Solutions Made in Immokalee
Good Morning Friends,
When the sun goes down 1.3 billion people in the world only have toxic kerosene lamps and other life-threatening materials for lighting and cooking in their homes. This situation not only costs them a lot of money for the fuel, about a $100 a year, but according to the U.N., the shocking situation is that this is killing 4,000 people each day with half of them below the age of 5. These respiratory related deaths are more than from HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Yesterday in Immokalee we at One by One Leadership Foundation were working with our partner New Vision Renewable Energy and the beginnings of a Project Lead the Way Engineering Academy at Immokalee High School to assemble high powered solar powered LED lights as a substitute lighting for those in need but also as a hands on deeper learning experience for students who want to give back and make a difference. Today as we contemplate the journey of Lent and these lighting devices that last about five times longer than current commercial options, I find it is a good time to get in touch with the Holy Spirit at work in doing what we cannot do alone. As I contemplate the ashes marked in the cycle of birth, life, death and resurrection I am searching for a healing light that is lasting… In the Spirit of generosity I am praying and hoping we together draw closer to God’s light this Ash Wednesday in praise of God’s Solutions Made in Immokalee.
Scripture: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NRSV)
Paul wrote, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
Philippians 4:11 (NIV)
I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, ‘The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.’
2 Corinthians 8:13-15 (NRSV)
Message: We really need an attitude adjustment about giving and investing. We need to be transformed from attitudes of greed to attitudes of generosity, from attitudes that give grudgingly to an attitude of giving and investing liberally, from an attitude of stinginess to an attitude of sharing and expanding the wealth of all. Friends, I have found that the ones who start the fire of the Spirit of Good News are not the ones in greatest need but that at some point all find themselves in need. It is here we discover that giving is not a punishment but a privilege. Here we discover that investing is not an obstacle but an opportunity. Here we discover that investing is not a burden but a blessing. Friends, know this Ash Wednesday that living with just a little less and investing just a little more each day can transform you and others in the joy of the Lord.
Pray we know the power, purpose, peace and plenty of praise in all things.
Pray this Ash Wednesday that the Holy Spirit makes God real to us. Pray we experience the freedom of the Holy Spirit at work in our acts of giving and investing. Pray we experience the Holy Spirit as a Wonderful Counselor that brings us to Christ surprising us with joy. Pray we experience the guarantee of the Holy Spirit that makes us secure with God. Pray that after we have learned about trust that we experience the Holy Spirit as a Coach encouraging us to walk in spiritual maturity following the promptings of His directions day by day…gift by gift…investment by investment to God’s glory. Pray this Ash Wednesday that we become free to move forward spiritually and economically. Pray we become filled and empowered to live moment by moment on a journey of transformation experiencing the Holy Spirit as the Giver of things for the common good. Pray on that day when we enter the realms of glory, we will have those we have helped proclaim to the Lord Our God, we were hungry and were given something to eat, thirsty and we were given something to drink, naked and we were clothed, in darkness and shown the light… and Jesus will say to His friends, “When you did to the least of these, you did it to Me. Pray as you enter into the joy and eternal light of the Lord.”
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 