“Feed the hungry, and
help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness .” Isaiah 58:10 (NLT)
A few days ago I got an email asking for
financial help. No, it wasn’t from Nigeria! It was from our friends at MAHI
International, an organization dedicated to helping the people of Micronesia
have better lives through medical assistance and spiritual ministry. MAHI is a
gospel ministry, even though the founders and workers don’t hold evangelistic
meetings or “officially” give Bible studies or start Christian churches. They
live out the Gospel by teaching, healing, helping and building lasting
relationships. MAHI is truly a light for God in the South Pacific where
thousands of tiny island communities are bypassed because they hold no
financial promise.
MAHI founders John and Kat do just what
Jesus did when He walked on this planet. Most of His time was spent in healing
and socializing. We know about His spiritual teaching because people listened
to Him. And they listened to Him because He first established a rapport by
showing them that He cared about their everyday lives. He cared enough to visit
in their tiny homes, share their meager meals, visit them in their occupations,
and offer help wherever He could help.
Isaiah had a message for the religious
people of his day – your religion is worthless! They loved to go to church and
pray and plead and worship. But their religion never seemed to get translated
into the kind of religion God had in mind – feeding the hungry, helping widows
and orphans, healing the sick, befriending the discouraged, liberating the
enslaved. They hadn’t learned – and most Christians still haven’t learned what
Isaiah (and the apostle James) knew – True religion is revealed by how we treat
those in need (James 1:27). When practical ministry is a priority of our
churches, then God’s light will break out on us, in us, and through us.
Do you care about the Good News of
salvation? Do you want lost people to know God? First, live the gospel, because they won’t care how much you know until
they know how much you care.
T.B.
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