Bridges for Youth

      I heard this cell phone ring yesterday and it said something like “Help, I’m stuck in your pocket”.    It really cracked me up.  A  guy really needs a good laugh every now and then and then, every now and then.  

       Anyhow, I got to thinking about God’s people in the Old Testament, after God had given all the tribes their allotted lands, and Joshua had died.   It had been a time that the people had been obedient to God and He had delivered on all His promises. The generation immediately following Joshua’s death was disobedient and took their eyes off of God.

     They were missing out on the blessings, and basically going the opposite direction. Metaphorically, the story of God speaking through Balaam’s donkey is something that came to mind as I was thinking about that cell phone saying it was stuck in the pocket. Then, I started thinking about how so many professing Christians  don’t honor God with their  money and possessions. 

     Now I’m thinking that if God can speak through a donkey, that God can certainly speak through our money and possessions and get our attention. Can you imagine God stopping you in your tracks by speaking out of your bankcard, checkbook, wallet, dashboard of your car, walls in your house?  I believe that would definitely get my attention and remind me that I had been neglecting God.

       So, this is one of my new prayers, that God would speak through inanimate objects  and get Christian’s attention.  God clearly tells us to take care of the poor and needy in His word.   It takes obedient Christians to accomplish this directive in God’s word.  By the way, it is not a directive to just the few Christians who feel that God has laid it on their heart to help, it is a directive to all Christians and all Christian churches to help the poor and needy.  One of the unpleasant things about being in ministry is that you realize after a number of years that only a scattering of Christians and churches fulfill this biblical mandate.

     So how do you fix it? Over and over again, in the Bible, it talks about God’s people crying out for deliverance, and God always responds.  We are in a position at Bridges for Youth were we have financial needs that are not even close to being met.  We are in a position were there are several  identifiable neighborhoods and small towns were we could go and make an immediate difference among the poor. So, we will cry out to the Lord and ask for deliverance.   My prayer will be that God will speak through the hearts of Christians about the needs to be met among the poor and hurting kids all around us.  For those who don’t heed the voice of God in the hearts I pray that he will speak through the inanimate objects all around them and that just like Balaam’s donkey, attention will be given to the things of God and His voice. Pastor Steve