Harbor Life Ministries

All of creation belongs to God and is God’s gift to us. Most of us work to make money to live on but, even if we work hard to accumulate the money we earn, we did not really ?make? it.

As Christians, we know that our power and ability to become prosperous comes ultimately from the benevolence of our Creator?everything is a gift?and we know that we cannot outlive the generosity of God. Therefore, just as we have received abundantly from God’s generosity, so we are called to imitate God by giving generously ourselves. Giving is a spiritual discipline that should be a regular part of our lives as we follow Christ.

We can all enjoy the full benefit of being well-off financially when we acknowledge that what we have is not our own but that it is simply on loan to us, temporarily gifted to us for purposes that we were born to fulfill, such as caring for ourselves and our families and for the needs of others. When we have more than we need, it takes disciplined effort to avoid becoming possessed by our possessions. Allowing ourselves to be moved when we encounter the needs of others, and then to respond with generosity, is the essence of that effort.

God calls us to care wisely for all of the material and spiritual resources entrusted to us. Giving to meet needs beyond ourselves we experience the liberating spiritual benefit of helping us keep our love for God and our neighbor at the center of our lives, preventing our wealth, the privileges that go along with it, and their preservation from becoming all important to us—and thus destroying us spiritually.

Lives are changed when Christians give generously. Not just the lives of the people served by recipient organizations such as Harbor Life Ministries, but equally importantly—or maybe even more so—the lives of those who do the giving. And for that God gets the glory and is pleased.

I am so glad that I don’t take care of the ministry’s finances anymore. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think about them a lot, just less than every waking moment, as I’m sure Tami did before she had her baby. Now I’m sure she thinks about wailing, feeding, soothing, and diaper-changing in the wee hours of the night instead of accounts payable.

There was a donation that came in the mail yesterday from our anonymous donor, the one who underwrote the expenses here for a year. It was designated to cover a few bills that were outstanding from renovation and repair work done to the house late last summer.

One of the bills, for labor to install new shingles on the garage, had already been paid when the work was done, so this part of the donation was now free to be used in other ways. That went to paying the staff, who have been gracious and understanding during this time. I’m praying that God continues to meet the need.

If you’re reading this and want to help, it’s an easy click to Network for Good, where you can make a donation to help.

We continue to thank our God who is faithful to meet our needs.