A Win is a Win

What does living out scripture in Matthew 25 look like to you? It has to be about action, right? It is one thing to want to help the poor or have the intention of helping someone. But to live out scripture has to be one of the most touching acts we can do.

Backpacks. Bibles. Clothes. Shoes. Medical supplies. Food. Prayer. That is what Matthew 25 looks like to me. We have been blessed by so many people who ‘get it.’ Through the generosity of many, we have been able to share some very tangible things with the ‘least of these.’ I am so thankful for people like Kriek and Jumbo Gerber and their Swaziland staff, Erika Bennett and Seth Barnes of AIM, Tom Davis of Children’s HopeChest, and the many supporters of Matthew 25 Ministries.

I believe, that by nature, most people like to ‘win.’ But in ministry, sometimes it is difficult to define what a win really is. Sometimes it is not difficult at all to define a win – a Kingdom win… Winning teams set very specific goals. If the goal is to win a conference championship then the team has to win a majority of the games it plays. When a player crosses home plate, she isn’t concerned about her batting average – she wants to win. When the pitcher allows fewer runs than his team scores, he isn’t worried about his ERA (earned run average). You get the point. To have a successful team, we have to give-up our individual stats when it helps the team win. Many baseball games have been won by a sacrifice fly ball. Many football games have been won ‘in the trenches’ where there is little glory or recognition.

Matthew 25 Ministries works to win. How do we win? We accomplish the goal. We strive to share the love of Jesus through compassionate action. When we can do that, it is a victory! It isn’t about self. It can’t be. This blog is about thanking our Board, our contributors, our supporters, our families and our prayer warriors. All of that being said, we are very grateful to you, God, for giving us this opportunity to share the Love you have given us. Thank you!

I hope you have read previous blogs about a little girl we call ‘Love.’ Here are some pictures of Love that Kriek Gerber emailed me yesterday. Enjoy the photos and I will share more with you tomorrow night. The first two pics are from June '08. THe second two pics are from this past Sunday. Thank you and God Bless -

Buckets of Blessings

Mark 6:38. “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five – and two fish.”

Wednesday of last week I got a phone call telling me that our tournament that we thought was scheduled for the next day was actually a week later. Instead of the 23rd, it was the 30th. Dang-it. We had all these teams coming, sponsors coming, people had taken vacation to come help… You get the picture. It was quite a mess. In the days that followed, most of our teams dropped-out. I mean, I really don’t blame them . Things looked bleak.

Typically, you wouldn’t want to host a golf tournament with less than a dozen teams. But this wasn’t typical. Two days ago, God asked me, “How many loaves do you have?” We had four teams. Four. Not FOURteen or FORty. Just.. four.

Can you guess what happened today? God took the giving hearts of our sponsors and staff of the course, mixed it in with the big hearts of the 16 loyal golfers we had… and He fed us in a way that we did not deserve. We made contacts today that we would have never made if we had cancelled the tournament. It made no sense to host a tournament with four teams. But what seems improbable in human terms is really an opportunity for God to show up. We collectively did all we could do to make this tournament a success. But God blessed all of us and chose to make the unlikely become a reality.

Six total sponsors. A handful of volunteers. Sixteen golfers. And one very compassionate, loving, real God. Tomorrow we will deposit $3,700 into the M25M account! He will have us invest in the Kingdom through feeding 300 people at Thanksgiving, by purchasing and distributing bibles in Swaziland, by assisting a discipleship team share the true and living Word of God. He will have us invest in the ministry of Kriek and Jumbo and in The Luke Commission (medical supplies and treatment). He will have us invest scholarships to help individuals offset mission campaign costs. He will help us build a block house for four little orphaned girls who currently live in a stick and mud hut. Praise God! Praise Him!

So, in a nutshell, we want to thank our golfers. We want to thank our sponsors. We want to thank those who donated to the silent auction. We want to thank Timberline golf course. We want to thank the volunteers. We want to thank those who prepared desserts. More importantly, we are thankful for prayer. I got three emails during the tournament today that told me they were praying for the tournament at that very moment. Powerful.

Today I witnessed a man pay $100 for a $25 gift card to O’Charleys. I saw a left-handed golfer give $100 for a right-handed golf club. My eyes watched as a woman emptied her wallet of gift-cards that she wanted us to sell at the silent auction. We watched as the first and second place teams gave their prize money right back to us. God takes what we give, if we give with a clean-heart, and He gives back.. over and over and over.

Luke 9:13. “You give them something to eat.”

Thank you, Lord. Thank you for feeding us today. Thank you for feeding others through us.

Please help me in giving praise to God Almighty!!