We had another rainy Saturday to get our week started off. When you live outdoors, you find ways to try and stay dry. Abandon warehouses with empty loading docks provide a way to get out of the rain, under over passes while cars speed along on top keeps us from getting completely soaked. You find a way to survive. What is the saying, one man's curse is another man's blessing! With the rain, many soccer games were canceled so Jim and John had a full house of folks working in the Bright House. No better way to spend a rainy morning than wrapping bread, Ms Abbie, Momma T, Alice and Ardis can attest to that! Vicki comes in later in the morning and her crew gets lunch ready for the basketball players. A full morning of fun and joy.
Monday and Wednesday afternoons continue to bring more joy to us all. Watching the kids get off the bus and all of the children run up to Lisa giving her hugs is priceless. One of the girls needed a shirt for school, so we take time to go get her one. You won't find that in any report! Waiting with the children who don't ride the bus, playing games, laughing, joking with them all adds up to a lifetime of memories. Pardon me while a boast for a moment, we had a new helper Wednesday afternoon! My mother-in-law came to help out! Mrs Joyner has heard me talk about Common Ground for all these years. She has helped us with donations, but for some reason she decided to come, what a miracle! Don't you want to be a miracle in someone eyes, come and experience what God is doing.
Tuesday evening, Joey led the men's Bible fellowship talking about the beginning and the end of Jesus' ministry. Jesus says to his disciples, he says to us, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." Pretty simply, why do we make is so complicated! Momma T and Ms Abbie was leading the ladies Bible fellowship in the friendship room. I noticed as we were leaving for the evening, the lights were still on and they were still talking about God! Awesome!
Wednesday evening the Bright House II was lit up with men and electricity! Did you all see the picture on our Face book page? The Church at Red River is working nonstop to make God's house live able. No greater witness to see men work all day at their day jobs and then spend hours working for God's Kingdom. What a blessing.
Thursday evening rain was predicted but God had other plans. A packed house for chapel led by Joey and Ms Abbie. Joey talked about lvoing others as Jesus has lvoed us. It was hard to do in chapel, with the noise level being so loud. You have a lot of people packed into a small room and noise is going to happen. We need to pray for the doors of our sanctuary to open, so we can fill that room up with the Spirit! Allison and Ms Abbie worked tirelessly Thursday afternoon to bring us a meal everybody enjoyed. We had new friends from Grace join us to help serve and clean up. The Market was busy as usual with new helpers helping the community pick out items they needed. A steady stream of community was "shopping" for clothes for their families. The rain came but not until everybody got home, thank you God!
Continue your prayers for Ginellen. She had a new pain this week but the doctor assured her it was nothing bad. Your prayers worked a miracle for Noel. Noel shared with the men Tuesday evening and again in chapel, one week he had colon cancer, the next week he did not! Praise God! Pray for one of our community members' husband. Listening to her talk about her husband's upcoming heart surgery, she was scared. Another reminder to me of what our community faces everyday. Ginellen and I have been suffering through her illness for almost two years. We are educated and still don't understand everything that is happening to her. Our community is not educated and the doctors tell them what is about to happen and they have no clue what the doctors are about to do.
Joey talked about the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Matthew 3: 13-18. The first order of business for Jesus to begin his ministry was to get baptized. As Jesus came out of the water, heaven was opened, the Spirit of God came down and a voice said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Then in John 15, as Jesus is concluding his ministry, he tells his disciples in verse 10, If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love."
Joey asked us, what is the common theme in these two passages and really in the ministry of Jesus? Of course it is all about love. It is the kind of love that we can not produce but the kind of love that will produce fruit that will last. Verse 16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last . . " Fruit that looks like shoppers at a Market, servers in a line, cooks, dishwashers, hammering a nail, teaching, visiting friends living outdoors, making the books balance, paying bills, sweeping the floors, giving hugs, keeping quiet when you want to scream, doing things you don't want to do, attending meetings, coaching, giving talks. As Joey reminded us it is all about love or as we like spell it around our community "lvoe"!
In John, Jesus is empowering his friends, his disciples not to worry, I am about to leave you but you are not on this journey alone, I am with you always. In verse 14, Jesus says, "You are my friends if you do what I command." And He finishes his conversation with verse 17, "This is my command: Love each other." Do you want Jesus to be your friend, lvoe others. Do you want Jesus to be with you always, lvoe others. It is not our love that Jesus is seeking, but the "lvoe" of Jesus lvoing others! Amen
Hope you have a great week and a blessed time with Jesus. What will your "lvoe" moment look like this week?! Hope you can join us at the center this week, but if you can't or for those of you out of town, please show your "lvoe" by praying for our community! Peace and joy to all.
No comments:
Post a Comment