Today’s scripture reading is Acts 4:32-35 (NIV): "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need."

It has been my pleasure to serve as director of the Liberty Country Manna House for the past eight years. I have learned there are believers in this community who may attend different churches, but they all put that passage of scripture into practice by supporting the Manna House’s food ministry.

For example, a wonderful Christian lady recently came into the food pantry during tax season. She told me that when she had her taxes done, the preparer told her she would have to pay the government additional taxes. When she returned to pick up her paperwork, however, she learned that she didn’t owe additional taxes after all. Instead, she received a small refund of about $60. She came into Manna House to donate her refund to help feed the hungry.

"I was blessed and I want to share that blessing with someone in need," she said.

The book of Acts in the Bible also is a book of action. Acts records the birth of the church, which is the beginning of a brand-new era. The body of Christ becomes God’s operating system on Earth. The church has a mandate to become the distribution center in God’s kingdom. A distribution center is a place where products are shipped for the sole purpose of allocation to another location. Distribution centers generally are demand-driven. In other words, they are an integral part of fulfillment of an order in the shipping process.

Although God wants us to use His people to fulfill the needs of the community, much of the time we are more like storage sheds than distribution centers. Because today’s church has gotten away from the principle of sharing among believers, we are surrounded by many needs.

I am grateful to those who have become friends of the Manna House by helping us help others. The lady who donated her tax refund could have bought a new outfit or spent a night out at the movies and dinner. Instead she chose to share the blessing, and I am sure God will use her as a place of distribution in the future.

Perhaps God has instilled a desire in you to share with those who are less fortunate than you are. There is a proverb that says, "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done."

Manna House is in need of devoted friends who will commit to helping on a monthly basis as we continue to serve as a distribution center for the hungry residents of Liberty County.