Planning to Meet Needs.

When Jesus was confronted with a need he always approached it with a plan of how to handle it. I have to share this so you understand where I am going. Jesus was a man of prayer He prayed continuously and lived His life with prayer so He could do God’s will. If you are looking at your schedule and believe you don’t have time to pray than you will never have an affective witness or ministry. God is always able to do things better and faster than anything we will ever try to do. Learn to trust that when you pray God has already addressed the need. That should be your first step in trying to reach the lost or anything else you will ever do especially if it has Kingdom consequences. Prayer is our best and most effective tool as a Christian it sets the Holy Spirit in motion and allows God to begin working on hearts and minds of those we pray for. It also helps us to know how God wants us to address a persons needs.

In John 2:1-11 we read, “¹ On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” ⁴ “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. ⁸ Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, ⁹ and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ¹⁰ and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” ¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” Jesus meets the need of this new couple and their families, even though to us it may not have been a major issue it was to them. Running out of wine would be a very embarrassing way to start their new life together and would have reflected on them in the culture they lived in. Think about it we judge people on stuff that in the long run is just as unimportant and we can hold on to it a really long time. It prevents us from seeing them like God does and may one day keep them from heaven.

We need to approach our desire to help others with a plan that meets the needs and allows for God’s love to be shown. The acrostic that I have learned is SERVE. I believe it is very appropriate.

S- Search your heart, take time to pray verify that your motives are correct. Determine if you are doing it for the right reasons.

E- Evaluate the needs around you. In prayer ask God to show you what the real needs are and to provide wisdom to reach a solution for those needs.

R- Resources I know we all don’t have a money tree in our back yards, but with God, “little is much” Trust God to provide the resources to meet the needs you find.

V- Vacate your comfort zone; we must be willing to move our boundaries to include people who will be different than we are. The lost are those people.

E- Evaluate; yes we must look at what we are doing if it works improve it if it does not it is time for a change.

This is a simple way to approach the job we have as Christians to reach the lost. I read this definition of lost last week; "Scripture tells us the lost are “missing out” on the life God has for them, “ruining” what could be a beautiful life, “wasting” their potential, are “disoriented and confused” in darkness, and face ultimate “destruction. “ No wonder Jesus said he came to save the lost." .(Earley 2010) What is your plan to meet their needs and in the end lead them to a saving relationship with Jesus? God bless you today and everyday as you walk in His light

Scripture references for the lost: Luke 19:2-10, Luke 5:37, Luke 15:4-6, Luke 15:17 and Luke 4:34