Verse: Acts 20:35
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
Devotional Thoughts:
The youth group had a fantastic week in Birmingham! It was a great week of service – we partnered with an organization called Christian Service Mission (CSM) who’s goal is to transform the communities around Birmingham through the gospel.
So that was the goal for our work this week. To come alongside and help them as they try to realize the goal of gospel-centered, community transformation.
Working toward this goal took several different forms. We cleaned a public school in a low-income area. We sorted supplies for a medical ministry and packed diapers for a ministry to local mothers. We worked in the garden, both at a local church and at the CSM warehouse, which they use for their food ministry.
These are a few of the things we accomplished last week. I would like to encourage each of you to talk with our students about the ministry they were apart of and the things they learned while on the trip.
Points to Ponder:
A lot of these things, however, simply won’t last. The school we cleaned will get dirty again with time. Medical supplies will be used. The mothers will run out of diapers again. Each person that eats food from those gardens will get hungry again.
And that’s just the thing. We’re called to give. We’re called to serve. We’re called to help those in need. And we should. But even if we could fill the refrigerator of every home in Birmingham, there will be a day it’s empty again. Even if we could provide medical supplies to every person in Birmingham, they’ll eventually run out.
And when you think about that, you realize the only way to make a lasting impact is by spreading the good news of Jesus. He’s the only one that provides the life that is eternal. He’s the only one that provides, not just water, but living water that quenches thirst forever.
The work Jesus does never runs out. It’s complete. It doesn’t have an expiration date. It’s eternal. And, at the end of the day, it’s what matters above all else.
I’m so excited that our group was able to serve in a way that the work doesn’t stop because we came home. By meeting physical, current needs, it helps provide an avenue for Christian Service Mission, along with the local churches, to meet the spiritual needs of the people. Meeting physical needs opens up an avenue to share, and hopefully an ear to hear, the message of the gospel.
How can you be meeting needs in Crockett County?
Furthermore, how can you meet needs, and, by doing so, open an avenue to share the gospel?
Blessings,
Zac
