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Oh the joys of bringing the Gospel to life in our own lives and the lives of others. I wanted to send out a special thank you for all the ladies that came out Monday for the MOP Swap. So what's this talk about living the Gospel message? Throughout the planning and setting up for the evening I couldn't help but think about what the Bible says about earthly possessions. We have so many material possessions in our life that we hold on to that we don't really need but keep around nonetheless. What happens to that stuff? It just becomes clutter around the house. I'm talking about that stuff that you “love” but more than likely wouldn't even remember it if it just happened to disappear one day. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus meets a rich man who has, for the most part, lived a very virtuous life, however Jesus asks him to sell all his earthly possessions and give the money to the poor so that he may inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Sadly the man turns away. Many of the moms at the MOP Swap expressed the freedom they felt when they were able to give away THINGS that they really wanted to keep, but truly had no use for.
After the evening was over we gathered all of the leftover clothes, toys, and odds and ends to be donated to charity. One organization helps pregnant mothers that are contemplating abortion. The volunteers were so excited when I brought a van load of toys, baby clothing, and maternity clothing to share with their clients. When I made the delivery, this is when another Gospel message started coming to mind, the Loaves and the Fishes. The people that Jesus had been preaching to had become hungry. There was not much food to go around, but Jesus told his disciples to hand out the small amount that they had. This is when a small blessing became a huge one. When everyone had their fill there was a multitude of leftovers! Our small gift of a few clothes and toys could not only help a mother in need, but it could even save a life. So many women seek abortion because they are pressured into thinking they can't provide for a child. Some of these ministries include finding a home for expecting mothers, adoption referrals, Emergency assistance (rent, utilities, food, transpiration), limited ultrasounds, community resource information, infant and maternity clothing, diapers and formula, and post abortion healing and counseling.
The Loaves and Fishes Gospel continued to manifest when I took everything else (home items, tv, etc) that was left over to another charity that ministers to the needy and the homeless. I was afraid they wouldn't be able to use any of the items that I was bringing to them, but boy, did I get a surprise! One of the volunteers told me that their agency works together with another agency so that when things are donated to them that they cannot use, they in turn donate it to the other ministry that can use them! WOW! To me I felt like our small offering just kept multiplying. Not only did we free ourselves of attachment, but God blessed those items so that it could multiply into a greater manifestation of ministry and charity. So, I was moved by the Holy Spirit to share with everyone that what started out as fun Mom's Night Out turned into something much greater blessed by God.
Mark 10:17-31
17 He was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, 'Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'
18 Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
19 You know the commandments: You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.'
20 And he said to him, 'Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.'
21 Jesus looked steadily at him and he was filled with love for him, and he said, 'You need to do one thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'
22 But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
23 Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!'
24 The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, 'My children,' he said to them, 'how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.'
26 They were more astonished than ever, saying to one another, 'In that case, who can be saved?'
27 Jesus gazed at them and said, 'By human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible.'
28 Peter took this up. 'Look,' he said to him, 'we have left everything and followed you.'
29 Jesus said, 'In truth I tell you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
30 who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land -- and persecutions too -- now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.
31 Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.'
Matthew 14:15-20
15 When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, 'This is a lonely place, and time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.'
16 Jesus replied, 'There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.'
17 But they answered, 'All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.'
18 So he said, 'Bring them here to me.'
19 He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves he handed them to his disciples, who gave them to the crowds.
20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps left over, twelve baskets full.
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