Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Meal Ministry for Sunday, 20 July 2014 - Read 1 Kings 17:7-16

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Meal Ministry for Sunday, 20 July 2014 - Read 1 Kings 17:7-9 Eventually the brook dried up because of the drought. Then God spoke to him: “Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I’ve instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you.”
10-11 So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, “Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink.” As she went to get it, he called out, “And while you’re at it, would you bring me something to eat?”
12 She said, “I swear, as surely as your God lives, I don’t have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we’ll die.”
13-14 Elijah said to her, “Don’t worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you’ve said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what’s left for you and your son. This is the word of the God of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.’”
15-16 And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said—daily food for her and her family. The jar of meal didn’t run out and the bottle of oil didn’t become empty: God’s promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it!
Jesus said, “I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”(John 13:15 (NRSV))
For me, cooking has never been easy. I have no natural talent for creating beautiful, tasty dishes for my family. Because of my continued failures in the kitchen, cooking soon became a stressful chore. I began to pray daily, asking God to provide me with patience and talent, but God’s answer was not more talent. It was a change of attitude. God revealed that providing nutritious food for my family is a ministry. As shown in the Bible, a ministry is not always easy and does not have to be perfect to be effective. Tying a shoe, washing a dish, writing a letter, mowing a lawn — these are all activities that minister to someone’s basic need with kindness, love, and compassion. If Jesus ministered to his disciples by washing their feet, I reasoned, is it really so unpleasant for me to cook a meal? I re-entered my kitchen with a new attitude of ministry, not misery, and the results have been amazing. The time I spend preparing and cleaning all speak to the true nature of Jesus’ love for us, an attitude of service that we pass on to the ones we love and that they in turn pass on to others. My meals are far from perfect, but they are served with hands and heart that show God’s love in action.
The Author: Wendy Baker (North Carolina, USA)
Thought for the Day: We show God’s love when we minister to others.
Prayer: O Lord, strengthen us as we minister to others. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those who prepare our meals
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