UNDER THE BRIDGE: Now, Wasn't That Fun?

Since this blog is being read in over 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 Haiti and the French-speaking world in honor of Paule-Anne who is a dear sister from Haiti ministering with us to the homeless.

Devenez donc les imitateurs de Dieu, comme des enfants bien-aimés; et marchez dans la charité, à l’exemple de Christ, qui nous a aimés, et qui s’est livré lui-même à Dieu pour nous comme une offrande et un sacrifice de bonne odeur.

Ephesiens 5:1-2 

Paule-Anne came from Haiti.  She lives here, now, and helps
minister to the "least of these."

Sunday, January 25, 2015

     As I pulled up in my truck to the pavilion at the Bay Side Camp, I felt a little odd.  Today, being the last Sunday of the month, is our service/meal day and I did not have all the gear and food that I normally would bring with me.  The homeless came to help me offload, as they so kindly normally do, and found the back of the truck empty, to their bewilderment.

     “Where’s all the stuff?” they asked.  By “stuff” they meant all the equipment and food to cook my usual spaghetti feast.

     “Heather is bringing it.  I just have a few things to offload in my tool box (plates, forks, paper towels, drinks, etc.”

     They looked at me kind of strange.

     “What are we having to eat today?” they asked hesitantly.

     “Macaroni and meat balls with spaghetti sauce.”

     This was different than the tried and true spaghetti and meat balls I serve.  Change is lightly accepted and somewhat a little resisted by the homeless as it is in the rest of the world.

     I added, “She’s also bringing salad and dressing, French bread and desert.”

     “Wow!  That sounds great!” was the expected answer to my encouraging statement.

Heather is preaching today!  Here, she is ministering the
love of  Jesus Christ to one of the children of  God.

      On the way over, I had picked up a few of the homeless who I thought might want to attend.  I picked up Mari who usually bikes the three miles to the park from her camp.  When she came in the front seat of the truck, she pulled up on the seat with a little difficulty and a couple of grunts, and she seemed a little stiff.

     I looked ahead, as I started the truck.

     “Been in a fight, uh, Mari?”  I asked, having heard about it already through the grapevine.

     “Yep, I have been,” she answered without looking at me, “and I want you to know the other person is much sorer than I am!”

     Though she’s barely five foot tall and ninety pounds, I believed her.  When she is angry, the adrenaline surge causes her to immediately gain an extra one hundred pounds of muscle!

   

 I usually pick up a few of the invited guests in the roads and country lanes.
Last Sunday, I had seven men, two women and two dogs!  Let's go hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

     They offloaded the folding table and the few other things I had brought.  It took them about thirty seconds to set it up.  Heather had not arrived, yet, and the unfolded table remained white and empty of any food for a while.  I felt quite useless, as there was nothing else to do but fellowship, when I would otherwise normally be buzzing with activity cooking and setting up everything.

     After a while, they asked, “Are you sure she’s coming and bringing food?”

     “Yes, guys, she’s bringing lots of food and clothing to give away.  She’s also going to preach the word this morning.” 

     The ladies present were quite pleased with that. 

     I still felt kind of useless, this Sunday morning.  But, the Lord had impressed upon me to have Heather preach.  The Lord told me that preaching is one of her gifts and she needs to stir up the gift which is within her.  The church establishment will hardly let anyone who has not gone to Bible College or is not “certified” by the “church” to preach in the church organization.  But in the street, you can exercise your Holy Spirit gifts according to God’s will without such hindrance.  Listen to me, saints of God, the Lord is the one who sends you out, certifies you and anoints you – thus manifesting your gifts and the power of the Lord through you. 

     There are tens of thousands (if not millions) of people in the street (outside the church walls) who are begging for people to come and preach or teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why the Lord said, “Go!”  If you don’t go outside the church walls and into the streets, somebody will go without the Word of God.  Many of the homeless have told me, “Even if you didn’t have a meal for us, we would still come for your preaching – for the Word of God.”

          We had been holding one service a month, but are now moving to have two.  We do minister to them every Sunday, and sometimes during the week.  But I want them to have more consistent teaching for them to be strengthened and discipled.  I will also increase my personal visits during the week, ministering more one on one.

     We had a service/meal last Sunday also where we served about thirty of the homeless that came.  I was so fortunate to have had Debbie with me on that day last week to help me and to minister to the homeless as lovingly as she does.  Debbie has a “brown bag ministry,” when she brings a brown bag full of food for the homeless. She goes from camp to camp, street to street and homeless to homeless, ministering to their needs.  Today, she came to fellowship, minister and otherwise help, along with her daughter, Mazy – as in “Amazing!”

(Last  week) Debbie is tasting the spaghetti to make sure it is done "al dente"
just the way the homeless like it!

    

Debbie is also concerned for the many pets of the homeless -
God loves them, also.

     

     Finally, Heather pulls up, along with her best friend Paule-Anne, who is a French speaking sister from Haiti.  Everyone quickly helped to get all the boxes out of the car.  Heather and Paule-Anne also brought with them a big helping of Holy Spirit Joy!  They glowed more all over than anywhere else!  And everyone felt it.

     The table quickly overflowed with pan after pan of great smelling, spicy macaroni, plenty of meat balls in rich spaghetti sauce, fresh French bread and numerous sizable cakes.  I had brought them their beloved sodas – Pepsi and Mountain Dew, along with bottled water.

     I had expected to fix the meal myself, as I usually do, but Heather had insisted on doing that also.  Awesome!  I was free to roam around, shake some hands, hug some necks, and otherwise love on God’s children of the Cross.

Jonathan, our up-and-coming street worship leader!

     Before Heather’s preaching started, Jonathan blessed us with an old hymn, “Nothing But The Blood,” playing his guitar, with some of the homeless singing along.  Jonathan, who also has a heart for the homeless, is an up-and-coming street worship leader, stirring up the gift which is within him.

     Though Heather had been here before, I still introduced her as the one who was going to preach this morning, as this was her first time doing so with us.  They felt as comfortable having her as she felt preaching in front of them.  They all related well to her awesome testimony of a rough road which lead her to Jesus.  Many of the homeless kept their attention on her Gospel message as she shared her life, the love of Jesus Christ, and the personal relationship he desires with each of them.  Jesus dying on the cross for all of us was the ultimate message, as it should be.  Amen!

Heather's wonderful and powerful testimony had a captive audience.  The food is all set up and ready to go behind her!

    

Heather has Bernadette's (front) and Mari's full attention!  Junior is in the back.

    

     

Standing in the sunshine keeps you warmer while Heather (background, against the blue) preaches the Word!

      

The pavilion, the worshipers and the preacher!

     

Paule-Anne praying at the service!

     

Bryan and dog also praying!

     Then the food was ready to go.  Paule-Anne was cutting the French bread; Heather was dishing out the macaroni; and I ladled out the meat balls and sauce.  But Amy, Jonathan’s fiancée, came and took my job away from me!  I was now free to minister amongst the twenty-five (or so) homeless brothers and sisters and also take pictures - which you know I love to do.
     Here are a few of them:

Stosh is ALWAYS first in line.  Heather (right) serving, along with
Paule-Anne beside her.

  

Paule-Anne cutting up...the bread, that is!

Bernadette (L) being served by Amy (front), Jonathan's fiancé
and Heather beside her.

Jason and his wife Ashley totally enjoying the food.

Warm food in the sunshine on a cool day...awesome!

Jack the Intellectual and the prefered drink of the day
 (other than beer, which we do not serve!)

Ahhhhhh!  Mountain Dew, Palm trees and blue waters.  All we need is 30 more degrees!

Ashley with new puppy!

Let's go shopping at Heather's Bazaar!  Heather brought some clothing for
the cold children of God.

That's a strange way to shop!

Both are named  Ashley, both are married, both are about three months pregnant, both are
 the same age!  Last week, I drove them both together to the same doctor visit at the same time!

     Good night y’all, and God bless you.

We served the Lord today and had a GREAT time blessing His Holy Name!
 Now, wasn't that fun?

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UNDER THE BRIDGE: Enough is Enough; I'm Coming Out of the Closet!

Since this blog is being read in over 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 Italy. 

"Noi siamo ambasciatori di Cristo, come se Dio stavano facendo il suo appello attraverso di noi." 2 Corinzi 05.20

Pavilion at the Bay Side Camp

Sunday, January 11, 2015

     As I came up to the pavilion at the Bay Side Camp on this cold, windy day, Shorty greeted me with his bubbly, unshaved personality; Chris calmly waved at me from his new van he had purchased together with Mike; Leila ambled up, smiling from within a sleeping back she had wrapped around herself to keep warm.  Jason shook my hand and gave me a big, positive smile.  And there was his wife Ashley.

Jason and his wife, Ashley with pajama bottoms
and a blanket to keep warm in bone chilling cold!

     Ashley stood under the pavilion with a small blanket wrapped around her for added warmth and protection from the frigid wind. She had the kind of body blanket one would wrap around while snuggling on the sofa sipping a warm drink, enjoying a good book on a cold, dreary day. If it had been a couple of degrees colder out here, it probably would have snowed; so the light clothing and worn shoes Ashley had on were just not enough to keep the bone chilling air at bay.  Her nose and ears were red with the cold.  Her faltering lips were not able to fully form functional words too fast.  However, I heard no complaints from her, as she seemed content to be with Jason, her husband of four months.  If nothing else, they had each other.  Yet, I had a special concern in my heart for Ashley…and I didn’t know what it was.

     Though I could have briefly pondered what a beautiful, young lady of 24 years was doing here, my main thought was to immediately get her food and warm clothing.  Emotions, such as pity, can get in the way of action, whereas love DEMANDS action.   

     I immediately told her I had warm clothing for her and warm food.  We would eat first and then we would let her go through the clothing and pick what she needed. 

A Leila wrap!

     I said the same thing to Leila, as she certainly can’t walk around all day long wrapped up in a sleeping bag!  She had a vehicle, but it had just been impounded.  She was now alone in the cold, hard street in the heart of winter with no shelter or adequate clothing.

     Then, there’s Pat.  Pat, who lives far away, attends church with her friend Dale, who lives close to me.  So, Pat brought a lot of women’s clothing which she gave to Dale at church so I could go nearby and pick it up.  Then, when I came over, Chris, Dale’s husband thought it would be a great idea if he cleaned up his closet to see what he had that he could give away.  That evening, he called me saying he had found in his closet three heavy winter coats, a half a dozen blankets and a sleeping bag, which I gladly picked up!

     Bill and his wife Glenda, also called me to tell me they had warm clothing articles for the least of these, which I was glad to receive.  Bless the Lord.  Thank you Jesus.

Thank you Bill and Glenda (not shown)!

     And then there’s Alain and Sarah who have three children and have so much in their closet which they freely and joyfully give for God’s purpose.  Praise God!  You could not give me anything better in life than things for the precious children of God, the least of these – the poor, the homeless, those in need.

     Lord, bless abundantly all those who give so freely of their heart, their closet, their prayers and their finances in love for You, Jesus!  Reward them all richly, oh Lord, now and in You Kingdom to come.

     Outwardly, people may not see much in me.  I certainly do not carry myself as a prince would, nor am I eloquent or witty in public.  Sometimes, I may even seem quite dull!  But inwardly churns the Holy Spirit presence of the Lord which compels me to joyfully walk closer and closer towards The Revival which God has so very close ahead for the remnant – the bride of Christ Jesus.

     “What,” you say, “all that from someone just emptying their closet?”

Out of the closet!

     I answer you with a resounding, “Yes!”  And I will add, “Where the Presence of the Lord is, there is Freedom!”  (2 Corinthians 3:17).  It is the same powerful Holy Spirit in the big things, as it is in the little things. 

       Listen to me, saints of God; if everyone in America emptied their closets, attics and basements of clothing (and other needed items) they no longer use, nor ever will use again, no homeless man, woman or child in the world would be without proper clothing or shoes!  Get that clothing out and personally GO to the homeless and give it to them.  Or give it to someone who GOES in the street, themselves, offering not just clothing, but love, prayers and salvation for the least of these which God loves so much.  Wouldn’t that reflect the church Jesus had in mind – a live organism, rather than a dead organization?

“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  And all the believers were together and had all things in common.”  Acts 2:43-44

     Because of people like Pat, Dale and Chris, Bill and Glenda, Alain and Sarah and more, I could more confidently go in the street and face Ashley and Leila, and bless them with their immediate needs.  That glorifies God because he gets all the credit.  He is the Master organizer, knowing who needs what, and when.  Praise God!

     Once the homeless are loved, fed, clothed and provided with basic needs, only then can you tell them about a Greater Love which leads to salvation.  Only then can you tell the world about The Savior, our Provider and Healer who wants fellowship with His people!

     Why would someone faithfully repent of their sins except to One who loves and forgives them, and gives them eternal life with Him in heaven?  YOU, saints of God, are ordained (put there) to manifest (show) that love to those in need as an example of Christ’s love.  Therefore, encourage each other with these words.

“We are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.” 

2 Corinthians 5:20

     That means YOU!  The remnant chosen by grace, the bride of Christ.

“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”  Romans 11:5

     After eating, Ashley was eager to see what clothing I had for her, as was Leila.  I gave Ashley a wonderful, heavy, warm winter coat, thick sweat pants, new shoes, a king size bedspread, and she got to pick through a large pile of long sleeve tops.  Leila picked a winter hoody to keep her warm and other tops, also.

Now for the comfort of "warmth!"

     Neither of them picked more than they needed.  I urged them to take more, but they were happy with what they had, and confident that they would now have the comfort of warmth.

     Jason was overjoyed that Ashley, his wife, had found a large bedspread to sleep with.  He shared that whenever she would roll over in the tent while sleeping, she would take all the covers, leaving him uncovered and cold.  He let her.

     Then Jason revealed something to me that uncovered that special, unknown concern the Holy Spirit had put in my heart for Ashley.  She is now about two months pregnant!  She shared with me how twins and triplets run in the family!  I immediately took that concern to the Lord and prayed right there and then for the both of them.  YOUR prayers are also needed.  Thank you.

Jason and Ashley, last week when it was warmer!

     I then went to the Palafox Camp in town where I ministered to John, Chris, Jeff, Kevin, Kid and others.

Oh yea...Hot, hot dogs!

Kevin looking rather spiffy, if I may say.  Socks in his right
hand are worth their weight in gold.  He received some reading glasses,
so now I see him reading all the time on a park bench!

    
    

John is actually pleasantly social and loving! He loves the Lord Jesus Christ!

     Then, to my surprise, here comes Debbie and her gang of amazing, joyful ministers!  The last time I had seen her was in October of 2014 (see blog post Oct. 12, 2014).

     “I read your book (The Spark in the Street),” she announced, as she radiantly came toward me, “and I follow the blog!”

     She turned to her group of energetic servants of the Lord and said, “This is Jean-Luc.  He wrote the book and writes the blog.”  They all came to shake my hand.  This made me feel really weird, as I am not used to this kind of attention.  But I was glad that God was so glorified in such a way.

     Debbie seemed much more confident then when I saw her last.  She again talked about the book which saved her a lot of learning time.  In her eyes, I could see the love of the Lord.  In her actions, I saw how much she cared for the least of these.  She knew their names, what camp they could be found at, what they needed and what to bring.  She also had “dressed down” a little, according to instructions, compared to the fine way she was dressed when I first saw her here last October.

     She mentioned that she was coming out of the closet to finally minister to the homeless.  She and the ones with her had been in the closet too long; it was time to come out and serve the Lord.

     Amen to that, sister!

     So don’t just get all your unused clothes out of the closet, but get yourself out of there also and be used actively by the Lord!  Get out in the street, outside the church walls.  The Lord is searching for such to serve Him and to bless. 

     Debbie seemed to be well prepared for her ministry.  She might have heard the words from basketball coach John Wooden:  Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.  Either way, she seemed prepared to walk in the love of the Lord, serving Him joyfully, as was her dynamic entourage!

     She had brought friends, brothers and sisters and family out in the street.  This group was an active young group full of Holy Spirit energy!  Yet, they were not overwhelming, but well received by the homeless.  They seemed to have a good spiritual connection to those God loves so much – the least of these.

The beautiful people!  Debbie, 4th from left, in brown outfit, and gang.  Kevin and Kid on Right!

     As per Debbie, we all got in a circle, held hands and prayed for the ministry, the ministers and the least of these.

     Just as quickly as we ran into each other, this little whirlwind disbanded and headed for the next homeless camp.  God’s servants don’t sit still for too long!  The Lord always keeps them moving forward and relentlessly headed towards… The Revival.

     So, if you are experiencing cabin fever because you feel you have been in the closet too long, just say, “Enough is enough!  I’m coming out of the closet!  I’m going out in the street to serve the Lord, as He has told us to, and I don’t care what anybody says.” 

     Glory to God!

     Good night y’all, and God bless you.

Stay dry and warm John.  I'll see you in a couple of days!

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UNDER THE BRIDGE: Not Paralyzed!

Since this blog is being read in over 30 countries, we are greeting one different country every time a post is written.  This week we say, “Bonjour!” to our brothers and sisters in France.

Je vous donne un commandement nouveau:  Aimez-vous les uns les autres; comme je vous ai aimés, vous aussi, aimez-vous les uns les autres.  A ceci tous connaîtront que vous êtes mes disciples, si vous avez de l’amour les uns pour les autres.  Jean 13:34-35

Mari!

2015 New Year

     She was nervous – very nervous.  On some nights, she had not been able to sleep.  She was about to do something she had never done in her entire life.

     To you and me, it might have been a simple matter.  But, she was going through a door she had never entered before.  Mari said she would not do this unless the Lord had called her to do it.  She felt the calling; the Lord speaking to her heart, calling her to do something that brought great fear in her life.

     Paul didn’t think twice about preaching the Word to the homeless – neither did Heather.

     Mari would say to me, “Jean-Luc, I’m so nervous.”

     It was a big step for her.  I understood her fear.

     Three minutes later, she would look at me again, shaking her head, “Jean-Luc, I’m so scared.”

     This went on for at least a month, for I had given her that much time for her to prepare to give her testimony to the homeless during our end-of-the-month service.

     “Mari,” I would respond, “these are your peers that you’re with every day; the ones you have no qualms about straightening up when they misbehave!”

     “This is different.  I don’t want to make a mistake – to mess up God’s Word,” she would say.  “I’m so scared, I can’t sleep.”

     How do you tell a homeless child of God to die to self and carry her cross?  She already slept in the street (a camp), ate when someone gave her food, and lived in the cold reality of the dangers of the street.  She trusted God for her salvation, her daily bread and her safety. She was a hundred times more trusting in Christ Jesus than any involved, card carrying, Christian church member attending church on Sunday (morning and evening), Wednesday and Friday evening worship meeting!

     Mari already knew the second part of Galatians 2:20:

“The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of god, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

     The homeless cannot make it in the street without this truth inscribed in their inner heart.  Now I needed to gently re-emphasize the first part of that verse to Mari, our disciple in the making;

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

     She gave herself to preaching her testimony on December 28^th.  She had Paul make cards with the Lord’s Prayer on one side and the “new” command Jesus gave us in John 13:34-35 on the other side;

“A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

     Mari is handicapped, but she is full of the love of God.  I see that in her.  She is a disciple.

     A week before her preaching, she shared with me, “Jean-Luc, I’m so nervous I can’t eat.”

     The morning of the service, having repented of her sins, she offered to the Lord a sacrifice of praise – she did not drink (her handicap).  She wanted to be sober to give the Word of God.  It was a great sacrifice on her part!  Don’t laugh – it was.

     She gave her testimony on the baptism of repentance.  They all listened to her with rapt attention.  When she was done, they all gave her a rousing round of applause.

     She and I have been talking about this “first” in her life since that day.  Mari has changed a lot in the past two years I have known her.

     She wants to preach again, in spite of her fears.

     Fear made her feel uncomfortable, but did not paralyze her.  She overcame her fears through faith in Christ Jesus.  She died to this world a little bit more, and became alive in Christ just that much more.  Her faith in Jesus grew to the next level and she now wants to do more to glorify His Holy Name.

     How about you?

     If a handicapped homeless person can overcome lifelong fears and stand up to give her testimony, how much more should you rise up to offer your testimony of Jesus Christ in your life.  That’s all that’s asked of you – that you, as a witness to the goodness of Jesus Christ, should give your testimony to a hungry, lonely and fearful world.  You might fear, but having been “crucified with Christ” will give you the victory and prevent you from becoming paralyzed and uselessly sitting on the sideline.

     Let this be the year when you boldly proclaim the Name of the Lord louder than you ever have before.  It can start with you saying to everyone, “God bless you,” instead of, “Have a nice day!”  And it can end with you preaching the Word of God beyond the church walls… into the street... and to the least of these.

     To 2015… The Revival year!

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”  James 1:12

Good night y’all, and God bless you.

God blesses the animals, too!
Leila's dog has a new, homemade, pink collar!

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