Tears

Tears. It was that kind of day.
From a mother with 4 kids stranded in LR who is helped to feed them and get them 3 hours back to their home.
From a man who has failed so many times at getting things right, but asks the Lord for one more try.
...

From a man who was found on the ground behind the dumpster this morning. Badly beaten , broken and bloody. (Thank the Lord for ambulances and paramedics)
From a middle aged lady who received her new teeth today,
and when she saw herself in the mirror was overcome with joy.
Praise the Lord for providing whatever is needed. Tenth chances, healing hands, a way home and a new smile.

Not Just a Homeless Shelter

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you how proud I am of Mieka, one of our summer interns. Today I want to tell you about one of our other interns, Jake. I could write about the heart he has for the hurting and brag on how well he is doing, but instead I will just share what he wrote about his experience, it says more than I ever could.

The Ministry: Part 1

I have not had the opportunity to share my views on here lately but now I am going to share something quite different. This summer I am an intern at an inner city church and a ministry for the impoverished. The latter of the two is commonly referred to as a homeless shelter, but that could not be further from the truth, which I will address later. I want to share my experiences here and attempt to recreate the shock and enlightenment I have received in these short two weeks.

 

I would like to start with explaining why I carefully chose my words and wrote ministry for the impoverished. Someone came up to me one day last week and asked me how the homeless shelter was going. The first emotion that raced through my veins was anger. But, as I stopped and thought about it, I remembered that I thought the same thing before I started working there. See, the clients (the term used for the people at the ministry) are not all homeless. Are there some clients here that are homeless? Absolutely. However, there are people here who have their own place, who have a job, but have just run into some absolutely terrible luck and turned to this ministry. 

Every week I want to share an uplifting story that shows how God moves in this ministry that I either see or experience myself. Every day before lunch is served there is a devotional, and if you attend you have first dibs at the line. Yesterday I was supposed to lead the devotional (A short 10-15 minute) sermon, and to be honest I completely forgot. When I got to the ministry I immediately began writing trying to fill time and get through it without too much embarrassment. I was about 3 seconds away from getting up and telling the director of the ministry that I was not prepared to give my sermon, but before I could get up a man walked in to the office I was in and asked me if I could listen. He did not ask for a conversation, he asked me to listen. He sat down on the chair across from me in the 15 square foot office and shut the door. My mind and heart were racing because my immediate supervisor was on vacation and this was the first time I had one-on-one interaction. The man then began to proceed to tell me everything that he thought was going wrong in his life. His girlfriend was being argumentative so he turned to alcohol. His alcohol abuse turned him to cocaine. His cocaine turned him to pornography. By the time his benders were over he cursed himself and told himself he was the scum of the earth. He had an incredible knowledge of the Bible and as he was explaining what was going on he would stop and quote the verse where he knew it said what he was doing was wrong. He kept emphasizing that he had judged himself to harshly and that he could not forgive himself for what he had done.

I sat there and listened completely and utterly astounded. The exact thing that he was talking about struggling with was the same thing I was addressing in my sermon that I almost backed out of. We talked until the devotional had to start and when I went up to the makeshift podium, there was a sense of incredible calm in me. Not 20 minutes earlier, my knees were shaking and here I was smiling and joking like I had done this a million times. The devo started with the most beautiful singing I had ever heard. There were people missing notes left and right, and there were people not even singing at all, but the situation we were in made those few songs absolutely beautiful. I gave my sermon and it was received beautifully. I kept looking at the man who talked with me earlier and he just kept smiling and nodding his head. Afterwards he told me he wanted to fix what he had done. He wanted to end the cycle that he thought never ended. This morning I helped set him up with a local cocaine anonymous group, something I never thought I would say as long as I lived. But God has always had a sense of turning what you know and what you want upside down. This internship has already been one of the greatest physical and spiritual experiences of my life. The even better news: I still have seven more weeks.

 Luke 9:2 “He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal”

In Him,

Jake Russenberger

Posted on June 16 by jrussenberger at thenarcolepticpenguin.wordpress.com

Thank God we have young people like Mieka, Jake, Tori, and Sara who are willing to dedicate their summers to this work because of a clear understanding of who Christ is and what he expects of us. Please pray for God to bless these wonderful interns and send us more people with beautiful hearts like theirs. 

*Picture used by permission and does not show the man described in the story.

Seeing Jesus

Actually seeing Jesus is life changing! Paul's Christian journey which lead to the founding of numerous churches, countless converts, and the shaping of Christianity as we know it all began with seeing Jesus. It shook up this man's world and lead him to change his life and follow his true calling.

Sadly, many Christians claim they've never seen Jesus and don't expect to, unless it's when they meet Him in the air. But, I encourage you to do as the song says: "Take a look, open your eyes, He's here in plain view."

Jesus takes many forms, but you can be sure, anywhere the love of God is being shared, you can find Him there. I caught a glimpse of Him just the other day. Mieka is one of our summer interns, and she's just the person we needed. She can sit down and talk with anyone, she shares her love freely, and serves gladly in any way she can. Probably the greatest strength I've seen in Mieka is that she intuitively knows who is hurting and needs a little extra help and attention. Mieka helps Deb in our Ladies Bible Study, and this is what I saw:

That, dear friends, is were I saw my Lord. I see His face and His heart in Mieka's love and care for the hurting. She took time to make one of the most fragile women I know feel loved, safe, and special. Wherever the hurting find healing, the lonely find love, and the weary find a friend to share their load, you can see Jesus there.

He Left Everything and Followed Him

“I just woke up one day and knew it all had to stop.” Keshon said when I asked what made him give up drug dealing. Coming to Christ, for him, is about more than changing his mind, saying a few words, and getting dunked—it’s a new life at a high cost.

“You can’t just walk away from the drug game—it follows you. I knew I couldn’t live for God and stay in it, so I walked away. That meant no income, no rent money—so no home—but that wasn’t the worst of it. I stayed in the shelters ‘cause I knew I didn’t need to be around my old friends and their bad ways. When I went out looking for work, I got jumped by one of the other dealers and his guys. I told them I was done, I didn’t want any trouble, I just wanted to live for God. They thought I was a snitch, so they beat the tar out of me and told me that if they ever saw me again they would kill me.”

“I went to the hospital and as I was checking in, I saw someone I knew, but I didn’t think anything of it. I guess they made phone calls, ‘cause when I walked out of the ER, the waiting room was full of people who were mad that I left my old life. I sat down so there would be witnesses around, but one of the other dealers told me ‘you gotta walk back at some point.’”

Keshon feels like there is a target on his back wherever he goes now, but he knows what he has to do. “It’s hard to hang on sometimes. I know I can’t turn my back on God, but it is hard when it’s been days since your last meal, you have no money in your pocket, you’re sleeping under a broke-down truck and you know that in a matter of hours you could have several thousand dollars by dealing.”

“I learned something though, every time I’m put to the test, when I’m not sure how much longer I can make it, and I choose trusting God, He comes through. Someone will offer me some food, or a place to sleep, or I get a call, like today, telling me I got a job! It’s not the kinda money I was making, but God is showing me that He’s enough.”

Keshon was even able to help his uncle to leave his old ways and draw closer to God. I haven’t seen Keshon in a month. I pray he’s just busy working, but I don’t know. Sometimes discipleship comes at a greater cost than we would imagine. Levi walked away from his tax booth and left everything to follow Christ. James and John left their father and the family business. Keshon left friends, family, home, wealth, and puts his life on the line every day.

People like Keshon are why I’m at RCM. God’s message changes lives and is making a real difference here in North Little Rock.

In the 11 months of my RCM apprenticeship, I have helped to lead 140 people to be restored and 47 baptized. I look forward to the opportunities that God allows me in the second year of this apprenticeship.

God bless you all.

“After this, Jesus left the house. He saw a tax collector sitting at the tax booth. The man’s name was Levi. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him. Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:27-28).

 

My Best Me

When God formed you in His image, when He shaped you into an entirely unique representation of Himself, He made you unlike anyone else. God breathed life into you as He did Adam He made you a living being through His Spirit (Gen. 2:7). The word breath and spirit are the same in Hebrew, to say God gave man the breath of life and he became a living being is to say God gave man the spirit of life and thus man lives. Just like when Jesus breathed into His disciples and told them to receive the Spirit (John 20:22).

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col. 1:15-18).

All things were made through, by, and for Jesus, and He is the one that holds them all together. In Him we live and move and have our very being (Acts 17:28). If that is true, how can we separate ourselves from God? God and His creation are inseparable. So what does this mean about the way we live?

How can we set this time aside for God and that time aside for ourselves if we are connected with God at a subatomic level? I used to believe that when I chose to do something outside the will of God that it was my decision and it would only hurt me; I make the choices and I will deal with the consequences. But it’s not really like that. If God’s presence is continual, how can I bring God into my sin? This is why Paul said that when we sleep with a prostitute it’s like joining Christ with that prostitute (1 Cor. 6:15).

The way that I’m living right now, is God happy with me dragging Him into it? This is why sin is so disgusting to God. Not only did God not create us to be dragged into sin, He never intended us to try to drag Him along with us. God can sever that inseparable tie, we can quench His Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19), God’s Spirit will not struggle with man’s forever (Gen. 6:3), we can experience spiritual death, and be eternally separated from God in Hell (2 Thes. 1:9). So then, how can I live in God’s presence? How can I get rid of the sin?

Usually when we talk about sin, we addresses it as the problem, but I don’t believe that is entirely correct. The sins we often commit, our addictions, our habits, our dysfunctions are really only symptoms of the real problem. Violent acts that we commit come from our anger and our anger usually comes from our own deep hurts and pains. Now, we can address our behavior, learn to control our anger so that we don’t allow it to force us into an action that we will regret, but this doesn’t take away the anger, it only helps us control the outcome of our anger. If we don’t deal with our anger, we will end up finding another outlet for it. If we deal with our anger but never face our hurts and pains, we will find another way to cope with them. We may choose drugs or alcohol, and those may be sinful habits, but the true problem is still the hurts that lead us to these habits. Sexual acts that we commit come from our lusts, and our lusts usually come from deep feeling that something is lacking. Perhaps we were never loved as we needed to be, or maybe we lack confidence and use sex to boost our ego. We can stop having sex but not address our lusts and end up finding another way to get what we need. We can even address our lusts, but if we never deal with the feelings that something is lacking, we will end up using something else to fill the void.

What we really need to do to remove the sin, the hurt, the void, and anything that would keep us from experiencing the full joy of God’s presence and being the person He created us to be is take a deep look inside our selves at where the problem really lies. To get to the heart of the problem we have to look deep inside ourselves and ask, why are these unhealthy things so appealing to us? We have to ask ourselves, why are we going to our sinful habits to find relief? Why am I making the same mistake Adam and Eve made?

Instead of going to God with their desires, Adam and Eve went to the forbidden tree, the listened to Satan, and they tried to be the answer to their own problem. I don’t have to keep doing the same. I can turn to God, submit to His will, put myself in the hands of the potter who shaped me in the first place, and let Him shape me back into the true me.

This is not about me becoming what anyone else says I should be (that’s how this whole thing began – Gen 3:5), this is not about me becoming someone else, this is about me becoming the best and truest me. Christ didn’t come to change everything, but to reconcile everything. That means to end the conflict and put things back the way they belong. Look at Colossians chapter one again.

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel...” (Col. 1:15-23).

It’s time to stop trying to be someone else, and start dealing with the hurts and pains that lead us into sin. God never wanted this for you, instead He wants you to partake in His divine nature and escape the corruption caused by evil desires (2 Peter 1:4). He wants to be one with you!

Put those pains, hurts, and labels to death. Come to Christ and be born again, be a new creature, be the you that you were made to be, that no one else can be. It’s not just about losing yourself, it’s about finding yourself and being truly free.

A Look Back at 2013

A lot has changed since I came to River City Ministry in July; mostly me. I was pretty unsure of myself when I came. It took time to earn my right to speak in this community. I feared that the cultural differences would make it difficult for me to relate to the people I encountered. Fear and uncertainty had a hold on me that I had yet to acknowledge. 

 

The time I spend processing with Anthony, my mentor, the time I spend alone with God, and the time I spend with the people who frequent River City Ministry, both clients and staff, drive me to deep soul searching.

 

I realized that many of my wounds of my past have yet to heal. I thought I put behind me, many things that I actually only buried. Sitting with broken people made me realize that my own wounds are not that different. I realized that it’s the human element of brokenness that allows us to be empathetic and draws us together. Hope is all the more beautiful when viewed from a point of desperation. It puts us in a wonderful place to acknowledge our need for a savior.

 

As I become more confident of who I am in Christ, I grow stronger and more courageous in reaching out to others.

 

 

More than ever before, here now burns in me a strong and urgent evangelistic spirit. It’s such a privilege to be an instrument of God’s will to play a part in someone coming to know Him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2013 was a banner year for restorations. Our combined total was 192 people who renewed their walk with the Lord. There were also 93 people who were baptized last year. This is the most baptisms in a year at RCM since 2009. We have immersed 602 people since Anthony began leading the evangelistic outreach in 2007.

 

Last year I was blessed to have 125 Bible studies which lead to 76 restorations and 21 baptisms. I was able to speak with over 600 people about God and I look forward to the opportunities that God allows me in 2014. Thank you for your constant support and prayer and for making our ministry your ministry. God bless you all.

 

 

P.S.

Please consider supporting this apprenticeship or River City Ministry. Feel free to forward this newsletter or share our contact information with them. Thank you, and God bless you.

 

Following Christ: Into the Streets
Steven Morris, RCM Apprentice
steven@rivercityminitry.org  
706-669-2773

Into the Depths of Me

For God so loved the World that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Do you believe that? Do you believe that it means that God love you, individually, enough to sacrifice His Son for you?

To be honest, I still struggle with this. I believe it, but I cannot understand it. Like David, I ask "Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them?"

Do you believe that God looks at you, that He looks into the very depth of you, that He sees you for exactly who you are and loves you enough to give His Son for you?
 

We are told that Jesus did not need anyone to tell him anything about men because He saw into the hearts of men. I think it is safe to say that the way that Jesus ministered to people was show them what He saw, the person within. He showed them the person they forgot they were, the person He created them to be.

I am grateful for all God has done to help me see who He made me to be. I'm glad He sees past all my shortcomings and all the labels other put on me.

When Jesus looks out at people, He doesn't see what the world sees. They call us junkies, bums, drunks, fools, thugs, tramps, screw-ups, dope-heads, losers, hypocrites, heathens, trash, liars, cheats, criminals...  like Everlast's song "What It's Like" says, "they call her a killer, they call her a sinner, they call her a whore." But that's not what Jesus sees. Looks with compassion on us shepherdless sheep and sees Children of God who have lost sight of who they really are.
 

When Jesus had a woman dragged before Him and was asked if she should be executed, He didn't see an adulteress, He saw a woman caught in adultery. He saw past the label, past the sin, to the women that the sin was hurting. By saving her from her would-be-killers, he showed her she was more than a sinner, she was capable of getting up, leaving her past behind and "sinning no more."
 

But Jesus was not always gentle when He showed people how to discover who they were. Consider the people who came and said they wanted to follow Him.

One was an eager young man. He was a good kid; he loved God and believed Jesus. He was not only a good man, he was wealthy. In the eyes of the disciples, this was the type of follower any Rabbi would be blessed to have; he was young, rich, powerful, he knew all about God, and had a desire to follow. In their eyes, if anyone was going to make it, it was this guy. The world saw a man who was all he should be, but Jesus saw another man who was trapped and needed to be set free.
 

The young man ran up eagerly and asked what he needed to do to have the eternal life Jesus talked about. When Jesus said that he should know what to do if he read the commandments, the boy was proud to say that he had always followed them. But then Jesus hit at the heart of it all. He hit at what was keeping this young man from being who God always knew he could to be. He saw a man who was owned by his possessions and gave him the words to set him free. "You just lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasures in Heaven. Then come and follow me."

Jesus didn't beat around the bush, he didn't give the guy slow steps to become less attached to his stuff; no, Jesus said get rid of it. Anything that would keep this young man from serving God with all his heart was a poison to him that had to go.
 

This was too much for the young man, he could not let go. He had no words to express his sorrow, he just turned and left. Following Christ had too high a cost.
 

Like the rich young ruler, most of us don’t mind Jesus making some minor changes in our lives but Jesus wants to turn our lives upside down. What Jesus wants is a complete renovation not little touch-up, an overhaul not a tune up, a makeover, not a little make up. Jesus wants to remodel, not redecorate, a commitment, not a decision.  Jesus wants to be your life, not just a part of it. Jesus is not interested in a casual relationship, He wants the real thing.
 

Jesus wanted to peel back all the layers that stood between this man and the image of God. Jesus sees it in us all, and He asks us to get rid of everything in the way. But, the rich young ruler held on to who he had become and missed out on who God always knew He could be. He didn't really know himself, and though he knew all about him, he didn't really know his God.
 

I have been there. When I was in preaching school, I memorized over 100 verses in my first quarter. By the end, I had memorized the book of James, half of I Corinthians and hundreds of other passages. But I couldn't really tell you what it meant. Sure I could tell you what my teachers told me, I could parrot it back, but I knew nothing from sitting with God and His word and getting to know Him. I knew all about God, but I didn't know Him, and my relationship with Him was very shallow.

One day, while memorizing a passage I planned to speak on, I realized that I knew very little about what it actually said. I saw preachers who memorized large portions of the Bible preach shallow sermons that really told me nothing about God or my walk with Him. Then it hit me, I was looking at a mirror of myself. I saw the effect that this had on the way I lived. Though I did not recognize it at the time, I was beginning to see that I was not who God always intended me to be. I needed to get to know my God and get to know the real me.
 

The failure of the rich young ruler was a shock to the disciples. All they saw was what the man had; they had no clue who he was. Jesus was not surprised, but he was saddened. He said it is easier to fit a camel through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom.

The disciples were devastated by this, they asked "Then who can be saved?!" And Jesus reminded them that what is impossible for men is possible with God.

Little did they know, they were about to witness the impossible.

When another wealthy man heard that Jesus was passing through his town, he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. When Jesus saw Zacchaeus, he called him down and told him that he was coming over for dinner. He was overjoyed to have Jesus come and eat with him in his own house.

The people of the town had a different attitude. They were insulted! How could Jesus go into the house of a tax collector and eat with such a sinner. Once again, they were looking at the outward man. All they saw was a man who worked in a profession they hated and considered a betrayal of all they stood for. Zacchaeus was used to be rejected by everyone around him. He was used to being hated, after all, who likes the tax man. He was used to being judged and wearing the labels everyone put on him. But Jesus saw a man whose heart was given to God. He saw a giving, loving, and faithful man.

After this one encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus gave half of all he had to the poor and swore if he cheated anyone that he would repay them four times the amount.
 

Jesus did not ask Zacchaeus to do this. This was just what Zacchaeus felt God wanted of him. This was just the kind of man Zacchaeus was. This was the kind of man God always knew Zacchaeus could be. "This day salvation has come to this house," Jesus said. That day a camel did fit through the eye of a needle, because a rich man entered God's Kingdom.
 

Zacchaeus was not a collection of labels people put on him; tax collector, sinner, cheat, etc., he was not the mistakes he made; his identity was not in what he owned. No, he was a child of God on his way home.
 

His journey into the depths of himself began with his encounter with Jesus. My journey began in the same way. I asked God for about a year to help me see His will and to open up His word and show me what He wanted me to see. He showed me who He is and who He knew I could be. He made me fall in love with His Son and made me take a good hard look at the mission He gave Him.  I had always been concerned with what God wanted me to DO, but He really wanted to show me who I was made to BE. He showed me that underneath it all I had a heart like His. And you know what? You do too.
 

Seeing who God is, and understanding that all His children have the same heart and goal, helped me to see my part in His plan. I looked for some huge epiphany, and maybe that is what the rich young ruler expected, but it was no striking revelation, it was a simple truth I overlooked. I saw the heart of Christ displayed in action, the gospel summed up in four words: Go, Give, Love, Serve. Four things that God knows are key to use becoming who He intends for us to be.
 

Go where God calls you. Christ left the glory of Heaven and came to this world because it was God's will. Having a heart like Jesus means when I pray for God to guide me, I'm not afraid of the doors He opens, I have the courage to step through them. I worship with a man, a good friend, who left his home and all he had to live in the woods because God called him to leave it all, be still, and come to know Him. That is courage, that is faith, that is what the heart of Jesus looks like, and that is the man that God always knew this man could be. It may sound crazy to you, but isn't that what Jesus said about those who are born of the Spirit? Like the wind, no one understands where they come from or where they are going.

Give what you have. Jesus gave up heaven to give us access to it, He gave up life to give us life eternal, He gave up glory to sit us with him in heavenly realms, whatever He had, He gave. Having a heart like Jesus mean I stop focusing on all the things I don’t have to give and I give what I do have. My friend John never had wealth; he actually had very little materially. But John gave his time every day to come to River City Ministry and serve our poor and homeless friends. It did not matter how long a shift he just finished or how little sleep he had, time and love was what he had and that is what he gave to others for the glory of His God. God knew this was who John was, even when no one around him, not even John himself, could see it. When John came to know His God, he discovered the man he was meant to be, and that is the man he became.

Love actively. "Jesus loved his own who were in the world, and he loved them to the end," and that end was the cross. Having a heart like Jesus means love without limits. When I learn to live by His love it will change my life. Love your brothers and sisters, love your neighbor, love your fellow man, and love your enemy, for this is how you love God. How do I love? By serving.

Serve like the Savior. Jesus did not come to be served to be a servant to all and give His life as a ransom for many. Having a heart like Jesus means letting go of my pride. If I keep thinking “let someone else do that,” or I think anything that another person needs is below mine, I will never be a servant. If we wait to find someone we think deserves serving, we will miss those who need it. Or have we forgotten, Jesus washed everyone’s feet, not Just John’s, the only one who showed up at the foot of the cross.

I never knew I had it in me to be the kind of man who lived this way, but God did. Do you have the courage to stare into the depths of yourself and find the person God always knew you to be? Do you have the courage and dedication to remove anything that stands in the way of you becoming all you can be? Will you let Him recreate you in His image? Are you ready for a new life in Him? Which story will be yours? Will you sadly accept who the world says you are, turn from the master, and walk away? Or will you see what God sees in you, follow him and live a changed life? Only you can write the ending to your story. What will your story say you chose when you encountered the real Jesus?

 

Saints on the Street: A New Birth Story

My wife and I recently wrote the birth story of our youngest daughter, Dani. It was a hectic and even traumatic delivery and it was difficult but healing to sit down and put it all into words.

As you know, I post every Sunday afternoon, but this last weekend I had writers block. I made an attempt or two, but I just wasn't impressed with the attempts. If I don't draw you into the world of the inner city and the work that God is doing here, then I have not reached my goal. I told Kimberly that I was having trouble with my blog and she told me to take time and pray about it and let the Spirit guide me. I appreciated her godly advice, and that is exactly what I did.

Last night, I was laying in bed and suddenly it hit me. Share the new birth stories! As I sat and thought I was amazed by the similarities.

In physical birth, out of indescribable pain and chaos, a beautiful and perfect new life begins. It is no different in the new birth.

When Steven came into my office, it soon became obvious that he was carrying a heavy weight of guilt. Broken relationships with his family and his God were crippling him. Steven was in pain and his life was total chaos. Steven found himself homeless for the first time and, worse than that, he was separated from his God. "I Just feel totally lost," Steven told me. We talked about how we could find forgiveness in Christ, and seeing how God loves and forgives us can give us the power to forgive ourselves and others. We talked about baptism, but Steven said he wanted to make sure he knew what he was doing and that he did it for the right reason. Anthony and I gave him scriptures to look up and consider prayerfully. We talked through a lot of difficulties in the light of God's love and forgiveness over the next few days.

Thursday morning, Steven told all his friends on the street that he was going to be born again. Steven was immersed in Christ and his life was renewed. Out of all the trouble of Steven's situation, a beautiful and perfect new life began. Steven has since made great strides in restoring the other relationships in his life too. Satan has made many attacks against Steven, but through the power of Christ and the help of his brothers and sisters, Steven has overcome. Steven lead some of his friends to come and talk to me and we studied the Bible together. God has made a difference in Steven's life, and he is sharing that with the world. I am proud to call Steven my brother and to work side by side with him as we try to bring others to Christ.

Midst all the suffering, pain and trauma, hope rises anew. It is such a privilege to be able to witness the miracle of a new birth. Just as it's awe inspiring to watch a newborn grow, develop, learn, and change, it's just as amazing to watch the transformation Christ brings about in the life of one who is born again. God blessed me to be a part of this seven times in August! Praise God for all He does and all He is.

Finding Fruit in the Bushes

Speaking to a supporting church, I was given Gal. 5:22-23 as a text. My topic was evangelism, and I was given this topic because of my work in urban outreach.

 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Gal 5:22-23).

I was invited to speak in this summer series which highlighted chapters from Love More, Sin Less. In my chapter, the author focused on how these fruits should be present in the lives of the evangelist. This is true, no doubt. If you preach on the streets and do not walk your talk, you're in for a world of trouble. I found a level of Spiritualty among the poor and homeless that I never knew was present. In the inner city, you learn to depend on God because there is no one else to turn to. So, this urban culture believes in respect for God.

I was watched like a hawk when I first came to River City Ministry (RCM). I went to talk to people about God and asked if I could pray with people, and I was often met by cold stares and silence. I thought I was doing something wrong. It was not until a couple of weeks later that several of our people told me; "We were watching you to see how you live, to know if you're the kind'a man we want praying for us." Wow! I'd never considered that.

 

I had my eyes open to a lot of things. Just because someone is struggling with addiction, anger, and sin does not mean that they do not have vast spiritual knowledge. As a mater of fact, it can be quite the opposite. Struggles bring wisdom.

 

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4).

Along with having the fruit of the Spirit present in his life, the evangelist must also be able to recognize the fruit of the Spirit in others, even when it is not where he would expect to find it. Working in God's vineyard is not all about planting new seed, it is about cultivating what is already planted.

 

The branches are not always growing up nice white arbors like we would like to see them. This is what we like to convince people "at church" that our branches look like. The seed was planted in the best tilled and fertilized soil already prepared with nice structures for the branches to take hold of. But is that really the case? Have we fooled ourselves?

 

If we are honest, the fields of our hearts are probably tough rows to hoe. That soil may have some rocks in it, it may be a little dry, maybe it's flooded in places, there's probably some weedy patches, the PH level might be a little off, and some hard tilling wouldn't hurt.

 

It's easy to overlook all of that in our own field, but why is it so easy to see in others? What an amazing testimony to those living on the streets that in the midst of weeds and thorns, they grow! It show's the power of our God and the effect of His Word. In the inner city, for anything to grow it has to break through the cement and asphalt to reach the light of day, yet it happens!

 

But should it really be that surprising? If you get samples from both soils, you will find that, though the pollutants are different, they are very similar and cause the same problems. Is the woman on the street who sells her body because of her broken past that different from the man addicted to internet pornography? Is the man we call a staggering drunk because he drinks to numb his pain all that different from the man who claims he is a social drinker, while ignoring the fact that he has a drinking problem, and drinks "just to take the edge off" his day? Somehow the "user" on the street who spends his last dime to get a fix is more of a sinner than the men and women who accumulate debt to have the high of knowing that they live as well, or better, than their neighbors. Is the man who walks out on his children to pursue a selfish life all that different from the father that misses his child's life working hard to give his child "the life he never had."

 

None of these things are right, godly, or of the Spirit. All are sin. All can keep a person from his God or be an ever present temptation to the person who is trying to live for his Lord. The difference is that some of us don't have the luxury of hiding our sins under well formulated layers.

 

Get over the differences and don't see some one who is vastly different than you are. See someone, rather, that is in the same boat. A man or woman changed by the Word, yet struggling to make their life match what they read. See a child digging deep to find the image of God in himself. Be humble enough, be loving enough, be patient enough to see the fruit that is present. Thank God for the change He has brought about so far, and don't make the mistake of calling common what He has made holy!

 

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came for the sick. He called the poor, the lame, and the blind out of the highways and the bushes (sadly, that is still where you will find many of them sleeping because they have nowhere else to go), He invited them to His Father's feast. (Luke 14:23).

 

From a human standpoint, that crowd sounds like bruised fruit, like some worm-eaten branches. But not to my God. No, this was His guest list. I know that elsewhere the Lord talks about those attending the feast wearing clean wedding garments (Matt. 22:11-14), but do you think they snapped their fingers and that happened? Or don't you remember that it was the blood of Christ, and that alone, which made your garments clean?

  

It is not our job to fix anyone. But, if we look at others with compassion, as Jesus did, if we recognize the fruit God is producing, we may be able to "strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees." Or, perhaps you will find someone who can help you with you shaking hands and knocking knees.

 

Thursday, Mark spent a sleepless night in the bushes. Mark is new to homelessness. He always had a steady job, a roof over his head, and money in his pocket until his injury. He lost his job because he was physically unable to do it, he lost his home because he had no way of paying the rent, and his disability battles are going nowhere fast. With one fractured and two herniated vertebrae and brain damage from the accident, it is clear that Mark is not trying to milk the system, he needs help. So, a man who is in enough pain in a bed is sleeping in the dirt under the cover of bushes, praying the police don't run him out again.

 

Friday, a very tired and downtrodden Mark came to RCM. Despite all his troubles, Mark came in with a smile. We was very friendly and even offered to make me a cup of coffee. He had just sat down, and I saw what pain it was for him to get up and down, so I thanked him but fixed my own cup and sat down to have a drink with him. I asked him how his walk with the Lord was and he said he needed to talk to someone about it. Mark was already reading his Bible and was trying to make a change in his way of living but was often discouraged by his life situation. "My saddest realization, was that I have squandered my whole life and never spent any of it on God. I just wish I could go back and change that." When I told him that he could be born again, be a child in Christ, and live the new life that God gave him for God, having wasted nothing... there are no words for the joy I saw in Him.

 

God's word made an impression, God was already working on Mark, all he needed was someone to tell him that he could live for God and God would forgive him and make him new. After he was baptized, Mark took his turn and taught me. Mark started to make my feeble knees firmer, because I still felt a little fear each time I went to talk to someone about God, but not Mark. Mark walked up to everyone and talked to them about God and how he could make anyone new. You cannot stop this guy!

 

You see, God often intertwines His branches so that they support each other. Try to take apart a vine. Notice how the tendrils of one branch rap around another. It's not about me, it's not about you, it's about us. Do we take the time and have the heart to see what God is doing in the lives of another? If we do not, we will find that no matter how far we reach out, we find nothing but air, and when we don't have any other branches to grab onto, that is when we start drooping.  

When I think of the fruit of the Spirit, I think of my friends on the street. I think of the Love that Bernie, DJ, and James (I will share his story another time) show me when they have only known me about two months.

I think of the Joy that Mark has because God saved him and give his life meaning, and Steve, who believes that every day is a "mighty fine day," no matter what is going on with him. I think of John and B. Right who stand up in the middle of the hottest conflicts and say "We are all about Peace here, let's make sure we have peace today!" And Tiberius, who finds his peace in talking to God.

I think of the Patience that those mentioned above, and so many more, had with me and my cultural and spiritual shortcomings.

I think of the Kindness that George showed me when I was down over the loss of a friend be reminding me that we are told to rejoice when people leave this world, and the way that my friends at RCM turn up to support me when I speak locally.

I think of how many of my friends at RCM are Faithful to God when the hedges have been taken down from around them and Satan takes all that he can away from them to try to make them curse God.

I Think of how many times it has hit me that Tiberius is too Gentile for the harsh life he is faced with each day and somehow he does not let it make him hard or bitter.

I think of the Self-control of my good friend Lorry, who has been 8 months sober, and how God is his new addiction.

This is why I am an evangelist. Because I need it as much as the ones I speak to every day need it. We need each other, and we all need God. I just thank God for the part He allows me to play in His kingdom.

 

Then Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father takes care of the vineyard. He removes every one of my branches that doesn't produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit. "You are already clean because of what I have told you. Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me. "I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can't produce anything without me. Whoever doesn't live in me is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Branches like this are gathered, thrown into a fire, and burned. If you live in me and what I say lives in you, then ask for anything you want, and it will be yours. You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit and therefore show that you are my disciples. (John 15:1-8)

Party Up In Heaven

Friday August 9th was just another day, or so I thought as I rolled in at 7:30 that morning. I'm the apprentice to River City Ministry's Executive Director and Evangelist. I'm an urban evangelist with much needed training wheels. Every day, my God reminds me that I have no clue what I'm doing, I am here to learn and depend on Him.

I showed up droopy eyed, because we have a beautiful two week old baby girl, and somehow even the one who doesn't stay awake the whole night with the new born manages to feel like they did. God bless my wife! Anyway, I don't usually come in on Fridays, Fridays are family days, but Anthony (the Executive Director) was out of town and Paul (the Operations Director) was out of the country. I was glad to do it, a little proud of the fact that I was trusted to be the man of the house, so to speak, and a little afraid of the responsibility.

I was getting ready for a trip to Georgia to speak to one of my supporting churches, and getting ready to speak at River City Church for the first time since moving here. I thought I was ready for the latter, but Anthony has been teaching me how to speak to the urban culture. I love this form of speaking, but it is new to me because I spent the last 8ish years speaking to white churches who were, for the most part, more middle class. I tell you all this so you can understand that I was tempted to stay in the office and work on my sermon. I could always leave the door open in case anyone wanted to talk.

But that's not my job. I have left the days of the desk job behind. Now I am an evangelist. I'm glad for the change; for the last few years I have wanted to be a minister and not a preacher. I did not want to spend my time preparing lessons for those who are saved or have "enough Jesus" in their lives. God was pushing me to really get out there and serve. God bless our brothers who dedicate their lives to teaching and encouraging the saints, we need you, and I appreciate every effort made to push the comfortable church member out of their comfort zone and into the Lord's work. But it was time for me to step out of my own comfort zone and do what I knew God wanted from me.

Now my job is to try to teach those who come to River City Ministry, a day center for the poor and homeless, about Jesus. I had a bunch of Bible studies and lots of times of prayer with those who showed an interest, and was even able to help seven people renew their walk with God, but I had not been able to lead anyone to the water for baptism. I pray everyday as I get ready for work that God will open the heart of those who need to change, that He will help me see who they are or that He will bring them to me, and that He will give me His words and His heart so that I can lead them to Him. Today was the day that this all happened.

Everyone I talked to that morning was glad to take the time and talk about God. When I asked them if they would like to sit and pray with me, everyone said yes. Two people even asked to pray for me! I was grateful for the prayers, I sure need them. I saw two men who I tried to help get set up with a P.O. Box at the Day Recourse Center and was talking with them when a man came in who was an answer to my daily prayer. He was there to talk and I knew that he was someone I was supposed to talk to. I asked him if we could sit and pray together and our prayer time developed into a Bible study. Mike shared his struggles and we talked about how he could begin his walk with Jesus. He had faith in Jesus and was ready to change his life, as we studied about counting the cost of discipleship and began discussing baptism, he told me that this was what he needed and he was ready to make it count.

During our talk, Mama B poked her head in to say hello and I told her the good news of my new friend's decision to give his life to the Lord. She asked if she could come along, and as she went to gather her stuff, a friend asked her where she was going. When a man I have never seen before heard her say that she was on the way to a baptism, he asked her if anyone could be baptized! She said, "You better come talk to Steven." God was filling the nets as fast as I could draw them in!

We sat and talked and Bill told me he was ready to give his life to the Lord, he just wanted to make sure that he knew how and that he didn't fall back into sin. So we talked about what a commitment he was making and how by God's help he could keep walking the walk after he was born again.

So, off we went rejoicing, just as God was rejoicing with His angels in heaven. We waved good by to their old lives and old identities, and welcomed two of God's newborn babes with warm embraces. On the ride back, Mike shared that he wanted to be a voice for God but wasn't sure how to start. I told him to just share how good God is, to share how God was patient with him, and how He give him a new life and would do the same for them. We stopped at a church that hands out sack meals so Mike and Bill could grab a meal to save for dinner (both men are homeless). When we got there, Mike talked to everyone he saw about how good his God is! God is busy in Mike's life, because Mike learned what it is to surrender to him.

When we got back for lunch, I announced the wonderful news that two of the Shepherd's wandering sheep were carried back to His fold. In the middle of the announcement, I kid you not, a man interrupted and said; "Can you baptize me when you're done?" HA! Isn't our God awesome!

This was Marshall. We had talked three days ago about him coming to the Lord! He had never heard the parable of the prodigal son, and when he did it brought him to tears. We talked about what he needed to do and he said he wanted to be baptized, but not today. I warned him about putting it off, but I didn't want to pressure him into anything. Anthony talked to him and had him promise that he would at least come back the next day, after study and prayer, to talk more about it. He said he would. before he left that day he said, "It won't be tomorrow, it will be Thursday." I was concerned that he was putting it off and that he wouldn't show. Well, Thursday came and went and there was no sign of Marshall.

Thursday, before Anthony left, he told me, "That happens, but then again, he may show up tomorrow, ready to go. Some times the days you're not expecting anything are the days when you have more responses than you do the whole week." As you can tell, Anthony has been at this for a while, he knows how the inner city flows and how God likes to surprise us.

God filled the nets, I pulled in the fish, and God cleaned them. When you become fishers for men, you never know when God will bring the big haul or which side you will be fishing on when it happens. But when my God delivers, He really delivers. The day I don't usually come in, became the day that I'm glad I didn't miss. My God is great! He delivers souls, changes lives, and enriches the lives of all those who He uses in the process.

That day, a brother who had never been able to baptize anyone came with us and was able to baptize Marshall. He was so happy that he cried. He, Mama B, two others who came with us, and I were so happy about God letting us be there to witness three of his children come home that we could talk of nothing else the rest of the day. There was partying on earth and in Heaven that day, and the three men who gave their lives to him were the guests of honor.