Heartlight.org started on April 3 in 1996. By God’s grace, we reach hundreds of thousands of different folks every month, ten of thousands a day. These folks come from over 175 countries. They use our Heartlight.org resources — articles, devotionals, graphics, and blogs — to help bless their own lives and the lives of others. Only God knows how many people are blessed downstream from these first time users. But Heartlight.org is much bigger than just our main web site. In addition we provide or are partnered with the following free resources:

• searchgodsword.org — A Bible search, commentary, and original language tool
• iluminalma.com.br — The Portuguese version of Heartlight with it’s own content
• hermeneutica.com.br — A Portuguese resource for pastors, church leaders, and teachers
• radiokd.ru — A Russian Christian Music Radio station with daily study resources
• yssa.nl — A Dutch site using Heartlight resources for daily devotionals and resources
• laluzdelalma.com — A Spanish version of Today’s Verse
• homegathering.net – A mobile version website with Heartlight.org resources and resources for home gatherings (house church worship and Bible studies)
• heartlight.mobi — The mobile device version of Heartlight.org (works best for iPhones, PalmPre, Blackberry browsers)

This is just our little corner of the world, but let’s talk about doing good, working for social justice, and making a difference in the lives of others in real ways. Several interests I have and am invested in personally seek to do good in the world by releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name, providing clean water, providing mosquito nets, giving business opportunities through mico-loans, and other tools for people who do not have access to those.

Compassion International is a favorite ministry for doing good for children. Donna and I currently sponsor three children and I have been to see one of them on a Compassion trip to Uganda, Africa in February of 2008. This life changing trip was a great opportunity for several of us who were on the web to create a buz and get a lot of folks more involved in sponsoring children through Compassion. Here’s the YouTube video of my home visit to our little girl:

You can read more about this visit in my Heartlight article.

In addition to Compassion, several other related “do something good” efforts made possible by the web that I like are:

• BiteBack — providing mosquito nets to prevent Malaria, a leading killer of children in many under-developed parts of the world. Along with unclean water, Malaria kills more children than war or other diseases and this disease is largely preventable with mosquito nets and the planting of certain trees and plants that drive away mosquitoes.
• charity: water — providing clean drinking water for the billion folks in our world without it. Along with Malaria, unclean water kills more children than war or other diseases and these water-borne diseases are largely preventable with clean water.
• Village of Hope — rescuing children from all sorts of poverty, war, and being orphaned, this ministry in Ghana is a powerful tool of giving children a new hope for this life and connecting them with the life of Jesus.
• Eternal Threads — providing a business opportunity to help folks out of poverty and offering purses and bags for use and for gifts for Westerners and helps monetize poor families through a sustainable system of lifting folks out of poverty and giving them the dignity of doing it through work.
• Pockets of Dreams — little girl dresses made by those in need funds and jobs in under-developed countries: great for gifts and helps monetize poor families through a sustainable system of lifting folks out of poverty and giving them the dignity of doing it through work.
• Kiva — micro-loans that help folks in undeveloped countries start businesses and then pay back their loans: proceeds from loan pay back then provide for more loans, which becomes a self-sustaining system of lifting folks out of poverty and giving them the dignity of doing it through work.
• Christian Homes and Family Services — a great organization that helps women who have unexpected pregnancies work their way through the decisions of parenting and adoption and helps families looking to adopt find a child for them. A growing emphasis also involves foster care and foster-to-adopt programs. We love to give donations in honor of those we love as gifts for Christmas, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and other special events.

Don’t know what you are doing for Christmas, but how about using the upcoming holidays to center your family on giving to those in need and purchasing gifts that help lift people out of poverty. Fed up with what’s bad? Then join me and others who are using the web to do good, work for social justice, and give folks a chance to do something better in their lives!

He has shown all you people what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8 TNIV).

Folks are off and headed out for Spring Break campaigns — I’ve got kinfolks headed out of the country and last year I went to Uganda with Compassion International myself. All of these folks are jumping in and serving and risking and doing great things for God. Others I know are involved with church planting efforts and house church efforts. One brother in Christ and his family left business and went back to school to prepare himself to be a church planter.

Far too often we try to play it safe and never really do what our hearts call us to do and spirits hunger for us to do. The tottering economy and a host of other things intimidates us and backs us down from the adventure of faith. So for the next several days, I’d like to nudge us in the direction of taking risks for the Kingdom and give you some interesting things to think about and see — from passages of Scripture to Heartlight.org articles to video resources to check out.

For some reason, those who take a biblically conservative view of Scripture often fear risking anything — risking their point of view, their physical safety, their approval from God — and playing it safe. However, the more literally we take the words of Jesus and the examples of the early followers of Jesus, the more we should be willing to risk almost everything for the sake of the Kingdom.

So … today, I want to point you in the direction of a Heartlight.org article and a video.

The article is entitled “Step into the Water” and calls us to have the kind of faith the children of Israel had to cross the Jordan River. It’s worth a peak!

The video is entitled “Uncontrollable Current” is available on Highway Videos.

My only regret on the following video is that I didn’t send it out a week ago to all my buds to warn them of the dangers of blowing up Valentine’s week. Thanks to Jonathan Ross for this classic music video of warning for the guys among us. It’s called “The Don’t Song.”

So what’s your reaction to the song?

If you do not see the video on this page, then take a peak at the WorshipHouseMedia.com website!

I was blessed to go on the trip to Uganda, Africa, in February of this year. It was the first Compassion Bloggers trip and it was truly a life changing experience. So those traveling to D.R. are in my prayers and I will have to say, I am a bit envious of them. They are traveling with great people — thanks Brian, Keeley, and Shaun — and traveling to help folks know more about a noble cause. In addition, we are in focus on this trip because on our sponsored children is from D.R.

Blessings to all going on this trip and my prayer is that you touch many folks with the opportunity they have to make a difference in the lives of families and help in the mission of “realeasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.” I encourage you to keep up with the trip on the Compassion bloggers website!

Now let me explain: birthdays are big deals around these parts, so a request like that can get one a might over committed … if you know what I mean. So as Donna thought things over for a few minutes, I waited impatiently, hoping to snag the last of my elusive birthday shopping before the rush.

“I really think I would like another child,” she said almost nonchalantly. The words hung in the hair as we pondered them. Something about the phrasing sounded humorous at first, but then the seriousness of her request tugged at both of our hearts. I knew exactly what she was talking about after a few minutes of reflection.

Now for us to have a physical child the old fashioned way is a bit over the fantasy line. Let’s just say we had several factors working against us. What Donna was talking about was sponsoring another child with Compassion International.

We were currently sponsoring two children at the time, Starlin and Doreen. They are precious to us. As Donna pointed out, “I have pretty much everything I need and I want to do something help a child who has nothing. It breaks my heart to see these little ones who have been on the waiting list so long.”

So for Donna’s birthday, we sat down and looked through children who had been on the waiting list for a sponsor more than six months. Our problem wasn’t finding a child, but having to choose from so many. How do you decide? How can you turn any of them down?

Each face tugged at our heart, but one little boy grabbed much more than our attention. He was trying to stand so straight and tall. He wore his best clothes — or maybe borrowed ones. The earnest look on his face spoke of his desire to impress someone on the other side of the camera lens. Yes, Raymond, your hope has become our gift. Thanks, little guy, for being so much more than a birthday gift. May God bless you on your journey, may Jesus be real to you in the days ahead, and please know that you are gift from God to us.

Since I was blessed to visit with one of our Compassion children in Africa this past February, we feel a special pull to this wonderful continent so full of precious children who face such deep need. So now we have our children on the other side of the world that we keep in our prayers, share messages, and help provide a future for just a little more than a dollar a day. What greater gift than this?

So please, take a look and I think you might just find a child looking for a sponsor that touches your heart and changes your world.

7 Pockets, 7 Dreams

Those who know me know that I’m no fashion expert. Dresses are not my specialty. So, I will make one fashion observation about the little girl and the dress pictured here: cute! Okay, I know that’s not overly elaborative, so I’ll add, precious!

This is a 7 pocket dress from the group Pocket of Dreams. You can read about it today in Heartlight.org. It’s an effort to give folks a good product (a cute dress for a precious child) that helps women and children in Uganda in very tangible ways.

As many of you know, I went with a group of Compassion Bloggers to Uganda this past February, so this kind of effort is near and dear to my heart. We sponsor three children through compassion — I’ll tell you more about our third compassion child tomorrow — but this is a way to help families that gives us a real connection and provides real help. I hope if you have a cute and precious little girl or granddaughter or niece or friend or … you will check out Pocket of Dreams and give a gift that touches many more people than you know on this side of heaven!

When this precious man’s first wife became very ill, he attended to her faithfully and tirelessly. As time passed after her death, he then convinced a sweet lady to marry him — even though she had “sworn off men” completely when her drunken, womanizing husband abandoned her to raise two little girls by herself — which she did masterfully, often working two jobs.

God gave them well over a decade of marriage, but after the last four months of his battling to stay here for his family, she told him it was okay to go home and be with the Lord. He did a few hours later, slipping peacefully away to be with the Lord.

I was honored to officiate at his funeral and graveside. Knowing that I would not take money for a funeral, her “thank you” was for me to send that money to Compassion International to help take care of “our girl” and other children. And that’s where the generous “thank you” will go: to provide mosquito nets for the beds unknown children so that they can have a chance at life, family, friends, and faith.

Some gifts just mean more.

My prayer is that you will add your gift to this one and help us Bite Back against this leading killer of children. You can learn more about Malaria Prevention Day from the following resources:

My Recent Article | The Bite Back Web Site | Compassion Malaria Prevention

Yes, some gifts just mean more!

First, my own experience with the child we sponsor in Uganda with Compassion.

What you see are the medical treatment records of our sponsored child, Doreen. These records were more than an inch thick. They were carefully taken and tracked.

Doreen was brought into the Compassion’ Child Survival Program at 1 year old because she was felt to be at high risk. Without medical treatment, immunizations, regular doctor’s visits, mosquito nets for her bed, treatment for her mom, training for her mom and grandmom, Doreen and I would probably have never met because she would have not survived the two and a half years before I met her.

The second picture, of Doreen with me, reveals to you how great a tragedy that would have been for both Doreen and her family, as well as my family and me. Where God will take Doreen, how she will respond to the love of God and the opportunities she has, are really outside my control. But, I can help give her a chance at life, a group of people who will help her meet Jesus, my daily prayers, notes and cards, and the assurance of the basics of life — in other words, I can help release her to have an opportunity at life — for about 110 pennies a day!

Second, I’d like to point you to my friend, Shaun’s blog to learn more about what it means to “release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.” Check out Shaun’s clear and vivid explanation.

You see, we’re not donating to a cause or an organization, we’re helping children … we know … we’ve held … and we pray we’ll know forever.

Click the Sponsor a Child with Compassion button at the top right and see for yourself!

Movies, advertisers, preachers, fund raisers, sportscasters, politicians, and a host of others, frequently play with our emotions and generate feelings of empathy, sympathy, and pity for people, events, and situations. Over time, we begin to associate compassion with feelings, emotions, and intentions. Before we know it, just having the emotion makes us feel like we have compassion.

As followers of Jesus, however, we need to hear everything in our Bible heritage remind us of one simple truth: compassion isn’t genuine compassion until intention becomes action.

Don’t mis-hear me on this: our intentions and motivations and emotions ARE important. But, these are not compassion, at least not from God’s point of view.

God demonstrates compassion by becoming human flesh and living among us as Jesus — it was not “tender compassion” until God’s concern for us was demonstrated by His action of becoming one of us (Luke 1:78 NLT). Notice how frequently God’s love, concern, and compassion are identified with His actions on our behalf (John 3:16-17; Romans 5:6-11; 1 John 4:8-10 NLT) and how God’s compassion for us should be completed by our compassionate action for others (1 John 4:8-10 NLT). Jesus even teaches this truth about compassion in two of His most famous parables.

Remember in the story of the “Good Samaritan” how the Priest and the Levite walked on past the man who had been beaten, robbed, and left for dead. But the one who had compassion for this battered man was the Samaritan, who got down off his “high horse” (Okay, it was really a donkey, but “high donkey” just doesn’t seem to have the emotional impact!) and he helped the man. He treated his wounds, bandaged the stranger, put the wounded man on his donkey, put him up in an inn, and paid the man’s way until he was healed. (See Luke 10:30-37 NLT for details, notice especially vs. 33.)

In the famous story of the rebellious son, Jesus tells about the father who had compassion for his wayward child. When the father saw him at a distance, he had compassion on him and ran to meet him, hug him, and welcome this son home. (Luke 15:11-32 NLT, especially vs. 20.)

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, the Lord’s compassion moved Him to actions like, touching and healing lepers, mending the broken and the blind, feeding the hungry masses, teaching the confused and shepherdless crowds, raising from the dead a widow’s only son, and defeating the demonic powers controlling the hopeless. (Follow this link for details in the ministry of Jesus about His compassion — you may want to download the Greek and Hebrew fonts to use the language resources.)In cornbread English, feeling concern and empathy for folks in need is good. We don’t want our hearts to become immune or callused to human suffering. However, we must remember that good intentions don’t become compassion until they move us to action. In the picture above, four key elements of compassion come together with mosquito bed nets for the baby and her mom, a worker from the church to do regular check ups and also Bible mentoring, sponsors who help provide regular support, and medical care with good records — all part of Compassion International’s ministry to kids.

And here is a great way to demonstrate our compassion. April 25 is World Malaria Day. The leading killer of children in many tropical countries is malaria. Having been to Uganda, a number of us know first hand what a huge difference in the life of a child a mosquito net for beds truly can be. I’m hoping your concern will move you to two actions regarding this important issue:First, please make a donation to Compassion International’s Malaria Prevention Fund to provide bed nets for children in malaria infested countries.Second, find out more about the effort to “Bite Back” against this awful disease that ravages the lives of thousands of children every day.

So what makes it hard for you to move from compassionate feelings to genuine compassion in action?

• Seen too many ads and heart too many pleas to really be moved?
• Don’t trust the websites for donating or helping?
• Want to help, but not sure I can?
• None of the above, I’m ready to help right now!

Today we’re joining Randy Elrod for WaterCooler Wednesday and reminding ourselves the ultimate creative active is to give someone at chance at life.

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God (Proverbs 14:31 TNIV).

A photo from a recent trip to Africa called to mind this passage. The color, shadowing, and sunlight called me to this message. But this image is more than that for me. I can still remember the smell of that moment … the smell of the fish being cleaned about fifteen feet to the left of this picture, the smell of the morning cooking smoke still hanging in the air, the smell of human waste barely detectable in the breeze, and the aroma of baby spit up smelling like moldy soy. I also remember the emotional smells: a faint aroma of hope celebrating the intervention of Compassion into the lives of a twenty-two year old married HIV positive woman of with two young children and the clean, prepared, and loving tenderness of the project worker who shared scripture and love, as well as her expertise on health and nutrition, with this family a world away from where I live.

Now if I can just live to honor God in this … I so want to be a person of honor, who honors, the LORD who has been so gracious with me, by being a real, tangible, fragrantly pleasing aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15). To bet a part of culture change, as Randy’s Watercooler Wednesday suggests, I’ve got to keep all the odors as images in my heart and then act personally.

While I like the Scripture graphic (aka PowerPoint background) with the text, of the three related images, I like the one without any text or title most of all. All three — the Bible text, the title, and the plain image — can be downloaded free from Heartlight.org. Check on the latest images, or use the search for color, Bible reference, or key theme. Here’s a small version of the real image: