But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom.” – Mark 10:14 (The Message)
“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” (NRSV)
Is there any child Jesus was not talking about? Where are there children in need right now? What can Jesus do for them? What can you do as a member of the body of Christ? What will you do?
I have no story to share this week. Instead these are statistics about what is happening to children right now.
In Dougherty County in 2010 138 children suffered from neglect, 90 suffered physical abuse, 17 were abused sexually, and that is only what was reported! It is estimated that more than 80% of cases go unreported.
In an average year in Georgia 60 children will die from neglect, that is more than 1 a week.
Every day in Georgia over 40 children are victims of confirmed abuse or neglect.
34,540 children were substantiated victims of child abuse or neglect in Georgia in 2007.
Over 8,500 abused and neglected children are in state custody at any one time because their homes aren't safe.
The most recent research suggests that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
Dougherty CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for children) is working to ensure that children who suffer this evil have a voice. The Lily Pad Center is working to ensure that people who care surround these children of the living God.
Right now many dozens of children are under the care of Dougherty CASA. They need school supplies. Children in one family need two size 6 uniforms and one size 8 uniforms for girls. This Sunday at our 11am service and our 5:30pm 5th Sundays Together First Presbyterian Church will be collecting school supplies that go to the children Dougherty CASA is caring for. We do not need bags, but everything else. Please help, it is the work of Jesus, it is the work of the kingdom. In fact these children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. If you do not live close to help, find out who supports children in your hometown. The need is everywhere.
With belief that hope and joy is on the horizon,
Garrett
Showing posts with label help. Show all posts
Showing posts with label help. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Interests of Others
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. – Philippians 2:4 (NRSV)
What are your interests? What are the interests of others? How do you look to the interests of others? What does that encompass?
Let me brag on my church for a moment, because in doing so I brag on God. First Presbyterian Church of Albany, Georgia has a Community Resource Ministry that meets with homeless and needy people in order to help them reach a place of self-sufficiency, providing them proper resources for things such as education, job opportunities, housing, and more. This amazing ministry began because some people saw that others needed help.
We started off two days a month meeting with people for two hours a day. Now through the grace of God (and to God be the glory) it is going on two times a week, soon to be three times a week! Because of those dedicated folk who look to the interests of others, lives are changing through the power of gospel of Jesus the Christ.
A couple of months ago I sat down at a restaurant bar. As often happens I struck up a conversation with people next to me. Inevitably I was asked what I do. I told them. One of them said, “Oh I don’t go to church.”
“Why not,” I asked.
“Because, you guys don’t care about what I care about.” He then told me how he is into the arts. He likes painting and music and pottery, and the church, as far as he can tell, has no place for his interests. The sad part was, he isn’t wrong. “If there was a church that had people painting and sharing their joys and talents, and praising that way, I’d go. But you all aren’t like that.”
What are the interests of others? Have we been looking too much toward our own interests at the expense of those who need a church to call home? In the heart of God there is a place for everyone. “Interest” is a broad term. While no one church can meet the interests of all, God knows there are so many churches because Jesus interacts with everyone differently. Yet inevitably Jesus interacts with us in order that we interact with others as disciples. How will we do that?
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What are your interests? What are the interests of others? How do you look to the interests of others? What does that encompass?
Let me brag on my church for a moment, because in doing so I brag on God. First Presbyterian Church of Albany, Georgia has a Community Resource Ministry that meets with homeless and needy people in order to help them reach a place of self-sufficiency, providing them proper resources for things such as education, job opportunities, housing, and more. This amazing ministry began because some people saw that others needed help.
We started off two days a month meeting with people for two hours a day. Now through the grace of God (and to God be the glory) it is going on two times a week, soon to be three times a week! Because of those dedicated folk who look to the interests of others, lives are changing through the power of gospel of Jesus the Christ.
A couple of months ago I sat down at a restaurant bar. As often happens I struck up a conversation with people next to me. Inevitably I was asked what I do. I told them. One of them said, “Oh I don’t go to church.”
“Why not,” I asked.
“Because, you guys don’t care about what I care about.” He then told me how he is into the arts. He likes painting and music and pottery, and the church, as far as he can tell, has no place for his interests. The sad part was, he isn’t wrong. “If there was a church that had people painting and sharing their joys and talents, and praising that way, I’d go. But you all aren’t like that.”
What are the interests of others? Have we been looking too much toward our own interests at the expense of those who need a church to call home? In the heart of God there is a place for everyone. “Interest” is a broad term. While no one church can meet the interests of all, God knows there are so many churches because Jesus interacts with everyone differently. Yet inevitably Jesus interacts with us in order that we interact with others as disciples. How will we do that?
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Thursday, November 18, 2010
God Knows
God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together.
God, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out. – Psalm 30:2-3 (The Message)
Have you ever yelled for help? Had you fallen apart? When have you been down-and-out? Have you experienced God giving you another chance at life? Putting you back together?
This was e-mailed to me:
When you are tired and discouraged from fruitless efforts... God knows how hard you have tried.
When you've cried so long and your heart is in anguish... God has counted your tears.
If you feel that your life is on hold and time has passed you by... God is waiting with you.
When you're lonely and your friends are too busy even for a phone call... God is by your side.
When you think you've tried everything and don't know where to turn... God has a solution.
When nothing makes sense and you are confused or frustrated... God has the answer.
If suddenly your outlook is brighter and you find traces of hope... God has whispered to you.
When things are going well and you have much to be thankful for.... God has blessed you.
When something joyful happens and you are filled with awe... God has smiled upon you.
When you have a purpose to fulfill and a dream to follow... God has opened your eyes and called you by name. Remember that wherever you are or whatever you are facing... GOD KNOWS!!
And maybe you are saying, “Yes, yes, I know all of this already!” Sometimes we get tired of hearing that God is with us because it just doesn’t seem to make a difference. Maybe that is because we haven’t yet yelled for help. “If God is with me, and God knows everything, why should I pray?” we have each thought. We pray because we are the ones who are down and out, we are the ones who need to be put back together, and because God knows but we don’t. So let us yell out to God, we might even be pulled out of a grave we didn’t know we were in.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Have you ever yelled for help? Had you fallen apart? When have you been down-and-out? Have you experienced God giving you another chance at life? Putting you back together?
This was e-mailed to me:
When you are tired and discouraged from fruitless efforts... God knows how hard you have tried.
When you've cried so long and your heart is in anguish... God has counted your tears.
If you feel that your life is on hold and time has passed you by... God is waiting with you.
When you're lonely and your friends are too busy even for a phone call... God is by your side.
When you think you've tried everything and don't know where to turn... God has a solution.
When nothing makes sense and you are confused or frustrated... God has the answer.
If suddenly your outlook is brighter and you find traces of hope... God has whispered to you.
When things are going well and you have much to be thankful for.... God has blessed you.
When something joyful happens and you are filled with awe... God has smiled upon you.
When you have a purpose to fulfill and a dream to follow... God has opened your eyes and called you by name. Remember that wherever you are or whatever you are facing... GOD KNOWS!!
And maybe you are saying, “Yes, yes, I know all of this already!” Sometimes we get tired of hearing that God is with us because it just doesn’t seem to make a difference. Maybe that is because we haven’t yet yelled for help. “If God is with me, and God knows everything, why should I pray?” we have each thought. We pray because we are the ones who are down and out, we are the ones who need to be put back together, and because God knows but we don’t. So let us yell out to God, we might even be pulled out of a grave we didn’t know we were in.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Someone to Trust
“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” – Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)
Do you know your God as a faithful God? How has God kept his covenant of love in your life? How have you kept God’s commands? When have you called upon God in your time of need? What happened?
While Melinda and I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, one day Melinda called me when she was in San Francisco working. She had just gotten back to her car and discovered that it had been broken into. The thief had stolen her stereo, and CDs, and whatever else he could get his hands onto quickly. It was the middle of the day and on a busy street with people walking by the whole time. Either no one noticed, or no one cared.
She called the police and she was told that they could not do anything. “Your stuff is gone and we don’t have any resources to devote to that kind of thing,” she was told. It was discouraging, but we accepted such things as the way they were.
When we moved to Albany it wasn’t four days before my car was broken into. I blamed myself because I apparently had forgotten to lock the door. Everything had been taken. We didn’t call the police because we thought nothing would happen, but people kept telling us to call the police so we did. And wouldn’t you know it, an officer showed up, finger printed the car, took a report, and a couple of days later the guy was caught and everything was returned.
The moral of the story is just because some people we trust fail us, doesn’t mean everyone will fail us.
A lot of people don’t have many reasons to trust anyone. Many have experienced the heartbreak of watching parents abandon them in various ways, friends not come through on promises, government officials demonstrate more concern about keeping power than doing what is right, and countless other such things, and then decided that they couldn’t trust anyone. But we have a faithful God! A God who keeps his covenant of love! We have all heard testimonies from people who know that God has been their help. It may be hard to take that leap of faith when everyone else has seemed to fail us, but know this, God does not fail those he loves and God loves you!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Do you know your God as a faithful God? How has God kept his covenant of love in your life? How have you kept God’s commands? When have you called upon God in your time of need? What happened?
While Melinda and I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, one day Melinda called me when she was in San Francisco working. She had just gotten back to her car and discovered that it had been broken into. The thief had stolen her stereo, and CDs, and whatever else he could get his hands onto quickly. It was the middle of the day and on a busy street with people walking by the whole time. Either no one noticed, or no one cared.
She called the police and she was told that they could not do anything. “Your stuff is gone and we don’t have any resources to devote to that kind of thing,” she was told. It was discouraging, but we accepted such things as the way they were.
When we moved to Albany it wasn’t four days before my car was broken into. I blamed myself because I apparently had forgotten to lock the door. Everything had been taken. We didn’t call the police because we thought nothing would happen, but people kept telling us to call the police so we did. And wouldn’t you know it, an officer showed up, finger printed the car, took a report, and a couple of days later the guy was caught and everything was returned.
The moral of the story is just because some people we trust fail us, doesn’t mean everyone will fail us.
A lot of people don’t have many reasons to trust anyone. Many have experienced the heartbreak of watching parents abandon them in various ways, friends not come through on promises, government officials demonstrate more concern about keeping power than doing what is right, and countless other such things, and then decided that they couldn’t trust anyone. But we have a faithful God! A God who keeps his covenant of love! We have all heard testimonies from people who know that God has been their help. It may be hard to take that leap of faith when everyone else has seemed to fail us, but know this, God does not fail those he loves and God loves you!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A Time For Fellowship
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. – John 19:26-27 (NRSV)
Why do you think Jesus wanted to make sure these two had someone to care for them before he died? What may have been going through his mother’s mind? What about the beloved disciple’s mind? This is one of the last words Jesus spoke, what does it say about how we should live?
The following is a story about Marian Anderson that I have heard a couple of times.
Marian Anderson, an African-American singer who helped break down the walls of race, made her debut at Carnegie Hall, demonstrating to all a voice that is still considered one of the best ever today. At the end of the concert she sang “Ave Maria,” and people called her back for an encore, and then another, and then another, and she finally ended by singing, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” Her mother was sitting in the audience weeping. The person next to her asked her why she was crying when her daughter was doing so well, and she responded, “I’m crying for joy.”
She then recalled a moment when Marian was a girl saying, “I was working in a kitchen, my hands were burned, my face scalded, it was hard, but I did it so my daughter could get an education. I remember one day Marian came to me and said, ‘Mother, I don’t want you working like this.’ And I looked down at her and said, ‘Honey I don’t mind, I’m doing it for you and I expect great things from you.’”
Years later someone asked Marian Anderson what the happiest moment of her life was. “Was it when you made that debut in Carnegie Hall?” “No it wasn’t then.” “Was it the time you stood before the kings and queens of Europe?” “No it wasn’t then.” “Was it the moment in Finland when it was declared that the roof was too low for a voice such as yours?” “No it wasn’t then.” “Was it when Toscanini said that a voice like yours comes only once in a century?” “No it wasn’t then.” “What was it then Miss Anderson?” “The happiest moment in my life was the moment that I could say, ‘Mother, you can stop working now.’”
Jesus knew that no one could get anywhere by himself or herself. Each one of us has made it as far as we have because of hundreds, maybe even thousands of other people who have helped us along the way. People were not meant to be alone and cannot go through life alone. Knowing that people need fellowship, Jesus made sure that his mother and his beloved disciple received fellowship in each other. We now must become fellows to each other, and discover friends in others; it is the only way we can make it all!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Why do you think Jesus wanted to make sure these two had someone to care for them before he died? What may have been going through his mother’s mind? What about the beloved disciple’s mind? This is one of the last words Jesus spoke, what does it say about how we should live?
The following is a story about Marian Anderson that I have heard a couple of times.
Marian Anderson, an African-American singer who helped break down the walls of race, made her debut at Carnegie Hall, demonstrating to all a voice that is still considered one of the best ever today. At the end of the concert she sang “Ave Maria,” and people called her back for an encore, and then another, and then another, and she finally ended by singing, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” Her mother was sitting in the audience weeping. The person next to her asked her why she was crying when her daughter was doing so well, and she responded, “I’m crying for joy.”
She then recalled a moment when Marian was a girl saying, “I was working in a kitchen, my hands were burned, my face scalded, it was hard, but I did it so my daughter could get an education. I remember one day Marian came to me and said, ‘Mother, I don’t want you working like this.’ And I looked down at her and said, ‘Honey I don’t mind, I’m doing it for you and I expect great things from you.’”
Years later someone asked Marian Anderson what the happiest moment of her life was. “Was it when you made that debut in Carnegie Hall?” “No it wasn’t then.” “Was it the time you stood before the kings and queens of Europe?” “No it wasn’t then.” “Was it the moment in Finland when it was declared that the roof was too low for a voice such as yours?” “No it wasn’t then.” “Was it when Toscanini said that a voice like yours comes only once in a century?” “No it wasn’t then.” “What was it then Miss Anderson?” “The happiest moment in my life was the moment that I could say, ‘Mother, you can stop working now.’”
Jesus knew that no one could get anywhere by himself or herself. Each one of us has made it as far as we have because of hundreds, maybe even thousands of other people who have helped us along the way. People were not meant to be alone and cannot go through life alone. Knowing that people need fellowship, Jesus made sure that his mother and his beloved disciple received fellowship in each other. We now must become fellows to each other, and discover friends in others; it is the only way we can make it all!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Way to Become Great
“But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. Whoever wants to become the first among you must serve all of you like a slave. In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.” – Mark 10:43-45 (NCV)
What does it mean to serve others? How has Jesus served you? How did Jesus serve people when he walked on earth? Do you know people who are great because they serve? What are they like? Do you serve others?
The following story is from Todd Urick, a member of First Presbyterian. Currently he and his family are serving as missionaries on the island of Eleuthera:
When moving to Eleuthera I carried with me the attitude of going to help the people of this 3rd world country. “I have so much, they have so little.” It is my job to help these impoverished people. At the beginning of every week the staff of Bahamas Habitat are given a list of things to get done by weeks end. It was a Wednesday evening when I was reviewing my list of things that still needed to be completed within the next two days when one of our new long term volunteers handed me a paper to read on the differences of fixing, helping and serving. This paper focused on not how can I help, but how can I serve. That next morning around 8am, I was getting started on my list of to-do’s that needed finished by the next day when one our staff members quickly found me and asked if I could go to the north part of the island, about 1hr 30 min. away and pick up a group of high school students and bring them back south past our settlement, which would be another 2 hours to attend a music workshop. Here’s the catch, they needed to be picked up by 10am. The first thing that crossed my mind was, I have so much to get done here at camp, neither these kids nor this workshop has anything to do with Bahamas Habitat and after calculating driving time for the morning and driving time to get these kids back home, over 6 hours of my day would be spent behind the wheel our giant green school bus hauling kids back and forth. After about a minute of deliberating and wondering why I had to be the one to do this, I was suddenly reminded by this little voice, “you are here to serve.” The receipts can be entered into quickbooks later, the bush waiting to be cleared will be here when I get back, the new screen doors aren’t going anywhere and can be hung tomorrow, but this opportunity to serve 32 high school students by getting them to this music workshop in which they could get instruction on playing guitar, drums, dance, etc... may never come again. So for the next 2 days I spent around 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening serving these students. I began relationships with some of these students that I guarantee will last a lifetime.
From this point on, anything that comes up that’s not on my daily to do list, whether it be building a desk for Emma’s teacher or repairing Ms. Whyte’s toilet, I willingly do with no hesitation knowing I am here on this earth to serve. Serving is different from helping. Helping is based on inequality; it is not a relationship between equals.
When you help, you use your own strength to help those of lesser strength. But to serve, we draw from all of our experiences. Our limitations serve, our wounds serve, even our darkness can serve. The wholeness in us serves the wholeness in others and the wholeness in life. The wholeness in you is the same as the wholeness in me. Service is a relationship between equals. No longer am I on Eleuthera to help these people, but to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all equal in our Father’s eyes. – Todd
For those who are disciples of Jesus Christ it can be no other way! We are children of God not to be served but to serve others. Pray today that you become great and you will soon discover where you can be of service.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What does it mean to serve others? How has Jesus served you? How did Jesus serve people when he walked on earth? Do you know people who are great because they serve? What are they like? Do you serve others?
The following story is from Todd Urick, a member of First Presbyterian. Currently he and his family are serving as missionaries on the island of Eleuthera:
When moving to Eleuthera I carried with me the attitude of going to help the people of this 3rd world country. “I have so much, they have so little.” It is my job to help these impoverished people. At the beginning of every week the staff of Bahamas Habitat are given a list of things to get done by weeks end. It was a Wednesday evening when I was reviewing my list of things that still needed to be completed within the next two days when one of our new long term volunteers handed me a paper to read on the differences of fixing, helping and serving. This paper focused on not how can I help, but how can I serve. That next morning around 8am, I was getting started on my list of to-do’s that needed finished by the next day when one our staff members quickly found me and asked if I could go to the north part of the island, about 1hr 30 min. away and pick up a group of high school students and bring them back south past our settlement, which would be another 2 hours to attend a music workshop. Here’s the catch, they needed to be picked up by 10am. The first thing that crossed my mind was, I have so much to get done here at camp, neither these kids nor this workshop has anything to do with Bahamas Habitat and after calculating driving time for the morning and driving time to get these kids back home, over 6 hours of my day would be spent behind the wheel our giant green school bus hauling kids back and forth. After about a minute of deliberating and wondering why I had to be the one to do this, I was suddenly reminded by this little voice, “you are here to serve.” The receipts can be entered into quickbooks later, the bush waiting to be cleared will be here when I get back, the new screen doors aren’t going anywhere and can be hung tomorrow, but this opportunity to serve 32 high school students by getting them to this music workshop in which they could get instruction on playing guitar, drums, dance, etc... may never come again. So for the next 2 days I spent around 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening serving these students. I began relationships with some of these students that I guarantee will last a lifetime.
From this point on, anything that comes up that’s not on my daily to do list, whether it be building a desk for Emma’s teacher or repairing Ms. Whyte’s toilet, I willingly do with no hesitation knowing I am here on this earth to serve. Serving is different from helping. Helping is based on inequality; it is not a relationship between equals.
When you help, you use your own strength to help those of lesser strength. But to serve, we draw from all of our experiences. Our limitations serve, our wounds serve, even our darkness can serve. The wholeness in us serves the wholeness in others and the wholeness in life. The wholeness in you is the same as the wholeness in me. Service is a relationship between equals. No longer am I on Eleuthera to help these people, but to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all equal in our Father’s eyes. – Todd
For those who are disciples of Jesus Christ it can be no other way! We are children of God not to be served but to serve others. Pray today that you become great and you will soon discover where you can be of service.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
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