How many times have you seen a homeless person holding up a “Please Help” sign? Did you give them money or food? Did you just walk past them? It’s easy to think that all homeless people will only use money to buy alcohol or drugs, but most of the time, that’s not the case.
Currently, around 3.5 million people are homeless in America. Isn’t that a shock to think that we as the richest nation in the world, can’t even take care of ourselves and our own people? Yes, it may be true that the homeless man you gave money to will spend it on drugs, or the homeless woman will use it to buy her dose of liquor, but that’s not our place to judge and use that fact to ignore those who live on the streets.
In Matthew 25:34-40, Jesus said, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me a drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”
Jesus called us to care for His sons and daughters because we are told to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We need to start following God’s Word and get out into the world, loving on one another just as Jesus loves us.
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| Source: Joy’s Hope |
I stumbled across this picture on Pinterest and I thought that the blog post that went along with it was incredibly inspiring. A Blessing Bag is a Ziplock bag filled with all kinds of essentials such as food, toothbrush/toothpaste, water, etc. A Blessing Bag is easy to make and can change the life of a homeless man or woman.
What You’ll Need:
-Ziplock bag (any size, but a Gallon size works best)
-Water bottle or juice pouch
-Granola bars
-Crackers or Gold fish
-Breathmints or Mint gum
-Deodorant
-Mouthwash
-Tootbrush/Toothpaste
-Comb
-Quarters for collect calls or to buy small food items
-Fast food gift card (such as: McDonalds, Jack in the Box)
Optional:
-Small Bible
-Encouragement card
–Paper with important phone numbers (such as: soup kitchen, nearby homeless shelter)
Blessing Bags truly are life changers and they can save a life. We need to start getting out into our community and in the world to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Spend a little money to bless someone else and see how good you’ll feel after you hand out the Blessing Bags.
