Have you known Christ for a long time and yet His love is still imprisoned in you? If so, it is time to boldly let it out. We are to be channels for God’s love to flow through, not reservoirs. Make yourself available daily for God’s use. I dare you to pray this prayer daily, “God, show me what I can do for You today.”
God wants us to present ourselves daily as a living sacrifice (see Rom. 12:1). He wants us to offer all of our faculties and resources to Him. A Love Revolution will require sacrifices of time, energy, finances, our ways, and many other things, but to live without love is to sacrifice the life that Jesus died to give us.
Get Out of That Religious Rut
Are you ready to get out of your religious rut and get involved with real people who have real problems? The key to happiness is not in being loved; it is in having someone to love. If you really want to be happy, find somebody to love. If you want to put a smile on God’s face, then find a hurting person and help them.
I went to church for thirty years without ever hearing one sermon on my biblical responsibility to care for orphans, widows, the poor, and the oppressed. I was shocked when I finally realized how much of the Bible is about helping other people. I spent most of my Christian life thinking the Bible was about how God could help me. It’s no wonder I was unhappy.
I am currently preparing for a trip to Africa to visit Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda. I know I will see need there that is greater than anything I have seen anywhere, and I am ready and eager to give. The trip will be a sacrifice of time, energy, comfort, and finances, but I need to go. I need to touch hurting people. I need to get close to poverty and starvation, so close that I will never forget it after I return home.
I will hold babies that are malnourished from starvation, and I will see the pain in their mothers’ eyes that is there from watching their children die and not being able to do anything about it. But I will also help some of them. Perhaps I can’t help all of them, but I will do what I can because I refuse to do nothing! I will be able to come back and share firsthand with the friends and partners of our ministry how they can get involved and help people.
People want to help, but many just don’t know what to do. They need someone to organize it for them. Do you have leadership skills? If you do, why not organize an outreach to the poor in your city or initiate a way for you and your friends to get involved in missions to the poor and lost around the world? One group of women who were determined to do something collected “stuff” from their neighbors and had a huge garage sale and gave all the money to help the poor. They were so successful that they kept doing it, and now they have an actual store that is run by volunteers. All the merchandise for sale is donated and all the money is given to missions. They were able to give sixty-five thousand dollars in one year alone. (By the way, most of the women are over sixty years old, and I am so proud of them for doing something so creative and valuable. They have decided to let their latter years be among their most fruitful.)
Be determined to help someone. Be creative! Lead a revolt against living in a religious rut where you go to church and go home and go back to church but you’re not really helping anybody. Don’t just sit in church pews and sing hymns. Get involved in helping hurting people. Remember the words of Jesus:
“I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.”
Then they also will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?”
Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”
Matthew 25:42–45 NKJV
I take up compassion and surrender my excuses.
I stand against injustice and commit to live out simple acts of God’s love.
I refuse to do nothing. This is my resolve.
I AM THE LOVE REVOLUTION.
NOTES
1. What in the World Is Wrong?
1. “Help End Sex Trafficking!” http://www.crisisaid.org/traffickstats.html
2. “Hunger Facts: International,” http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/hunger-facts-international.html
3. Nothing Good Happens Accidentally
1. “Forced to Flee: Uganda’s Young ‘Night Commuters’,” http://www.theirc.org/where/page-28828228.html
2. “Simple Statistics”
6. Overcome Evil with Good
1 . “Widows in Third World Nations,” http://www.deathreference.com
2. “Uganda, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire—The situation of widows,” http://www.ifad.org/gender/learning/challenges/widows/55.htm
7. Justice for the Oppressed
1 . “Prostitution is not a choice, it is a lack of choices,” http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/vox/media/Feb07voxpage2.pdf
9. Make People Feel Valuable
1 . George W. Crane, Dr. Crane’s Radio Talks, vol. 1 (Mellot, IN: Hopkins Syndicate, Inc., 1948), 7.
2. Ibid., 8–9.
3. Ibid., 16.
4. Original source unknown.
5 . Attributed to William Penn and Stephen Grellet.
12. Unconditional Love
1. http://preventdisease.com/home/weeklywellness203.shtml
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOYCE MEYER is one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, she has written more than eighty inspirational books, including 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life, Never Give Up!, the entire Battlefield of the Mind family of books, and two novels. The Penny and Any Minute, as well as many others. She has also released thousands of audio teachings, as well as a complete video library. Joyce’s Enjoying Everyday Life® radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.
JOYCE MEYER MINISTRIES U.S. & FOREIGN OFFICE ADDRESSES
Joyce Meyer Ministries
P.O. Box 655
Fenton, MO 63026
USA
(636) 349-0303
www.joycemeyer.org
Joyce Meyer Ministries—Canada
P.O. Box 7700
Vancouver, BC V6B 4E2
CANADA
(800) 868-1002
Joyce Meyer Ministries—Australia
Locked Bag 77
Mansfield Delivery Centre
Queensland 4122
AUSTRALIA
(07) 3349 1200
Joyce Meyer Ministries—England
P.O. Box 1549
Windsor SL4 1GT
UNITED KINGDOM
01753 831102
Joyce Meyer Ministries—South Africa
P.O. Box 5
Cape Town 8000
SOUTH AFRICA
(27) 21-701-1056
OTHER BOOKS BY JOYCE MEYER
Any Minute
Never Give Up
The Secret to True Happiness
New Day, New You Devotional
I Dare You
The Penny
The Power of Simple Prayer
The Everyday Life Bible
The Confident Woman
Look Great, Feel Great
Battlefield of the Mind *
Battlefield of the Mind Devotional
Battlefield of the Mind for Teens
Battlefield of the Mind for Kids
Approval Addiction
Ending Your Day Right
21 Ways to Finding Peace and Happiness
The Secret Power of Speaking God’s Word
Seven Things That Steal Your Joy
Starting Your Day Right
Beauty for Ashes (revised edition)
How to Hear from God*
Knowing God Intimately
The Power of Forgiveness
&nbs
p; The Power of Determination
The Power of Being Positive
The Secrets of Spiritual Power
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
The Secrets to Exceptional Living
Eight Ways to Keep the Devil Under Your Feet
Teenagers Are People Too!
Filled with the Spirit
Celebration of Simplicity
The Joy of Believing Prayer
Never Lose Heart
Being the Person God Made You to Be
A Leader in the Making
“Good Morning, This Is God!” (gift book)
Jesus—Name Above All Names
Making Marriage Work
(previously published as Help Me—I’m Married!)
Reduce Me to Love
Be Healed in Jesus’ Name
How to Succeed at Being Yourself
Weary Warriors, Fainting Saints
Be Anxious for Nothing*
Straight Talk Omnibus
Don’t Dread
Managing Your Emotions
Healing the Brokenhearted
Me and My Big Mouth!*
Prepare to Prosper
Do It Afraid!
Expect a Move of God in Your Life… Suddenly!
Enjoying Where You Are on the Way to Where You Are Going
A New Way of Living
When, God, When?
Why, God, Why?
The Word, the Name, the Blood
Tell Them I Love Them
Peace
If Not for the Grace of God*
Joyce Meyer Spanish Titles
Las Siete Cosas Que Te Roban el Gozo
(Seven Things That Steal Your Joy)
Empezando Tu Día Bien (Starting Your Day Right)
Books by Dave Meyer
Life Lines
* Study Guide available for this title.
Joyce Meyer, Eat the Cookie... Buy the Shoes
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