Many Members Of The Body

27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

I am still reading in the Old Testament in Joshua in my devotional time. But as I awoke this morning I was thinking about how there are so many ways to serve God. We are to be witnesses for God making disciples as we go. I know there are groups like the Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons that send out witnesses or missionaries. I recently talked with a man that it seemed he felt we all needed to be witnesses. This particular man is very good at witnessing and goes out to pray with people and witness to them probably every week. This week I had an opportunity to work on some chain saws for an organization called Eight Days Of Hope. My view is there are many ways to serve God and sometimes we witness just living our lives as Christians everywhere we go. On the job, in our neighborhoods, at the grocery store, etc. I saw a manager at McDonald's feed a hungry man this week. She has a servants heart. As she came in to go to work she started to take care of a customer as she was clocking in. Have you been helped, she asked? Then a few minutes later she sees a young man just sitting there at a table. She asked him are you waiting for your order?  He is just waiting and she asks if he is hungry? He says No I am OK. She says I will get you something? Finally he agrees and she provides him with a breakfast sandwich and I think it was coffee and a hash brown. She just gave it to him. I was there with my accountability partner, we meet weekly at this McDonalds. The young man was sitting near by and heard me and my accountability partner talking and came and prayed with us before he left.  This manager has a servants heart. Back to Eight Days of Hope: Eight Days of Hope is a volunteer group of people that go to disaster areas and start cleaning up the mess left by a hurricane or a flood or a tornado or some other disaster. They have had thousands of volunteers meet in places like Houston Texas after the terrible flooding there. They have been to the disaster areas in South Carolina and Florida in recent weeks. They go in and blue tarp houses, start cutting up down trees and cleaning up the mess. They go in to flooded houses and tear out sheet rock and basically everything to the bare bones of a house. They have dehumidifiers and fans and generators. They have a shower trailer with I think it was 10 different shower stalls for the volunteers that show up. They have a kitchen trailer. Sometimes there may be a church that will house the volunteers and feed them, but other times they can bring their shower trailer, kitchen trailer, etc. They have trailers set up with containers with all the tools a volunteer will need to take out sheet rock. They have chainsaws and pole saws and safety helmets, dust masks, safety goggles etc, to be able to go into a disaster area and start cleaning us the mess and helping those in need. The have seven F-350 pickups to pull the various trailers set up with the supplies and tools they need in a disaster area. Eight Days of Hope started here in Tupelo.  They have many opportunities to witness to the hurting as they work tom help them recover. They have not only been the first ones to a disaster area but they have gone back and refurbished homes, gutting them down to bare bones. Taking out everything even the shower stalls to the bare bones because in a flooded home everything has to go or you can develop mold even behind a shower stall. A friend of mine services their chain saws and I went to help him one day. Christians from all over the country will come and volunteer their time to assist in a disaster area to help those in need. Some of these people do not have insurance and no way to recuperate from their losses. Electricians, and carpenters and so many tradesmen from all over the country will come to a disaster area and work to rebuild the homes in a disaster area. The man that started Eight Days of Hope started with his father to go and rebuild a home in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, I think it was. He saw the need and through many donations and even time donated by thousands of volunteers this organization has blessed thousands. There are others that help in various ways. Cooper Tires a local tire manufacturing company has replaced tires on their vehicles and trailers. Sometimes the best way to witness about God's love is to be his hands and feet to those in need. This friend of mine has about fifty to sixty chains saws to service and prepare for the next disaster.  I recently heard that this church I attend supports some 30 missionaries around then world. They want to have impact in this community and around the world by showing the love of God  Christians are some of the most giving people in the world and we often don't see everything they do. They are many members of the Body of Christ with various skills and gifts they use to bless others in so many ways. From the manager at McDonalds, the Chain Saw maintenance man, the retired police officer that shares his skills to develop safety teams and even the man that heads up Eight Days of Hope. The people at Cooper Tires and so many other places that donate what they have. We are or can be the hands and feet of Jesus as we help others and can witness about the Love of God in so many ways. God bless, LVZ.