Now more than ever
I hear the Lord say, “You are here to show the world My love…” That is it.
It doesn’t matter what you get for Christmas, what you don’t get, if
your house is decorated, if you win the best cookie award, or if you are
sporting the newest look of the season…. It is just…. Love on the world!!!
Shower the world with my love!!! Show love, compassion, empathy, encouragement,
joy, give….. give…. Give of yourself, give of your time, give of your
encouragement, give of your transparency,
give of your dedication, give of your belief in people…. It is through
your love that people will see Jesus….
There were wonderful stories today out on North 1st
Street where Jesus’ love was shown…
A Filipino man has come out to North 1st to get
food and clothes since this past summer.
When Keith saw him the first time Keith said, “God is not mad at you.” Now you need to know that Keith had never
seen him before and has never since given that message to anyone out
there. It was a message specifically for
this man. Ever since that time, every
time Keith sees him he always says, “God is not mad at you.” Well fast forward to this week… The man is
standing in line for clothes and Keith asks him what he needs followed by, “God
is not mad at you.” “No, not this time,”
the man replies. Keith responds, “No, He is never mad at you.” The man just looked at Keith like, ‘Why do you
keep saying that?’ Keith handed the man
a pair of gloves, looked him square in the eyes, and said, “I love you.” The man’s eyes filled with water as he gazed
back with a questioning look. Hopefully
one day he will truly believe that “God is not mad at him.”
Another cool thing happened today. We had some sleeping bags to hand out, not
many, but some… Keith had one in his hand that he was about to give to a man
who was sleeping down by the river.
Another man came up to Keith and well…. Long story short… ended up
taking the sleeping bag leaving Keith standing there angry and feeling terrible
for the man who was supposed to get the bag.
Keith asked one of the volunteers to check the car one more time to see
if there were any, even though he knew
the last ones had been handed out. But…
never doubt God because Diane returned with one last sleeping bag that she was
able to hand over to the desperate man who will sleep in it tonight as the snow
comes down over head.
OneOne particular homeless man who has come
around since last winter didn’t follow through with his parole and ended up in
prison. He writes letters to Keith each
week… The letters break my heart… his spelling and hand writing alone make me
think of maybe a 3rd grader.
Very sad…. He has had a very terrible life filled with abuse, no parents
around, drugs, etc. but somewhere along
he way he learned about Jesus and gave his heart to the Lord. He writes about hope in Jesus and the things
he is thankful for. This man has himself
been molested repeatedly, is a pedophile, and is locked up in jail, and yet he
clings to the promises of Jesus and the hope of tomorrow. Jesus has something for each one of us and no
person is disqualified from being on God’s team unless they choose not to be.
Today I was talking to a woman who lives by the river. She said, “I have a hard time with
Jesus. I have issues with men… and Jesus
is a man. How can I trust Him?” We talked about how people in her life have
hurt her badly and that God didn’t make those things happen, but how God has
been with her the whole time. God has
never left her and never will even if people fail her. She bowed her head with tears in her eyes….
She has to be so tough and mean so that people will leave her alone, but really
her heart is so soft and injured and only wants to be loved, respected, and
safe. God is the only Christmas present
that will fill her needs.
Jesus was
born….He was crucified….He (past tense) rose from the dead…. All
of these are past events except for this one…He currently sits at the right hand
of God in Heaven and lives (present tense) in us through His Holy Spirit….. The only way people will know that He is
more than a story in history…. Is if we let Him live on through us… If we set
ourselves aside and allow Him to work through us in our
encounters with other people.
I shared this with our volunteers today before we started
serving, “The people out here need to be treated with Integrity, Respect,
and Love. Please let it show
through you today!! You may be the only
Jesus they see- Please let your smile and your words reflect this.
This next
week….let yourself be the “Big Screen HD TV” for God… Let others see God’s
love, compassion, and joy projecting out of your very being…. Radiate God like
the Bethlehem Star that shown so bright for the Shepherds. It is a conscious choice every day…. Less of
me…. More of Him!!!
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