A Bouquet with Different Flowers

Courtney and I had an awesome opportunity to travel down with Dude Share the Food again this past Saturday. At first, it seemed pretty much like other times that we have gone downtown, with the exception that it was a bit colder...

(here we are packing up the bread truck with some clothes, blankets, and food)

(lining up for some food...there was a huge turn out)

After a little while Courtney, Brandon, Collin, Jessica, Ashley, and I went over to this bridge (not pictured, sorry) and saw Charles and Marcus. These are probably the two nicest men I have ever had the privilege to meet. They were so loving and so humble. After catching up on what was new with everyone, Charles asked us if we could pray and then sing a song. So we all gathered around, held hands, and prayed. After the prayer, we sang "Amazing Grace." While we were singing this song, I looked around us and just thought to myself, "here these men are in the freezing cold, having only the clothes on their backs and a few blankets to keep them warm, and only having a bridge to keep them dry. They are singing at the top of their lungs, louder than anyone else- AMAZING GRACE!!???" This was a very eye-opening experience for me. These two men inspire me. I can only pray that I can have that attitude when things do not go quite the way I plan. After another prayer from a woman with us, we said our goodbyes and Charles had to make a point to hug everyone. "I do this to everybody, you'll get used to me," is what he said. Such love he has. He told my wife, "we all in the same family... like a bouquet just with a bunch of different flowers." That has stuck with me for the past few days.

The family of God is not just white people, not just black people, not just Asian, Chinese, or whatever you want to put on it. We are all sinners and fall WAY short of God's true standards for our lives.

I could care less what you have on your church sign, if you are Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ, Church of God, Assembly of God... that's just a bunch of junk! We all have ONE God, ONE creator, ONE Savior -- JESUS! Love God FIRST, the rest will follow.

Charles and Marcus didn't ask us what church we were from, they just wanted to know our names. They didn't care what denominational ties we had, they just wanted to sing with us. They just wanted us to pray with them. Not just for them, but WITH them- there is a difference. 

So many of us "Christians" like to pray FOR the homeless, but when are we going to sit and talk with them? When are we going to love them where they are? It's so easy to schedule a time to go and share food with them, because we get to go back to our little comfy homes and heat. I am very guilty of this. Let's get real... Jesus had no place to sleep.... interesting huh?

Boardwalk Talk

Todd and I went down to Atlantic City this past week. I had a strong calling to go down to the city and seek out some individuals that needed some help (thanks to Erik). We just wanted to go and check out what is really going on outside of the casinos.

I have to admit, for the first three or four blocks, I didn't see much. It was cold, the wind was blowing pretty hard, and there were not too many folks out on the boards. After we passed the Taj Mahal, it got a little ugly. We stumbled upon an obvious crack addict who wanted "just a dollar....or two..." for her next fix. Honestly, I was a little freaked out, and then Todd laughed and said, "Dude, you think that's scary, wait until it's a 400 pound dude coming at you."

We walked about two blocks away from the end of the boardwalk, and then turned around. On our way back we came across a man sitting outside the Taj, kinda curled up in a ball. Todd gave him a buck and we kept walking. After a few minutes, we were both convicted of getting this man something more, maybe some coffee. So, we turned around to go find him and locate some coffee. When we got about half way back, we saw the same man walking our way--I went up to him and asked where he was headed, he preceded with, "going to try and find me some coffee." Well, it just so happens that I wanted to buy him some, so I asked if that would be ok.

We walked and talked with John for about two blocks when he spoke up with honesty, "You know, I could really go for a drink right now." I replied with, "Well, we can't really help you with that, but how about a sandwich and some coffee?" "No, I just want a drink." At this, we let John continue on his journey to find that "one more dollar" he needed for his booze.

It is a little discouraging at first, but then you realize that man would have never known kindness (possibly) if I didn't just ask his name, tell him mine, and offer to buy him some coffee. I had to repent of feeling like he SHOULD have taken my offer. I had the horrible, selfish thought, "That's crazy, I come down here to offer him something, and all he wants is alcohol!? How about some appreciation?" WAIT a minute. Is that really the attitude I should have? NO WAY! I had to ask God to forgive me for those horrible thoughts. I just wanted to help and spend time with John, not try to make myself feel good.

I am going to try and find John again this week if I get a chance. Maybe I can buy him a cup of coffee. If not, maybe I should keep trying until he accepts?

Worship =

Worship = nothing counts; nothing matters except Jesus!

Many churches get caught up in style, production, schedules, music genres, ages, tattoos (read Revelation 19:16 if you want to get legalistic about tats), piercings, crazy hair, and many more shallow things. REALITY CHECK- when the Holy Spirit comes in, all this crap goes out the window!

Worship = continuously outpouring to God!

When we come into the church house on Sunday, we should be preparing our hearts for an out pour. Our worship (whether we are raising our hands, shouting to God, singing, dancing, etc.) should be a reflection of what the Holy Spirit is doing in us. If we are just there to put on a show for the rest of the congregation, WE ARE SINNING! We need to repent! If we raise our hands to look "worshipful" but are not actually worshipful, we idolize mortal opinion over God's. We need to abandon all for the one who gave it ALL! Jesus GAVE His life. (John 10:17-18)

When Jesus says, in verse 18, "No one takes it from me (speaking of His life), but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again..." I get chills. How can we fathom the awesome wonder of Jesus? He is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords...WOW!!

This week, let us ask God to break our hearts for what breaks His. I challenge you to spend time with God, worshiping and pleading with Him to break you. None of us are perfect, or will we ever be...God will always be consuming our junk with His fire. The closer we get to God, the more He is going to cut away (John 15:1-7).

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST our LORD!