SUNDAY: Bible Study - 9:00 AM | Worship - 10:00 AM | PM Worship - 6:00 PM WEDNESDAY: Bible Class - 7:00 PM ~ 8110 Signal Hill Road Manassas, Virginia | Office Phone: 703.368.2622

            The Palestine Outreach Program (POP) was established by Jesus of Nazareth during the reign of Claudius Tiberius in Capernaum after a needs assessment and feasibility study by the consulting firm Diotrephes&Diotrephes.  A logo was designed, t-shirts were printed, regional coordinators were appointed, and informational events scheduled for synagogues throughout Palestine.  Local talent was booked, as were motivational speakers.  Office space was rented.  Meetings were held.  Committees were appointed.  Reports were made.  Money was raised, and every denarius accounted for.  The Year End Report told the amount of goods and services distributed to the truly needy.  In addition, Jesus empowered a team of healers who spread out to every village.  They established efficient clinics where healings were performed on given days at given times.  It was all very efficient.  Soon poverty and suffering were eliminated from Palestine.

            That’s the way it could have happened.  It is the way it would have happened if we had gotten our hands on things, I suspect.  At least we would have tried to tame the ministry of Jesus with the yoke of bureaucracy.  The way it happened is that Jesus healed the folks he met along the way – sometimes not even all of them.  At the pool of Bethesda He only healed one of the many gathered there for healing (John 5.1-17).  Sometimes a healing miracle was calculated for maximum effect – as with the raising of Lazarus (John 11).  But more often his healings were visceral responses to human suffering – as with the raising of the son of the Widow of Nain (Luke 7.11-17).  Jesus once left a crowd of needy folks behind without healing any of them in order to go to other villages to preach “because,” he said, “that is what I came to do,” (Mark 1.38).

            The way Jesus did things – helping the ones God placed in his path, instead of managing others who help the thousands – committed Jesus to two things: personal encounter with the one in need, and yielding to the moment God brings.  He was prevented from helping at arm’s length, and prevented from controlling his time.  When it comes to helping those in need we don’t need to ask WWJD?  We already know.  Paul reminds us: So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially those who are of the household of faith, (Galatians 6.10).  Paul himself was involved in a large fund-raising effort for the poor saints at Jerusalem (see II Corinthians 8.1ff, 9.1ff) - but did not use that effort as a model for our daily response to those in need.  We should do good as often as we have opportunity to do so.

            We recently came away from our congregational retreat with a collective desire to help the needy around us.  Almost immediately we were brought the name of a little boy in elementary school in need of clothing, shoes, and a coat.  I announced the need in Sunday morning Bible Class, and by the end of services we had 4 bags of clothing (some of you skipped class to run to Wal-Mart – bless you).  Last Sunday we shared the needs of a single mom with two kids who needed everything.  Within 14 hours we received everything, EVERYTHING, we needed.

            This is what Jesus would do – what he would have us do.  Thank you, brethren. From the deepest part of my heart, thank you for allowing me to serve with such a family.  We have the urge (especially in this town), to create a bureaucracy so that things will be done efficiently, and at arms-length.  Let us continue to resist that urge in favor of what Jesus did.

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