Monday 25 Jul 2022

July 25: Acts 11:27-30

Key Verse: Acts 11:29
The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea.

Devotion:
These were unsettling times for much of the world where empires had grown but were not sustainable, droughts would come and cause turmoil in much of the world. Today we see severe weather patterns, wars and general uncertainty leading us directly to times of hardship and famine too. Famine through mismanagement of funds, lack of infrastructure, floods, droughts and other causes. What was the church doing?

It is written the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch, and this is the label we continue to carry today: Christians, servants of God. Let us step forward and be like those first Christians many years ago; let us be the ones to give hope, love, support and respite to the people who are experiencing the hardships. Let us be the lights shining in the darkness which shows God’s light to the rest of the world.

We cannot hope to change the hearts of all the people in trouble, but we can shine a light on God’s light so He can change the hearts of all the people in trouble! We can do this in our own communities as well as abroad. We can do this with simple gestures of support and aid going into the places where people think there is no hope.

When I was in London serving the local communities, we always did what we could to give people hope where they could see none. That hope would blossom as they found God and started to share that hope with the people around them. Giving people hope so they can see how much hope there is in Christ is a very special gift which keeps on giving.

Points to Ponder:
Are you trying too hard to help people?

Will you give them hope to start with?