up. I love the question that He asks them in our verse today: "Well, what do you have? Go and see." When they turned over what they did have to Him, He was able to multiply it beyond what they could have imagined.

So many times I come to Him and say the same: "I just have this little tiny bit…of money, of time, of resources, of energy."

And He says, "Bring what you have to me. That's all I ask. Let me take care of it from here."

So I ask what little you might have to give? You might not be able to give $1000. But you could give $10. You might not be able to pledge hours and hours to serve at church. But you can serve once a month for one hour. You might not feel comfortable speaking to crowds. But you're great at sharing what God's doing in your life one-on-one. You might not be able to lead a prayer ministry. But you can pray for a friend who needs it, even if it seems like you're too late.

Let God take your little and make it much. Let Him take your 6:47 and make it right on time.

Dear Lord, show me how I can respond when I feel like I don't have enough. Help me to offer my little in Your name and watch You respond in multiples. Open my eyes to the times I need to offer what I can and let that be enough, trusting You with the rest. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Visit Marybeth’s blog for more daily encouragement.

The Reason We Speak General Editor Marybeth Whalen

For the Write Reason General Editor Marybeth Whalen

Come Along: The Journey into a More Intimate Faith by Jane Rubietta

For an extra lift, listen to Trust Him, one of our Radio programs

Application Steps:
Jesus is asking you: What do you have? Go and see. Spend time today seeing what you have.

Reflections:
What are the things that keep you from saying yes? Fear? Inadequacy? Insecurity? How can doing something little help you overcome these things?

Power Verses:
2 Kings 4:43, "'How can I set this before a hundred men?' his servant asked. But Elisha answered, 'Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: 'They will eat and have some left over.'" (NIV)

2 Kings 4:44, "Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord." (NIV)

© 2010 by Marybeth Whalen. All rights reserved.