Lamentations 4:1-5:22
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Lamentations Chapters 4 and 5 are tough chapters to read. We know why everything that we read in these chapters has come to pass from our readings in the book of Jeremiah. I guess the thing personally that jumped out at me today when reading this chapter were these thoughts: Have I personally ever experienced anything like what we read about in this chapter? The answer is no. The second thought or question that came to me, however, was this: Are there people in our world today that are experiencing similar things that we read about in this chapter? And I believe the answer is obviously yes. Not for the same "reasons" that Jerusalem was experiencing all of this of course - but the same experiences of starvation and lack of hope are indeed happening in our world today.
Then.... the question becomes - is this fair? Is this right? Should we try to do something for people in our world that are experiencing starvation, lack of hope, and worse? What will we do? I know there are thousands of organizations that we could support to help those in need in our world. One that I have personal experience with is World Vision. If you have an extra dollar a day, you can sponsor a child and radically change that child's life - forever. Or, even if you have an extra dollar a month, World Vision can do incredible things with that dollar. If anyone wants to post up other good relief orgs in the Comments sections, please do? I'd love to hear about which international relief organization you invest in. Thanks.
Actually, since I started down the path of mentioning World Vision, let me go off a bit more on my tangent here if you don't mind... :) I don't know about you, but I have had a hard time buying gifts that are simply "more stuff" for my friends and family in recent years. Don't get me wrong. I think there are wonderful hand-made gifts or books or music or even some stuff that is just the perfect gift for someone in our life. But, more often than not - if I'm going to a wedding, holiday party, birthday for kids, housewarming party - I feel like I'm just buying more "stuff" for my friends and family who have plenty of "stuff"! And so, I just want to share with you what I do now for weddings and birthdays and holidays: I may get a small personal gift for folks, but more likely I'll get them a goat! Yep, you read that right. A goat. The thing about this goat is that my friends and family won't actually have this goat walking around their house - and I'm sure they appreciate that. This goat actually goes to a family in our world that is living on less than $1 a day. This goat will provide milk and cheese for this family's personal use and for sale in the market. This goat might even allow the family to breed more goats and start up an entrepreneurial business so that this family can get self-sufficient. So... I'll be 100% honest with you here - my friends love receiving this type of goat!! They really do. With the holiday season coming up - and with weddings and birthdays and the list can go on - will you consider buying a goat for your family & friends instead of buying them more "stuff"? World Vision is one organization where you can buy these types of goats as gifts - but I'm sure there are more. World Vision actually recently unveiled their holiday gift catalog online at this link! At this link you can peruse their catalog of more than 100 gift items for families world-wide living on less than $1 a day. You can buy goats, fruit trees, wells for clean water, clothing, sheep, chickens, and the list goes on. During this holiday season, will you consider buying life-changing and life-saving gifts for others in our world this holiday season rather than just buying more "stuff"? (Thanks for reading all this... I know I've gone way off from the Bible readings today... or have I?)
Worship Video: Todya's readings remind me of the Casting Crowns song "East to West." Enjoy this live version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUkTenwz_mw
How far are your sins from you? Click here to send them as far as the East is from the West!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy!
Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
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