My heart for missions....

Sunday at church the message was called Give3 - Part 2 in a series entitled Give & Go. It was about missions, about three different ways we should give: financially, spiritually, and physically. While the sermon was delivered about foreign missions, the application of the Word to my heart was slightly different. I'm not saying that starving children in Ethiopia don't tug at my heart strings. I will admit tears streamed down my face over the story of the Indian orphan being put to bed on a mattress-less bed of wooden slats. Yet my heart for missions is a bit closer to home. My heart breaks over the mission field I see right in my backyard: hungry families in my community, broken children right here whose families are torn apart, confused teenagers at my local high school who are trying to navigate the stormy waters of this thing called adolescence. They need Jesus. They need food. They clothes to wear to school. They need their broken hearts soothed and their murky minds made clear. While the suffering of ALL people lies heavily on my heart, the people right in my backyard are those who are indelibly imprinted on "my heart for missions." I don't know what people group is most heavy on your heart, but it doesn't really matter. The need to give of ourselves financially, spiritually, and physically applies to every part of the mission field.

We need to give financially out of our assets. I always find it interesting to observe the discomfort whenever a message is delivered which includes a commission to give financially. People are so uncomfortable with this! From the person delivering the message to the those hearing it, discomfort abounds. Why?!?!?! Why do we cling so tightly to our stupid STUFF?!?!?! That amazes me. From the perspective of someone who has no money and very few tangible assets available, I can tell you that money is NOT important. I can also tell you that God doesn't need your money to move. He doesn't need you to tithe and give in order to do something miraculous. You wanna know why? HE ALREADY OWNS IT ALL! Your money, your house, your cars, your toys.... they are ALL His. The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; (Psalm 24:1) You know why God needs you to give of your tangible assets? It is NOT for His benefit. It is for YOURS. When you give your assets, YOU ARE BLESSED! That's why God wants you to give! He doesn't need your stuff! He wants you to be blessed.

We also need to give spiritually. It made me think, "What am I doing to give of myself spiritually?" There are so many ways to give of yourself spiritually!

1. Pray! John and I have this habit. When we tell someone we will pray for them, we try very hard to STOP and pray right then. I think sometimes people are a little taken aback by this, but our rationale is if we don't pray right that moment, we might not remember to pray at all. If you are not comfortable praying out loud for someone, then right away after hearing of a need stop and pray silently for it. But PRAY! It is the BEST way to give of yourself spiritually.

2. Share! You can give of yourself spiritually just by sharing what God is doing in your life. When God blesses you with an answered prayed, tell the WHOLE world about it! When God reveals something to you through your reading of the Word, share it with someone. When you hear something amazing in church, tell someone. When I was a little girl, we had this Christian songbook, and my FAVORITE song in that book was Pass it On. The lyrics went: it only takes a spark to get a fire going.... and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.... that's how it is with God's love... once you experience it.... you want to sing... it's fresh like spring... you want to pass it on.... That's all we're talking about here... pass it on! Pass the love of God on to others by sharing what He says to you.

The final encouragement is to give physically. Basically to get up and DO SOMETHING! Make a meal for a family in need. Invite that new person in your neighborhood over for dinner. Offer to clean the house of the woman at church who just had a new baby. For me I heard this as a poke in the fanny to get back to FAITHFULLY blogging. I have been SO remiss about writing lately. So many tell me that the words God gives me to blog minister to them, yet I have let the busyness of life crowd in and I have NOT been blogging very much. Blogging is a way I can physically DO something to spread God's word. As scary as it is because I am terrified the second I type it I will fail, I am committing right here, with my blog readers as witnesses, to blog at least every other day! Yikes! I'm not sure how I'll keep up with that standard, but I am going to give it the old college try.

I hope this blog made you thing about giving of yourself. Whether your heart is drawn to starving children in Ethiopia, to hungry families in Hartford, or to confused college students on campus, give of yourself materially, spiritually, and physically to that cause.