Since becoming a daughter of Christ, my perspective has shifted greatly. Before, it was always about,
"How can I make MYSELF look good?" "What can I do that will help ME seem like a better person... and maybe help somebody else out along the way?" Many things that I did were coming from a "ME FIRST" mentality. Since the day that I encountered Jesus' pure, all-consuming, and complete love my perspective changed to:
"How can my actions glorify my Abba Father?" "How can others experience this same love?!" It's a drastic shift; if you ask me... I wouldn't have it any other way.
Many people believe that Christianity means a bunch of Bible thumping, conservative people that love to recite random verses and condemn anybody that is different, to hell. That has not been my experience, AT ALL.
Yes, I love the Bible and the revelation that I receive from the Holy Spirit and I love to share it with others, but I'm not going to force-feed The Word to anyone that does not want it. Where in the Bible do you read that Jesus was forcing the people to believe that He was the Messiah?
My love for Jesus is RADICAL. Because of that, I love everybody. In the book of John, Jesus says,
"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21 NKJV).
In the book of Matthew, Jesus tells the disciples the greatest commandments,
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:36-39 NKJV)
I take these commandments to heart.
I want to love the people with the same agape love that Jesus did, can you imagine how the world would change if everyone's motives for love were completely unconditional?
This leads me to something that the Lord has placed on my heart for over a year now. Some of you may remember last year when I was going to collect blankets to hand out to the homeless; that idea fell through, I see now that I was still worried about how I was going to be perceived. I was brainstorming and planning on trying it again this past November, but I didn't take it as seriously as I should have. Boy, have I felt the conviction! It seems like everywhere I go, I see homeless people freezing! Yesterday, I was reading an article about a pastor that saw Christmas as an opportunity to share the love of Immanuel, not only to those who know Christ but also to those that have never experienced it. To take action to spread PURE love. No strings attached, no underlying agenda, no surprise attack. Just to simply love on people. After reading the article, I felt the Holy Spirit assuring me that it's not too late to take action.
Let me get to the point, I need your help (if you're willing). I would like to collect:
Blankets
Jackets
Thermals
Gloves
Beanies
Rain Ponchos
Umbrellas
Many of us have these items at home that we don't use or need anymore or we like to shop and find these on clearance for really cheap ;)
I would like to hand these out by the 23rd of December (where they will be handed out is still tbd). I would also need help with keeping this in prayer. Also, from anyone that would like to assist me with handing these items out (We can never have too much love!).
Thank you very much,
May the Lord bless you!
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