Making Waves

This Christmas season, I have been greatly impacted by the drive and determination of one of the members of the congregation that I serve.  Kaela is not one of the officers of the church, nor does she have a powerful civic post, but she is a determined teenage follower of Jesus.


Kaela is leading an effort within our congregation to raise money this Christmas season to drill wells in Haiti.  She is deeply inspiring as she has personally been convicted that God is calling us to make a difference in the devastated nation of Haiti by simply offering clean, reliable water.  Approximately 60,000 people in Haiti have been affected by the scourge of cholera which is directly connected to a tainted water supply.


Kaela's presentations have shown her passion and her deep grief for the people of Haiti.  The burden that God has placed in her heart is evident and I find my heart breaking as she shows us that to celebrate Jesus is to minister to him in Haiti, because Jesus said what ever you have done to the least of these you have done to me.  This has resulted in raising of at least $1000 towards the project in about 3 weeks.


On her facebook account this week, she wrote:


“We looked up well costs today, and for a well to be drilled in Haiti it would cost $2000. I believe that in faith, Lord willing, we could raise one thousand more dollars this Sunday, but it would take an act of God.”

I believe that we often put an emphasis on Christmas for works of service.  I believe that as Jesus was a gift from God, we celebrate by giving gifts, not just to loved ones, but those whose situations are literally breaking God's heart.

Kaela's influence on me and the entire congregation is not based upon the works alone, but by the works that she has now inpsired that are affecting people in Rochester, Western New York, and even in Rwanda.  Because she was open to the leading of God's spirit, suddently others became more open and the waves rippled on.

Scripture reads:

2 Cor 5:14



For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died


Although Jesus' work is undisputed, his influence reverberated throughout the world because that work inspired and compelled others to accomplish beautiful things. 


This holiday season, lets pray that your works, like Kaela's would be a blessing to others, but even more significantly, that those works would inspire a few, or even a community towards greatness.


May God bless you on this Christmas day.


Pastor M Traylor


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beneath the anger

Image
  Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had known every act the LORD had done for Israel . (Jos 24:31 CEB) "Mediating narratives of supremacy that originate in diseased theological and social imagination--and ultimately unresolved trauma--must be replaced by alternative, healthy theological imagination that contributes to human flourishing." -- Charles Kiser and Elaine Health in Trauma-informed Evangelism This past week, I have enjoyed watching the Olympic games in Paris.  There is something about competition, involving the world's best athletes that is awe inspiriting.  What I have been fascinated by is the massive social media reactions of self-professed Christians to an opening ceremony float, and an Algerian female boxer.  Both situations are very small portions of the Olympic games, but the attention to each situation, and the intensity of emotions behind posts and my favorite, social media argumen...
Read more

Misplaced Hope

Image
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom 15:13 NLT) "In our questions about politics and the gospel, we must be willing to ask how evangelical politics might change if we replace fear with hope, the pursuit of power with the cultivation of humility, and nostalgia with history."--Mae Elise Canon in Beyond Hashtag Activism I am writing this on November 6th, the day after election day in 2024.  I have been preparing for this day by spending more time in prayer and meditation, anticipating that regardless of the winner of the presidential election, that many leaders and members of the churches that I have the privilege of serving, will experience significant discouragement, disappointment, and disillusionment.  A number of friends have contacted me, checking in and sharing concerns about my welfare and the welfare of many of my fr...
Read more

When "Agree to disagree" is Dangerous

Image
  And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. ”  Mt 25:45–46 NLT In controversial topics, we are taught that in order to be civil in the communities in which we participate, that it is polite and respectful to "agree to disagree".  This is often used to de-escalate a disagreement that has emotion attached.  Devoted Coca-Cola drinkers will rarely agree that Pepsi products have more flavor, and so thanksgiving gatherings will often agree to disagree when a guest breaches generations of etiquette by bringing a two-liter bottle of Pepsi to a Coke family gathering. The point is that when the topic is trivial and no one has the potential of being harmed, it is appropriate to go the "lets agree to disagree" route. However, what if someone at the same thanksgiving meal made a statement...
Read more