The Light Switch

Many of you know that I was not always a follower of Christ. Oh, I knew of Him from a young age but only from a distance. That changed back in 1990. Since then, my desire to follow Him has not changed although my sense of what that means surely has. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ can be very easy. Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not so easy.

• When you follow Him, you go to places that are hard and challenging
• When you follow Him, you give away things of value
• When you follow Him, you end up trusting in Him although you can’t see Him
• When you follow Him, you join a special forces unit like the Navy Seals, engaged in a battle for the hearts, minds and souls of the lost
• When you follow Him, your heart hurts more than you want it to - often
  

There is a big difference between being a disciple of Christ and a fully devoted, sold out follower of Christ. The former is easy and the latter is not.

As we get closer to the Haiti Pack-A-Thon, the magnitude of what must be done for the children of Haiti takes my breath away. Many that I approach for help are busy that weekend, some are not interested, others shrug their shoulders, some say that the poor are not their mission field. Some comment that the children need to learn to feed themselves (duh). So I go to the next door, the next contact and the next church asking for volunteers and donations. I confess that after the doors close, I wonder why I am doing this? Why am I asking our Kids Against Hunger leaders to keep giving and working so hard? Deep inside I know the answer. The light that we carry shines on the One we are following so others will see where to go.

The Lord reminded me why we started A Child's Hope International and why Kids Against Hunger exists in what Isaiah wrote long ago:

“…if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10)

There we go again. The difference between a casual disciple and a fully devoted follower. It costs something to be sold out for Jesus Christ. Add that one to the list

Many years after Isaiah, Jesus spoke these words:

You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lamp stand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven
(Matthew 5:14-16)

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with more than 50% of her population surviving on less than $1 a day and almost 45% of her people under 18 years of age. One child out of twelve dies before the age of five, from starvation, preventable diseases, and water-related illnesses.

Isaiah said that if we spend ourselves for the hungry our light will shine. Jesus said make your light shine. So here is the important question?

How is your light doing?

The Haiti Pack-A-Thon is Sept 26-27 http://www.achildshopeintl.org/Haiti.html Could this be the light switch you have been looking for?

Learn to do good

When leaders lead well, others are lifted up. When leaders lead poorly, others are held down.

One difference between good and bad leaders is this: bad leaders lack conviction, courage and concern for others. They are more concerned about protecting their ground (like position, power, and prestige) than in helping others get to higher ground. Know of any leaders like that?

This is a not a political message but there was something said last night by John McCain that stayed with me. Near the close of his speech he said:

Feed a hungry child…Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier, because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.

I see parallels from Isaiah 1:17

… Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans…

Humble leaders lead by example and personal sacrifice– they have conviction, courage and concern for others – getting others to higher ground. Prideful leaders are more interested in what keeps them in power on their ground. The Lord had a lot to say about prideful, Pharisaical leaders (Isaiah 1:15-17 from the Message Paraphrase)

Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings - meetings, meetings, meetings- I can't stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I'll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces… Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Isaiah 1:15-17

Look at that short phrase “learn to do good” carefully. To learn something requires repetition, practice. You don’t just read about doing good – you do good. Good leaders and those that follow them have conviction, courage and concern for others. As a result, others are lifted up. Isaiah’s message is profoundly simple.

The children in Haiti are malnourished and starving to death. You can help. Volunteer just 2 hours of your time to pack Kids Against Hunger meals at the Haiti Pack-A-Thon on Sept 26-27. You can register at http://achildshopeintl.org/Haiti.html . If you have funds, spend them. Each Kids Against Hunger meal is produced for 25¢ and the 285,000 we have planned for Haiti will need funds.

Learn to do good. Makes sense to me.

Too Soon To Quit

Have you had times in your life (perhaps recently) when the idea of packing it in and quitting seemed like a good thing? There have been some interesting political candidates who perhaps felt that way at one time or another. Hopefully Sarah Palin will not. Dan Quayle did. Do you remember Ross Perot? Although I thought him to be somewhat strange, he did say something rather profound: "Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the on the one-yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot away from a winning touchdown."

A Child's Hope International has a clear mission (you can read it on our web site). Although it is clear, the mission is hard and it takes work. Especially when we try and focus the time, talents and treasures of others on helping children who cannot help themselves. Seems like it is a lot easier to do nothing than to do something good.

On this subject, the Apostle Paul encouraged us, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)
I like how Steve May reflects upon this. The "proper time" sometimes takes a little longer to arrive than we like. And sometimes it feels like the proper time will never arrive. This is when we need to engage our faith. It's when we need to determine to dig in and stick around a little longer. It's never a good time to quit.

The Christian life -- and more specifically, the ministry -- consists of overcoming one defeat after another. That's because we're in a spiritual battle and everyday we confront the enemy. We may lose a little ground from time to time, but we will not lose the war. We have been promised victory -- a harvest of righteousness -- if we do not give up. It's always too soon to quit even when others we know and have trusted, have quit on us. The excuses they offer can be real sources of discouragement but only if we let that happen.

We have updated the web site (http://www.achildshopeintl.org/) with information about the Haiti Pack-A-Thon on Sept 26-27. Take a look and let me know what you think. Through the incredible devotion of the Kids Against Hunger team, Kroger Stores have loaned their vacant store in Liberty Township to us for the Pack-A-Thon . The Apostle Paul was right, let us not become weary in doing good . I believe that we will pack nearly 300,000 meals that weekend for the children of Haiti. Many of the Coalition of Care churches will be there along with others from the community. We will reap a harvest if we do not give up. I like that.

Safe Keeping

Friends, we have updated the web site with a brief video on the ministry. Please let me know your thoughts and if the audio is clear.

http://www.achildshopeintl.org/HomePage.html

A few of us are making a short visit to the mission in Haiti, 10 days before the Sept Pack-A-Thon. We heard tonight that the local missionary met with some of the people in the community earlier this year and promised them food. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get 1 ½ containers of food (420,000 meals) per year for them. We will be shipping (Lord willing) 1 full container of Kids Against Hunger food at the end of Sept to them (280,000 meals). We all recognize that the Lord answered his prayer – and the work of evangelism, church planting and disciple making will go forth in the slums and poverty stricken areas of Haiti because of what that missionary is doing.

Remember, we are to be found both worthy and working when He comes. So be sure that what God has entrusted you with is not in the ground (or the bank, or in your hand, or in your mind, etc) for safe keeping. Some keep what they have, safe for an unknown greater cause. If it is the “ground” when He returns, what will you say? If it is in your mind but you never got around to being involved, what will you say? If it is in your hand and you could not let go because you were not sure if there were a better investment, what will you say? Principles, polices and practices can be good tools but they can become unwieldy and deadly tools when they act as shovels as we hide the “talents” in the ground waiting for the perfect time to release them. The Bible speaks clearly this way:

The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.' "The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. "'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.' (Matthew 25:24-30)

The One who spoke still speaks, the One who came still comes.

Great and Mighty Things

One of my favorite teachers is Charles Stanley who once said that the Spirit-controlled life begins with an overwhelming realization that we are absolutely helpless and hopeless apart from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Until that one simple truth grips us at the core of our being, we will never experience the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because we will always be out there doing things for God in our strength.

In recent weeks, I have struggled with the magnitude of what A Child's Hope International is trying to do for children. I have labored in the dark with these thoughts some days:
the problem is larger than I thought, we are too small, the donations are a trickle, the criticisms are loud, the doubts are daily, some friends have left, what I don’t know exceeds what I do know, this was a mistake, I am not making enough to provide for this family, etc.

But then I have to admit that God has been very faithful:
that good things are happening, problems are being solved, there are volunteers every week at the Kids Against Hunger Factory, that Berean Christian Stores provided a place, the funds have come in to buy tons of food, that Wendy and I have been blessed by the support of gracious people, that I am working for a few hours as a hospice chaplain

I can do absolutely nothing – I must be reminded each day of that truth! But the Lord can AND He will because He cares more for the orphan, the poor and hungry than I do

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3

Last Thursday, Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and their group called Orphans Promise committed to covering the expense and transport of a 40’ container to Haiti to feed the hurting children there. They will come to the Kids Against Hunger Factory in West Chester for the story. That container will hold 280,000 meals; the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission group will be the recipients. Besides 40 pallets of Kids Against Hunger food, we will include additional humanitarian relief supplies (shoes, sneakers, simple clothes, meds). There are dentists we know that want to take their first missions trip and Haitian children need them.

A Sept Pack-A-Thon (24 hour event) is being planned to pack these 280,000 meals with the hands of hundreds of volunteers working in shifts. You will be invited to participate in this great and mighty thing for the glory of God. Will you help?