Strength for the Week - Serving, Eating, and God

Serving, Eating, and God
          Today was our fourth Care Kitchen.  It is a twice per month time of food and fellowship for the needy run by the Methodist church in town and RFH.  It is a wonderful thing that a Methodist church and a non-denominational church can work together for a great cause.  But it goes even further, because, on any given Saturday, there are Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Baptists, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Methodists, and non-denominational Christians working side by side.  So this is not a denominational thing. 
          We had a very good turnout today, which always makes us all very happy.  It is nice to help Nutley residents get a hot meal, some household items, and some food to take home while they enjoy each other’s company.  But it goes even further, because on any given Saturday there are people from Nutley, Montclair, Bloomfield, Belleville, and even as far as West Milford and Stockholm (New Jersey, not Sweden.  That would just be silly.) giving their time, their smiles, and their love to help those that need it.  So this is not a Nutley thing.
          So what is it?  Well, I think it’s a God thing. 
          As nice as it is to be part of Vincent United Methodist Church or Reason for Hope Church and be able to say that “my church” runs a Saturday Care Kitchen, or “my church” helps feed the hungry, “my church” does this or “my church” does that, it is even better to know that HIS Church is doing it.  Church ministries are great, but I can think of no reason to smile any bigger than I did this afternoon when I looked around at the almost 100 people there to serve, eat, and fellowship together and realized that God put every single one of us there today to do exactly what each of us was doing.  And I know that God has a bigger plan for each and every one of us.
          Brothers and sisters, there is a great reason to get involved in ministry, in helping others, in sacrificing time and money, and in serving.  And God is so great that the enjoyment of it, the great feeling of helping others, and the successes that we experience through it all are not the reason, they are actually just icing on the cake.  The real reason is Him.  The reason is what He is doing in each of us as we serve, as we fellowship, as we eat, as we clean, as we greet, as we cook, as we laugh, and even as we leave with a smile on our faces because of what just happened, and a smile on our hearts because we know we get to do it again not too long from now, together: those that serve, no matter what denomination, no matter what town we live in; those that eat, no matter who we are; and Him, Who is doing it all for a reason.
          Praise God that He is the One behind it all!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Strength for the Week - Selfishly Alone

Selfishly Alone I heard a preacher I like talk about why Christians should go to church.   He used this story as an illustration: ‘A pastor was having a barbeque at his house.   The entire congregation was invited.   There was one man in particular who came with his wife. She was a member of the church, but he himself, though a professing Christian, was not. So while the pastor was grilling, he called the man over and asked him why he did not come to church.   The man replied: “Pastor, I believe in Jesus Christ.   I know my soul is secure. I don’t need church.   I am just fine being a Christian on my own.”   As the conversation continued, the pastor pulled one piece of charcoal that was too hot to touch out of the fire with tongs, and placed it on the ground. When the man was growing tired of the conversation he started to excuse himself, but the pastor asked him to pick up the piece of charcoal first.   The man did and he held it out to the pastor. The pastor said: “When th
Read more

A New Way to Get Strength

Okay, I know I may be behind the times, but I found this new thing called "Blogging". I wonder if anyone else is doing it... Anyway, the days of writing a (mostly) weekly SFTW in Word and e-mailing a document that some could open and some could not are now behind me. Instead, I will be writing right here. Please enter your e-mail address in the little box on the right and subscribe to the SFTW blog. Then, I assume, this internet thingy somehow alerts you when I post something new and you will get a message in your inbox thingy. (Sorry, I didn't mean to get so technical...) Will I post every week? Hopefully. I think with the ease of this new "Blogging" thing, I may even post more than that. Either way, I'd love to have your support in this and I'd love to have you read what God puts on my heart to write. I still love you all!
Read more

Push and Pull

Let me tell you about Juliana (real name used with permission).  She is a young lady that I work with.  As far as I know, she is not a believer, though she is not antagonistic towards talk about God. She said something that struck me a few weeks ago.  While I was speaking to Jenny (see the post from a few weeks back here ) about her upcoming wedding, and as I was asking her about her fiancée’s church membership (or lack thereof), Juliana basically wondered, out loud, if I was trying to convince Jenny and her hubby-to-be to join RFH.  I explained that I was not doing that, but that I firmly believed that Christians should belong to a local church that was doctrinally sound whether it was RFH or not. Then she said, “You’re a religious drug pusher.” Interesting… Now, Juliana is a sassy young woman with a sarcastic streak.  I think she was only joking (though I could be wrong).  And I would hardly consider myself a religion pusher, a faith pusher, or even an evangelist for
Read more