Since this blog is being read in about 30 countries, we are
greeting one different country every time a post is written. This week we say, “Hello!”
to our brothers and sisters in Norway.
“Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled, so that you can
pray. Above all, love each other deeply…” 1 Peter 4:1
 |
| Stosh (sitting) and Mari (standing) |
Sunday,
November 30, 2014
Paul and I were standing in the warm
sunshine talking with three homeless men at the Palafox Camp when three
beautiful young ladies (early college?) who looked like world class models, resolutely
walked towards us – even after Mouse, the pit bull, jumped and growled at them.
I do want to tell you what happened, but I
have to first share with you the reason for the above picture. Then you will have a better understanding of
the account of the three pretty maids in the sunshine.
It’s easy to look at the homeless man (Stosh)
and his equally homeless girlfriend (Mari) in the above picture and pass
immediate judgment. You might think,
“Girlfriend? He’s taking advantage of
that little girl!” Well…actually…she’s
older than he is.
You might say, “How can he take care of
her without money?” Well…if the only
reason your girlfriend is staying with you is your money, how shallow is your
life. I pity the both of you!
I guarantee you that whatever judgment you
may pass on these two people will be shallow and erroneous (wrong). Be careful because whichever way you judge
them, know that you will be judged in the same manner that you judged them (Matthew
7:2).
You say, “Well, then, how should we look at
them?”
With the love of God, saints of God; with
the love of Jesus in your heart.
Today, Sunday afternoon, I ask, “Stosh?”
“Yea, Jean-Luc.”
“Did you go to church this morning?”
“Kind of.”
“What does, ‘Kind of’ mean?” I wondered how someone can express doubt if
they were in church or not?
“I went and sat down. The worship music started. Then the pastor had different sections of
people do different things.”
“Uh?”
“He had one section stand up and sit down. Then he had the next section say ‘Amen.’ Then another section stomp their feet. Then another clap their hands. Then he had them do their thing at different
times. I CAME TO HEAR THE WORD! WHY ARE THEY PLAYING GAMES?”
“Did the pastor eventually preach?”
“I don’t know. I got tired of his games and left.”
That, saints of God, sums up the problem
with the established church in America.
And that, from the mouth of a homeless man whom God watches over as one
of His precious children – one of the “least of these.”
There are saints around the globe who go
to church to hear the Word of God for their dire survival. Christian’s heads
are being chopped off, praying families are being shot in the street, and
missionaries are being beaten by antichrist mobs and burned alive (all this in
the news just the past week!).
In the largest country on the earth (China),
home churches are having their rental contract cancelled and their utilities
turned off; and some Christian leaders simply “disappear.” There are other places in the world where a
family member can legally be killed if they convert from Islam to
Christianity. If not killed, they can be
thrown out in the street and forgotten.
And the list of persecutions goes on and on.
The complacent established church in
America yawns to hear such stories of persecution in far-away places in the
world, not realizing that it is being persecuted itself. And the “persecutors” are winning.
Yawn!
It’s time for another game.
Three beautiful young ladies, fashionably
dressed, came towards the five of us.
Paul and I were casually talking with three homeless men – Chris, John
and Jeff. We dress “down” when we
minister to the homeless, which is probably why the three smiling ladies
thought there were FIVE homeless men.
I knew they were not from the local
Christian College because their skirts were above their knees! They also had a radiance about them – a
freedom – that said, “I choose to be here.”
I figured they were not from a church group because there was no older
church representative with them. They
were unafraid because Mouse, the growling, barking pit bull, failed to stop
their advance. They marched towards us
with purpose.
With a beautiful smile, the first one
asked, “Are you hungry?”
The second one, carrying a heavy case of
bottled water asked, “Do you need some water?”
The third one handed me a sandwich, which
I may say, looked appetizing. I almost
took it!
It took Paul and me by total surprise to
be on the receiving end of such a generous act, rather than on the giving end.
I asked them, “Which church sent you?”
“A church didn’t send us, though we are
from Hillcrest Baptist Church.”
I asked in a different way, “Is this a ministry
you have at your church?”
“No we’re just doing it ourselves.”
Here are three beautiful, finely dressed
young ladies who brushed aside a frightful pit bull, and fearlessly walked
towards five (humor me) grubby homeless men in the street in order to
graciously and lovingly offer them food and water. Today was the warmest Sunday in a month and
these ladies could have had the choice from a hundred recreational activities
they could have done with friends or family. But they chose to feed the “least
of these” in the street! Was this done
in a bet, or a dare? Or, was it God?
They dared to go beyond the church walls,
out of their comfort zone, and into the street to serve the Lord. They weren’t somber, but joyful. They didn’t yawn and wouldn’t play games,
either. The Lord said, “Go!” and they
went.
THAT IS WHAT THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH IN
AMERICA NEEDS!
They are called the uncompromising remnant
– the street church – whom God is calling out of the brick and mortar church to
be part of His coming, great revival.
For obvious reasons, the present established church (yawn!) is not
getting the revival. This revival of
revivals is rising out of the street, as the first revival did 2,000 years
ago. Praise God! And these three ladies will be part of it.
I am saying this to you with permission
from the Holy Spirit.
In the above picture, we have Stosh and
Mari who are strong believers in Jesus Christ.
Why are they in the street, you ask?
Please read my book “The Spark in the Street,” as I cannot go into those details here at this time.
Mari went to church this morning,
also. They had a light lunch after
church, after which they asked for volunteers to help clean up. Mari was the first to answer the call,
grabbing the vacuum cleaner and joyfully cleaning the carpet. She is an organizer.
Last week she ministered to a young
12-year old girl to stay in school and excel in her studies. At our service and dinner, she is always the
first one to help in any way she can, as is Stosh. Mari is a catalyst for peace in the homeless
camp. Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall inherit the earth! Mari is also a disciple of Jesus Christ,
and we are training her as such. She has
a loving heart for people in need and she will stop whatever she is doing to
minister to anyone. She also has a
hunger for the Word of God. In fact, she
will be speaking on her favorite Psalm at our next service!
Does she have issues? Of course – don’t you?
Mari and Stosh are part of the remnant, also.
If, when you first looked at the above
picture, you did not judge Stosh or Mari; then you are part of the remnant,
also.
If your heart immediately reached out to them with the love of Jesus Christ; then I am confident you will be part of The Revival.
If your heart immediately reached out to them with the love of Jesus Christ; then I am confident you will be part of The Revival.
If you looked at their picture, stopped
and compassionately prayed for them before reading this blog; then you ARE in
revival.
Good night, and God bless y’all.
For our Norwegian
brothers and sisters:
Kongen skal svare,
"jeg fortelle deg sannheten, uansett hva du gjorde for en av minste av
disse mine br ° dre, du gjorde for meg."
Matthew 25: 40
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