I was reading an article today and it brought me to Matthew 25 in the Bible. The particular section in Matthew 25 is titled “The Sheep and the Goats”. Click here to read it. First of all, I find this quite ironic given all of the talk we’ve had about giving a goat this Christmas. Second, it got me thinking about what Jesus would want for Christmas.
If Jesus was walking the Earth today, do you think He might want an iPod or one of those cool Flip Video cameras that are all the rage this Christmas? Afterall, as He withdrew to quiet places, He might want to listen to some MP3’s or a podcast. Or maybe He’d want to use that Flip Video to capture some cool moments of doing miracles and then put them up on YouTube and try and make them go viral.
In all seriousness, I think what Jesus would want most of all is found right in the Bible in Matthew 25. In verse 31 He’s talking about His return and what it will be like. He said everyone will be gathered with Him and that He would separate everyone into two groups – The sheeps and the goats.
He’ll turn to the sheep and say:
“I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.”
The sheep will question Him and say “when did we do that”? Jesus will reply “whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.” He’ll then turn to the goats and say:
“I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.”
He’ll conclude with the goats and say “Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.”
The outcome is not good for the goats, but it’s great for the sheep. Read it for yourself. So I think what Jesus would want for Christmas is not something material, but compassion from human being to human being.
Let’s not be a goat, but maybe give a goat instead. Remember, it’s easy to GiveUpOne. It doesn’t have to be about money either. Just keep your eyes and ears open to how you can help, and I guarantee you’ll find plenty of opportunities to GiveUpOne.
Vortex Ministry Launches!
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What Jesus Wants For Christmas
Locally and Globally, There is a Need
You’ve got to see this video from Good Morning America where they did a segment on World Vision. This video sums up exactly what we’re talking about at GiveUpOne. A family in Oregon is giving up one “normal” dinner a week to instead save the money from that meal and use it to give away to someone that has more needs than themselves.
The video highlights their story and talks more about World Vision and the impact they are making. ABC does insert a 10 second ad to the beginning of the video, but the video is well worth watching.
You can watch it by clicking here to go to the ABC News website.
Locally, here in Indianapolis, my church Northview Christian Life helps supports an inner-city church called Brookside. I was down at Brookside today and got to see all of the awesome things going on there. However, my heart was troubled.
We had a big snow storm this past weekend and Brookside had to cancel the Sunday morning service. I was told that some of the volunteers were calling members to let them know about the cancelled service. One member was particularly sad to hear that news because she said she had not had a meal in 2 days. You see, Brookside has a food pantry that people look forward to after each service. This woman was looking forward to getting some food. Another member was able to help her out, so that’s good news.
In the Brookside food pantry they have a table with pre-filled bags of food. On each bag there are numbers written such as 3-4, 6-7. These numbers act as a guide for family size such as 3 to 4 family members. When I looked in the bag for 3-4, I couldn’t believe that the contents of the bag were supposed to last the family a week. It made me think about all of the food that we have in my home’s pantry and refrigerator.
Honestly, so many of us are so blessed that I think we don’t even know how blessed we are. I know there are people that are reading this that are struggling financially, but I think many of us would agree we have a pantry full of food in our homes and we don’t have to worry about where our next meal is going to come from.
As we get closer to Christmas, let’s keep our focus. However, as Christmas goes past us this year, let’s continue to keep our focus on the idea of GiveUpOne. It’s so simple, yet so very powerful. There are people that need our help locally and globally.
Galatians 6:9 says “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
GiveUpOne Doesn't Have To Be About Money
We've got some good comments going in our Plaxo Group about finding ways to GiveUpOne that are not related to money. I wanted to share a few of the ideas here.
- We can give more smiles, perhaps "giving up" frowns.
- Give up one Saturday morning a month to go and spend time at a nursing home. Or a place that needs volunteers that you're passionate about.
- Give up one hour a week to go to a library to read to kids.
- Give up 15 minutes a week to spend the time writing a note of encouragement to someone in leadership. Whether that's someone you know, or someone you don't know who leads a cause you're passionate about.
- Look for opportunities to ‘give way’. Basically look for ways to help others as you go about your day such as holding open a door, or giving up your place in a grocery line to a mom with kids.
The list could go on and on. Let's see if we can get a list going here. Also, Non-profits, post your information and a link to more info if you're looking for volunteers.
Oh Baby, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
There are now 11 days before Christmas and the GiveUpOne Campaign is starting to get some good traction. We're starting to see incoming links from other sites that are helping to promote this idea. We’re also starting to hear back on some awesome stories. Thank you so much for your support!
Christmas 2007 is just a launching point.
Everything great always started out as something small. We're already seeing ways and talking with people about continuing GiveUpOne past Christmas and into 2008. There are so many things that we can do with this idea. There are so many people that we can touch with this idea.
Come on, let’s do this together. GiveUpOne this Christmas, but begin to think about how you can apply this to your life in 2008 and beyond. Stay tuned for more.
Let’s keep it going! Make sure to tell everyone you know! Thanks
GiveUpOne Has Come Full Circle
It took less than a week and GiveUpOne has come full circle back to us. My wife Holli received an unexpected e-card from World Vision about a donation that a friend made in her name. Our friend Vicki Bernath and her family purchased a share of a deep water well in Holli's name.
To find out why and read Vicki's awesome story, click this link to view the World Vision e-card that Holli received.
What's Your One? Just GiveUpOne.
Happy Anniversary Honey, Here's A Goat
Holli and I are celebrating our 12 year wedding anniversary today. We always like to celebrate our anniversary by going out for a nice dinner. This year we were planning to go to a steak house for a really good steak or maybe a lobster. My parents have a tradition of sending us some cash inside of an anniversary card, so it makes for a great meal for us.
This year we decided to skip the nice steak house and buy a goat! Yep, I said a goat. So we're not actually getting a goat shipped to our house(although our kids might like that), but we're buying a goat to help support a family that needs it for basic things like food, milk, etc.
Buy your own goat! Try some of these links:
Non-Profits! We need your help with GiveUpOne!
Christmas time is a busy time for non-profits. Join with us on this adventure. We want to see how many people we can affect and how many lives we can touch through the GiveUpOne campaign.
Will you consider promoting "GiveUpOne"? Post a comment with a link for more information and tell everyone how we can help your cause.
Post your stories about how people are blessing your organization.
What Is GiveUpOne.com?
What would this Christmas season look like if massive numbers of people gave up just ONE Christmas present and decided instead to give a gift to someone more in need?
This is the idea of GiveUpOne. The concept came from a sermon at Northview Christian Life in Carmel, IN. Pastors Stan Killebrew and Dave Choutka delivered a great message about the consumerism and greed that surround the Christmas season. For more on that, go here: http://nvclcommunity.blogspot.com/
My wife and I always get money at Christmas time as part of our gifts. Instead of spending that money on things that we want (after all, we don't need anything), we're going to give away the money to help others that need it more than we do.
Will you "GiveUpOne"? Could you give up just ONE gift this Christmas to help someone else in need? What if we did without one gift and gave away the money from that gift to help others that need it more than we do? Pretty soon we could easily eliminate a whole lot of suffering. Imagine the possibilities.
Please tell everyone you know about this! Pass along this website. We want to see how many lives we can affect through this challenge.
Post your comments and any links to your favorite charities that you are supporting. Let's discover how you're helping others this Christmas season.
