Elevated Friday, July 20th, 2018

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight the story of a community drawing together to help a local businessman, known for giving back to the community himself, to recover after devastating theft. Cody Nichols runs a landscaping business in Tulsa, OK called Our Troops Services that employs fellow veterans who are having trouble adjusting to civilian life after service. Recently, thousands of dollars worth of landscaping equipment was stolen from them. Unable to afford new equipment but unwilling to give up, Nicholas and his crew tried their best to fulfill their contracts by using push mowers, but the sheer size of the workload proved too much for manual tools and they quickly fell behind on their work. Things looked bleak for the company. But once the community heard of the theft, they rallied around Our Troops Services and raised the $15,000 needed to purchase new equipment. Not only that, they also raised an extra $7000 for lost wages for Nicholas employees! The company is back on solid footing thanks to the generosity of the community it serves.

It is human nature to think first of ourselves, our family, and our possessions. That is part of the original sin we are born with and from which much of our sin stems. But in Jesus we are not doomed to our sin, and therefore, not doomed to live a life whose purpose is only to satisfy ourselves. In Hebrews, Paul writes, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Paul clearly calls out those who make it a “habit” of neglecting others because he knows that it is when we become insular as people, thinking first and only of ourselves, that our entire community fails. Today, take a moment to look around your community for those who need help and be the one to give it.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

Original Article:

https://bit.ly/2uxHPrC