Happy Birthday

You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brothers in your land.

Deuteronomy 15:11

In today's devotional, the writer talks about her 15 year old daughter, and how when her daughter's youth group leader challenged his students to find ways to help the poor, her daughter, Jenny took the challenge seriously.

Jenny told her mother about how her youth leader had showed the students a video about poor people in India, she talked about the awful conditions the children and families in India lived in. Jenny's mother could tell that Jenny's heart had been touched by this video, and she prayed that God would continue to give her compassion for the poor.

Jenny began helping organize bake sales, and car washes with her friends on the weekends. She also conviced several of her friends to donate a portion of the money they earned from baby-sitting, mowing lawns, etc to help the poor. Jenny's mother was most proud of her when she invited her friends to her 16th birthday party, and she asked them to donate the money that they would have spent on a present to a Christian organization that helps people in India.

Wow that is a young girl after God's own heart!! My son is almost 10 years old, and right now he has a compassion for others, and others in need that I know God has placed there. It is neat to watch, and my prayer is that as he grows into a teenager, his compassion grows even stronger. We also have several kids in our youth group with this same compassion. I love watching their enthusiasm for helping others. Many of the kids in our youth group help me grow in my walk, just by watching them grow. I know they would never believe it, but they are in an inspiration to me and others around them, and my prayer is that my husband and I can help nuture their compassions and help them to grow in their walk with God, and to truly seek His heart.

Steps of Faith:
Father, please give me a heart of compassion for the poor and the needy. Show me how I can minister to them in Jesus' name.

Deeper Walk:
Psalm 41:1-3 NAS
Theme: A prayer for God's mercy when feeling sick or abandoned. When we're sick or when everyone deserts us, God remains at our side.
Author: David

How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. The LORD will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health.