Support disaster relief and response programs as well as long-term development projects.
Christmas is a season of giving, so December is an appropriate time to increase our support for compassionate ministry programs. Here is a meaningful way to give something every day of the month to ministries serving people experiencing poverty or hardship. Each Sunday, remind fellow worshipers to pray for the volunteers and staff of compassionate ministry organizations.
| December date | Amount to give | Reasons to give (Amounts are in U.S. dollars and cents.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | _______ | You are blessed if you own a Bible. Many people around the world do not have ready access to one. Give $10 for each Bible in your home. |
| 2 | _______ | Many people around the world live on very limited incomes. If you have a stable income, give $2 with a thankful heart. |
| 3 | _______ | Did you buy something from a vending machine today? Give a fourth of that amount to Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. |
| 4 | _______ | If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes to wear, a roof overhead, and a comfortable place to sleep, you have blessings that many people lack. Give 50¢ for every bed in your home. |
| 5 | _______ | Millions of people lack the opportunity to learn to read. Give $10 in gratitude for the blessing of literacy. |
| 6 | _______ | Many children have lost parents to AIDS and other diseases. Give $5 for each of your parents who is still alive. |
| 7 | _______ | If you have money in the bank or cash in your wallet, give $1 or your spare change to help others. |
| 8 | _______ | Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). Give 10¢ for every lightbulb in your home. |
| 9 | _______ | Hunger and malnutrition threaten lives every day. Give $2.50 if you ate today. |
| 10 | _______ | Remember people who have been displaced by floods and other disasters, including those in Mozambique. Give 25¢ for every year you have safely lived in your home. |
| 11 | _______ | Haiti faces serious economic challenges. Many people there lack reliable access to safe water. Give 50¢ for each water faucet in your home. [ e-book on Haiti ] |
| 12 | _______ | Hunger and poor sanitation have caused immense suffering and countless preventable deaths. Give $10 in gratitude for the gift of life. |
| 13 | _______ | Pray for Nazarene Compassionate Ministries personnel serving around the world, and give $10 to support their work. |
| 14 | _______ | Imagine what it would be like if there were no bathroom in your home. Give 50¢ for every bathroom in your home. |
| 15 | _______ | Many people in developing countries live on extremely limited incomes. Give $10 if you have a job. |
| 16 | _______ | Millions of children do not have access to a complete elementary education. Give $1 for each high school graduate and $2 for each college graduate in your family. Count each person only once, according to their highest level of education. |
| 17 | _______ | Did you attend church this week without the threat of persecution, torture, or death? Thank God for that freedom, and give $10 to support compassionate ministry to people facing hardship. |
| 18 | _______ | Have you ever made a New Year's resolution to live more simply so you could give more to Kingdom causes? Give $10 as a renewed commitment to living simply and giving generously. |
| 19 | _______ | Remember people who have lost their homes and possessions in mudslides and other disasters, including those in Venezuela. Give $10 if you have never experienced losing everything you own. |
| 20 | _______ | Visits from family and friends are a blessing. Give 25¢ for each person who visits you this Christmas season. |
| 21 | _______ | Many people across Asia lack enough nutritious food. Give 50¢ for every trip you made to the grocery store this past week. |
| 22 | _______ | For people with very limited incomes, buying a warm coat can be difficult. Give 50¢ for every coat in your house. |
| 23 | _______ | Many people with limited incomes cannot afford to take time off from work. Give 50¢ for every day you have off work during this holiday season. |
| 24 | _______ | Christmas is often a time for parties and gatherings. Give 50¢ for each Christmas party to which you were invited this year (even if you did not attend them all). |
| 25 | _______ | People living in poverty may find it difficult to give gifts to family and friends. Give 50¢ for each gift you have received this Christmas season. |
| 26 | _______ | Many people lack access to adequate health care. Give 50¢ for each container of medicine in your medicine cabinet. |
| 27 | _______ | Every day, children die from preventable diseases. Give 50¢ for every healthy child in your family. |
| 28 | _______ | Warm carpets or area rugs are nice on cold winter days! Many people have only dirt floors in their homes. Give 25¢ for each carpeted room or large area rug in your home. |
| 29 | _______ | Many people lack reliable access to communication technology. Give 50¢ for each phone owned by your family. |
| 30 | _______ | Many people must go barefoot. Give 25¢ for every pair of shoes you own. |
| 31 | _______ | Living in poverty can make it difficult to save for emergencies. Give $5 to help people facing unexpected needs. |
___________ Total to give this month to Compassionate Ministries
Looking for another hands-on giving project? Rice Bowls offers plastic, rice-bowl-shaped banks for collecting change and donations. Funds raised through its projects provide meals for children in its partner homes. Learn how to collect and submit donations.
In Matthew 26, Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." Should that be taken to mean that poverty should not concern us? What does God's Word say about ministry to people in need?
Caring for the poor verses in the Bible Wesleyan heritage of serving the poor and marginalized
What do Jesus' parable of the rich fool and His follow-up teaching mean for us today?
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
14 Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."
16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'
20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
21 "This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 "Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
"Is there anything wrong with Christians enjoying the same standard of living as non-Christians?" The woman's question was sincere.
Both she and her husband came from families with limited financial resources, but they had worked hard and intelligently. Now they drove an expensive car and had a three-bedroom brick house in the country. As we talked, their children and ours were splashing happily in their backyard swimming pool.
However, a passing remark by a Christian friend had recently begun to trouble her. Was it wrong for Christians to have what they now possessed?
When Jesus said, as Luke records in chapter 12, "Sell your possessions and give to the poor," was He talking only to His disciples at that point in their lives? Or did He mean for those words to reach across the centuries and become a no-questions-asked command to all affluent American Christians?
My friend and I talked for a long time about her questions. We talked about what Jesus had to say in Luke 12, where He deals with materialism. We reminded ourselves that Jesus always went to the heart of an issue. Jesus addressed both our attitude toward possessions and what we do with them.
The devil tries to push us into making earning a living our primary goal while we shift Kingdom of God issues to secondary status. Jesus knew that when He said, "Do not worry about tomorrow" (Matthew 6:34).
Later that day, the woman's husband returned to the subject of their recently acquired prosperity, so we talked some about priorities and primary goals in life. Then he said, "Until we started tithing, nothing was going right financially with us. This has all come to us since we started putting the Lord first."
Their experience was a personal testimony, not a promise that tithing will produce financial prosperity. Their decision to put God first addressed part of their concern about possessions. Jesus said, "Seek first his kingdom" (Matthew 6:33). He also said, "Your Father knows what you need" (Matthew 6:8) and "These things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).
This Texas family had been attempting to follow this command of Jesus. As they put their spiritual lives in order, they had also rearranged their priorities so that their lives now gave evidence of trust in God.
I couldn't tell this family the standard of living they should maintain as Christians. Jesus calls us to examine both our priorities and our use of possessions, trusting God and giving generously.
I have known believers who complained so much about money that they seemed to be in this "anxious" condition Jesus warned against. They seemed to struggle to trust that the God who had given them forgiveness, eternal life, and adoption into His family would also care for their daily needs.
One of the enjoyable parts of a missionary's deputation or home assignment is meeting American Christians who've discovered the joy of putting the Kingdom of God first in their lives, really first.
Many whom I've met have purposely chosen to spend less on themselves to give priority to building the Kingdom. They give a large enough percentage of their income to the church that it affects their standard of living.
What a blessing it is to be with people like the Don Messers, the Carl Dueys, the Lloyd Silers or the Gene Phillips. They've all discovered a real sense of joy in trusting God with their future.
Anxious about tomorrow? Not them! They're seeking first the Kingdom of God, and He is providing for their other needs.
I wrote this devotional article while Barbara and I were missionaries in Italy. It is one of a series of 52 brief devotionals written for The Standard, a take-home publication for adult Sunday school classes produced by the Church of the Nazarene.
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
