November 5: BEFORE YOU GO TOO FAR, THINK!

I feel the need to step out on the freeway and raise a caution flag as the traffic speeds up on the way to December 25. Since the biggest money-maker at the mall jumped out on the first of October and began to slash prices and offer great bargains before any of her competitors was ready, the consumer world has been rocking.
The famous “day-after-Thanksgiving” sales, aka “Black Friday”, will be hard-pressed to make an impact. But that won’t stop them from trying: I visited one mall that had ads out that it would open the day after Thanksgiving at 12:01 a.m.
My request to you for the next seven weeks: Don’t forget the hungry, the homeless, the hopeless, and the spiritually impoverished who have not experienced the Gospel.
The Bibles asks: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16)
For the lonely, God has made this provision: Praise be to the God of all Comfort “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort that we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:4) Jesus described his own life work as coming to the world to save those who are lost. (Matthew 18:11)
I feel the heartbeat of Paul when he says, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 9:16) Because of the serious physical, emotional, and spiritual need around us there must come a new “intense intentionality” into our lifestyle. We can be actively doing “random deeds of kindness” wherever we go, intentionally. We can let our “hearts be broken by the things that break the heart of God” as Bob Pierce purposed.
Let us distance ourselves from the “cult of callousness”. Every day that we begin to think about preparing for Christmas, let us ask ourselves “whose birthday are we celebrating?”
We can make a difference for ourselves and others, if we start now!

“God of all Mercy, we get so wrapped up and preoccupied in the holiday
seasons, that we forget to keep the main thing before our eyes. Help! Amen”