Sharon Sloan

Delighted by His Word. Dependent on His Grace.

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Speaking
    • Speaking Topics
    • Testimonials
  • Books
    • Serendipity
  • Joy in the Truth
  • Contact

Shine for His Glory!

August 3, 2008 | 3 Comments

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Joshua with 28 new basketballs for Rock Ministries!

Rock Ministries of Philadelphia brings the Gospel of Jesus Christ to at-risk young men in Philadelphia’s inner city. Our friends, Buddy Osborn and Paul Orr, lead this fruitful ministry. We encourage you to click on the link and visit their website.

In 2007, we were inspired by a Christian family whose mom attended the same Precepts Bible Study as I did. For their birthdays, rather than asking for gifts for themselves, they received new books for a Christian school in New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

We prayerfully and enthusiastically took their lead. They spurred us on! Instead of receiving gifts for ourselves, we invited our family and friends to give to the outreach. After all four of our 2007 birthdays, 200 new books were donated by our family and friends for this Christian school. Joshua and Gabrielle insisted on loading all 40+ pounds of books into the car as we prepared to head to the shipping store to send the books off to New Orleans. They were so excited to give these new library books to the children in New Orleans.

For our 2008 birthdays, we prayerfully chose to have birthday outreaches for Rock Ministries of Philadelphia. This ministry shares the love, hope and salvation of Jesus to young men in Philadelphia.

Gabrielle’s 6th birthday party theme in May was “flip flops”, and she received $400 in gift cards for new footwear for these young men of Rock Ministries. Joshua’s 8th birthday party theme was “basketball” and he received sporting goods gift cards and 28 new basketballs. THANK YOU FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Joshua and Gabrielle’s hearts were filled with excitement and joy! “…remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35
Our prayer is that each young man who receives the footwear gifts cards and/or the basketballs will know God’s perfect love, salvation and provision.

May He be glorified and honored! “Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Proverbs 14:31 We always remember that we are all needful in different ways and in one similar way…we all need the Lord Jesus.

Buddy Osborn (pictured above with Brie & Josh) asked us recently if Rock Ministries could put Joshua and Gabrielle’s picture and their birthday outreach story in their upcoming newsletter. Our initial thought (admittedly without praying first) was “no” because we want God to receive the glory and honor. We did not want to draw attention to ourselves. However, the Lord quieted our hearts and gently whispered to us “say yes”…if we shine our lights with a pure heart…He is thereby glorified! “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

So, we share this to give glory to God. And whenever you share a testimony and a “God story”, then life, belief and deepening faith always follow. And we share to show how we were inspired by another family as they were shining their lights, doing good works, and bringing glory to Him!
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24

May we all shine our lights and spur one another on toward love and good deeds in His name!

Feel free to leave a comment and share your ideas…so you may spur us on! 🙂

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • Email
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket

Filed Under: Joy in the Truth

Comments

  1. Consider It All Joy says

    August 4, 2008 at 3:58 am

    What a wonderful idea about the birthdays! And to have a theme for each one~! How creative and what a great way for our children to learn to be a blessing to others.

    Reply
  2. Unknown says

    August 4, 2008 at 12:07 pm

    Sharon,

    I’m going to share this idea with my husband. We struggle with every birthday that comes around and Christmas. We don’t NEED anything and don’t like all the toys that come in to our home due to holidays, etc. We have asked others to please donate to our favorite children charities or sponsor a child with Compassion International in lieu of gifts.

    I like this idea too! Thanks for shining His light so bright before us!

    Love,
    Jill

    Reply
  3. Heather says

    August 6, 2008 at 6:01 am

    You know I just love it – I would love if the whole world were mission minded! It is always a blessing to serve others in His precious name.

    Great post.
    Love,
    Heather

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Connect with Sharon

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Get Connected

Subscribe to my blog updates.

Order Sharon's
book Serendipity.
Available from Amazon.

Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: No posts found.

Recent Posts

  • Hello world!
  • He Bought Her Pearls
  • A Purpose And A Promise

Latest Facebook Feed

Latest Facebook Feed

Latest Tweets

Sharon Sloan on Twitter

Copyright © 2023 Sharon Sloan | Design by The Design Diva | Development by MRM | Photographs by Toni Valentini Photography

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.