Do Christians help the poor and needy?

This hub may end up short on words, but for this one the hubscore does not matter, what matters is that you, the reader pay attention and watch the videos presented here, for they may change a life, possibly yours, hopefully a child's as well.

Constant drip drip insinuation in the forums played a part in producing this hub, for it seems that the atheists greatest delight is in trying to distract believers from real debate and fellowship by taunts and wise crack remarks about why God does not feed the starving in....... (insert your country of choice).

Listen up you scoffers and murmurers, God DOES care for those in need, you just are too blind to see where and how He works, because you choose to sit in the comfort of your home and spend your time spewing venom and moaning from a computer, rather than get out there to take God into the places where people need help.

The murmurers always refer to the starving millions, but the reality is that a human being can have all the food in the world, but if they have not been set free from their spiritual poverty, they have nothing.

Like the old saying goes, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for life.

So, maybe this will be part of a series where we explore what God is doing through His people and what is being accomplishing, through ordinary believers..... the thing that the secular world has shown it is incapable of doing.... giving hope and encouragement to the lost and lonely, and setting them free from the chains that bind them.

Bill Wilson runs Metro Ministries from NYC and cares for about 40,000 disadvantaged children in New York, the Phillipines, Romania, South Africa, Ukraine, Bulgaria & Moldova and now just starting in India.

He started this work 30 years ago, and still lives in Brooklyn amongst the children Metro care for, and drives a bus to collect kids every Saturday to take them to Sunday School......

His low paid full time, and paying volunteer staff do visitation to the homes of these children on a regular basis, and for most of those visited it's the only care and love they are shown in their week.

So this seemed like a good place to start, for he is the real thing.

The video above addresses the main complaint against believers..... we are too complacent, and having found our faith, and reached an understanding of scripture that we have accepted as 'gospel' then tell people about it, rather than putting it into action.

Bill's right, a testimony from a former druggie or prostitute, or other human being whose life had taken a wrong course, but is now devoted to bringing the liberty of Christ's message to other hurting humans, is more compelling and able to set people free than a polished sermon.

Part of this problem is that God does not have any grandchildren, for each believer needs to come to faith and find God alone.

Yet when we are in faith, when our lives have changed, then our progeny are more 'protected' than we were, and having been raised in a 'Christian home' are less able to speak from experience when they tell someone 'Christ can set you free'.

Does that mean we should abandon our children to depravity in order that they may present the gospel better when they have been rescued from their sins.... God forbid!

But it does seem to indicate that the real focus of the body of believers should be reaching the lost, the truly lost, and bringing them not just to the safe haven of Christ's teachings, but also assisting them in taking their testimony to others, rather than encouraging them to become good church members, who think they retain their righteousness by obeying all the rules.

The words of Christ tell us that we are to focus on those who need release, to set the captives free, rather than those who are comfortable in their modicum of sin.

We are to love the sinner.

Do we truly do that?

OK, if you watched that last video it was for a little light relief, but it shows the multitude of children who are born into dire situations, right in the middle of NYC, just across a bridge that leads to prosperity, but which many never get to cross.

These children have bleak prospects as it stands, you don't need to go to Africa to help the poor and needy, they are on your doorstep...... well maybe not on your affluent doorstep, but if you live in Manhattan they are not far away, and wherever you live, if you will just take a short trip the the 'bad' side of town, they will be waiting for you... waiting for Christ to manifest in a human form and set them free from the cycle of drudgery that persuades young minds that there is no escape from their plight.

So if you are really wanting to help, go to the people who need help, take them the gospel message by your actions, show them Gods love by serving them as Christ did, by freeing them as Christ did, by becoming more Christ like in their lives.

You cannot do that?

Christ understood that also, but if you cannot go, provide the support for those who can and do go into the worst places on the planet and surrender all to serve those who have nothing.

Bill lives a life of faith, almost died for his faith, and stands as a testimony to Gods ability to protect those who step out in faith and trust God.

I mention this just in case you were thinking, yeah, he's ok, he has a big ministry and probably makes lots of cash from it.

You would be far from truth if you thought that, Metro is a hands on ministry where nothing is taken for granted and although God provisions it there is always more demands raised whenever they reach out to more people.

Can they save the whole world...... well not alone, but they do understand that changing the world starts by being changed yourself, then changing someone else's life, and empowering them to carry that faith and message of liberation forward.

One life at a time.