May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. (2 Timothy 1:16)

Focus. That’s what traumatic events in our life provide. Think of the last time you experienced a desperate event. When you came out on the other side of it, did you feel you could put that on your resume as one of the “been there, done that” things in your life? Some are worse than others, but all produce a sense of having survived. If you are a parent of a troubled teen, you’re focused on parenting and the welfare of your child. If you are in the military and in harm’s way, you’re focused on staying alive. If you are a business owner – especially in today’s economy – you’re focused on staying afloat and making a living for you and your employees. If you drive a car in Houston, you’re focused on not having an accident.

The traumatic event in the Apostle Paul’s life that caused him to focus was being in prison for spreading the Gospel. In prison, Paul chose not to focus on the injustice done to him, but instead on the blessings God provided to him. Even the smallest acts of kindness, like Onesiphorus coming to visit Paul, had a huge impact on him. Paul’s willingness to be thankful for the small things in life, even when in jail, show us how those random acts of kindness can refresh us.

This week if you can relate to Paul’s situation, pray that God can help you focus on the good that surrounds you and not on the bad situation you may currently find yourself in. If you’re not experiencing a traumatic event in your life right now, be like Onesiferous and provide those random acts of kindness in someone’s life. Be a blessing to someone else. Paul found a way to serve despite his circumstances and Onesiferous chose to serve Paul even beyond possible public persecution.

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42)

Blake Mankin grew up in an affluent lifestyle, but was firmly grounded in God. He freely admits he has never wanted for anything, and for that he is grateful. Blake and his friends would often try to one-up each other with material things that they could easily attain as a result of their lifestyle. In high school, he took a trip to the Sudan in Africa. As the filth and poverty assaulted his being, Blake began to question, “How could God allow such suffering?” Not long into his trip, he began feeling guilty about blaming God for what he was seeing. By the time Blake left the Sudan and returned to his affluent life, his question had turned to “Why would God allow such wealth?” A few weeks after his return from Sudan, Blake and several of his friends decided to donate money they would have spent trying attain more things and use it to supply fresh water to people in the Sudan. Then they challenged their classmates to do the same. The boys raised $6,000, which enabled a ministry to build two water wells. Those two wells now provide clean water for 10,000 people in the Sudan. In the end, Blake learned that there are more important things to do with the wealth that he’d been given. Even a seemingly inconsequential gift can make a large impact on others.

We can all be inspired by Mankin’s willingness to give a cup of cold water to others. Using resources available to many American high school students, Blake and his friends made a huge, life-saving impact on 10,000 lives in the Sudan and potentially the Kingdom of God. What can you do with the resources God has given you? Ask Him how you can use your wealth to impact lives forever.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? (1 John 3:17)

Consider our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. You would think they would feel some level of self-centeredness since they are a long way from their families, friends and the comforts of home. As they live in harm’s way, a kind of greedy self preservation would be easy for them to embrace. The troops are very appreciative when they receive things from back home! It’s exciting to see that many people in this country have chosen to express gratitude for the sacrifices of our troops by sending them care packages. It is even more exciting that instead of asking for goodies for themselves, many of our troops have asked for things such as books, clothing, toys and sports equipment that they can give to the children who live where they are fighting. It’s amazing to see that people who live with death each day would be that caring about the children they see. Or is it?

Could it be our troops rightly discern that our country has much to offer children in war torn countries? Isn’t it true that compassion should never have borders? And what would happen if you were more aware of the needs in our own country and even in our own communities? Today’s verse is a great reminder that our faith should impact our focus on others. What would your life look like if it reflected today’s verse and you took pity on those who don’t have the same possessions?

The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

On her first evening at the shelter, the young mother watched people line up for the meal when a woman next to her offered to watch her children so she could get their food. The young mother was immediately suspicious and refused. The next morning, when the same woman offered to watch her children again, the mother asked the woman bluntly, “Why?” “Because everybody needs help sometimes,” the woman answered. Sadly, the young mother’s life had been filled with violence and exploitation, so she had learned to distrust everyone.

Not too long after, this young mother started going to church at the shelter and saw people praising God. Afterwards, she talked to some of them and found out they’d been through even worse things. How could they praise God in spite of their horrible hardship? As she learned more about God, she began to understand why. He loves them and has a deeper plan for their lives. He is able to meet their needs in amazing ways. She saw real proof of that.

This young mother received help and encouragement from shelter staff. While the road to healing has been long and difficult for the young mother, she now has expectant hope for a better future. She is determined to avoid a life in the streets and to give her children the hope she never had. The shelter where she lives is largely supported by the donations of businesses and local churches. They also rely heavily on people who volunteer their time to help the work continue. By the way, the young mother was raised here in Houston and the shelter where she lived is right in our backyard.

As a family, discuss ways for you to help the least of these brothers of mine. There are plenty of opportunities for the whole family to serve together. Visit TheMETonline.org to check out our upcoming opportunities to serve; then make a plan to get involved.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Printers and publishers understand that paragraphs should be wholly contained on one page. That’s the plan. When things don’t go according to plan and the first line of a paragraph lies on the previous page, it is said that you have a widow. The same is true when the last line of a paragraph lies on the following page; it’s called an orphan. Having widows and orphans on a printed page can cause the communication process to lose effectiveness. The widows and orphans also lose some of their meaning and support because they have been separated from the remainder of the paragraph. Isn’t it interesting that printers and publishers use these words to describe how communication loses its effectiveness? As Christians, we also lose our effectiveness in communicating God’s love when we ignore widows and orphans. We can’t click a button and prevent people from losing their families, but we can embrace them and show them God’s love. Most word processing programs have a feature that prevents widows and orphans, but it isn’t that easy in real life. Widows and orphans are so important to God that He tells us looking after them is pure and faultless religion.

In many cultures, and too frequently in our own, widows and orphans are marginalized or ignored. Fortunately, we can do something about that. God calls us to. Set aside some time for your whole family to pray for the widows or orphans you know. Think about what you can do to help them and make plans to do something for them soon. You will be surprised what an impact even the smallest things can make in someone’s life.