 |
| Sunday, February 15...God is so Good! Gary, who is homeless, is enjoying a beautiful winter day at the Bay Side park! The pavilion is behind him. |
Sunday,
February 15, 2015
I was under the pavilion at the Bay Side
Park, making preparations to minister to the homeless today. I stepped out from under the pavilion into
the bright Florida sunshine when a tall, handsome man dressed in glowing white
approached me and asked, “Do you have any power?”
I looked up at him, thinking of all the
analogies of “power” in the spiritual sense.
Was this a trick question or was there a true need that had to be
answered at this time? I did a quick
search of all the files on “power” in my mind, and after a fleeting few seconds
answered, “Uh?”
The tall man in white looked me straight
in the eyes and said, “Electricity…do you have any electricity?”
“No…no…there isn’t any here at all.” I answered as I pondered why this man was
dressed totally in white, and why he was so disappointed that we had no
electricity. My mind had been busily
occupied with the myriad of preparations to be made for this day of ministry to
the least of these whom God loves so much.
“My name is Lance.” he said as he shook my
hand, “Our drama team needs electricity for our speakers.”
 |
| Lance, the man in white. You should see him in the Sun! |
Heather, who was preaching the Word today,
had told me that she had asked her church’s drama team to make a presentation,
today. I was very excited about a church who was reaching out beyond the church
walls and into the street to minister to the least of these (Matt. 25:40). However, I had no idea how the homeless were
going to receive and react to a drama presentation.
Lance quickly glanced around and found a
spot where he could set up. Undeterred,
he said, “We’ll use the power in the vehicles for the speakers and set up over
there,” as he walked towards a perfect spot on the grass. It seemed that a problem simply gave Lance a
challenging opportunity to joyfully discover a solution that glorifies the Lord
our God. His dozen M.I.B.s (Members in
Black; men, women and children all dressed in black) eagerly followed after him
to help set it all up.
 |
| That looks like a nice spot to set up. The speakers work out of the vehicles on the right! |
One by one, the homeless were arriving,
some with all their worldly belongings on their back. I had picked some up around town on my way to
the Bay Side Park and they all helped to offload the truck of folding table and
supplies. I never had to ask or say
anything; they just did it and they knew where everything went.
As soon as I got out of my truck, Mari, as
usual, was the first one to greet me with a smile and a big, warm hug when I
arrived. Though Mari is only five feet
and ninety pounds, her hugs and her love are as big as life itself.
 |
| Mari (center, in blue) is most often the center of any picture! |
Then there’s some hand slapping, neck
hugging and loving greetings from all of God’s homeless children as we prepare
for feasting on the Word of the Lord.
This would then be followed by another feast which Heather and
Paule-Anne have fixed – a mountain of steaming fried rice, pans of mouthwatering
chicken stir fry, and macaroni in a delectable sauce. I brought three large chocolate
cakes which I’m sure a baker at Walmart got up very early to bake; and Paul
brought an ice box full of Coke, Sprite and water bottles.
This
may be the only time some of the homeless see each other, so they busily caught
up on the latest news from those who are usually across town. Today we have about 25-30 homeless saints of
God, four very social, loving dogs and one seriously active, very ADHD two year
old dragging – of all things – an oversize golf club, challenging the free
movement of at least 30 of the homeless, and of four otherwise happy dogs!
The word then came from Lance that his
drama team was ready to minister to the homeless. I corralled our sheep and led them about 200
feet away to sit on the grass warmed by the sun. This was not what they were used to doing on
these special Sundays, but we gently prodded this apprehensive fold
towards better pasture.
 |
| We're ready, says Lance! |
As the music started, the homeless sitting
on the ground became captivated by this ministry which suddenly reached down
deep into their soul. Time stood
still. The Word of God immediately
penetrated otherwise well protected hearts.
With some of them, tears flowed freely as they realized that God fully
knew of their hurting situation. Walls
within came tumbling down without resistance, as those in need witnessed the
True Shepherd calling out to His lost sheep.
The surrounding sights and noises disappeared as if those in rapt
attention of the sight before them were tenderly and gently encircled by the
protection of hundreds of rejoicing angels.
Even the seriously ADHD two year old dropped his threatening, oversize
golf club and was supernaturally still; himself not exempt from the
transforming love of Christ Jesus, the Savior and the Healer of those who dare
to set their eyes on Him…even for just a second.
 |
| The "least of these" were captivated by the message of the Living Truth Church Drama Team! |
 |
| Chains are broken... |
 |
| ...and the captives are set free! |
 |
| No one is exempt from the transforming love of Jesus Christ...not even a 2-year old! |
 |
| There is a way to be free...and it is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God! |
When the music ended and the M.I.B.s were still, Lance asked if anyone had any questions. Hands shot up before he was even done asking the question. No one moved; everyone listened. Then Lance gave his testimony of a life redeemed by our loving Savior. There, on that sunny, grassy spot in a sliver of a park sandwiched by a four-lane highway and the blue waters of a bay, hope grew out of broken hearts where the blood of Jesus caused new life to spring forth.
Thank you Lance and Drama Team for humbly
and lovingly coming to a lowly, forgotten and often invisible people that God
loves so very much. Thank you Living
Truth Church of Chumuckla for fostering an environment where the gifts of the
saints can be manifested in such a wonderful way. And thank you Heather for bringing all this
together. God bless y’all.
 |
| The feast is not over! |
 |
| She elaborated clearly how Jesus died on the cross so all their sins can be forgiven! |
But the feast of the Word of God was not over yet! We shepherded everyone back under the pavilion where they could sit at the picnic tables and listen to Heather give them the second course of this meal. Her sermon on Forgiveness further established that Jesus Christ must be at the center of their life. She elaborated clearly how Jesus died on the cross so all their sins can be forgiven. She shared personal testimony to emphasize the truth of the Word.
 |
| Heather preaching on Forgiveness has an attentive audience! |
To preach to this church, Heather must be
able to live in continual forgiveness. What
church do you know of where someone will light a cigarette during the
sermon? Where else can someone get up to
go sit in the sunshine to warm up while Heather is preaching her heart out? In what other church will you find a wild, severely
ADHD, 2-year old little Energizer bunny whose mother tries to subdue him, but
instead gets clubbed by the golf club he has adopted as his playmate? Where else can a big man come and sit down
during the sermon after guzzling a beer, even though Mari threatened to beat
him to a pulp with all of her 90 pounds if he does (and she will!)? Where else can Lance give away his wonderful
drama signs to eager homeless men and women who will use them to panhandle on
the street corner – but this time with a message from Jesus?
 |
| The homeless (including Tina on the right) eagerly took advantage of Lance's offering of his signs. Theywill use them for panhandling...with a message from Jesus! |
Would you love them, saints of God, as
Heather loves them? Can you not judge
them as she doesn’t? Can you forgive
them fully as she does? Out of her love
for her Redeemer, and out of her brokenness, she preaches straight to their
hearts. I don’t know that these homeless
saints of God would yet know how to carry their daily cross and die to
Jesus. But I will tell you this – they
will die defending Heather should anyone ever dare to come against her to do
her harm. The Love of Christ reigns in
Heather’s heart as it reigns in the hearts of those listening to her
today. Many will come after the sermon
to ask her questions; to speak with her personally; to find out more about the
One she loves so much.
Finally, it’s on with the food provided –
another way of showing how much the homeless are loved by those who minister to
them. Even the ADHD tornado is smiled
upon by those in line. I think someone
stealthily took his golf club away and slyly dropped it in the deep waters of
the bay! Glory to God!
 |
| Let's eat! Two year old dynamo (center) looking for his golf club! Why is the man behind him smiling about that? |
Amanda, Chris and their daughter Katie
step up to the table to serve this food which the homeless have also been
waiting for. The servants dish it all
out with a smile on their face and a little bit of love in each spoonful. Paule-Anne, who has helped fix this food,
along with Heather, shovels out the fried rice into deep Styrofoam bowls. It is
time to sit, eat and fellowship and enjoy the bright sunshine.
 |
| Servants of the Lord! (L. to R.) Papa Chris, Paule-Anne, Daughter Katie and Mama Amanda! |
 |
| Ashley, who is three months pregnant says, "Do you have any pickles with this cake?!" |
Though last Friday the weather for this
Sunday had been forecast to have an 80% chance of rain and wind, the
temperature was to be a balmy seventy-two degrees! But, what’s the point of having warmer
weather when it’s windy and rainy? I
must admit, the weather so far up to Friday had been cold, wet and windy, so I’ll
take seventy-two degrees, though with rain and wind.
On second thought, NO I WON’T! With a church service and a dinner planned
outdoors on Sunday for the homeless, they need a break, O Lord. Glorify Your Name Jesus.
I started praying on Friday morning for no
rain at all for Sunday. A couple of
hours later, I looked at my iPhone weather report and the chance was no longer
80%, but 60%!
Let’s pray some more.
A couple of hours more and the chance of
rain was down to 40%! Yes, You are so
good Lord. Praise the Name of Jesus.
This is working. I will keep praying.
Yes, saints of God, by Friday evening the
chance of rain was down to only 10%!
That’s when I asked the Lord about
sun. Jesus…sun…we need 100% sun. What’s the point of having no rain, but still
have nasty storm clouds?
Next thing I knew, my iPhone said… “Partly
sunny” forecast for Sunday!
And, uh…Lord…can we do away with the wind
also…please?
My iPhone did not confirm that, though I
believed it by faith. Thank you Jesus!
After the last of the food was scrapped
off the pans and dished out to the last, full saint of God, many having had
seconds and thirds, everything was put away.
The homeless rested peacefully in the seventy-two degree sunshine which felt
much warmer since there was no wind at all. When everything calmed down,
Heather, Paule-Anne and I finally had a moment to fellowship.
Paul-Anne mentioned to me, “Did you notice
last Friday how the chance of rain went down from eighty to only ten
percent? I was praying so hard for the
rain to go away for today.”
Then Heather added, “Yea, and I prayed for
sunny weather and suddenly it said, ‘partly sunny’ on my iPhone! The more I prayed, the more the chance of
rain was going down, also. God is so
good!”
Saturday was cold and windy. Monday was cold and rainy. But Sunday was perfect!
Truly, God IS…so Good!
Well, good night y’all and God bless you.
 |
| Recounting the Drama Presentation the next day, on Monday, Jack's eyes would still well up with tears. |
.JPG)
