November 2016

What Does It Mean to Be Blessed?

I remember the feeling. After swimming all day, my wet head sunk into the pillow at naptime and I pulled my blanket up and sighed deeply. I was three years old. I felt one single thought. I love my life. I was blessed.

Blessed. We use the word so often today. We might use it to describe anything from a new possession to a memory filled with laughter or a peaceful moment reading God’s Word with a rich cup of coffee. What does being blessed actually mean?

Hope for a Future

For five years refugees from Syria and surrounding countries have fled to Lebanon and Jordan. Half are of them are children. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries’ (NCM) Child Sponsorship program steps in through local Nazarene churches to give these children hope.

The precious children who share their stories here are part of NCM. Their names have been changed for their privacy. Note their earnest gratitude for their Nazarene schools. Listen to their words of resilience and hopefulness. These are their words as they speak from their hearts.

RASHA

Why Compassion?

Passionate evangelism, intentional discipleship, and purposeful compassion top the list of important ministries of growing Christians. They all flow naturally from a Christ-centered life.

Jesus called His followers to passionate evangelism (sharing the good news about Christ) and intentional discipleship (assisting new believer growth in the Christian faith) when He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19).

Following His Steps

In the dark of the night, on the days when my body is exhausted and my spirit is worn, I am reminded that we are fragile creatures. Fragile and forgetful. We get tired. We get weary. We have self-doubts. We feel the pressure and the significance of what we are called to do, and we are overwhelmed. Are we doing too much? Are we doing too little? What if we fail? And all of this is just from our own hearts.