Sunday's Promise

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19

My church is currently engaged in a series on wisdom. Primarily, the verses are from Proverbs, one of my favorite books of the Bible, but today Pastor Mike also used this verse from 1 Timothy. I was immediately drawn to it because I feel like our job as followers of Christ is to serve and be generous. Too often we get busy "blessing the blessed," a line I picked up from Jen Hatmaker's book last year. We have church picnics and we raise money to change the carpet in the sanctuary, but we do very little to feed the hungry or provide shelter for the homeless. My soul struggles with this reality on a daily basis.

These verses remind me that the riches we have here on Earth are meaningless. Certainly, we've seen how the stock market can go from high one day to the lowest of low the next. That's not to say we shouldn't save for the future; however, we need to know that God is the one taking care of us. We should never pass up the opportunity to "do good [. . .] and be generous" for the sake of our coffers. In fact, we are promised in Paul's letter to Timothy that we will be laying up treasure that will last if we serve the least of these.

My church gets this, and I am so blessed to be a part of their congregation. I am reminded weekly of ways I can reach out and help those in need. If you are like me and you want to focus on helping the people who really need help, here are some ways that you can help this month.

1. Donate canned food- You can donate wherever you like, but my church is taking up donations for some hungry kids in the area. If you'd like to get in contact with me, I'd be glad to drop off your donations.

2. Another area resource that could really use your donations is God's Storehouse Soup Kitchen which is located in the basement of Rooftop in Galax. The lady who runs it is a wonderful person with a heart to serve the hungry. What I love about her is that she will tell you she can't cook, but that she saw a need in the area and stepped out on faith to fulfill that need. Love her so much! My service club is serving pancakes there in October, and we've received plenty of donations of pancake mix, but we could still use syrup and canned fruit.

3. Baking cookies- My church is baking cookies for a prison ministry, but I'm sure you could find someone who has a family member serving overseas in the armed forces. Perhaps you could bless them for their sacrifice this month.

4. Drop off some cards at the local nursing home- While many people at the nursing home have regular visitors, there are some residents who are visited very rarely. They might appreciate a kind word.

God bless you this week, and I pray you will find ways to bless those in need.