Ephesians 5:15,16 (NLT)
"So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days."

Just take a look at the headlines in your hometown newspaper and there will be no doubt in your mind that we live in a scary world where evil often runs rampant.

Should this paralyze us? Should we hide our heads under our pillows and hope that we won't be touched by evil influences? Not a lady who wants to be one of History's Women!

The Bible tells us we are to be wise in the way we live. We are to make the most of every opportunity, "redeeming the time" (KJV).

How do we redeem the time? How do we make the most of every opportunity to do good? What can we do to make a difference in our worlds? Begin in our own towns and neighborhoods. If we have a concern, we need to ask yourselves what WE can do about it.

Let's take a look at the life of Catherine Booth, one woman who lived in mid-nineteenth century England, a world much like ours today, and reached out to her community and made a huge impact.

Every December, we see Salvation Army workers ringing bells outside department stores and shopping malls. We applaud their efforts in soup kitchens and blanket drives for the homeless. Many of us have seen their trucks collect household items from neighbors preparing to move. Catherine Booth started the Salvation Army over a century ago in London, England with her husband William when local churches refused to care for the poor. Their straight-forward approach to ministry has helped them carry the Gospel throughout the world. Catherine Booth's life illustrates her own words, "We are made for larger ends than Earth can encompass. Oh, let us be true to our exalted destiny."

While many know of her work with the poor, not many know of the
work that Catherine Booth's Salvation Army did for the often abused women and children laborers and those caught in the grip of
alcoholism and prostitution.

Catherine was particularly concerned about women making matches. Not only were these women learning extremely low wages and being forced to sixteen hour days, but they were also risking their health when they dipped their match-heads in the yellow phosphorus, A large number of these women suffered from 'Phossy Jaw' (necrosis of the bone) caused by the toxic fumes of the yellow phosphorus. The whole side of the face turned green and then black, discharging foul-smelling pus and finally death. Women like Catherine Booth and Annie Beasant led a campaign against the use of yellow phosphorus. They pointed out that most other European countries produced matches tipped with harmless red phosphorus.

Another matter that concerned Catherine in her community was the
"white slave trade", where young girls were forced into prostitution. There was much demand for young women prostitutes in London in the mid-1800s. Evil men would force destitute thirteen to sixteen year old girls into a life of prostitution that was nearly impossible to escape. Catherine and her husband exposed the "white salve" trade in England. Three hundred and ninety-six thousand signatures later, they saw the practice outlawed.

Below is a poem written by William Booth that both he and Catherine lived by:

While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight;
While little children go hungry, I'll fight;
While men go to prison, in and out, in and out, I'll fight;
While there is a drunkard left,
while there is a poor lost girl on the streets,
where there remains one dark soul without the light of God - I'll fight!
I'll fight to the very end!

Catherine Booth made the most of every opportunity. With the help of her God, she found the strength and courage to make a difference in her world.