Throughout this year, I've been writing weekly devotionals for my church, talking about various ways we can experience more of God's power in our lives. Each week, I focus on one of five different areas: Prayer, Outreach, God's Word, Expectancy (expecting God to show up), and Relationships.
This week's focus is on outreach, and it's one of my favorites because of what God's been doing in my mind & heart lately, so I thought I'd share with you.
P.O.W.E.R. Point
Experiencing More of God's Power in 2011
+ Outreach +
I will live
To carry Your compassion
To love a world that's broken
To be Your hands and feet
I will give
With the life that I've been given
And go beyond religion
To see the world be changed
By the power of Your name
Lyrics from “The Power of Your Name” by Lincoln Brewster
Lord, break my heart for the things that break your heart. Recently, I’ve prayed this as God’s been opening my eyes and heart in new ways to the needs of the poor, oppressed and marginalized of our world. It began with understanding the balance Jesus lived in his relationships – UP (God), IN (family & friends), and OUT (the world) – which is his model for us as His followers.
Recently, God has reinforced His call for me to live my faith OUT in the world like Jesus did through a friend, a song, and a book—a friend with a heart of compassion for those in need… the song above… and an eye-opening book called The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision.
Did you know that…
*In America, the average income is $38,611 per person, or about $105 per day, while 40% of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day
*22,000 children die each day due to poverty
*About 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation
*Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities, not to mention fatalities from other infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS
Statistics taken from: http://www.globalissues.org/
These statistics are just the beginning. In America, we’ve been given so much. Most of us have all our needs met and have extra for luxuries such as an iPhone, tickets to football games, or the occasional Starbucks coffee (yes, I’m guilty of this one!).
What if, however, God has entrusted us with what we have not to keep it all for ourselves but to share with others in need?
I want my life to count for God. I don’t want to sit idly watching from a distance those in need suffering without or enduring injustice. I want to see the world be changed by the power of God’s name, as the song above says. But I believe that it’s not going to happen by my sitting on the sidelines. It’s going to happen as each of us steps out into the world in faith and calls on Jesus’ power.
“…I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power…” Isaiah 52:6 (NLT)
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