Welcome to Claudette Moss Ministries! I am Christopher Moss.
I would like to take this time, to write about a serious situation that has developed in the Body of Christ, and has had a far reaching impact, not only in the United States, but around the world.
I know we live in uncertain times, and need can be seen all around us, but I would like to focus on the Lack that has taken hold of the Body of Believers.
If you will open your Bible to Matthew Chapter 25 starting with verse 34 (the version I am reading from is NIV):
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
These scriptures are often talked about in the context of helping the poor and afflicted, but I want you to notice something... in Matthew Chapter 25 verse 40 Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Let's consider what Jesus was saying here, when he mentioned “Brothers of Mine.”
We hear the terms “brothers and sisters” spoken in the Church, when members of the Body of Christ are being addressed.
Here is what Jesus said in Mark Chapter 3 verse 35 NIV:
35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
With this, it can be implied that Jesus was speaking about fellow Believers as well, and not just the poor and afflicted outside the walls of the Church Body.
Let's consider this question for a moment?
If you lacked nutrition and were too weak to walk, could you give nutrition to another and help them to walk? This is what is happening in the Body of Christ today.
We are reaching out to try and help others, while at the same time we are starving physically and spiritually in our own churches.
Many Church leaders lack in their finances, making it difficult to provide for their families, requiring them to take their eyes off the church and it's needs, likewise, we have Church “brothers and sisters” who are also in lack, experiencing hardship.
Some might say that the leader of their church should get another job, and in most situations this is the unfortunate case, but it is at the expense of that churches' spiritual well being.
The Church Body, by design, was to help fellow brothers and sisters, supporting one another and our leaders. It is imperative that the Church have spiritual and physical nutrition in it's own Body, before trying to reach out in these Last Days.
We live in the days when government systems of the world are failing to provide for their people, and what will those people do, when the systems are gone? They will be looking for help elsewhere, and how are we the Church going to reach them, if we ourselves are not strong and healthy enough to help our own church body?
We must minister to the needs of others in our own congregation, and (if I may step out on a limb for a moment) to the needs of others in other congregations. Unity in the Global Body of Christ is important in these Last Days, to move forward and reach the lost.
Can I challenge you for a moment to look around you, in your church, or perhaps in another church? Can you see a need in a leader, or in another church member? Please help them, even if things do not seem to be all well in your own life. Remember, we serve a God of abundance, for He is not limited by the means of Man, we limit Him by our thinking and expectations - our shortage on Faith.
I would like to recount a time in history when God made provisions for Elijah the Prophet during a famine.
If you will turn with me to 1 Kings Chapter 17 starting with verse 7 NIV:
We find Elijah the Prophet, being sent by God, to a widowed woman at Zarephath.
The Widow at Zarephath
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him (Elijah): 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
From reading this scripture, we can see that the conditions in the land of Sidon were not good for the woman, her son, and Elijah, but we can also put this in the context of today's economy as well, with the land around us drying up and times getting more difficult, but the scripture continues with...
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
This woman was faithful and obeyed God by feeding Elijah - a Man of God, a brother. We can apply this same principle today, with what we are facing in the Church. The land around us doesn't look good, but if we will trust and obey God, ministering to the needs of other brethren, we will have plenty.
Can I encourage each of you who are reading, to not be discouraged by what you see around you. Don't let the conditions of today hurt your walk with Jesus. Obey His word, keep to His promises, minister to the needs you see in the Body of Christ, so that you may have plenty.
May God Bless You,
Christopher Moss
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