Rice and Beans

James 2:14-18
Today (3/11/09) is Compassion International's Global Food Crisis Day and so my devotion will be based around that. There are a number of places in the Bible where we are told to back up our faith by action and that faith without deeds is dead faith. One place is in James, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do (NIV)." All over the world the effects of the current economic downturn have been devastating. With things being tough here, the effects become worse in developing nations. Even basic things like rice and beans have become unaffordable to many. Now, I don't know about you, but even as hard as this crisis has been on me, I'm still doing better than that for dinner. So, as tough as things may be for us, as Christians we need to find ways to help others in this time of suffering. In particular, folks still doing well in our economy need now, more than ever, to reach out to brothers and sisters in trouble. For me, it means taking to heart what Jesus said about selling possessions and giving the money to the poor, so I'm looking around the house for items that I could live without to sell. This is the only way for me since I'm having a hard time myself. It is important for each of us to pray about what part we can play in aiding the relief efforts. For those reading this that really can't afford anything because you're out of work, loosing a home etc... know you are being prayed for and I hope there are people reaching out to you in your time of need. Your way of helping and showing your faith in this effort may be spreading the word or putting a widget on your website or blog like I have. If each of us does the part God calls us to we can make a difference and save lives both physically and spiritually. God bless you.

Besides Compassion International, a group of Christian musicians are also making a difference and formed an organization called CompassionArt and have released a book and an album with all the proceeds to help those in need. The song to go with today's devotion is "Friend of the Poor" which is on that album.