7

The past seven days have been full of conviction and truth. I'm going to try to be a brief as possible because there are so many things that happened I can't keep them all straight.

For the past few weeks I have felt very convicted about the poor. The wasting of food in America, the starving people outside my restaurant and the millions of dead children in third world countries. Reading through Deuteronomy I kept getting hit by several verses:

24:19-22: When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.

There is an earlier passage in Deuteronomy that states the same thing.

Also in John (6:12) after Jesus has fed the five thousand and everyone has had their fill, he tells his disciples: "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."

Not to mention the handful of verses that pertain to the poor and helping the least of these.

I have always had a soft heart to those who have little. Lately this conviction has been strong and I have been praying that God will help me take action and bless me with opportunities. God desires that there be no poor or hungry among us. I feel more and more every day like this is a command directed towards ALL Christians. Not just those who were called to some crazy third world country to feed those people. But to the average joe driving back from the mall, the couple walking down the street, and the college kid rushing to class. We are responsible for each other, I don't feel like we are taking this call as literally as we should.

This brings me to a bigger conviction:

Africa.

I thought I had my summer plans set, but now I can't get this country out of my head or my heart. If you read this, and you know me, you know I've been before and I talk about it all the time and how I can't wait to go back. But to be honest, laziness and fear have taken over pursuing that dream. I have found that God has made several things very obvious to me about this country, but my feeble mind only wants to say "what a coincidence" or "what are the odds".

I come across this blog. I can't help but wonder why there aren't more people like Katie. Or why am I not one of those people? Granted God is not calling every single Christian to go out to Africa and adopt what seems to be an absurd amount kids. But certainly if more people were listening and obeying (myself included) there would be far fewer deaths of children in this world due to starving and lack of love. Also, I pray that as young high school/college students, we won't be intimidated or discouraged by our age. Katie is such a beautiful example of that.

Secondly:

Psalm 16:5-6 has been rocking my world.

"Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

The more I learn about Jewish culture, Christ's lineage, and my own lineage in Christ, the more this passage hits home. But verse 5 still grabs my attention and I feel like its something I need to pursue harder.