Additional Writings, p 21
Freda's Guest Blog for: Good Samaritan Ministries
www.goodsamaritanministries.org
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The Miracle of Jesus’ Ministry of Love
February 13, 2018
One cold December morning, I prepared 100 ham and cheese, with mayo and lettuce,
sandwiches, stuffed them into sandwich bags, and piled them into 100 lunch bags that
I had filled the night before, each with a drink, an apple, a bag of chips, a cookie and a
Christmas card that spoke of Jesus’ love. My husband and I drove to our downtown area and handed them out to the homeless on a cold, wintry day of Holy love. In the physical, quite a bit of preparation was expended and it seemed to be that the same number of meals was handed out. But in the spiritual dimension, the miracle of Jesus’ love expanded those meals to be a source of hope, love, and compassion to the hearts of the uncomfortably cold individuals living on the streets. It was a very small step out of my comfort zone of warmth and family; it also opened my heart to the suffering of so many and God used it to ignite a longing to alleviate such physical and emotional pain. It does not surprise me that He brought me to Good Samaritan Ministries!
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I am fascinated by the exponential blessings of the love of God. He receives whatever we are willing to share, whether it is time to pray for hurting people, time and expertise to counsel individuals, office work, reaching out to our neighbors – whatever our willing heart releases into His control, He blesses. He blesses so abundantly! There is no way to approximate the deep physical, emotional, and spiritual blessings that have come through Good Samaritan Ministries. It simply is beyond human ability to quantify all the blessings. Neither are Jesus’ blessings based upon our physical or financial abilities to give; Jesus blesses those who have a willing heart. He multiplies the blessings that are given, ballooning them out to be the size of a hot-air balloon from a small gift of blowing on a tiny water balloon of what is in the heart of an individual.
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I have been perusing Bettie Mitchell’s first book, Who is My Neighbor? She shares with such compassion about this ministry God called her to. I have been completely perplexed that she brought individuals with her who had various physical and even emotional challenges, on trips to the Holy Land that challenged her and every individual with her to grasp new ways of thinking about the love and grace of God. I thought, “I’m just like that; I have numerous health limitations that have kept me on the sidelines of life. Perhaps I could be more of a blessing than I’ve been, just by challenging myself to be completely open to the work God has planned for me to do and trusting God through any discomfort.” Bettie has learned and shared this almost unbelievable approach to a selfless love of humanity, that individual suffering is not a reason to allow our bodies, finances, or circumstances to demand what cannot be done when we are called to follow Jesus and share His love, whether or not it is returned, or even appreciated.
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Good Samaritan Ministries is like the hand of Father God, reaching into the heart and separating out the courageous from the mundane and lifting up wisdom and purpose to those who seek to be true Samaritans, giving of what they have to genuinely help those who are hurting. It was inspired by God, in the heart and mind of a courageous, obedient woman of God, a tiny water balloon of an idea that began in her own home and is now an immense ministry spanning 23 countries and touching incalculable lives with the love and compassion of Jesus. Now that’s a hot air balloon of the magnitude of God’s love, when we seek Him and have willing, open hearts and courage to step way beyond ourselves!
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