What $10 Can Do

It’s easy to believe that a few dollars here and there won’t change anything — that in the grand scheme of things, something as simple as giving up a latte could never have an eternal impact. Time and time again, though, God shows us that he can do amazing things with very little.

He enabled David to defeat the Philistines’ terrifying giant with just a sling and five smooth stones (and he only needed one of the stones).¹
Through Elijah, he took a handful of flour and tiny amount of oil and made them an endless supply.²
Through Elisha, he turned a widow’s jar of oil into enough oil to fill every container she could lay her hands on.³
Through Jesus, he took plain water and turned it into the finest wine.⁴
Through Jesus, he fed 5,000 men and an unknown number of women and children with seven loaves of bread and a few fish.⁵
Through Jesus, he fed 4,000 men and an unknown number of women and children with a little boy’s lunch.⁶

Jesus promised that “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”⁷ What can’t he do through you?

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8:12:

For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

And in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11:

The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. As it is written:

He distributed freely;
he gave to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.

Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.

God just needs our willingness. He can take care of the rest!

What $1 Can Do

Just one dollar is enough for an entire day of life-saving food, shelter, and care for an orphaned and abandoned child in Lusaka, Zambia.⁸ It can protect a family in crisis from hunger or child separation.⁹ It can make sure a child living in poverty gets to go to school.¹⁰

Just a dollar!

Provide a full meal for five hungry people in crisis¹¹
Let a baby spend over a week with her mom instead of in an institution¹²
Provide fresh outfits for five people who have nothing and are trying to get back on their feet¹³
Get five people off the street and give them a warm meal and a warm bed for the night¹⁴
Provide emergency medical insurance for four children¹⁵
Provide translation and printing of training tools to equip three frontline leaders¹⁶
Deliver two Bibles into an area where it is almost impossible to find a copy of the Scriptures¹⁷
Transform two people’s lives to lead them out of poverty forever¹⁸
Get together with three of your friends, and each of you giving $10/month will literally save a child’s life. Compassion International¹⁹, World Vision²⁰, and ServLife²¹ will all provide food, shelter, clothing, and education to lift them out of abject poverty forever and will disciple them for eternal life as well.

What would you be willing to give up to have an extra $10 for this kind of impact?

What $25 Can Do

Provide a Bible to three persecuted Christians and train them to read it, preach from it, and tell others about it (and still have four dollars left over)²²
Give two chickens that will provide nutrition from eggs, as well as income from selling eggs and offspring²³
Provide a hygiene kit to allow a girl to stay in school for a year (for an extra three dollars)²⁴
Provide one month of support services for a struggling family (and have more than five dollars left over)²⁵
Feed a child in an unreached people group for a month (and still have five dollars left over)²⁶
Provide 12 warm, hearty meals for a homeless person²⁷
Provide groceries for a family who would otherwise go without²⁸
Protect a young girl who has been sexually trafficked²⁹
Give a child a medical exam and necessary vaccinations³⁰
Provide a month of school for a child in an unreached people group³¹

What Else Is Possible?

As we begin more and more to choose the joy, we find new ways to free up more funds that God can use in amazing ways. Over the course of a few weeks, a month, a year, those really start to add up and lead us into opportunities like these:

$35 will protect a spring for a family to have clean water³²
$35 will provide $189 worth of food, warm blankets, heaters, medical care, and so much more to a refugee in need³³
$40 is a month of expenses to house and restore a young girl who has been sexually trafficked³⁴
$50 gives three hours of life-changing advocacy and ministry for a homeless person³⁵
$50 provides a persecuted family with an emergency relief pack³⁶
$50 trains a frontline leader to empower them and reignite their heart for ministry³⁷
$50 feeds an acutely malnourished child a month of locally manufactured, highly nutritious full-course meals³⁸
$58 provides a month of housing for homeless women and children in an unreached people group³⁹
$60 buys school supplies for a child in an unreached people group⁴⁰
$75 supports a day in the hospital for a patient in a country where people live on less than $1.90/day and could never afford a hospital stay⁴¹
$100 provides a clean water source for a family⁴²
$107.50 gives a life-saving irrigation system for a family’s farm⁴³
$110 plants a garden for a family to have food for a balanced diet, minimize shortages, and reduce food insecurity⁴⁴
$110 provides food, shelter, school supplies, and an annual medical check-up for 1 year to offer hope and a bright future to an orphan⁴⁵
$120 is treatment for a child with severe malnutrition and health complications, including medication, transportation, and cost of staff⁴⁶
$122.50 shelters a homeless person for a week⁴⁷
$127 builds a classroom for a child⁴⁸
$145 gets a new tailor business started with a sewing kit, a sewing machine, and a bolt of fabric⁴⁹
$150 provides $750 worth of school supplies in an impoverished community⁵⁰
$150 is a sustainable income source for 1 woman who cares for orphans and vulnerable children to allow long-term impact in the community⁵¹
$170 gives a family the ability to earn a sustainable income through the production and sale of honey and beeswax⁵²
$200 pays a month of salary for a teacher in an unreached people group⁵³
$205 provides a ox plow that significantly increases income from harvests⁵⁴
$225 gives a shop owner the supplies they need for their business⁵⁵
$232.80 means an entire year of life transformational services for a struggling family⁵⁶
$250 supports two frontline undercover missionaries for a month⁵⁷
$250 is vocational school tuition to empower a young girl to earn a living⁵⁸
$500 helps someone complete their GED⁵⁹
$600 provides a micro-loan to a family⁶⁰
$600 trains a native pastor to reach his unreached people group with the Gospel⁶¹
$620 transforms a community by setting up a chicken farm⁶²
$1,000 gives someone a fresh start⁶³
$1,000 pays the rent and utilities for a family or senior so they aren’t evicted onto the street⁶⁴
$1,000 rescues a young girl who is being sexually trafficked and arrests her traffickers⁶⁵
$1,000 pays for an agricultural workshop for an entire village⁶⁶
$1,000 funds the surgery for a child in desperate need⁶⁷
$2,400 starts a new church among an unreached people group⁶⁸
$3,562 provides a first responder kit that saves lives when medical care is too far away⁶⁹
$5,000 launches a marketplace initiative that results in job creation, evangelism and city transformation⁷⁰
$5,000 is start-up costs and training for a multi-faceted farm, supplying food for thousands⁷¹
$5,200 runs a water pipeline that brings clean water for up to 150 households⁷²
$7,500 builds a clean-water well for a community of thousands⁷³
$20,000 translates the Bible for some of the 1.5 billion people who still don’t have a Bible translation in their language⁷⁴

Lunch for One = Lunch for Everyone

When Jesus asked the little boy if he would give up his lunch to feed all those people, the boy must have wondered how in the world five loaves and two fish could make any difference at all. He was willing though, and the results were amazing.

Are you willing to give up your lunch to see what God can do with it? Choose the joy!

Feature Photo by Caroline Hernandez

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