What Do Our Neighbors Need?
When John the Baptist called God’s People to repentance he had them dip in the river, an act of cleansing, and then he taught those who repented to change their lives. “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise (Luke 3:11).”
As I write the twenty-two day war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has ended for the moment. Those of us living here, along with the rest of the world, are taking stock of the damage. The intractable differences and the politics can often cloud the fact that our neighbors, Jews and Palestinians, are suffering and dying. Some are without food, others are traumatized by the shelling and bombs, the living are left to bury their dead and each family that lost someone now has a hole in it that can never be filled.
JCF is stepping up to offer “tunics” to those who have none. We are offering direct assistance to the Bible Society of Gaza, and we are seeking to help other Christian families in Gaza with food and supplies. To do this we are channeling additional assistance through Baptist, Christian Alliance and Nazarene Churches in the area and by way of the Bethlehem Bible College and the Shepherd’s Society. Specifically, the Christians in Gaza are a minority overlooked or persecuted by most Palestinian organizations because they aren’t Muslim. We are also stepping up to help Israeli citizens living near Gaza by giving towards the social work among the children of towns such as Sederot.
Each member of the JCF team here in Jerusalem has given of our limited resources but we know that you all, our readers, supporters, and prayer partners are able together with us to impact many hundreds of broken and hurting souls.
If you would like to join us in sharing what you have please donate and designate the funds for aiding those effected in the recent Gaza conflict.
By Bethany Slater