“The greatest thing on earth is to know Christ and to make Him known.”

I will be attending Passion 2010 with a group of students from First Baptist Church in Guin, AL. I’m really pumped – it’s my first time! I’m really grateful for being able to attend such a great church and also a great student ministry with great leaders! This will be my last time with them before I return to school on the 9th. I will miss this church body for sure and look forward to the times when I’ll be able to visit. Here’s a little about Passion:

Passion seeks to gather college and university students across the nation and around the world to seek the face of God, asking Him to ignite in our souls a passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ and a desire to spread His fame to everyone on earth. We believe God is calling out a generation of college students committed to the glory of His name in all things. God longs to bring awakening to every campus, mobilizing the students of today to finish the task of global evangelization in this generation. God is calling us out for this purpose, in this moment, for His renown.  [From the Passion website - 268Generation]

Having said that, I looked up the verse that sparked Louie Giglio to start the whole Passion movement – Isaiah 26:8.

The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, You make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, LORD, walking in the way of Your laws,  we wait for You; Your name and *renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You. When Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. [Isaiah 26:7-9]

*RENOWN, n. [Hebrew: Zeker]
Fame; celebrity; exalted reputation derived from the extensive praise of great achievements or accomplishments.
[From Webster's 1828 Dictionary]

Our troubles, how pressing soever, must never put us out of conceit with our religion, nor turn us away from God; but still the desire of our soul must be to his name and to the remembrance of him; and in the night, the darkest longest night of affliction, with our souls must we desire him. (1.) Our great concern must be for God’s name, and our earnest desire must be that his name may be glorified, whatever becomes of us and our names. This is that which we must wait for, and pray for. “Father, glorify thy name, and we are satisfied.” (2.) Our great comfort must be in the remembrance of that name, of all that whereby God has made himself known. The remembrance of God must be our great support and pleasure; and, though sometimes we be unmindful of him, yet still our desire must be towards the remembrance of him and we must take pains with our own hearts to have him always in mind. (3.) Our desires towards God must be inward, fervent, and sincere. With our soul we must desire him, with our soul we must pant after him (Psa_42:1), and with our spirits within us, with the innermost thought and the closest application of mind, we must seek him. We make nothing of our religion, whatever our profession be, if we do not make heart-work of it. (4.) Even in the darkest night of affliction our desires must be towards God, as our sun and shield; for, however God is pleased to deal with us, we must never think the worse of him, nor cool in our love to him. (5.) If our desires be indeed towards God,. we must give evidence that they are so by seeking him, and seeking him early, as those that desire to find him, and dread the thoughts of missing him. Those that would seek God and find him must seek betimes, and seek him earnestly. Though we come ever so early, we shall find him ready to receive us.
[From Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible]

In Christ,
Rod

Hello again Blog World! Ha! I haven’t blogged in quite a while. I have been lazy in the writing area. Hopefully that will change.

Starting today, I’m taking a break from Facebook, MySpace, & Twitter for a week (until January 1, 2010) to spend more time in prayer and studying the Bible. The purpose is to spend the amount of time that I used on those sites in prayer and studying. Check out “Seven Days of Prayer” on Facebook.

I will be keeping you updated on the progress that I am making this week through this blog. With that being said, I should be posting at least once a day for the next week. Who knows, maybe that will get me in the mode to blog more often after this week.

Pray for me. Encourage me. Anything is appreciated. I hope you have had a very Merry Christmas!

Your Brother,
Rod

Anywho, moving on. I have been attending FBC in Guin, AL for the past couple of months while I have been staying with my grandmother. In all honesty, let me just say that I am so glad that I started going there. I have been blessed time after time after time by some amazing people there. FBC – Guin is unlike any other Baptist church I have been to (I say that having been to quite a few). When you think of Baptists, sometimes you think we are scared of the Holy Spirit because I will admit, the services are quite dead sometimes. Should it be that way? No! Well, out of the 2 months that I have been going to FBC-G, I have not sat in one boring or dead service. I feel the Holy Spirit at work in that place and I am very sad that I will be leaving it next month as I return back to Mississippi to BMC. That does not mean I am not going to visit. There have been many people who have really made me feel welcome, but four people have especially blessed me – three of them help with youth/college and one of them sings his heart out every single Sunday. If any of you are reading this, thank you so much. Y’all are amazing people. Don’t lose heart in doing good.

Last night was the Community Thanksgiving service at FBC-G. It was an amazing service! Churches from all around the community showed up to worship together under one roof. That’s what you call breaking down the denominational barriers! It was so amazing hearing all these people from different denominations singing to GOD – the one thing that pulls us all together. So many amazing testimonies were given – and I sat there and laughed. The joy of the Lord is so amazing!

Lately, I have been laughing a lot. I don’t mean laughing at a funny joke or at a comedy movie. I have been laughing at how God has been work in my life and in the life of others. Why is that funny, you ask? I can’t really explain it. God is just so amazing in the way that He works and the things that He does that I just get filled with so much joy from hearing the testimonies of God working – and all I can do is laugh. It’s amazing.

It’s almost 4 am and I have been going on about the most random stuff. I think I’m going to quit right here and continue doing what I should be doing. I will update again soon. Thanks for reading!

-Rod
[Romans 12:9-13]

…A call that changed my world. July 31, 2009. I remember it as if had happened last night. I was hanging out with Emily Beth upstairs in the lobby of New Mexico Hall in Glorieta, NM. My grandmother calls. “Your Aunt Elaine is dead. We found her about half an hour ago.” Instantly, I was speechless. It was like someone had punched me in the stomach numerous times. I got up and left. I remember talking to my grandmother on the phone that afternoon. I was hurting. She was hurting. I was trying to comfort her while, at the same time, trying to comfort myself somehow. All I could do was cry.

Of course I knew that she was in a better place; I knew that God would be there to comfort me. But when I initially found out, none of that mattered. It hurts when somebody that you deeply care about suddenly vanishes from your life. I remember getting off the phone with my grandmother and walking to the only place where I knew I could be completely alone with just me and God – the prayer garden. I walked around the beautiful prayer garden at the Glorieta Conference Center and all I could do was cry. I couldn’t speak at all. After a while, I finally came to the point where I could speak. I got on my knees and had a very long talk with God in that garden. Later on that night, I found out that she had been murdered. That just added to the pain. To know that someone would murder her!? Why!?

That week would be a long one. I was very grateful that Chef Danny, my supervisor, allowed me to have a couple days off. Those days were a struggle, but I had friends to help me through them. I spent much of those days in the prayer garden.

Danielle, one of my friends, had been helping me to memorize Scripture over the summer. The Scripture that I had memorized was 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” It was like God was preparing me for what was to come. And they helped me get through many days of work.

Even crazier, God had reminded me of a testimony that my friend, Chris, had shared during Noonday at our Baptist Student Union one day – the week right before I had found out about Elaine’s death. I even talked to Kyle about this on the phone the weekend before. Chris’s grandpa had died while he was in Hawaii two summers ago. He really wanted to go home. But God reminded him of a passage – Luke 14:26-27. “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” He stayed instead of going to his grandpa’s funeral. And God used him in a mighty way. I wanted to leave – trust me. But his testimony of that helped remind me that I needed to serve the remainder of my time. Yes, I was hurt. I was grieving. But this wasn’t about me. It was about God. (Thank you Chris for your testimony – it has stuck with me since. I hope I remembered the details right.)

And that brings me to this point. I’ve been through the grieving process. God has given me a peace about the matter. There are still some moments where something strikes that memory, and reminds me of the great moments I had with Elaine. And how I will not have anymore moments with her – until I get to Heaven. The thing that really sticks out to me is time. Right before I left for Glorieta this summer, I had stayed a week here in Alabama visiting my grandmother. My aunt was right across the yard from her. I visited her once. And she really enjoyed that time and told me she couldn’t wait until I came back from New Mexico to visit with her again. That time would not arrive.

If this Truth could just stick to my memory… If I could just remind myself of this every minute of every day.. that our life is but a vapor! We aren’t promised tomorrow! We aren’t guaranteed the rest of today! Why can’t I just grasp this!? Why do I forsake so much time with my family, the people that I love? This could be the very last time I speak with them. My grandmother could die in her sleep tonight. Why am I not doing everything I can to make the most of the moments that I am given with her and the rest of my family RIGHT NOW!?

Yet, through my pain. Through my sorrow, God was and still is here with me, comforting me. Let me encourage you – make the most of every moment with the people that you love. They may not be in your life tomorrow. If you’ve lost a loved one, don’t be afraid to grieve and be real with people. It’s not an easy thing to go through. God will heal you, in time. He will take your broken heart and mend it back together. The grieving process is also a growing process. It’s in that moment that you will seek God or you will push Him away. Seek Him.

The last verse of this song gives peace along with God’s promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. “And as you cried, I cried with you. I’ll never leave. I’ll carry you through. Can’t you see that I was always there? These ashes of pain will fade.”

Read the lyrics below and listen to the song.

__________________________

http://ow.ly/q9Ne

“Every Saturday”

by Seventh Day Slumber

Saturdays have never been the same

And I still can’t believe you’re gone

So many things I wish that I could say

I guess the hardest part of moving on

Are these memories that have overtaken me

Once again I’m right here on my knees

(Chorus)

I’m barely hanging on

With all these empty feelings

I’m hurting in so many ways

And though I can’t begin to understand the reason

I still believe that you’re GOD

Saturdays have never been the same

That moment keeps repeating in my mind

The ringing phone

A call that changed my world

An emptiness that words cannot define

All these memories have overtaken me

So once again I fall upon my knees

Chorus

And as you cried I cried with you

I’ll never leave

I’ll carry you through

Can’t you see that I was always there?

These ashes of pain will fade

Chorus x2

Online with Purpose

by Brandon Donaldson on September 29, 2009

Do you realize the impact you can have online? I am not talking about the number of followers or friends you have. I am talking about the ability to point someone to a life of hope through Jesus. I have been working online for a few years now and I have seen a common thread through all the amazing stories of life-change. They were inspired to seek God by a Twitter message, a Facebook link, a video, or a blog post.

Do you realize that there are many on the internet right now who can relate to your story but have not found hope in Jesus? Your online presence could be the difference. Your twitter message could start what God wants to do in their life. Your Facebook post could touch the heart of someone who can relate. Don’t underestimate what God has done in you and what He can do through you in your online spaces. Don’t be someone you are not but be fully who God has made you.

What are you doing in your digital mission field?

_______________________________________________________________

Allow me to add to what Brandon wrote. The internet (especially social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.) is a wide-open mission field for you to share the wonderful name of Jesus Christ! Let me just resound what Brandon asked – “What are you doing in your digital mission field?” I cannot begin to explain how I have seen God work through being a witness on the internet. Use your presence on the internet for more than just entertainment. Use it to boldly proclaim the wondrous name of Jesus! Like Brandon said – “Don’t underestimate what God has done in you and what He can do through you in your online spaces.” Remember, it’s not about you – it’s all about Christ and making Him known. I challenge you to think and pray about what you can do to help proclaim and show the love of Christ to the many hurting and lost souls behind these usernames and profile pictures.

Our mission on this earth is to know Christ and make Him known.

Your Brother,
Rod

We know why Jesus reacted the way he did to this woman. It was because she was a Gentile from an area known for its wickedness. We know that the Jews stayed away from these types of people because they did not acknowledge God. Jesus specifically told her that he was sent for the Jews. So why did he heal this woman’s daughter after he ignored, rejected, and insulted her?

Jesus was not giving into the cultural bias that existed. Jesus did what he did for a reason. So let’s dig a little deeper and find out why he reacted in such a way.

If you read the passage right before that of the Canaanite woman, the story begins to make a little more sense. Take a look at Matthew 15:1-20. In this passage, Jesus was arguing with the Pharisees about the issue of cleanliness.

You must remember that Jesus quite often used shocking, yet effective, ways to get his point across and teach what needed to be taught.

I can picture Jesus just tearing into the Pharisees. The Pharisees were angry because the disciples didn’t regularly wash their hands before they ate which, according to Jewish tradition, made the disciples unclean. Jesus quickly defended the disciples and basically threw the Jewish idea of cleanliness (a.k.a. purity) right out the window. He explained that purity was not about how clean a person was on the outside but, rather, how clean the person was on the inside.

“While He explained His perspective to the Pharisees, they got angry and walked away. He explained it further to the disciples with a word picture, but they missed His point. Everyone around Him seemed unable to grasp that fundamentally, purity is about the heart. It is not about what you eat or do not eat. It is not about whether you wash or do not wash.”

After this argument with the Pharisees and Jesus trying to explain purity to his disciples, he went to Tyre and Sidon. This brings us to the story of the Canaanite woman. So do you see why he went there? He went to the most unclean place possible to teach his disciples about real purity.

Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. The woman cried, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus ignored her. Jesus rejected her. Jesus insulted her by calling her a dog. “Rather than respond to Jesus with contempt, she simply expressed her great need: ‘I might as well be a dog, because that is how much I need you to work in my life. I need you. I need you. I need you. Help me, please.’ That is precisely the response Jesus wanted. Her expression of need is the ideal picture of true purity.”

So let’s think about that for a minute. If this woman’s response is a picture of true purity, then we need to examine our view of true purity. “When Jesus wanted to illustrate real purity, He did not choose a woman commended for her moral perfection; He chose one who knew how much she needed Him. In that dirty place, Jesus found something clean. What could be clean about her being willing to be called a dog? Desperation. Desperate situations make for pure people, because in that desperate moment, those people see their need most clearly.”

Did you get that? “This desperate woman wasn’t thinking about her motives. She wasn’t thinking about how foolish she looked. She wasn’t thinking about the judgmental glances from those around her. She was thinking about one thing: her need for Jesus. Isn’t that what real purity is? Is it not single-mindedness? Is it not whole-heartedness? Is it not complete dedication? That is purity – not necessarily the complete absence of the immoral. Jesus saw the purity of desperation in this woman – the very thing the Pharisees and even His own disciples lacked.”

“Those who know they have nothing before the Lord come in purity because they know they are needy. What we see in this woman – this unclean, ‘second-rate’ Gentile woman – is purity. Not only is she a lesson in purity, she is a lesson in faith, and maybe those two attributes are linked more closely than we realize.”

He didn’t say, “Woman, you have great purity!” He said, “Woman you have great faith!” He said this because when we express our need, we are saying something about Him. It’s not easy to be in need and ask for help when it’s frowned upon by our whole society. So when we are willing to go to God with nothing and express our need for Him, in desperation and humility, what we say about Him is that He is our Great Provider. We acknowledge that we need Him more than anything in this world. Isn’t that why we go to Him in the first place? When we approach the throne of God in this manner, we lower ourselves and exalt Him. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be – less about us and more about Him? It sure is. And that, my friend, takes great faith.

I am going to leave you with an ending quote from the author, Michael Kelley. Think about the questions he poses. Feed on them. Be real with yourself and with God.

“In a culture of abundance, of relative economic stability and suburbia, of 401(k) plans and insurance policies, we have to wonder: Are we ever really conscious of our need? Our desperation? If not, do we ever approach Jesus whole-heartedly? Without being cognisant of our need, do we ever come in purity?”

In Christ,
Rod
______________________________________________
** All quotes from the Bible and Michael Kelley.

Threads Media
Michael Kelley Ministries
Lifeway Christian Stores

Today I read about a few statements that Jesus made to a Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. I was very surprised at the way Jesus responded to this woman. Take a look: Matthew 15:21-28

My first thought is – Why in the world did Jesus ignore this woman? But then I read the background of this woman and where she was from. “Tyre and Sidon (two non-Jewish cities)…were frequently referred to in the Old Testament as symbols of paganism and godlessness; in fact, they were specifically condemned by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. According to these Old Testament prophets Tyre and Sidon were poster children for the righteous judgment and anger of God.”

“To the Jewish people, the word Gentile became synonymous with pagan and heathen.” The Jews were to set themselves apart from those who didn’t acknowledge God (which were usually the Gentiles). That gives me a little better understanding of the situation. Not only was this woman a Gentile, but she was from a place that was wicked and did not acknowledge God. This is why the disciples urged Jesus to send the woman away. But I’m still left to wonder – Why did Jesus ignore her?

My next thoughts are – Did Jesus just basically say that he wasn’t going to do anything because he was sent only for Jews? Did Jesus just insult this woman and call her a dog simply because she was not a Jew!? And did she just accept the fact that she was a dog like Jesus had called her? Why did Jesus go ahead accept her plea and heal her daughter after ignoring her? What in the world is going on here!?

Then, little by little, it all begins to make sense. This woman did something. She called Jesus the “Son of David” which was a Jewish title. Not only that, but she was eager for Jesus to help her. She knelt before him and begged him to help her. She must have been familiar with who he was.

“She was in passionate and desperate need and was doing her best to approach Jesus with the utmost respect despite the upturned noses of the disciples. She actually seems like the ideal person for Jesus to help. She believed He could help, she approached Him in the proper way, and she was passionate about her situation… So surely Jesus would help her – right?”

But he didn’t. At first he ignored her just like the disciples. Then he told her that he was only sent for Israel. But the woman didn’t take no for an answer. She kept crying out for him to help her. I can just imagine this woman continually crying out until she got Jesus’ attention. Finally Jesus acknowledged her. He insulted her by calling her a dog because of who she was. That doesn’t sound that bad at first, but there’s something we have to keep in mind. “Dogs were not very commonly kept as pets in that day. They were scavengers. They were filthy, and they were dangerous.”

Even after the insult, the woman still doesn’t give up. She basically told Jesus that she knew what they thought of her and that she accepted that; and then she pretty much asked Jesus to have pity on a dog like her. Wait – what!? Did this woman just lower herself to the position of a dog?

Then Jesus healed her daughter. So I’m thinking – Is this all? Jesus lowered this woman to the likelihood of a dog before healing her daughter? There’s got to be something more to this!

There is. And I’ll let you know just what it is in my next post. For now, I want you to soak in what I’ve written so far. The reason I am doing this is because you need to really soak this part in (plus this post is long enough as it is). Study it. Pound it in your head. The next part will blow you away just like it did me!

In Christ,
Rod
______________________________________________
** All quotes from the Bible and Michael Kelley.

Threads Media
Michael Kelley Ministries
Lifeway Christian Stores

[This article is part of the 'Honor Parents, Value Soulmate' series. View other parts of this series here.]

God is our amazing loving father and he will try bring people across our paths to help us deal with and heal the (earthly) father or mother wounds, rebellion or selfishness in our lives.

I love what Derek Prince said:

“God doesn’t just write things on pages. He puts truth in persons.”

Most of the time God uses those people closest to us, our parents, brothers, sisters, friends, husbands, wife, boyfriends and girlfriends to address the issues of our hearts.

In the book, ‘Always Daddy’s Girl’ H. Norman Wright says:

“The first step in releasing the past is to become aware of the problems which still exist. Identify what it is from your past that still bothers you, affects you, influences you, or hinders you” [9]

I think God often uses people close to us to address the issues in our life because they are sometimes the only people we will allow close enough to share our wounded hearts.

Joyce Meyer who experienced abuse from her father tells people how God brought her husband Dave into her life. Because of her past, Joyce’s thinking about men was so messed up that she made life a living misery for her husband.

She shares how her husband Dave Meyer used to sit in the car and cry, asking God for help. Because Joyce allowed God to work in her life, – and allowed herself to be open to and value Dave’s input, she is now being used by God around the world to help others suffering from similiar problems.

“Many times God will send you what you need in a package you don’t want” – John Bevere

It is just too easy to reject the package, – that person (or that group of people) that God puts in our lives to address the issues in our life.

Often ’self’ will come alive and our ego’s will kick into gear. Their input opens up our festering wound, – and if we are not careful, we see their input – something intended in love, – as control – and we feel insulted.

Joyce Meyer in her audio series ‘co-dependancy’ speaks of how her husband Dave addressed some of the issues in her life:

“He established a relationship with me for several years where I ruled the roost and I was the controller and we did pretty much whatever it took to keep me happy. And then God began to tell him you’ve got to start confronting her. You gotta rise up and be the head of your home. You can’t spend your life trying to keep her happy. Thats when he told me:” I found out I’m not gonna keep you happy anyway, so I’m done trying” And Dave started confronting me. He started saying no. And he started saying “I don’t want to” and “I’m not going too”. And he started telling me to be quiet. And He started telling me “I don’t want you doing that.” “…and my little flesh had a fit”…

In the bible Jesus – God himself – could not do any mighty work in his home town because the people there did not value him as somebody God had sent into their lives (Mark 6).

They instead probably saw Him as somebody they used to play ball games with, go to school with, – perhaps He was ‘that scrawny carpenters son’ that lived down the street. Instead of valuing and honoring Him, their lack of faith largely stopped them from experiencing ‘God on earth’, along with His healing and Power.

If we have come from a broken home with divorced parents, or left home in rebellion, God may bring a stable family across our paths to bring us healing – a family that we can interact with, learn to give to, respect and submit to.

If a guy had father wounds, God may bring along another mature man to be that father figure in His life. If a girl had father wounds, maybe God will bring a man (often a boyfriend and future husband) into her life to address those issues.

If a guy had no time for his mother, God may bring a loving woman into his life to give Him an opportunity to reform and learn to value the woman figure in his life.

We need to learn to value those that God sends into our life to teach us lessons – regardless of what the package itself looks like.

Perhaps we are living at home and have a difficult parent that is in our life to address ‘our own’ issues of selfishness.

Even if we do have a messed up, torn package in our lives that satan has destroyed. God can still use what the devil mean’t for evil and bring it around to good – if we have the right attitude about it.

We need to do what the bible says: honor and value them. It will be to our benefit if we do, because we will learn to love imperfect people selflessly.

Perhaps we have a brother or sister in our lives that is difficult to get along with. We now have a prime opportunity – a training ground – to be able to grow into being an easy-going person. When we meet our soul mate they may be far from perfect. Valuing that difficult person – parent or sibling – teaches us to value our soul mate.

Change can be difficult – regardless of who or what God uses to speak into our life. The input into our life may be difficult. It will address the hurt, the wounds, the pride, the selfishness in our lives.

Let’s learn to stick it out in God’s training school till the end and receive all that he has for us!

Just imagine when Joyce Meyer and her husband Dave started experiencing difficulty in their marriage. If Joyce and Dave were convinced the ’season’ was over in their lives and threw in the towel, – we would not have Joyce and Dave Meyer today – two people that God uses throughout the world.

Too often our well meaning friends or family around us encourage us to go the easy route – the shortcut, instead of the journey that will bring God’s true healing and transformation into our lives.

Lets stick at it until we have experienced God’s fullness of inner healing.

Sometimes God will bring these healing packages into our life for a season. Other times they may be in our life for a lifetime. God will bring them into our life, but it is often up to ‘us’ how long we allow God’s input to stay in our lives. Lets let God decide the seasons, rather than us.

When things get personal, and the muck starts coming out it is easy to give up and move on. All too often we cut the season that God intended short when these packages start to challenge us to greatness, expect too much of us, and the going gets tough. If we really want God’s fullness, its up to ‘God’ to remove them from our lives, not ‘us’.

In her article, ‘Love Means Sacrifice, Not Selfishness’, Joyce Meyer says:

“As long as we’re open to receive, God will continue to teach us every day.”[8]

It is our choice to receive from the packages God put in our life to make us uncomfortable. We can close the door whenever we wish. God is a gentlemen and will never force healing on us.

Lets choose to actively receive His healing with faith and resolve – whatever and whoever that package may be.

__________________________________

[This article is part of the 'Honor Parents, Value Soul Mate' series. View other parts of this series and references here.]

[Most names used in stories have been changed to protect identities]

Feel free to republish this article text in full with proper attribution, linking back to this www.SloppyNoodle.com

Non-quoted text is copyright Stephen Ernst, SloppyNoodle.com and generously licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.

Click this link to listen to the song:
“The Twenty-First Time” by Monk & Neagle

You’ve probably walked by a homeless person on the street or, if  not, have seen a person in need and although you felt compelled to do something you continued to go your own way without doing or saying anything to that person.

When you see a homeless person, there are different things that run through your mind. Should you stop? Should you talk to him or her? Should you give this person money? Should you take this person home with you? Should you buy this person something to eat and drink? All these questions fly through your mind in an instant, but yet you find a way to push them into the back of your mind and continue on your way. It’s easy to do, I know.

When you see a person in need, I bet you feel that same compelling, right? And the same things go through your mind. Should you help that child on the TV commercial? Should you help that person life that heavy item? Should you even think about going up to that person who is ‘different’ than you when you’re with your friends?

Should you pick up that man on the side of the road who needs a ride to the next town? Will he rob you? Will he pull a gun on you? Will he kill you?

I know the choice is hard! Trust me, you’re not the only one who wrestles with those things – we all do. Cain asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” So let me ask you a question:  How responsible are we for meeting the needs of others, especially those we view as ‘outsiders’?

Look at the account of “The Good Samaritan” and you will see that the same thing was questioned in Jesus’ day. A priest wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him what the Law said. The priest replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your  strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus told him to do just that and he would live.

The priest then asked, “Who is my neighbor? He wanted to know who he was required to love and serve. Jesus answered his question with a story – a story similar to a couple nights I’ve had recently. Read this story in Luke 10: 30-37.

As I was walking into Ripley Walmart one night, I noticed a guy sitting outside in the freezing cold weather bundled up in a large coat. I just figured he was a guy waiting for his family or friends to come out, or maybe he just got through smoking a cigarette. Not once did it cross my mind that this guy was homeless. I went back a couple days later with a friend – again, I didn’t think anything about it. The week after, as I left Walmart with a couple different friends, I noticed him again and there was no doubt in my mind that he was homeless. The only difference, this time, is that I was compelled to do something. Thoughts flooded my mind: Do I talk to him? What would I say? Would he rob me?

Being raised in a small town most of my life, I’ve never dealt with homeless people. But I knew God was telling me to do something for this guy. I left without doing a thing, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t on my mind. That guy plagued my mind every single day. I did not go back to Walmart for a few days and then I went home for the Thanksgiving holidays. Again, he was constantly on my mind and the compelling was stronger and stronger. A friend sent me a message and told me that the homeless guy had been on his mind that week. Wow! “Are you serious” I asked. Was God laying this guy on our heart?

A couple days after we got back to the college, a few of my friends and me went back to Walmart. Sure enough, this guy was there. The whole time we were in the store, we were trying to figure out what to do or say. This time, I pushed all those thoughts out of my head. This time, I was going to do something. We bought some ready-to-eat food, some crackers, and a few bottles of water for him. We went out and introduced ourselves and gave him the bag of groceries. He told us about how he was looking for a job and was trying to get unemployment until he found a job. He just started opening up to us about stuff. We talked for a few minutes and then we prayed for him.

Fast forward just one week later. Me and a friend were going to the Casting Crowns Christmas concert at the BancorpSouth center in Tupelo. We left the school around 4:30 headed to Tupelo to eat. Around 5 pm, we stopped at the gas station located  right before Hwy. 78 which we would take. I filled the car up and entered onto the highway ramp (gas was $1.26!). That’s when I saw him.

I went past him as he threw his hands in the air. It hit me again. That feeling – that compelling had come over me once again. But once again, those thoughts rushed through my mind. It’s too dark. Does this guy have a gun? Do I need to stop and give him a ride? What if he tries to steal my car? What if he kills us? I pulled onto the shoulder right as I entered onto the highway. With my foot on the brake, the gear in Drive, doors locked, and my window cracked – the guy approached us. You want to talk about being scared! I feared for my life – seriously. I had never ever picked a hitch-hiker up before.

“Hey, can you give me a ride?” Unlocking the door with fear, I replied, “Sure, hop in the back!” I knew that I needed to give this guy a ride but I was so afraid. I continued on the highway and we engaged into conversation with this guy named Bobby. Immediately, the fear I had melted away as I asked him where he was from (he lived far away). I asked him where he was going (again, far away from Tupelo). He told us that he was promised a job if he ever needed one in this place and he’s trying to get there. He went through a divorce with his wife, who cheated on him with his best friend. This guy was poor, but he used to be pretty well-off in society. He made a lot of money from where he worked. But one day the new owner came in and laid everyone off and brought in his own workers. So now, this guy is out of a job and his wife has taken everything – his money, his vehicle, his house, his savings – everything. He had $1,000 left in his name and the clothes on his back. He then started his journey – hitch-hiking until he gets to his destination. He’s been hitch-hiking for over 3 months now. You’re probably wondering why in the world he hasn’t got to where he’s going yet. I’ll tell you why. It’s because of people like us, who let fear and comfort rule over our decisions instead of letting go and stepping out in faith to help a neighbor in need.

Bobby took a nap until we arrived in Tupelo. We took him out to eat and then we dropped him off in Fulton, a pretty well-lit town where he would probably receive his next ride to where he was headed. But that’s not all that happened. We invested 2 hours of our time just talking and eating with this guy. We picked him up to help him, but God used him to richly bless us as well! A lot more went on – more than words could express. Just to think if we had not stopped to pick this guy up, we would have missed out on an opportunity to serve and be blessed – and also would have contributed to the rejection other people had already given him. Bobby told us that us stopping to give him a ride changed his whole day and showed him that not all Christians are the same. (He had been having bad experiences with other Christians).

Two days later – just last night – me and a friend go to visit the homeless guy at Walmart. Again we buy him a bag of ready-to-eat groceries and couple of drinks. This time, we spent an hour with him outside just talking with him and getting to know his situation better. This homeless guy, Kenley, began to let us know his experience with the Lord and how much He means to him. Wow! This guy is homeless and was praising God for taking such good care of him. Kenley asked us to keep his adopted father in our prayers because he’s in the hospital right now with some serious heart problems. We prayed for him and came back to the college to study for our 9 am exam today.

My experiences thus far have challenged me and got me thinking. All it took was a simple decision to take a few minutes (or hours) out of my busy day and some money out of my wallet to help out these homeless guys – these people in need – and completely change their day.

Jesus ended the story of “The Good Samaritan” by asking which of those three people was a neighbor to the man. The priest answered, “The one who showed mercy to him.” Jesus told him to go and do likewise.

I want to make something clear. This blog is not meant to boast of me or my friends’ works. This blog is meant to encourage you and have you examine your life to see if you are loving your neighbor as yourself. The focus here is not good deeds, but serving God and being obedient to what He leads us to do.

Let me end by saying this:  There are so many opportunities that God sends us to serve Him by serving others, and so often we pass them by simply because we don’t want to give up our time or money. No matter how much time it takes, how much money we have to spend, or how uncorfortable or scared we are, we must embrace those opportunites and show Christ and love them like Jesus.

In Christ,
Rod

Posted in Devotional, My Thoughts Tagged: BancorpSouth, bible, brother, Casting Crowns, christ, Christian, Christmas, cigarette, concert, drink, eternal, food, God, homeless, Jesus, life, Luke, money, Monk and Neagle, neighbor, priest, Ripley, robber, samaritan, Thanksgiving, Tupelo, tv, Twenty First Time, Walmart ]]> http://roderickpitts.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/the-journey-into-a-strangers-life/feed/ 2 Rod Pitts Anything will Help http://roderickpitts.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/listen-carefully/ http://roderickpitts.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/listen-carefully/#comments Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:05:00 +0000 Rod Pitts http://roderickpitts.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/listen-carefully ]]> Late one night, a small girl climbed into her daddy’s lap.

“Daddy, I need to talk to you.”

The man concerned by his young daughters tone laid down the paper and grabbed the child in his arms,

“What sweetheart, are you feeling sick again?”

“No daddy, my friend wanted me to tell you something.”

“You have a friend? That’s wonderful darling, did you meet your friend at the children’s hospital this last visit?”

“No I’ve known him a long long time, this long daddy,” she said holding her arms apart.

The man chuckled, “Ok sweetie, what did your little friend want you to say?”

“My friend wanted me to tell you that he understands, daddy.”

“Understands?” the man said puzzled.

“He understands why your heart hurts, he said he knows what it feels like because his heart hurts too.” The little girl continued, “he said every day someone he loves very much hurts him. He cries daddy like you, a lot, because that person he loves never wants to talk to him or listen to him or even let him hold them tight in his arms like you do me when I’m scared or hurting. Like this daddy.” The little girl wrapped herself with her arms pretending to give a big hug.

“Oh honey, that’s horrible.

And does your friend get to see this person often?

“Oh yes, daddy everyday. My friend is right beside him all the time, and whispers while he sleeps at night because that person doesn’t want him around while he’s during the day when he’s awake. He pretends like my friend doesn’t exist and tells him everyday he hates him.” The little girls eyes filled with tears, “He won’t listen daddy, and I’m so scared.”

“Baby, why are you scared? The man hugged the small girl tighter, “If your young friend needs help, we’ll contact authorities or find someone to stop this abuse. No one deserves that, especially when they’re just trying to love someone.”

“I know daddy, that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” she said crying. “I’m scared because you don’t want to live with me anymore.”

The man looked at her, “What do you mean? I’m your father and I love you more than you know. No matter what you could possibly do, that will never change and I’ll never let you go.”

“That’s what my friend says daddy, that’s what he whispers in your ear every night. And when you cry all alone and tell my friend that you hate him, he just keeps coming back because he says he will never let go, no matter what you say or do. And when you fall asleep, he’s holding you in his arms because even though you don’t want him around, he doesn’t want you to hurt like he does. But you’ve got to listen daddy, because if you don’t you won’t get to come to heaven and live with me and my friend one day. He wants you to come daddy, he doesn’t want you stay away. Please daddy, don’t leave me. I love you and I want to give you a big hug like my friend does me all the time. And you know what? I’m not sick anymore, I can run real fast and play with everyone else and I don’t have to go to the scary hospital. But you’ll never get to see me run fast daddy, if you keep denying him. No one deserves that daddy, not when they’re just trying to love someone.”

The man, awakened from his dream, jumped up from his chair. His pillow and shirt soaked from the tears and his hand still clutching the small wrinkled obituary paper. He began to cry again as he looked into that tiny face he loved so much printed on that paper. With a deep breath he began to pray silently as he felt the comforting spirit flow through him, “I’m ready to listen father.”

-Author Unknown