Acts 11  The Lord chose to use Peter to preach to the Gentiles at Cornelius' house, even though He could have done it without him.  They were really ready to believe before Peter even stepped in the door. But, it was necessary for Peter to witness this so that he could testify to the church in Jerusalem about what God was doing.  God included the Gentiles in His Kingdom.  The message of salvation through believing in Jesus as the Lord and Christ was not just for Jews.  It began to spread through the nations.  The church in Antioch became a central location for the work that God was beginning.  And it all started with a few men from Cyprus and Cyrene who preached the Word to the Greeks in Antioch.

Barnabas and Saul led that church for a year.  They taught the disciples there and became the launching place for ministry.  When a prophet named Agabus told about a famine that was coming, it was this church that began to prepare to help those in Jerusalem.

That reminds me of the story of Joseph, who interpreted Pharoah's dreams, about a 7 year famine that was coming after 7 years of abundant crops.  Joseph planned wisely and helped Egypt as well as his own family when the famine came... We recently read this story in a Bible study about faithfulness.
And Joseph was indeed, faithful.  But, I'm thinking about the wisdom of preparing for the future ahead.  We live in a world where there are days coming when there could be times of famine... not necessarily food, although that could happen.. but a famine of the Word of God.  There are many countries where this has already happened.. where the Word is outlawed or Bibles are scarce..  We can't imagine that happening here.. but it could.  How do we prepare?  How do we help those in the midst of that kind of famine?

Father in heaven, we thank You for including us in Your Kingdom.  Thank You for bringing us Your Word that we might believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Lead us in the work of ministry. Show us how to prepare and help others in need of Your Word.  Expand our vision beyond ourselves to the needs of others.  Thank You for being patient with us and for allowing us to be part of the work that You want to do.  May Your will be done!  In Jesus' name we pray, amen.