When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. Acts 27:20
Sitting on the beach all by myself, I listened to each wave crash onto the shore. It was so soothing. I sat there thinking on the beauty of each wave. I looked out and saw waves start to form and as they got closer to shore it grew and then it crashed. Every wave was different. I could only think that there could not be anything more beautiful. Then I looked in the distance and I saw it. It was a darkness filling the skies. It was headed right for me on the beach. I sat there on the log that has been beat up by many high tides. I thought to myself, do I head back to the house or ride the storm out? I'll be honest, I was frightened by the thought of this storm beating down on me. All of a sudden it was there. The light beaming down from the sky never left me and the storm stayed only a few stone throws away. I watched the lightning strike first on land then it entered the ocean. Then the magical roar of thunder and sound of rain on the water. The waves pounded on the shore louder than it was when I first arrived on the beach. For about twenty minutes, I was alone on the beach and it was amazing! I felt such a peace about me. Even though such a storm was swirling around me and the violence of the storm moved across the ocean right in front of me, I was free. Nothing back home mattered. I was in the presence of the power of God and nothing could have ruined that moment. I was having something I longed for- peace of mind.
I know when we write on our blog, we talk about being out and how we need to get people to join us in our ministry. I talk how it is our duty to our Lord to complete his commandment to spread the word of Christ. Guess what? I might do it again. Not going to lie, I believe that it's every Christians' responsibility to follow our Lord and talk about Him. But what about something a little different?What about the simple four letter word HOPE?
That small word means so much. Do you ever wonder if you didn't have any hope in your life? What if you didn't know the promise that Christ has given us? You live day to day waiting for death, not knowing what happens after life. I wonder about our friends on the street. Start Saturday night, they have just seen their friends from Church and it seems like everything is good. The sounds of their friends voices talking and the laughter that we share together. Then after the churches have made their rounds and they begin to see the darkness coming their way. The week coming, bringing darkness with simple things that to us is no big deal, but worrying about things such as eating and clean clothes, caring for their family, and even being just a face on the street with nobody to love them, frightens them. Sunday hits and the storm gets closer. However, they have no where to run. The only hope they had was a visit that has already passed. The thoughts keep pounding in their head like those waves, I talked about beating over and over. How do they face this week? How do they face this storm?
Unlike my experience, the storm I witnessed was a beautiful thing, but the storm our street friends face is dark, ugly and very scary. There is no peace of mind, but fear of the heart. How do you and I help shelter them from the storm? Like the scripture above, if the storm keeps raging, you will give up all hope. There is a reason that the word hope was added to the fruits of the spirit. It is one of the many things that as humans we need in order to live a fruitful life.
Let me be honest. I am afraid of most everything in my life. I over think things and the darkness sets in and I end up in a place that is scary. Yes, when it comes to homeless and trafficking, I am not afraid of anything except whether I stumble someone. But, like the homeless, Sunday night, I see the storm coming. My week of fear starts to develop. Most of the time, I am able to find my hope. Most of the time it's in the Bible, sometimes it's found with my wife. I even have wonderful friends that allow me to call. Everything I mentioned, comes from the source of hope- Jesus Christ. It's kind of like sitting on that log on the beach. The storm is heading my way, but it never hits me. I held on to that peace of mind, I held onto that hope.
We live in the world ran by Satan. He is the ruler of where we live. He loves that so many of our friends have no hope. Until Jesus comes again that will continue. So, the question remains. Do we let him continue to keep the storm raging or do we sound the sirens and spread the hope that we are so lovingly given? I'm all for sounding the alarms and spreading the hope. I watched the movie every week with some very good friends "The Bible". Last week we witnessed the ultimate act of hope. Jesus Christ riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The hope in all the eyes of his believers were amazing. Now granted, I know they were all actors, but could you imagine the real deal? Seeing Christ actually arriving and giving everyone hope? Okay, now I am a real big guy, and I think if a donkey saw me coming to ride him around downtown serving the homeless, this donkey would pass out or even have a heart attack. So, maybe we better keep me in our van. But the message is the same. We can fight this storm and we can provide hope to so many. I know we might give some moments of hope that would last an hour, but I also have seen the hope we give last for years. I have seen friends on the street, find a lasting hope. To be honest, when you see that, you know you have given glory to our Lord and that my friends is the rainbow at the end of the storm.
Let me tell you a story. A couple of weeks ago, I had received a message from a friend from my childhood. He informed me that he had fallen on hard times. I was scared to call him. I was terrified that I would not have the words that needed to be said. I ignored my friend, and I continued to keep busy and I just couldn't call him. I felt horrible, that I had a friend from my past that needed me, because he was facing his own storm and I was not helping him. So, after prayer I called him. He had lost hope. Then he informed me that by reading things on facebook and watching from a distance, he decided to attend church. He was able to speak to the pastor and when I finally called him he found hope. Now finding hope and keeping it are two different subjects. I find hope all the time, but to keep it, I have to keep finding it and remember the promises that Christ had given us.
I know that in the last several months, we have really limited our blogs. Why? Simple we let Satan win. We have let other ministries and people use harsh words and really affect my thinking on serving the homeless. Although I love serving our campers, I let people that have served with us, people that we have helped in their ministries talk trash and to the point that I began to believe what they say. Then it hit me, just because they are serving our homeless does not mean the Holy Spirit is with them. It also means that Satan could be using them as my storm. So, to those who have written me asking me to blog, I am sorry. We are a family serving. We serve our Lord. Whether through the blog or on the streets, we will spread hope as our Father has done for us.
A personal message to Satan. You have taken a lot from me these last two years. HOWEVER, Christ my savior and King has given me more than you could ever take. So, as a famous man once said, GET BEHIND ME SATAN!!!!!
And to my friend Rob- You have been in my prayers a long time. Right now as you read this, I have already asked many of my friends to send prayers your way. Your storm is just coming, because you have found your way to Christ. That is not what the ruler of this world wants. Keep your hope alive!You have friends that don't even know you. When we were younger late at night you would sneak to my parents home and knock on the window and we would leave the house and find trouble. Now it's Christ's turn to be the thief in the night and he is coming my brother and you have started your journey just in time. Keep your walk on that narrow path and I will always be there for you. Your family has just become world wide. You are not alone anymore.
To my friends reading this, my family is here for you as well. It's time to look at the storm and know that the sun will appear again and stars will shine and the hope is alive. Keep the hope in Christ alive and your friends in our home, our ministry and all the Churches that are part of our ministry will be there when you need us. Not if you need us, because while that punk Satan is large and in charge, we will always have that raging storm and we will always have the need for that four letter word- HOPE.
God Bless,
Your Brother in Christ
No comments:
Post a Comment