Poor and Needy

Yesterday we were challenged by Adam to think about what we do to recognize and pray and participate in bringing God's Kingdom into our midst (think Jesus' prayer: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." [Matthew 6:10]), and consistent with God's will, to not be guilty of the "sin of Sodom" in Ezekiel 16 (emphasis added below):

48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.

49 " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. 51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done.

So what does that mean for us specifically? Here is an audacious and very tangible goal for our church -- why don't we commit to raising the money to provide a community with clean water (Samaritan's Purse Gift 39)?

Every hour, another 250 people in developing countries die from water-borne diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. Your gift to our Clean Water Projects is an investment in an entire community, providing safe water for drinking, cooking, irrigation, and watering livestock. Working with local ministry partners, we offer a range of solutions from water treatment and storage systems to latrines and hygiene education. A gift of $8,000 can supply enough clean water for 3,000 people by providing a portable water purification unit or other sustainable resource. That's about $16 per family. Through our Clean Water Projects, countless people have discovered that only Jesus Christ can satisfy their spiritual thirst: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Revelation 21:6, NIV).

Clean Water Fund 013659

SUGGESTED GIFT: $8,000