MOST OF THE WORLD LIVES ON LESS THAN $1 A DAY

You have heard this statistic quoted by me over and over and over.  You will probably hear it quoted over and over and over.  But the fact still remains, there is a tremendous amount of poverty in this world.  Does it have to be this way?  I mean, Jesus did say, "You will always have the poor with you."  Did he mean that there are always going to be those who are poor?  Probably, but why?  Perhaps it is one of God's ways to give us the opportunity to be the church to a world.  I mean being the church means much, much more than going to worship and singing songs on a Sunday.  I think God is most pleased when we are BEING church in the world.  That means bringing justice to the oppressed, providing relief to the needy, and sharing the good news to the lost. 

A dollar a day.  That isn't much.  What if we gave a dollar a week?  That would be almost $500 a month or $6000 a year!  That could begin to make a difference. 

Where can you get $1 a week?

•Next time you eat out, order a glass of water instead of a Coke. 
•Instead of paying $8 to see a movie, rent one for $4 and there is your dollar a week for the month.
•Skip a Starbucks and there is $3.
•What if you chose not to get that shirt at Hollister?  (There is your dollar a week for the semester!
•Don't buy the latest CD that you want and there is three months worth of dollars.

These take some sacrifice.  They take choosing what we may not want for what others NEED.  We will continue to take up collections every Sunday mornings, Sunday Nights at The Edge and Wednesday Nights at Cross Training and Sanctuary to continue to support Missions, Relief work and Justice causes in this world.  God recognizes the sacrifices you make.  You may not have a squad of cheerleaders screaming affirmations about you when you drop a dollar in a collection plate, but God is cheering you on.

Once we learn to live without $1 a week, what if we begin to learn to live without $2 a week ($12,000 a year) then $3 ($18,000 a year)?  Can you imagine what a force for good The Zone can be. . .