SAMPLE OF ACTIVITIES: A few suggested activities (in random order) follow, and you should be able to think of other activities which will honor Jesus and serve your neighbors:
☐ Donation to existing programs: Numerous charitable opportunities exist through your church and other faith organizations. Support some of these efforts, as you are led by the Lord and as you can afford. Support of Christ-honoring programs may be worthy of future Bema Judgment rewards. Support of secular programs, which do not honor the God, probably is not worthy of Bema Judgment rewards. For example: Is it better to donate to an orphan feeding program which ministers in the name of the Christ or to donate to a football team booster club?
☐ Donation of food and other items: America has been in a recession for years (and is not recovering, but seems to be sliding into a more severe global recession). Many millions of unemployed Americans still struggle and must feed their families with “food stamps.” Such families, once proud, hard-working, and resilient, must now seek assistance from others. They often experience embarrassment, humiliation, shame, defeat, and failure, even though a failing economy is to blame for their predicament. After months of being denied employment, they understandably feel defeated and may see little hope for the future. Any help you can give “the least of these, Jesus' brethren,” will be most gratefully received by those in need (and gratefully received by Jesus). There are community programs to donate food, clothing, furniture, and other items to persons in need. Question: Should your charitable giving be to a Christ-honoring group or to a secular group, a group that may even be ashamed of Jesus' name? For example, I donate to the Salvation Army rather than the American Red Cross (even both may tackle the same problems) because the Salvation Army maintains a Christian perspective in its work.
☐ Shop for others, as a gesture of love: If you have a homebound or frail neighbor, make a point of “buying too much ‘accidentally,’” and ask your neighbor if he/ she can take some of your excess groceries.
☐ Cook for others, as a gesture of love: Occasionally, cook extra food in order to help persons in need. Such “need” may not be merely financial in nature. A widow or widower who has lost a mate after many years of marriage commonly loses interest in cooking, other than heating a can of soup. Call your neighbor and tell him/ her you have cooked too much meat loaf, casserole, cookies, or the like. Could you, please, bring him/ her some of the extra food? Ask your neighbor, if you can bring him/ her a complete lunch or dinner some day. Even better, ask him/ her to join you in a meal. Invite your neighbor for a family meal, even a Thanksgiving meal. Will setting the table for one more person be any more trouble?
☐ Garden for others, as a gesture of love: If you plant a garden and have the space, add a few extra tomato or pepper plants, hills of squash, rows of beans or corn, or a few square feet of lettuce. Share your garden surplus with your neighbor. You may find your meals taste better, when you have shared with a neighbor in financial or emotional need.
☐ Recycle infant clothing: Newborn infants are given more clothes by grandparents and other relatives than they ever use. Your community probably has a crisis pregnancy center. These centers give clothes, bottles, infant formula, and diapers to their clients who choose live births, rather than abortions. Take any clothing now outgrown by your infant to your local crisis pregnancy center.
☐ Recycle warm clothing: Many communities provide warm clothing, especially winter coats, for the homeless. Clean out your closet by removing such items as winter coats you will no longer use. A homeless person may be warmed by your thoughtfulness.
☐ Encourage men/ women in the military: Men and women in the military may be homesick, lonely, and frightened. Things they love (home, family, country, even such food as cheeseburgers and pizza) are far away.
• Find the name(s) and military (APO) address(es) of those who are protecting your liberty. You may have friends who have children/ grandchildren in the military. Write encouraging notes and cards. Ask your friends to do the same. Depending upon regulations, you may be able to send gifts to them. Let the young man/ woman know that you love him/ her in Jesus' name and that you pray for him/ her. Encourage him/ her to pray also for God's guidance and protection. Do not use such letters or cards as your soapbox to rant against war or express political biases. The man or woman stationed overseas wishes to be at home with family far more than you could ever wish it. This young patriot is not in a hostile land to offend you, but because he/ she is following an order of the government.
• If you are eating at a restaurant and see men/ women in military uniform eating at another table, quietly call the server and tell him/ her that you will pay the bill and gratuity for these young people. If they ask the server who did this kind act for them, have the server simply reply: “Your meal is paid for by someone who thanks you for your service to our nation and who wants you to know that God loves you.” You, the server, and our young patriots will be blessed by your kind act.
• Never let an opportunity pass without thanking a veteran or someone on active military duty for his/ her service to your nation and efforts to preserve liberty for you and your family. The government treats soldiers and veterans in a shameful, shoddy manner, but you, as a citizen, should always be thankful for the sacrifices men and women in military uniform make on your behalf.
• “America's Greatest Generation” is fast slipping away. If you have a relative or neighbor who served in the military during World War II, ask to visit him/ her to see what he/ she might like to share with you. Thank him/ her warmly for the sacrifices and service made to America. Consider taking the children/ grandchildren with you, and let them learn living history, too. When the troops come home and the parades and band music stop, too often our military men/ women are forgotten. Resolve that you will not forget.
☐ Mini-sacrifices for others: As an American or citien of another affluent Western nation, you are far more blessed than you appreciate. Consider making personal sacrifices to help others in Jesus' name. Curtail one or more activities, put the money the activities would have cost in a jar, and think of a way you can spend your saved money for someone in greater need than your temporary, fleeting pleasures. Examples may include:
• When you eat out, skip the appetizer or dessert. Drink tap water, rather than a pricey drink. Choose a less expensive restaurant or a less expensive meal at your favorite restaurant. Keep track of the amount you saved at that meal, and plan to spend your accrued savings in the future for someone in need. NOTE: Please do not skimp on the gratuity. Your server works hard at the restaurant to make a living. Your “charity” should be your voluntary sacrifice, not your server's involuntary sacrifice.
• Deny yourself something to which you might ordinarily treat yourself. Examples might include: a round of golf, eating at an expensive restaurant, beauty treatment, and the like. From the abundance of your wealth, hold some back to help others in need.
• You and your spouse can agree to stop exchanging gifts (birthday, anniversary, and the like— gifts which may become routine and reflect little true sentiment). Is marital love really expressed by exchanging gifts? Take the money you both would have spent on each other, and spend it on a family in need.
☐ If you are a Believer/ Christian, act like it: Being a true Believer in (Follower of) the Messiah is most difficult. You probably can agree with the Apostle Paul (Romans 7:15): For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. You are Jesus' representative in the world. You may be the only Believer a lost person knows, and his/ her entire concept of faith in Jesus is what he/ she hears or sees from you. An example well known to you is the strong resistance of many Jews to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Why? Centuries of antisemitism and persecution by the self-described Christian Church or supposedly Christian nations— Crusades, Inquisitions, Holocaust, and the like— have convinced many Jews that Christ-followers are enemies of the Jews. If you live and act as a true Believer, you should make certain sacrifices for Jesus (including avoidance of inappropriate speech and behavior). Whether you like it, you set an example for non-Believers. Consider:
• Do you speak in vulgar, cursing language at work or around friends? Do you tell dirty jokes? Do you curse in God's name? Would Jesus use such language? Would Jesus repeat the jokes you tell? Would Jesus curse in the Father's name? Is Jesus pleased, when you speak in this manner? Does such language encourage non-Believers to come to salvation in Jesus?
• Do you visit bars to drink? Would Jesus accompany you to the bars and drink with you?
• Do you watch pornography? Would Jesus sit next to you, ogling the naked women on your screen?
• Are you unfaithful to your spouse? Would Jesus approve of your infidelity?
• Are you dishonest in dealing with others? Would Jesus approve of your crooked, underhanded tactics? Your children and others may observe your dishonesty. Even if no one sees your dishonesty, God does. Consider a statement of H. Jackson Brown, Jr.: “Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” Quietly returning excess money given to you in change by a tired cashier speaks much louder than saying, “God loves you.”
☐ Treat all persons with dignity and respect: Jesus taught a concept that is usually paraphrased as The Golden Rule (Luke 6:31): [Jesus said] “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” The LORD commanded (Leviticus 19:18b): “... but you shall love your neighbor as yourself....” Jesus later cited this commandment as the second of the two greatest commandments from God (see Matthew 22:39). James D. Miles said: “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” In dealing with others, let your speech and actions be a testimony to others that you are a Believer. Are you kind to all persons you meet? Jesus tried to befriend every person He met. If you follow Jesus' example, you give testimony that Someone special lives in your heart. A true Believer can be recognized from his/ her actions, and he/ she will not have to boast of his/ her faith.
☐ Night out for a young family: If you find a family barely making living expenses, you will learn that a family night out is an impossibility. For such a family, purchase a gift card to a local fast food restaurant (McDonald's, for example). Treat the family to a restaurant meal. If possible, throw in enough cash to let the family play some miniature golf, bowl, or attend a movie. The family will greatly cherish this rare treat, and you, imagining their excitement, will enjoy your evening even more.
☐ Meals for a senior citizen couple: If you find a senior citizen couple who cannot afford to eat at a restaurant, purchase a gift card to a restaurant they might like (Cracker Barrel, for example). Encourage them to “go on a date,” and eat a good meal in a restaurant. Your meal that evening will taste even better because of the joy you experience in your heart, knowing that you have done something good and kind in Jesus' name.
☐ Chores, home repairs: If you find an elderly or handicapped person, offer to do some chores for that person— leaf raking, yard mowing, weed trimming, housework, etc. You may be able to make simple home repairs that exceed that person's capability. Two or three hours of your time will greatly lighten the burdens of someone less agile than you are.
☐ Visitation: Your community is filled with lonely people. “Adopt” a lonely person, especially a shut-in person, and visit him/ her periodically. Let him/ her choose the conversation topic, even if rambling or repetitious. You may be the only human to whom that person has spoken that week. An older person can remember fascinating history. (Have you ever talked to a World War II veteran about his war experiences?) Younger children may be fascinated by this oral history, as well. Take a big plate of home-baked cookies and a box of tea bags, and you both can enjoy cookies and hot tea, as you talk. Find out the person's birthday (month and day, not year). On his/ her birthday, surprise him/ her with a birthday cake. Even a frosted cupcake with a single birthday candle will be greatly appreciated.
☐ Respite care: [respite definition = “short period of relief or rest”] Many people in your community are home caregivers. They provide for the needs of a spouse with Alzheimer's disease or a disabled relative. They must be present in the home “24-7.” If you can stay with the relative needing care, the caregiver can have a few hours of relief to shop, visit the beauty parlor, visit the library, see a movie, eat a restaurant meal, or do something else to relieve the tension and stress that builds up from their non-stop home duties. Your substitute duties will probably be light, but your presence will mean much to a tired caregiver. By sharing someone else's burden, you follow Jesus, when He said (Matthew 11:28-30): “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
☐ Assistance for a family in need: Many families are verging on the brink of insolvency. Find a family in need. You “and Jesus” can help with some outstanding bills (utilities, mortgage, etc.). Making a past-due payment or two may help a floundering family's finances immensely.
☐ Share the Gospel: If the opportunity arises, share the Good News (the Gospel) of Jesus the Christ with persons to whom you minister. A forty-five minute “fire and brimstone” sermon may not be welcome. A few gentle words about what your Savior has done in your life— and can do in the lives of the persons to whom you minister— may be welcome and effective. Your actions will speak louder than your words. If you plant the seed of God's love, demonstrated by the actions of your love, you have done well. Have faith that the Holy Spirit is fully capable of building on the foundation you have laid. Jesus is the Foundation of our faith and you are a “living stone” to be laid on that Foundation to build a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4-5): Coming to [the Lord] as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
☐ Serve Jesus' “brethren:” In Jesus' Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46), He gave examples of His “brethren” to whom we all would do well to serve. Using this teaching, consider feeding the hungry; or, giving drink to the thirsty; or, sheltering the stranger; or, clothing the poorly clothed; or, visiting the sick; or, ministering to those in jail. When you do, you minister not only to a person in need but also to Jesus Himself (Matthew 25:40): [Jesus said] “... ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” Ministering to “the least” among us is a good place to start ministering to Jesus. Jesus does not live in magnificent cathedrals, and you will have difficulty finding Him there. Jesus does live in the worst of conditions— under bridges, in substandard housing, in jails, and other places you do not like to consider— and you can find always find Him there among His brethren.
☐ Other: There are many opportunities to serve others in love. Only a few opportunities have been mentioned. Pray that the Holy Spirit will bring you into contact with people in need, that you will be able to recognize their need, that you will feel their need as your own, that you will be able to formulate an effective response, and that you will find appropriate words of encouragement and love.