We want to encourage you to pause and be in prayer today for the rescue people working ...

  • to clean up the mess along the Gulf Coast
  • to help those who have been displaced
  • to counsel those who have lost loved ones
  • to reunite families
  • to feed the hungry
  • to get water to the thirsty
  • to comfort those who have lost their homes
  • to restore order
  • to re-establish basic services

We need to keep these folks, and thousands of others who are trying to help victims of Katrina and her aftermath through this incredibly difficult time.

You may know some of these workers by name. Others you may know simply by their relationship to your friends and family. Others you may have seen in TV news coverage. Others you will never see or know. Their work is hard, sometimes gruesome, always emotionally exhausting, frequently physically taxing, and often under-appreciated. Their tasks seem impossible at this stage of the disaster. On top of all of this, many of the tasks are physically and emotionally dangerous.

Finally, give thanks for having people who are willing to take on such work whether it is their vocation or they are volunteering. This kind of work is at the heart of Jesus.

Remember what he said long ago about why he came and what he is looking for his followers to do:

This kind of work is at the heart of Jesus.

"For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to those on the right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'
"Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" (Matthew 25:31-40)