I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know this last weekend I found something I thought I lost for good. What a wonderful feeling that was. Makes you wonder what I lost, huh?
So, this last weekend we did not go out and serve our homeless, and to be honest it was both nice to spend the day with my wife, but I did miss everything that we do for the homeless. The friends that help us, and the campers we serve.
So, today at church we where asked to give money to our church in order that some church in India can get a new van. I thought about this, and decided that this was not something my family is interested in doing. I know it's kind of a personal choice to share with you, but I am not very good at keeping things to myself. I thought about the meaning a Christmas and what the needs of our community. One of the first things I thought of was not Light of Salvation or the campers. It was of the churches out there that are trying to find a permanent home. I believe that here in the States the church is under heavy attack. I see people gathering in old run down bars and High Schools in order to worship our God. And I think of Pastor Steve, Brother Critter, Brother Brian Jones and the new Pastor Bart are preachers of God's word that I have come to respect and if you ever get a chance to hear them speak, then you really should. These brothers give to the community and they have the love of Christ and I pray I have the courage to follow in their examples. They have taken the ministry outside the walls of the traditional church and showed Satan that it does not matter where you are God can send his Holy Spirit and escort Satan out, out of the mind where he is loves to infest. I notice it is those people that make an effort to worship where they can, they really appreciate what ministry is all about. They have a fire in them that is burning, and it is wonderful to watch. You can see that they have not fallen into the laid back life, pay a tithe and call it worshiping Christ. I believe Christ deserves to be worshipped on a daily basis and not just on Sunday. I know those might be strong words, but I have seen the difference. I have seen churches develop clicks and these are the members that get used at church, and if your not part of a click then you are a face in the crowd. But these churches I talked about earlier, they become a family. And a family serving Christ is the strongest form of service there is against Satan.
I know in my life, I am part of a ministry that we believe that our serving Christ is through our action in showing the love of our God by serving the homeless. I cannot imagine doing anything else. As I have said before our family has surrounded ourselves with the most God fearing Christians I have ever met. Due to that love of Christ, our ministry has been able to serve allot of people. I thank God for everyone that serves with us all the time. It is a true testament of what the Holy Spirit can do.
After our meeting a couple of weeks ago after our LOS meeting, she mentioned that it is so wonderful to watch the Holy Spirit in action. We have talked about doing things with LOS and now a year and half these things are happening. Not because of things we are doing, but because the Holy Spirit is working.
It's like writing a book and someone decides to make a movie, and you get to watch it. It's the best feeling you can have.
So, now as we head into the Christmas season, how do we show Gods love to our campers. I believe that it is simple, we get our campers into church. We get our campers to listen to the word, and read the word. We can feed them every weekend, but what good is it if we are not feeding the soul. So, this month I think a prayer circle should become a circle of Christian worship. It will be simple, we will bring out something that has to do with serving our Lord, and we will give them hope. I know I hate talking in front of people, I am not afraid to say that, but I also know that there reaches a time to bypass the comfort zone and bring the Word out, in order to bring our campers to Christ.
It's a funny thing about the Bible. You read it and use the words in it, it improves your life. I know from experience. There has been times that I have had a very bad day and I pick up this book and I read no more than a few sentences and my day is changed. I feel the Holy Spirit take over and if we can show our campers that when God sends the Holy Spirit it can help them beat anything. Homelessness, addiction, abuse, hunger, and anything else that they have problems with. Just writing this I can feel the urge to spread this powerful tool God uses to help us with life. The hard part is getting them to trust. Trust, a five letter word that can make you are break you. Trust, a word that has taken me 44 years to figure out, and even to this day I have a problem with. I am just thankful that not only do I have good friends that I have learned to trust, but I have the understanding of a great wife.
So, a very little update. There has been an increase in the street living homeless. We have our work cut out for us. I know that we have made some awesome plans to celebrate Christmas. We will be sending out details soon. And please don't forget about the prayer vigil next Sunday at Greenlawn. It will be the first for LOS.
Once again, thanks for serving with us, and your friendship. This ministry is ours as a group, and I am so happy to be part of this ministry with all of you.
God Bless,
Michael
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