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CHRISTIAN LIFE IN LONDON | April 2024 EDITION
February 2024 Prayer Prompt
AMEN TO GENEROSITY & SACRIFICE
Published February 2024
Photo by “Health and Homelessness – Movement for Change” Health and Homelessness – Movement for Change” initiative. As Mayor Morgan reminded us, “We have an opportunity to save lives and change lives. We also have an opportunity to lead”, so WOOHOO to each who will come forward to also contribute to this fund, large and small gifts from caring hearts - as every dollar can make a significant difference in providing for those most in need. God, we ask that you bless both each contribution and each giver, multiplying it for good for all Londoners.
WOOHOO for congregations and groups who seek to practically help those in need beyond their walls and within their walls…providing meals, running tax clinics, offering warming spaces, coffee, listening ears, welcoming hearts, collections of clothing and much needed basic needs, raising funds… all those who take very seriously your words, Jesus, recorded in Matthew 25: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” We ask your blessing on each of them and the sacred part we can all play in some way. And God, bless those in London from other religious traditions or from no faith base at all who also act as good Samaritans in caring for the vulnerable. It all matters….Humble each of us to work well together.
WOOHOO to all those who are working at being generous good neighbours in this city, not just those who are well-off but also those with limited resources – we can all help one another. Jesus, you came not only to provide a means for us to belong to a future kingdom, but also for all of us to start to bring your kingdom here in the present, here in London Ontario. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul beautifully describes the Macedonian Christians to the Christians in Philippi to encourage them: “You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich. So here’s what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart’s been in the right place all along. You’ve got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it.”
Canadian author Preston Pouteaux in his book “The Neighbours are Real” categorizes these kind of people like this: the Celebrators, the Repairers, the De-stressors, the Activators, the Caregivers, the Includers, and the Discoverers.” We need them all, God! May we seek to be one of those kind of people in our neighbourhoods or our workplaces, in our schools or apartment buildings, in our sports teams or our fitness classes, in our friendships and in groups of strangers! Imagine the difference that this generosity of spirit could make in London. It is not always just financial - it is an attitude of the heart.
You tell us God that you want to bless us for this. Proverbs 11:25 says: The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. Deuteronomy 15:10 also says this: Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
We must also say a whole-hearted WOOHOO to all who continue to support those in the Ukraine who also need ongoing help, funding and prayers after a year of ongoing conflict. We pray for the conflict to end peacefully somehow, and for those still displaced, affected and in need after the attacks. Give NATO world leaders especially much wisdom, courage, perseverance, and informed understanding in days and weeks to come. WOOHOO also to those who call for peace in Gaza and, in their call, they are calm and respectful.
Sometimes God, for many of us, it feels like too much to comprehend and care. Let our hearts not become hardened. Maybe saying WOOHOO can sound very trivial when we recognize the enormous loss of lives in these places, homes, safety, and the suffering both now and for many years ahead. But if a gentle AMEN is indeed agreeing with you God, affirming that we need to feel and act with compassion and attentiveness when crisis happens, not turning away from hard issues in the midst of busyness of our everyday lives.
We pray for aid to come to these countries quickly. If we are able to give financially, may we be willing to give. We pray for families who are grieving and for those who still don't know if they have lost loved ones. We pray for fair distribution of food, clothing, medicine, shelter when and wherever needed – bless all those who devote themselves to this diligent exhausting work, ensuring needs are met to the best of their abilities in hard places all around the world. May we be more willing to engage in caring globally in some way - in the midst of the abundance so many of us enjoy here in London. We are humbled when we consider their deep losses as nations, as families, as people whom you love God. They need our financial support too. Remind us of this, heavenly Father, when we see images of their suffering...we confess that we still gripe about the cost of butter and lettuce, or mutter about the inconvenience of waiting on hold on a tech support line, or whine about the rising cost of the vacation we think we somehow deserve. You are a God of all comfort who meets people's needs through the compassionate generosity and sacrifice of people like us... may that be true, hands and hearts wide open.
I John 4 reminds us: “This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!”
God who loved us so abundantly, generously, sacrificially, that he gave Himself to us and became like us, so we might know Him and be known by Him. This easter season, Jesus is the reason that all of God’s people around the world can say Amen, shout Woohoo, say ᐁᑯᓯ ekosi or amin or амінь or 아멘 or 阿門, and so many other languages. God is actively moving in our city in wonderful way.
AMEN.
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