Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I pray you and yours are well.
This month the Friday broadcast of our “Daily Devotional: Scripture That Encourages You to Pray” hosted on our Facebook page (at 7:15 PM) will be focused on ministering to those who are unemployed/those who have family or friends who are unemployed.
Men especially suffer when they are let go–at least men who take seriously the biblical mandate of providing for their family. “If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8 NKJV). Even outside of Christianity in the American culture, a man is summed up by what he does. When men get together with men, there are a couple of things they will talk about. Work is one of them. Statistically, we know that men have a harder time adjusting to loss of work than women, but that doesn’t mean women, children, relatives, and neighbors are not impacted.
Christmas is a beautiful time of the year (yes, I am talking about the season, not just one day). But to be unemployed during the holidays is even more difficult, and then you add in the backdrop of all that has gone on in 2020….
Dale Kreienkamp, the author of How Long, O Lord, How Long?, has been unemployed twice in his career. Dale is a member of my parent’s congregation in St. Louis. I first met Dale in 1989, after graduating from Valparaiso University. I joined the church basketball league and was on Dale’s team. Dale’s book is a very well-written devotional, mixing Scripture, personal experience, and citations from respected sources to provide a very helpful and timely resource.
I hope you can join us on Friday nights in December at 7:15 PM. You can go to our Facebook page or YouTube channel and participate when we are live; you can also go at any other time and watch the recording. Please let anyone you know who could benefit; also, please pray for the success of this series. I look forward to doing more series like this in 2021 and welcome your suggestions. May God richly bless you and yours, this day and forevermore.
V/r
Pastor Jim