Day 30 – Oct. 30

“Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no where to lay his head” -Matthew 8:20

This scripture hits home for many in America today, at some point we all struggle, and it is our duty as Christians to act accordingly to what Christ told us. When asked “Teacher which commandment in the law is the greatest?”, He said “To love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In our country today many Christians have lost their way when it comes to serving those that are experiencing homelessness. It is easy to say, “Those folks just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and help themselves.

Unfortunately, homelessness is more complex than that, some are just down on their luck and need some time to get their bearings and will move on and lead a successful life, but for many that are homeless other factors are to blame. After working with folks experiencing homelessness for a decade and being homeless myself at one time, I can say  that a great number of homeless individuals suffer from severe mental illness, many don’t have family to help them, many others are limited on how much they can make for themselves or their family because of a lack of education so their career choices are limited. No one wants or plans to be homeless, but life is unpredictable, if we are down, we need a helping hand, and if we are where we need to be it is our duty as Christians to turn around and help your neighbor as Christ would have us do.

Father God in Heaven, we come to You today in Your Son Jesus name, to think You Lord for Your love and grace. We lift up our neighbors to you that are going through a difficult time, those in our community and abroad that are experiencing homelessness. We pray that doors will open for them to have a more stable environment. Whatever the cause for the struggle, whether it be mental illness, loss of a job, medical bills, domestic violence situation, or the many other reasons one may struggle and find themselves with out a place to lay their head. Lord, we pray for our community of leaders and organizations that help others that are struggling, Lord, may You give them the strength and knowledge they need to help others in the community and give them a better quality of life. We pray that those who are experiencing homelessness don’t give up on their dreams and ambitions, that they keep the hope in their hearts that this too shall pass. Let us not look at these community problems as burdens, but as opportunities to show Christ in us, Lord, give us the hearts of servants, its in Jesus name we ask these things, Amen!