Feed My Sheep
Most of you probably know by now that one of the reasons I enjoy my travels throughout the United States is because there is always something exciting and good to eat, not to mention the wonderful fellowship that I experience. Today, I want to focus on Jackson, Miss., home to some wonderful fried catfish and some great people out at Ross Barnett Reservoir.
Jackson is home to nearly 200,000 residents, which is about the same number of people who were displaced in October 2008 in Honduras from horrible flooding in that part of the world. The devastation barely made the news here in the States but it sure captured my heart and that’s why Rivers of the World (ROW) did what it could to help as many people as possible.
We had a team of volunteers already in place at the time the flooding occurred. Their mission suddenly changed to that of helping with disaster relief efforts. They provided medical care for people who were injured and displaced and then assisted with feeding the people in need. Our volunteers filled countless bags with rice and beans, salt and flour and corn and then worked tirelessly to get the food into the villages, many located high in the mountains. The experience was truly life changing.
Do you know what else is life changing? Living a life totally sold out for Christ. How do we accomplish this? By serving God’s people. Peter found this out shortly after Christ’s resurrection when He appeared to the disciples. Jesus had already asked Peter twice if he loved Him. In John 21:17 (Amplified) we read:
“He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with a deep, instinctive, personal affection for Me, as for a close friend]? Peter was grieved (was saddened and hurt) that He should ask him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You [that I have a deep, instinctive, personal affection for You, as for a close friend]. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.”
Three times Peter had denied he even knew Christ before His crucifixion. Now, after Christ was resurrected, Jesus spoke directly to Peter and asked him three times if he indeed loved the Lord. It isn’t enough to say we love Christ. We must demonstrate that love by “feeding His sheep.” Let me encourage you today to discover ways in which you can display the depth of your love for Jesus through serving others.
