Mankind appears to be living in another world since 2019. There is much chaos in the world today as we face some of the most extreme situations that we have ever encountered in the midst of much fear and uncertainty. The impact of a global warming which has devastated crops and destroyed homes, lives and livestock, the world wide pandemic which had caused so much division, fear and pressure on our health systems, the rise in food prices, housing or lack of, education, crime of all kinds. All these things...The western world is in an unprecedented state of decline which is usually attributed to third world countries.
How can we as Children of God, be usable for his kingdom and his glory at such a time as this?
We are called to preach the gospel that leads to salvation. This is a definite must, however, if we can, we should also help others in practical ways, whether they are believers in Christ Jesus or not.
The bible tells us that " God sent his son, so that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life. John (3:16 ). We are not our own. As believers, we do not live for ourselves. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) We may not be able to tackle those heavy dude world issues as individuals, but we can be of use to those in our nation and other nations, our community, neighbours or people whom God has placed on our heart, just by prayer. Praying for people may not feed or clothe anyone but if you have nothing to give, prayer is a very powerful tool and can open doors for people to be provided for.
In my little community, we have 4 food pantries which are like little outdoor stalls where members of the community can give something or take canned food or any item that families may need. To my knowledge, these pantries were first created in the US as a means of helping specific commothers in a specific community. The main food pantry in my town is the only christian ministry out of the 4. It is run by a woman who heard a sermon by her Pastor about getting out in the community and helping others in need.
The pantries are then boosted by (another christian ministry) food being collected from our local college who are part of the national food program in Schools. Students are well catered for in some NZ schools and the left-overs from this school (college) are distributed to the 4 food pantries. We used to have a community garden but it is not functioning at the moment hopefully, this will start up again soon. It helps to have vegetables available for the families who need it.
We also have members of the business community who give out food, money or gift cards as well as proceeds from raffles, directly to these food pantries, so that they can buy more food or much needed hygiene products etc. Sometimes, a farmer in the community will provide meat from his farm. Another member of the community sometimes offer, trays of eggs from her egg farm. Another grower contributes oranges from his orchard.
Our local Salvation Army works with social services, to provide food from their local Food Bank, when families are in dire need. They also put together food parcels during the christmas season along with gifts for the kids. Another local Church runs a dinner night, twice a week which is free. There is also another ministry (not christian) who has a frozen dinner ministry in town. She cooks and freezes food for those who need it. Particulary good for the elderly. Another church does the Christmas dinners each year for anyone in the community, for free. You can sit and have a lovely 3 course meal and chat to a complete stranger next to you.
Not to mention a group of local knitters who knit hats, bonnets, onesies, gloves, shoes and blankets and toys and those who make material books for sick children at Starship hospital, in Auckland city
There is so much that we as believer's can do for our communities. Perhaps you could think of a good idea for a group or a neighbour or your community that will bless others or perhaps you can get ideas from this blog post.
Let's bless those who need a helping hand just as God has so graciously blessed us in these very dark and difficult days! Glory!
Angelina 17/06/23local
How can we as Children of God, be usable for his kingdom and his glory at such a time as this?
We are called to preach the gospel that leads to salvation. This is a definite must, however, if we can, we should also help others in practical ways, whether they are believers in Christ Jesus or not.
The bible tells us that " God sent his son, so that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life. John (3:16 ). We are not our own. As believers, we do not live for ourselves. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) We may not be able to tackle those heavy dude world issues as individuals, but we can be of use to those in our nation and other nations, our community, neighbours or people whom God has placed on our heart, just by prayer. Praying for people may not feed or clothe anyone but if you have nothing to give, prayer is a very powerful tool and can open doors for people to be provided for.
In my little community, we have 4 food pantries which are like little outdoor stalls where members of the community can give something or take canned food or any item that families may need. To my knowledge, these pantries were first created in the US as a means of helping specific commothers in a specific community. The main food pantry in my town is the only christian ministry out of the 4. It is run by a woman who heard a sermon by her Pastor about getting out in the community and helping others in need.
The pantries are then boosted by (another christian ministry) food being collected from our local college who are part of the national food program in Schools. Students are well catered for in some NZ schools and the left-overs from this school (college) are distributed to the 4 food pantries. We used to have a community garden but it is not functioning at the moment hopefully, this will start up again soon. It helps to have vegetables available for the families who need it.
We also have members of the business community who give out food, money or gift cards as well as proceeds from raffles, directly to these food pantries, so that they can buy more food or much needed hygiene products etc. Sometimes, a farmer in the community will provide meat from his farm. Another member of the community sometimes offer, trays of eggs from her egg farm. Another grower contributes oranges from his orchard.
Our local Salvation Army works with social services, to provide food from their local Food Bank, when families are in dire need. They also put together food parcels during the christmas season along with gifts for the kids. Another local Church runs a dinner night, twice a week which is free. There is also another ministry (not christian) who has a frozen dinner ministry in town. She cooks and freezes food for those who need it. Particulary good for the elderly. Another church does the Christmas dinners each year for anyone in the community, for free. You can sit and have a lovely 3 course meal and chat to a complete stranger next to you.
Not to mention a group of local knitters who knit hats, bonnets, onesies, gloves, shoes and blankets and toys and those who make material books for sick children at Starship hospital, in Auckland city
There is so much that we as believer's can do for our communities. Perhaps you could think of a good idea for a group or a neighbour or your community that will bless others or perhaps you can get ideas from this blog post.
Let's bless those who need a helping hand just as God has so graciously blessed us in these very dark and difficult days! Glory!
Angelina 17/06/23local
