"As we consider what it means to be born again, we must ask ourselves what it means to be born again into a family in which our sisters and brothers are starving to death" Shane Claiborne.
When the holy spirit fell on Pentecost, when the spirit of the Lord fell on that day, noone did without... A spirit of compassion and generosity and love and mercy fell on that day. "And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need." Acts 2:45 When the spirit of the Lord dwells in our hearts, how can it be possible for us to store up eartly possessions, while our neighbors are in need? Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither povery or riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God." Proverbs 30:8-9. Solomon prays not to be rich! Who does that?! .... A man full of wisdom. Poverty was created not by God but by you and me, because we have not learned to love our neighbors as ourselves" Shane Claiborne. Some of us so strongly desire to be used by God in such a big way, but when God filled you with His love, compassion, and mercy, He expects that we will show that same love, compassion, and mercy to a hungry and cold neighbor. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Mark 12:31. "If you pour yourself our for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday" Isaiah 58:10. I want the light of Jesus to rise up in the darkness for all the hungry and hurting to see! John the Baptist said "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise" Luke 3:11. What about us that have been blessed with an abundance? Shall we keep them and while being thankful, not really share.. or if we see someone in need, we will just pray for God's provision or send them to the salvation army..., but what if God put you there as His provision?... Or when God blesses us we could thank Him by turning to our neighbor and blessing Him also while storing our possessions in Heaven, not on earth. Jesus said, when speaking of a poor widow that placed one penny, one penny, in the offereing box while many rich people put large amounts in. "Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box, for they are contributing out of their abundance, but she out of her povery has put in everything she had to live on." This poor widow placed more in her offering than she ever could have imagined. "True generosity is measured not by how much we give but by how much we have left." Shane Claiborne
As I sit in Starbucks with my $5 cup of coffee wearing my new Buckle jeans, I pray that the Lord will work in my heart in such a powerful way that I can love, really love, a deep love that leads to action, my neighbor as myself., that I would only desire to give and not to recieve.
Lord, give me a new heart, a heart that is so seperate from this culture of "need and want". A heart like yours. A heart full of self-sacrifice and generosity. Jesus, when You have blessed me so much, let me not keep it to myself.
"Do not put up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where theives do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt 6:19-21
