Serve with a Rescue Mission

I remember one time when I was on a States side mission trip to Chicago. On one of the last evenings a small portion of the team joined with a local ministry to go out to the highways and under bridges to minister to the hungry and homeless. We traveled around in a little bus to known locations until we found some people. Some were known by the ministry, still others were new to them. At each stop one of our team members got off the bus with one of the local ministers to deliver a plate of hot food and blankets. I distinctly remember the man I got to minister to. He was a middle aged African American. He was very grateful for the food and had a cheerful disposition about him despite the bitter cold and stark reality of his condition. I prayed with him for a stomach problem he was having and for God to show him His love, strength and mercy. He gave me a book he had just finished as a thank you for attending to him. He didn't have to do that but it was a sweet gesture. I live in Florida now and one night I thought, "If a person was homeless this would be the state to be homeless in because it is warm". It was then that I remembered again the man living under the bridge in that bitter cold. I wonder then how he is doing? Has he gotten back on his feet or is he still under the bridge. Has society written him off? Maybe he got back on his feet. I hope the latter. 

Matthew 25:31-40, When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Jesus said that to show love to another is to show love to him, as we can see in the scripture posted above. Christ came to seek and save the lost. He sought out the sinful, the hurting the suffering and he brought salvation, hope, healing, and deliverance. Jesus said that He came to give life and to give it more abundantly. In this world we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to deliver the abundant life that he teaches. The Bible teaches that faith without works is dead.

You can make a difference. Volunteer at a Dream Center, a shelter home for women, or volunteer at a soup kitchen. There are numerous possibilities. What does your church already do? Talk to the people in charge and see where you can help out. What positions are they lacking in that you can fill? It may be something simple like picking up trash, or folding clothes at a clothing drive, or organizing inventory of some kind. But do something. Showing a little dignity could be the push someone needs to get back into life again.