“We are right at the cliff. And I’ve been warning about this for almost a month now, that we have enough money to get us through the end of October. But after that, the government has to reopen,” Rollins said Tuesday on.”  Brooke Rollins, US Secretary of Agriculture

Now is a chance for the Church to assume its God assigned, Jesus exemplified role.

“The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”  Proverbs 22:9 (NIV)

November 1 is a date bearing down on our fellow Americans.  I saw the astonishing statistic of 43-million Americans who are supported by the SNAP, food stamp program.  My first inclination was a self-righteous indignation of the sheer number of people receiving assistance.  Father, forgive me.  Not my call.  Then as I considered 1 in 9 Americans receiving help, my heart broke.  Our family has navigated tough times, but by the grace of a generous God, Megan and I have never had to look our children in the face and tell them “there’s no food.”  Oh Heavenly Daddy, ‘thank you.’

“Hunger doesn’t have a political party. Poverty doesn’t distinguish between Republican or Democrat or blue or red states. It’s real.”  Brooke Rollins

Let me be clear, I don’t care your political leanings in this moment.  I see the opportunity for the Church to reassert herself in this moment.  While speaking to groups I often reference the fact that the local church was the source of the well-faring care of our communities until we surrendered yet another responsibility to the Government who was not assigned this role by our God.  We are!

We have time.  Two days to get the word out to anyone we know that we will help.  We will share what we have.  We will open our table to your family.  We will meet you at Walmart and discretely pay for your groceries.  We will share our canned goods.  We will choose love in action over a dinner out.  We will put into action what has become too much of a feel-good catch phrase, and ‘be the hands and feet of Jesus.’

I am calling on all my brothers leading their homes to seize this opportunity to illustrate through our actions what we profess.  Churches, let’s expect radical gratitude and outpouring from our congregations.  Let’s surrender the thought of fiduciary responsibility to unrestrained community outpouring of food, love and hope.  Let’s open the talents of fiscal responsibility buried in the ground to the faith of a never-failing God who asked Peter through Jesus, ‘do you love me, then my sheep.’  John 21.

What do we gain by telling a hungry person that ‘we are praying for them’ without feeding them first.  Let’s go.  Let’s do.  Let’s love through irrepressible generosity.  

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”  Matthew 9:36 (NIV)

I believe that a God who fed 20,000 plus (5,000 men and their families) with 5 loaves and 2 fish, can and will multiply through us.

Let’s pray as we go.  Now’s our chance…