Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Homeless Feast Update



"Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay." 1 Peter 4:9

"The kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned . . . I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them. . ." Isaiah 58:6-7

There is power in living out the mandates of Christ. We never have to wonder if Jesus blesses things he has already commanded us to do, we are always in a win-win situation.

New Years Day was an unbelievable display of the glory, love and life of Jesus pouring through the unified Body of Christ! There are not words to adequately describe the scene. There is something incredibly powerful about welcoming people into your home, especially poor wanderers. Maybe it's powerful because it's the kind of fasting God is asking of us. There were deep spiritual connections made with the people as we clothed them with new outfits and gave over our possessions. Maybe it was supernatural because the concept was born and thrives in the heart of God. It was miraculous to see the abundance of food and to have dozens of plates leftover for our new friends to pass out to their friends on the streets afterward. Freely we receive, freely we MUST give!

Twenty-seven homeless men and women, thirty one people sacrificing their comfort, time, and resources to love the "unlovely." Seventy-five plus people (when we added all the little kids running around) in about 2200 sq feet of home. And the Glory and Peace of God reigned down on the little plot of land in Canby, OR. Toward the end of the party, after showers, new clothes, hair cuts, full stomachs and good fellowship, someone made the comment that it was difficult to determine who was homeless and who was "serving." No one left unmoved by the Spirit of God and His love poured out.

Here are some personal testimonies of those who were impacted.

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**"Wow" is definitely how I feel after today. I must be honest, I had my hesitations about all of it. The Lord truly had a hilarious time proving my stupid little worries wrong. HA! I am humbled beyond words and changed forever. I believe that was actually the first time I had ever had a conversation with a homeless person, let alone 27 of them!
The most touching moment I had (although, I had many of them) was Frank's face when he sat down and started talking to Amy and I. He was overwhelmed by it all and just started crying. He was eating potato chips and coffee, trying very hard not to show emotions and then he said, "I don't know why I'm so emotional, is the Holy Spirit emotional?" YES!!! "Jesus loves you!" said Amy. I was speechless.

**They all have been running through my head all evening and names have actually stuck with me. I truly hope to see them all again.

**I know that yesterday was totally as much for me as for the people that came. His abundance is beyond what we could ever imagine and I know He longs to pour out through His people if we are only willing.

**I loved every minute of it, and had to drag my kids away
when the time came to leave! I wanted to stay and had a hard time leaving.

**So one of my favorite moments of yesterday was when I walked around the corner and saw Hannah (a girl about 10-12 years old) sitting at a table with one of our guests. She was talking and laughing with him - genuinely engaging him in conversation - she was not self conscious or uncomfortable. He was asking her questions and she was asking him questions. It was clear that they were definitely enjoying themselves . . . Oh Jesus, please let me become like a child . . .

**One man on the drive back to the streets said in very broken English, "My favorite part was watching one of the men playing and wrestling with the children. It reminded of my childhood in Mexico when my cousins and I would play and wrestle and family was everything, that made my day!"

**On returning to their home (the street), the life, hope and joy that poured out of our new friends was astonishing. Immediately they began sharing stories with their friends of how they had just had a party and introduced the drivers as their new family! They boasted of how awesome their time was fellowshipping, watching football and kickin' back. They were talking about how it wasn't even "preachy," they just felt loved. All of them asked if we would come visit them again and invited us to their "home."

**One of the men on the way back to the street said, "This is the best New Year's Day I've EVER had." And his buddy sitting next to him said, "Forget New Year's Day! This is the best DAY I've ever had!"

**A few families donated brand new backpacks. One of the women who bought some knew they were to buy one pink one. As Tammy interacted with Donna, she was able to offer her the pink backpack and Donna exclaimed with joy and delight, "It's EVEN PINK!"

**One friend knew he was supposed to bring a really nice watch he owned to give away. At one point in the day as he passed out clothes, the Lord led him to ask a man if he had a watch. The homeless man said, "Well, sort of" as he showed Nate the smashed face of his "gold" watch. It was so smashed, you couldn't even tell the time. Nate was able to give him a new watch with great joy and thankfulness!
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We didn't have to preach with words. Our lives were the living, tangible evidence to Frank, Monica, Buzz, Sean, Michael, Laurel, Abdur, Poncho, Jose, Linda, Lawrence, Roy, William, Jared and the rest, that Jesus loves them! Did we pray for people? Yep, when they were asking for pray, as they wept and repented on the floor! Did we tell them of Jesus love? Yes, when the wide open door in conversation led us and it would have been awkward NOT to share of Jesus’ love! Did everyone repent? Did everyone pray? Did everyone hear the words "Jesus loves you?" No, but every person in that house "experienced the love of God though it's so great we'll never fully understand it (Eph 3:19 NLT)." God's favor and Presence was leading the whole day. We didn’t need to preach to them they came begging us to share about freedom in Christ. We just had a party. That's it. Food, football, chess, conversations, laughing, weeping, showers, clothes, backpacks, coats, new friends, and JESUS were elements of this incredible New Year's Day!

I am thankful for organizations that are daily ministering and providing for the poor and homeless. I am grateful for the institutional churches that are making headway for the Kingdom of God in the places of poverty and hopelessness. But Jesus did not give the mandate to love the poor, invite poor wanderers into homes, and clothe the naked to organizations and institutions. He gave those mandates to the BODY. That's you and me. The church, in God's mind, is not institutional or religious. In Scripture, the "Church" is simply the Body/Bride of Christ. If we belong to Jesus we are his Body. It is our calling, every one of us, to love the poor, invite strangers into our homes, feed the hungry and clothe the naked. That is the Kingdom of God. Our hope is that the New Year's Day party gives you a vision of personal movement toward the poor and homeless and needy rather than waiting for institutional movement. Don't think of starting with 27. Just look for the one.

We pray that this is year the Kingdom of God comes on earth as it is in heaven in greater ways than ever before THROUGH ALL OF US, HIS BODY! Be blessed and encouraged. God is moving and he's inviting us to come along! It's the most thrilling, stretching, life-threatening ride we will ever take! The only part of us that will regret the ride is the part that loves the world more than Jesus. And that's the part we all want to get rid of, right? Let's hold our breath and jump on! It's a NEW YEAR!

There are so many more stories from that short day on January 1st, ones we will never know about and ones we will never forget.


Inspiring books on the homeless and poor:
The Bible
Under the Overpass
Turnings. by Guy Chevreau
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. by Sider
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All for the glory of Jesus,

http://isaiah555.blogspot.com/