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Birthday Campaign

One Day Wages has provided the birthday campaign idea and I have started a page on its website: Phyllis’ Birthday for a Cause.

The story:

I need not to repeat the global statistics on poverty and the dire needs around the world. We have all heard and seen enough to compel us to do something. For those of us who are Christians, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). The mandate is plain and simple, but easier said than done.

A couple days before this year’s birthday, I got this daily verse in an email: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Even though salvation cannot be gained, but our walk of life reveals our faith and our inner reality. Looking at my bank account, I question where my true treasure is found.

Everyday we are faced with different choices, like where and how to spend our money? When Moses came before Pharaoh and asked for the release of the Israelites from slavery, Pharaoh asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). When God the Creator of heaven and earth, the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob means nothing to you, there is not a single reason to obey His command. However, if you proclaim that He is indeed your God, your Savior, your Treasure, you have every single reason to listen and follow Him. Giving hurts sometimes. Giving could be a sacrifice. But if He is my God, I ought to give until it hurts because for one, He gave His only son to us. Two, Jesus gave His life for us. Three, freely give as I have freely received (Matthew 10:8). We are God’s stewards that get to give, not have to. It is no longer a sacrifice, but a responsibility, a blessing, and a honor.

The invitation:

This birthday, I hope you’d join me to bring about His Kingdom by helping the poor. I have donated one day worth of wages and I hope you’d consider to do the same.

In addition to One Days Wages, I’d like to include the option to donate to a cause that I’ve been involved with and truly believe in: eMi (engineering Ministries International), “a non-profit Christian development organization made up of architects, engineers and design professionals who donate their skills to help children and families around the world step out of poverty and into a world of hope.” To donate, please go to: https://emisecure.org/donate.html

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