Have you ever stopped to contemplate the life and ministry of Jesus? Without question, Jesus came to pay our sin debt with His death on the cross. But He spent the last three years of His life interacting with people. How did those years fulfill Christ’s purpose and God’s plan? There is no doubt that Jesus unfolded the truths of His Father’s Kingdom with every word He spoke. Yet Jesus spent as much time “doing” as He did “telling.” He taught, and then He showed.
Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” He understood the height and depth of the Father’s heart for humanity. Jesus knew that His explanation of the Kingdom needed to be followed by an active demonstration of that Kingdom. Our fleshly humanity required both words and deeds so that we could fully grasp God’s love. Jesus showed us how love picks people up, heals them from the inside out, and feeds both body and soul.
I’ve always loved how James explains this so plainly. We can have an accurate understanding and belief about God but still have an empty, dead faith. When we choose to actively care for others in need, our own experience with God is deeper and more fulfilling. This is why we show love to people in need overseas by giving practical things like food, clothing, blankets, and firewood. The love that God imparted to my own heart makes anything less impossible.
Winter is always a time of increased vulnerability for many people in Ukraine. Cold winter weather is unavoidable in most parts of the country. With the war continuing to devastate so many communities, many people are spending the cold winter months without reliable heat or warmth. Some have no heat at all. Helping people in Ukraine this winter is critical for their survival.
Because winter is been a difficult time in Ukraine, we have always worked with local partners to supply practical things like warm blankets for the elderly or children living in poverty. With the war making winter survival even more difficult and impacting so many more people, we expanded our efforts last year to warm cold homes. We provided firewood for homes, and heaters for displaced people, and helped install a wood-fired boiler in a local church that used their space as a community warming center.
Warming Cold Homes Last Year
Here is a story from an elderly lady who received the gift of a warm home with a pallet of firewood from MPI last winter.
I did not expect at all that firewood would be brought to me. When the forklift stopped near my house and began to unload the wood in the pallet, I understood for sure that there is a God! But then I thought about the fact that I walk with a cane. I could not unload all that firewood myself. The snow had already begun to fall so it wouldn’t be good to leave firewood outside. I started calling my children, but no one answered. So I sat down and thought to myself. It is good that I have firewood, but how will I unload it? Ten minutes later, my son’s car flashed near the fence. My son and daughter-in-law arrived, and they helped unload everything. After that, I truly understood that God exists. By a miracle of God, everything was arranged. He is real and He loves me.
