Strength for the Week - Feeding Hungry Hearts

Feeding Hungry Hearts
It is amazing how God has a way of showing us what the right decision is.
          Let me set this up for you: we have set up on the RFH website a form to fill out for people that would like a free copy of the Bible.  We have some $5.00 paperback Bibles that we use for these requests.  Well, we have been getting some requests over the past couple of weeks. 
The first man to request one was a man from Nigeria.  I was amazed and so blessed that someone halfway around the world was coming to us for a Bible!  So I packed one up, headed over to the post office, and we wound up spending well over that $5.00 to get this man his Bible.  Oh, well, if we get someone overseas needing a Bible every now and again, no big deal to pay the extra postage…
The second man to request a Bible was from Kenya.  The same day we got a request from a campus ministry in Nigeria that needs Bibles to give out.  This week, a man from the Philippines requested a Bible.  Are you seeing a pattern here???
Well, the intention for this offer on our website was that we would send $5.00 Bibles to people that needed them, and my assumption was that these would be local people, or at least people in the U.S.  There was a discussion between me and our treasurer over how we should move forward, considering the extra cost involved.  His answer was that we have to send the Bibles wherever they are needed.  I was a bit concerned about the cost.  I’ve been praying about it…
Fast forward to this morning.  It was Care Kitchen day, and, as usual, we offer any leftovers to people to take home after they eat.  We also have bags full of personal care items like shampoo and soap that we offer to people to take one each on their way out.  There are certain regulars that come to Care kitchen that wind up taking a little more than their fair share.  Some grab two or three bags of shampoo, some take two containers of soup, while others take a dozen bottles of water and three loaves of bread.  But the thing is: this always makes us volunteers smile.  We are all so glad that those that are in need are getting what they need, and it is even greater if they have it in abundance.  Seeing hungry people be satisfied is one of the greatest blessings God has given me.  I am so grateful that God is sending these people to get what they need from us.
And it hit me.  How can we deny anyone the Word of God if they need it?  God is sending people our way that are hungry for His Word, and if that means it costs $20 to get the $5 Bible to the other side of the earth, then so be it (or, in the Greek, Amen!).  God is showing us where the need is, and we are being called to satisfy it.
Brothers and sisters, we need to realize the blessing that it is to give to those that need.  We can all quote Acts 20:35, but we need to live it.  This is what God has called us for.  We need to pray to God that He would send those in need our way, and we need to have our eyes and hearts open to recognize every opportunity He hands us to give.  Because what we really want to give is not a meal or a Bible, but a reason for hope.  And after all, isn’t that want we really want to be?

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