“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father;
take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
(Matthew 25: 34-45)
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I'm sitting here thinking about how thankful I am to God for everything He's done for me. As the rain hits the window I think of the many people this Thanksgiving who don't have shelter from the rain. How easy is it to have faith and know that God is my provider when I am comfortable? And how hard must it be to have faith and praise God when I am trying to pull together my cardboard box for shelter from the cold and rain when it is already too wet to stand up right. Oh my God I pray that You would move in the lives of those who are going through some very challenging times during this holiday season. People tend to look on the homeless but if you talk to one you may find out that their story is really not much different from yours. I have talked with homeless people on several occasions and I have found that many desire to be productive citizens again. Some have lost jobs through the recession and after 6 months of zero income they find themselves and their families on the streets (I was out of work for a year and a half but thankfully I had somewhere to go). Others have had their bodies ravaged by mental disorders that caused them to lose touch with reality (that's what happened to me but I had somewhere to go when it did). Others have found themselves victim to unfortunate situations where they may have lost businesses after years of thriving profits. There are even so many who've fought valiantly for a country that has forgotten about them after they returned home.
The truth is that as we sit in our warm, comfortable homes in our middle and upper class neighborhoods, going to our beautiful churches every Sunday and Wednesday and hang out with our wonderful friends, we never know when hard times will hit us. So ask yourself this question: How many paychecks can you go without before you find yourself and your family on the street? Your answer, more than likely, will be like a a lot of us. Most Americans are only 2 paychecks away from being homeless. So take some time this year to help someone homeless. You can do it in the smallest of ways. Pray for them and with them that they accept Jesus. Go volunteer at a soup kitchen. Donate clothes to non-profit organizations. Visit a homeless shelter and learn some of their stories. It may help you to have more compassion for those who are going through a storm. Donate money when you can, even if it is only $1 or $5. You would be surprised at how much a small amount can bless someone else. Save up your change and donate it to a homeless shelter. These organizations rely on donations from the community to keep their doors open.
If you can't look on an unfortunate person and not have compassion then I would really have to question whether or not you have truly been touched by God, especially if you are a Christian and a believer. Help in whatever way you can. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture. Just whatever you can do. Homeless people need our prayers, but they need our love as well. They need money, food, clothing, and a nice warm bed most of all.
Say a prayer for someone else today. Believe me, there were times when you were going through when I promise you someone said a prayer for you. How else would you have made it out of what you were going through? Think about it.
God bless you,
Robert T Sells
http://www.robertsellsonline.com/
www.reverbnation.com/theanointedpoet
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