February 19, 2006 - Leviticus 25 and Mark1:23-45
It is hard to describe the poverty of the people in Santo Domingo. Even the average person there is below the poverty level in the USA. Most people live in very primitive conditions with no hot water and few conveniences, if any. A lot of the poverty is caused by sin. There is a lot of drinking and immorality. People waste a lot of money, I am sure. However, even the believers have a hard time making ends meet. They lose their jobs, and they have to look out for each other. That is what I thought about as I read Leviticus 25. God does not want us to be poor. He wants us to experience His blessing and to help each other out when we have hard times. It is not that we will always have everything we need, but God's laws in the Old Testament show that He cares about poor people. If we do things His way, there will be a lot less who are truly needed. Then, through this, they can see the love of God.
Mark 1 showed that Jesus did not stay in His comfort zone. He could have stayed with the crowds, but He followed the Father's leadership to go to the other towns to preach the Good News. I spent some time thanking God for our mission team and their willingness to leave their comfort zone. They could have been in their comfortable homes, but instead they were loving God's people and showing God's love to the lost in a new and different place. God blesses us when we are willing to follow Him in that way.
Mark 1 showed that Jesus did not stay in His comfort zone. He could have stayed with the crowds, but He followed the Father's leadership to go to the other towns to preach the Good News. I spent some time thanking God for our mission team and their willingness to leave their comfort zone. They could have been in their comfortable homes, but instead they were loving God's people and showing God's love to the lost in a new and different place. God blesses us when we are willing to follow Him in that way.