Aid Sudan has recently launched a giving program where they are looking for 300 people to give $30 a month. This program will help Aid Sudan with their long-term growth initiatives, and allow them to take care of more people in Sudan.

Our goal is to quickly fill 300 spots of $30 each of recurring monthly gifts.

You may not think that $30 a month will make much of an impact, but it will help save thousands of lives every year.

Donate now to the 300 at 30 campaign.

Our church as begun a new long-term project called Worship In Action. It is to help the members of the Church to focus on what God wants us to do to serve the world as one body. To start off the program they are having 50 Days of Prayers focusing on:

 That loving the world the way God loves the world would lead you to a life of compassion, generosity and service (1 Jn 4:10; 3:18)

That God would give you the faith to say ‘yes’ to him–whatever he asks, whenever he asks (1 Cor 1:20; Isa 26:8)

That through you God would supply the resources and energy to make his saving power known among all nations (Psa 67:1-2; Eph 3:20-21)

There are times where we forget this part of serving God. Actually praying to him and asking for guidance and direction. Several well meaning Christian programs and projects fail because they are missing the main ingredient, God.

I hope and pray that Worship in Action and this blog will grow the way God wants them to grow. That we will not force our selves and “make” it work, but instead let God let it work in His will.

You can download the 50 Days of Prayer Reminder Card for your own projects, or to help pray for Talowood’s new endeavor.

I can relate to Dr. Brooks comments last Sunday about being taught to hold on to all of the money and material possessions you can get. I think it is ingrained in us that we have to take care of ourselves and the best way to do that is to keep building up our bank accounts because “you just never know.” I don’t think there is anything wrong with financial planning, but sometimes we get ahead of ourselves worrying so much about the future that we don’t pay attention to what God wants us to do with our resources today. The critical question for me is “Do I trust God enough to be obedient in sharing what he has given me?” I feel like I am a hoarder by nature, and it is hard for me to understand when I have enough. I am asking God to open my eyes to the need around me and show me how to give of my excess. I am greatly anticipating how he will change my perspective and open my heart. I will share one small example on how he has been working on me… About a month ago, a woman from my office shared with me that she is pregnant. I know she is in a pretty tight financial situation right now but I didn’t think much about what I could do. Anyway…I went home and really felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me that I needed to give her some of my maternity clothes. Just to let you know, I happened to have a ton of maternity clothes. (For whatever reason, I went a little overboard when I was pregnant with my son.) I kept trying to shake the feeling that I needed to give them to my co-worker. I kept making excuses in my mind that it would be weird if I just showed up with clothes to give this girl I didn’t know very well and then, who knows, I may need them again at some point. So, I started thinking that I could offer them to her to borrow. But the Holy Spirit came back clear that no I just needed to give them to her. So I did. I wish there was a dramatic ending to the story that we starting talking about Christ and becoming a Christian, but that hasn’t happened yet. She was very happy to have the clothes, and I see her wearing them at the office all the time. I have no idea how God will use this, but I do understand that he is trying to get me to see how much excess I have to share with others who are in need. He wants so much for me to trust him and not look to money or possessions for security. I obviously have a ways to go, but I am confident in God’s faithfulness to me.

When I read about the early Christian church in Acts, I wonder why does something like what we see in this picture has to happen. Acts 4:32 tells us that we do not own anything, and that the Church shared everything that they owned. If we did the same today, we would not have to face pictures like this.

I am not advocating government involvement, I am speaking of the the individuals of the Christian church coming together as one body to give until it hurts. To give so that children such as the one in the picture above, no longer have to suffer.

Aid Sudan, a group supported by my church Tallowood Baptist in Houston, TX, has been working with the people of southern Sudan since 2000. Our pastor shared the story of the Sudanese people, and it fell heavy on my heart to finally become active and help out in the effort.

As God’s people we cannot let this go on. We did not choose where we were born, just like the people of Sudan did not choose to be born in their current situation. Even though we are economically worlds apart, we still have everything in common as God’s people.

We think gas prices are high? The price of the lives that are lost is so much higher.

Learn what you can do for Sudan.

Donate to Aid Sudan.

Teaching on “Our Need to Care” (Real Player)

Do you really understand how good you have it? Well, if you are reading this on the Internet then you are doing better than most of the world. The realization of this great life has also brought to question what we do with it. The easy road is to sit back and relax. How do we challenge ourselves? How do we take what we have and utilize it to the fullest? How do we benefit others? Read James 2:14-26. We need to understand that as Christians we should live our lives differently. We should reach out to the others. We should serve!

What am I going to do? Honestly, I do not have that answer. I have been praying and searching for my place. I will let you know as move down this road. I heard a great sermon this weekend that really calls us into action. Check it out at Tallowood’s website.

Live It

DT