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Lou Coleman
By Lou Coleman
Man, I love that song… The songwriter said, “I’m gonna make a change for once in my life, it’s gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference, gonna make it right…..I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat, who am I to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs… they got nowhere to go, that’s why I want you to know I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways, and no message could have been any clearer, if you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change. I’ve been a victim of a selfish kind of love…. I’m asking him to change his ways … you gotta get it right; while you got the time, you can’t close your mind… you’ve got to stop it, yourself! Yeah! The man in the mirror I’m asking him to make that change…!”
I think it would be safe to say that the reason Michael Jackson decided to sing this song was because he “Understood it!” He understood the purpose of life. The exact purpose that you and I were created for…to be our Brother’s Keeper! Jesus says, by our love for our brothers and sisters – a love that forgets self to think of others – All will know that we are His disciples. Support Brother Keeper Mission Project. The testimony of Scripture affirms that helping hurting people is the right thing to do. In Deuteronomy 15:11; 6 we are COMMANDED by God to be openhanded toward our fellow man that is poor and needy. David declares, “Blessed are those who have regard for the weak.” {Psalm 41:1}. Proverbs teachers, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord.” {Proverbs 19:17}. Jesus fed the hungry. He ministered to the sick. He comforted the bereaved. He welcomed the marginalized. We are to do the same. It is what we were created for. It is our intended purpose. And the good thing is there is no shortage of opportunities for us to help the hurting because there are so many of them. It is imperative that we understand the seriousness of what God has COMMANDED us to do… “To love our neighbor as He has loved us.”
Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all your getting get understanding. James 1:5 says “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him….I tell you the most important thing for us as Christians is to have Spiritual Understanding. When we want to evaluate something, we should ask the Lord to help us understand whatever it is that we are evaluating. Unless we can fully understand it, we might disregard it when we should take its message to heart, or we might take something to heart that we should disregard. Ephesians 5:17 tell us, Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Do yourself a favor: Get Understanding! And when you understand, understand that in the beginning when God made the world there were no needy people. Everyone had sufficiency. But then sin entered the world and it brought ignorance, injustice and inequity. Ever since then there have been people who don’t have enough to eat, who don’t have a place to live, and who don’t have clean water. I cannot emphasize enough that God’s people are called to change that lack by addressing their spiritual, emotional and physical needs. Yes, one day Jesus will return and all injustice and poverty and homelessness and illness will be removed. But until that time the church of Christ should be working tirelessly to help those who are in need. This is the outworking of the Cross.
The message is clear. Giving to the needy is right. It pleases God, it helps others, and it is an integral part of the Christian faith. God has charged us with taking care of them. If we don’t, then our discipleship is unbalanced. Support Brother’s Keeper Mission Project,” and remember, nothing matters except that which we do for the Lord. And God says, “The least we do for one of them, we do unto Him.” So in all your getting, get understanding, please! Because when we stand before the Lord to be judged we will be commended or chastised for a series of six (6) activities, those we did or did not perform. One, providing food for one who is hungry. Two, giving drink to a person who is thirsty. Three, providing shelter for another who is a stranger. Four, giving clothes to the person who is naked. Five, looking after the sick and Six, comforting those in prison {Matt: 25:31-46}. You must know that the determining factor in determining our final destiny will be; was we are Brother’s Keeper.
My prayer and plea is for each of us to become the Good Samaritan who was willing to walk the walk and was not willing to just talk the talk. Support “Brother’s Keeper Mission Project” by visiting www.gofundme.com/99b30w and making a donation or send a check payable to: Brother’s Keeper Mission Project, 390 West 5th Street, #408, San Bernardino, CA 92402. The simplest of acts can have impacts far beyond our wildest dreams.
If you would like to join Ministry of Declaration/Truth; The Beautiful Gate Church/Ghana, Africa; Church of the Living God, Temple 208; 2 God Be All The Glory Community; Conduit of Grace Church; Ultimate Worship Church International, and Youth Hope, Inc., as we continue doing the work of Jesus and Greater works, please call (909) 649-8148 or send a message via email to colemanlou@hotmail.com. We are a community sent on a mission together: to keep on doing the ministry of Jesus so that all people and all creation might experience the reconciliation of God. Brother’s Keeper Mission Project – Called and empowered t
