Have you ever owned a pair of shoes that you just love so much. They are old, maybe tore up inside. They might be wore down and even beyond repair. Your husband, wife or maybe mom or dad always are telling you that you need to get rid of them. To you they are the best and the are comfortable and you just can't get rid of them. I have several pairs like that. In my house if it has a hole in them they somehow come up missing. It could be shoes or a piece of clothing, but if my wife notices that there is something wrong with it, it is history. I have one pair of shoes that I have worn for a very long time. I put them on and they are like they where made just for my feet. The only reason I still have them is because I fond a loop hole in my wife's theory. "Honey these shoes will be perfect for the times I want to go fishing." I said it and guess what, it worked. Well maybe not after she reads this. But how did those shoes get so comfortable? It is because we put on a new pair and wore them until they where just right.
Why would I bring up an example like this? Well, we founded our ministry for several reasons. The first in order to bring glory to our God. Second reason is to help others find the same love for our friends on the street that God has gifted us. And I know we have achieved both visions. I also know it took several months of hardship to realize that we where getting to comfortable in our position. And it was time to get rid of the old pair of shoes. We lost sight of our vision and instead of bringing glory to our Lord, we were feeding the mouths of the homeless, but we where not feeding the soul. We were allowing others to change our vision. It became a day of fast food and a prayer. How was that bringing glory to God?
I am always talking about having fun with our ministry, and to be honest it really has not been that fun for awhile. For the last few months, we stopped letting Jesus run the ministry and we let man decide. Even though it's very important to share the privilege of leading a ministry, it is an obligation to God to fulfill the vision he has entrusted to the person who he has granted this vision. It talks in the Bible about trusting God with all your heart and do not lean onto you own understanding. I strongly believe that with the second part of the verse your own understanding may be influenced by others.
I understand that the love our friends have for the homeless is pure, and I know the difference between a person that has God's Glory in mind while serving verses serving in order to feel good about themselves. And honestly I have only run into the persons that want to feel good about themselves on very rare occasions. We have been so blessed to see so many wonderful people serve. Not only have we been able to see so many serve along side of us, that we also get to see the result of what we do out on the streets. I have seen an amazing transformation of a fireman from not being able to talk in public about Christ to him and his wife starting a group on another day. Being able to see that is amazing. Or a sister that I respect be able to talk with me about being nervous about praying in our prayer circles, to saying the most amazing prayer. The smile she had after was not only because she prayed, but because along with public prayer comes a very closeness with our Lord. I have seen so many wonderful things, and now it's time to go back to the beginning and let God lead our ministry again. I am so happy with what these last three weeks have done for our ministry. I had a vision on what I wanted to see with LOS and I cannot wait to get back to doing what my family does best, serving our God and showing our homeless friends that not only do we love them, not only can we fed and clothe them, but we have the ability to share hope for them. With a message of hope from our Lord is the most powerful item we can supply them.
As some of you heard, Tom & Stacy Jordan had felt the Holy Spirit move in their lives and will be serving on another day. They have founded a new group and I am so proud of them. As any leader you first feel sad about the division, but when you sit back and look at the fact that God has gifted us with the ability to train others to go out and serve our Lord as we have. That is a huge gift from God. I guess you can call it a God bonus. I pray Brother and Sister Jordan continue to bless the homeless as they have blessed the lives of our family.
So, going back to the being comfortable, I will have to say God does not want you to be comfortable all the time. God has put us in a ministry where being comfortable is not in the job description. We spend the weekends hot in the summer and freezing in the winter. That's the easy part. Leaving our friends on the streets sometime kids, sometimes elderly, a lot of times friends that have injuries, but leaving them is so very hard. If I could bring everyone I meet on the streets home with us, I would, and my wife and kids agree with me. So when does it get comfortable? The answer came last week.
"The greatest cause in the world is joyfully rescuing people from hell, meeting their earthly needs, making them glad in God, and doing it with a kind, serious pleasure that makes Christ look like the Treasure He is." - John Piper
I know that this blog is about the homeless, but I think I need to talk about how God works in our lives. Saturday afternoon is about football. I love college football like nothing else. Then my wife and I felt the calling to do homeless and now I find that Saturday's means homeless and serving our friends. That is not being uncomfortable, but how about uprooting several families and starting a new church? We recently become part of a church plant. The Pastor is young and honestly I had a very hard time to think that I could listen or learn from someone so young, and he has a brother that I have sat down with to talk to and he showed me something. God does not care about your age. When God wants to use you, he will give you the tools to do his will. These brothers are the most amazing God fearing men that I have ever met. And the bonus is that they brought their friends Kevin, his wife Kari, and even a wonderful young lady named Bethany. You throw Pastor Ben's wife in there and you have an army of the most wonderful Christians I have ever met. They walk the streets and spread the word. They have joined us in our ministry and even more they have taught me so many lessons. They are the true hands and feet. I know that they love Christ, but I also know they have a true love for their fellow man. I know they feel the pain when someone in our church is hurting and I know they feel the joy when they see you coming through the front doors for Sunday service. They came with nothing but the true love for Christ. That's leaving the comfort zone, and entering the Godly zone. There is no better place to be. We welcome our new friends to our lives, and thank you God for sending them into our lives at the perfect time.
So, what next? It is simple. We serve our Lord. We don't worry whether God will provide, because he will. Don't worry what God wants us to do, because he will tell us. Don't worry about being comfortable because we don't want to be. I know now that when we are comfortable doing God's will, we might not really be doing what Jesus wants us to be doing. Do you think Jesus was comfortable hanging from the cross, when he was dying for you and I? Pretty sure the answer is no.
Michael
I ask you pray with me:
Our Lord God,
Here I am, send me. Your work will be done faithfully. I pray that my actions will bring you glory and I am able to spread your word to the friends on the streets. I pray that they hear, understand and accept your love through their hard times. I pray that my family is a example of your love and we can demonstrate all things in your love. God please protect our friends both on the streets and the ones out there sharing your love as our group has done for several years, because you have allowed us to serve you in this wonderful ministry. Lord thank you for my family. Not just the ones I have at home, but the ones from our ministry and our Church. God we are not asking to serve where we find comfort, but to serve where the need is great. God you are a truly wonderful father and we love you.
Your servant,
Michael Hogan
As some of you heard, Tom & Stacy Jordan had felt the Holy Spirit move in their lives and will be serving on another day. They have founded a new group and I am so proud of them. As any leader you first feel sad about the division, but when you sit back and look at the fact that God has gifted us with the ability to train others to go out and serve our Lord as we have. That is a huge gift from God. I guess you can call it a God bonus. I pray Brother and Sister Jordan continue to bless the homeless as they have blessed the lives of our family.
So, going back to the being comfortable, I will have to say God does not want you to be comfortable all the time. God has put us in a ministry where being comfortable is not in the job description. We spend the weekends hot in the summer and freezing in the winter. That's the easy part. Leaving our friends on the streets sometime kids, sometimes elderly, a lot of times friends that have injuries, but leaving them is so very hard. If I could bring everyone I meet on the streets home with us, I would, and my wife and kids agree with me. So when does it get comfortable? The answer came last week.
"The greatest cause in the world is joyfully rescuing people from hell, meeting their earthly needs, making them glad in God, and doing it with a kind, serious pleasure that makes Christ look like the Treasure He is." - John Piper
His name is Frances. He has stepped out of those comfortable shoes. My friend on the streets, has thrown his faith in Christ. He has joined our family as a Christian brother. Several months ago, Frances laid his body across a train track and waited for the next train to come and that would end it. He constantly was drunk and fighting with everyone. But with the help of his Christian friends and a wonderful church family the Agape Christian Church. The love they shared with Frances and the transformation our brother has had can only be called a true God thing. Frances is living at the YMCA and trying to get his own place. He has found Christ again. He has stepped out of those old comfortable shoes and now he is walking in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ. The seed was planted and now we watch what Christ is doing in Frances life. Frances has shed the old pair and now it's time to break the new ones in. Welcome to our family, Brother Frances.
I know that this blog is about the homeless, but I think I need to talk about how God works in our lives. Saturday afternoon is about football. I love college football like nothing else. Then my wife and I felt the calling to do homeless and now I find that Saturday's means homeless and serving our friends. That is not being uncomfortable, but how about uprooting several families and starting a new church? We recently become part of a church plant. The Pastor is young and honestly I had a very hard time to think that I could listen or learn from someone so young, and he has a brother that I have sat down with to talk to and he showed me something. God does not care about your age. When God wants to use you, he will give you the tools to do his will. These brothers are the most amazing God fearing men that I have ever met. And the bonus is that they brought their friends Kevin, his wife Kari, and even a wonderful young lady named Bethany. You throw Pastor Ben's wife in there and you have an army of the most wonderful Christians I have ever met. They walk the streets and spread the word. They have joined us in our ministry and even more they have taught me so many lessons. They are the true hands and feet. I know that they love Christ, but I also know they have a true love for their fellow man. I know they feel the pain when someone in our church is hurting and I know they feel the joy when they see you coming through the front doors for Sunday service. They came with nothing but the true love for Christ. That's leaving the comfort zone, and entering the Godly zone. There is no better place to be. We welcome our new friends to our lives, and thank you God for sending them into our lives at the perfect time.
So, what next? It is simple. We serve our Lord. We don't worry whether God will provide, because he will. Don't worry what God wants us to do, because he will tell us. Don't worry about being comfortable because we don't want to be. I know now that when we are comfortable doing God's will, we might not really be doing what Jesus wants us to be doing. Do you think Jesus was comfortable hanging from the cross, when he was dying for you and I? Pretty sure the answer is no.
Michael
I ask you pray with me:
Our Lord God,
Here I am, send me. Your work will be done faithfully. I pray that my actions will bring you glory and I am able to spread your word to the friends on the streets. I pray that they hear, understand and accept your love through their hard times. I pray that my family is a example of your love and we can demonstrate all things in your love. God please protect our friends both on the streets and the ones out there sharing your love as our group has done for several years, because you have allowed us to serve you in this wonderful ministry. Lord thank you for my family. Not just the ones I have at home, but the ones from our ministry and our Church. God we are not asking to serve where we find comfort, but to serve where the need is great. God you are a truly wonderful father and we love you.
Your servant,
Michael Hogan
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