Daily Bread September 28

An Act of Charity
Lela Ayers of Mesa, AZ, USA


There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
  Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
You have put gladness in my heart
  more than when their grain and wine abound.
I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
  for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety. -Psalm 4:6-8

The women in my family have had a “Zoom” party every Saturday. It is usually eight women from California, Arizona, Missouri, Chicago, and London. Half of them are young people in their 20s; three are in their 50s, and me-Grandma.

Every week we take turns giving everybody an assignment for the next Saturday. Assignments range from wearing your favorite pajamas to baking cookies you’ve never baked before. Recently we were to perform an act of charity that we had never done before. That made it very challenging. It would have been easy to give money or donate to Feed My Starving Children, but it had to be something new. How do you do that when you can’t leave the house or interact in the normal way?

I thought about it all week and what I finally did was to simply invite a friend over to our patio. With masks on we exchanged books. I’m not sure that it was an act of charity, but I hope the social, face-to-face interaction benefited her as much as it did me. Isn’t that what happens in an act of charity? In the process of discipleship? When we support each other, we also benefit from the interaction. Wasn’t that what Jesus did when he came to us in a human form to teach us new ways of interacting with each other?

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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