Golden Silence

Be still, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world.-Psalm 46:10

 

Video for Meditation

 

"If you can't be positive then at least be quiet."  A dear friend of mine posted this quote and Dad has been teaching me this concept and the power of silence at times.  Jesus exercised this so to hear from Dad before being crucified, resurrected and then placed at the right hand of authority (Matthew 26:62-63, 27:12-14).  We also personally know the value of a quiet understanding ear in some times of need as well. 

 

About a year ago I had the honor of ministering to an individual who I learned had family he needed to connect to for both their and his benefit.  I'm convinced if I had pressed him on this along the way that he probably would have been resistant and probably would not have wanted me to visit him anymore.  Instead  I just continued to visit him as a reminder that both Dad and we loved him.  About a year and a half later he reconnected with his family.

 

Before he left the area to reconnect with his family, he shared with us how our unconditional love towards him through our visits allowed him to reconnect and hear from Dad and that Dad and He worked out him reconnecting to his family.  That is being still and knowing Dad is God and trusting and responding to that allowed this man to reconnect to his family and brought honor to Dad since restoration as such is what Dad is all about. 

 

And doing this is simple.  For the best sake of everything we do, we should constantly be in His word so to recognize His voice, pray, take time to LISTEN,  and then do what He tells us to so that He can begin and continue to bless both us and others even more deeply:-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feast or Famine?

At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner.-Genesis 12:10

Video for Meditation

 

 

In the above Scripture, famine struck forcing Abram to go to Egypt.  Today many are forced into similar situations due to poverty and such as well.  They are forced to go hungry or to resort to drastic measures to survive.  Some of these individuals are in these situations due to choices they made while others due to no fault of their own.  Whatever the case, we are told by Dad to care for one another and with eternal consequences attached to whether we respond to this or not( Matthew 25:31-46 ).  So what can we do about it?

 

 

The first thing is to pray for those in poverty and ask Dad to open up your eyes and heart to it.  Locally, He may lead you to do something such as included in this link for a homeless person, to pray with and for them and to give them a hug to remind them that both Dad and we love and care for them.  Globally, he may lead you to check out and respond to one of the organizations included in this enclosed link that feeds and does other things to help those in need all around the world. 

 

In the end, whatever you do, do in response to praying, listening, and then doing what He leads you to do so He can begin and continue to bless both you and others even more deeply:-)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



The Comfort Zone

Lamech named his son Noah, for he said, “May he bring us relief from our work and the painful labor of farming this ground that the Lord has cursed.”-Genesis 5:29 

Video for reflection

 

 

And Dad utilized Noah to provide comfort.  He attempted to deliver it by warning of the impending flood that was about to make the world a little uncomfortable and then delivered the comfortable message that He still loves us by starting the family again through Noah and his family which would eventually lead to big brother Jesus providing the ultimate message of comfort. 

 

He can also use us to provide comfort as well.  This can begin by praying for those who need comfort and asking Him to open your eyes to it.  This could be providing a homeless person with a bottle of water, food, money, a gift card to a restaurant or whatever He leads you to do, praying with and for them, giving them a hug and reminding them Dad loves them and so do we. 

 

It could be looking into organizations such as Samaritans Purse, Foothold International or Bring Love In to help provide comfort for those made uncomfortable by too much water (flooding), lack of clean drinking water or lack of basic family unit to provide water, love, support and other basic essentials. 

 

In the end, whatever Dad may lead you to do, it all begins as Noah did by praying to Him, listening and then doing what He leads you to do to be a modern day deliverer of comfort so He can begin and continue to bless both you and others even more deeply:-)

 

 



 

 

 



To Each His Own

Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood.  No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.-Genesis 4:11-12 


This curse Cain cast upon himself was due to a "to each his own" attitude.  Its this same attitude that has our world in the mess its in today.  Our world consists of 7 billion plus people running around with a to each his own attitude which is why its in the shape it is to include why we have injustice and poverty. 

This approach makes it extremely difficult to discern and exercise truth.  It tells us its okay for those with plenty to have while others are dying of starvation and such for if they just got off their butts and worked they could have as well.  It also tells us things such as the "mark" Dad later placed on Cain in Genesis 4:15 was that He made him a black man and that was his curse(yes I actually had a dear friend of mine who has been a Christian all their life tell me this is what they were taught) rather than it being a mark of love and protection as actually indicated in the Scripture.  Anyone who really knows Dad and His word knows to each his own attitudes as such are not truth or the way He intended things to be.   

So what can be done to get rid of this attitude?  The first thing is to ask Dad to show you how He wants things to be rather than continuing in your own way.  Then you can listen to Him for direction regarding this and avoiding this being your own or someone elses interpretation is the importance of being in His word everyday for yourself so to recognize His voice.  Then finally do what He tells you to do which ultimately revolves around loving Him by loving one another.  In the end this approach makes it HIS own rather than to each his own which is ultimately what our world really needs to become a better place so He can then begin blessing both you and others even more deeply:-) 

Wandering Home

Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood.  No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.-Genesis 4:11-12.

 

 

Music for Meditation

 

One instance of redemption that occurred while doing homeless outreach involved a brother homeless for nearly thirty years.  During the nearly two years of ministering to him his circumstances appeared to never change as he remained homeless and was often drunk as we delivered a bag of food, company, prayer and hope every week. 

 

Once a couple of weeks went by where we didn't see him and when we did once again he said he had been in the hospital due to being beaten and left for dead but fortunately was found and taken to the hospital.  Incidents as such over the last 30 years had left him jaded towards other humans as he was towards us this night as well and he initially didn't want what we usually provided to him.  Having known him for a while now made me bold enough to ask if we had ever mistreated him to which he replied no.  I then smiled at him and told him to take his food which he did and as we talked he relaxed and was once again okay with us.   

 

A week later I ran into him at a gas station and he said he was glad he ran into me as he was leaving town to go reconnect with his family and try to be the dad to his daughter that she deserved.  He also said our visits had provided him with the hope and courage to do so cause it reminded him there were people who still cared and he might have committed suicide along the way otherwise.  We then rejoiced and prayed with him right in the parking lot for his new adventure he was getting ready to embark on.  I haven't seen him since but I believe Dad used our visits to avoid another brother's blood being spilled and to provide his wandering heart with a home. 

 

He can do the same through your actions as well.  This can be accomplished by praying for the poor and homeless, listening to what Dad says and then doing what He leads you to do such as giving physical, mental and spiritual gifts of love when you see them for you never know when He will use your responsiveness to avoid a brother or sister's blood from being spilled and as a reminder that they have a home with a Dad and brothers and sisters who love them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Its in the Bag

Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.  They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.  About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!-Matthew 14:19-21

In my last post, I shared some simple ways to minister to the poor and homeless in our communities and invited you to have some of these things in your vehicle on a regular basis to hand out when encountering them. 

Another simple gift you could have on hand that is relatively inexpensive and easy to throw together but can have a huge impact are little gift bags I used to hand out when feeding the homeless.  This was comprised of a pack of peanut butter crackers(grain and meat), a bottle of water(hydration), gummies and/or a banana(fruit), a cheese stick(dairy) and a gallon zip lock bag to put it all in.  I also included a love letter from Dad which I have linked above on this site. 

Physically, the contents of this bag provides them with a simple but balanced meal as noted above.  You can also include a $5 gift card to a restaurant for a later meal if desired as well.  Mentally, giving of a gift as such reminds them that Dad and others still love them despite their situation.  And spiritually they can read the love letter and potentially enter into a relationship with Him in response to it.  I personally saw many of these things occur in giving out these bags with the giving out of them being my part and the impact they had being up to Dad. 

So again this is a single and relatively inexpensive gift to be able to put together and have on hand to distribute to the homeless as you encounter them, please feel free to duplicate and utilize the love letter if you want to and thanks for your consideration of this idea so that Dad can begin and continue to bless both you and others even more deeply;-)

Reversing the Curse

Genesis 3:17-19

 

 

This Scripture explains why life is hard sometimes and those living in poverty often struggle more so than others.  Jesus reversed the affects of this of this curse through His death and resurrection but the scales of justice won't be fully balanced until His return.  In the meantime though, we are to be His administers of this justice.  So how can we do this?

 

First by praying for those all over the world who live in poverty and are homeless.  I pray that Dad allows this post to reach many to open up eyes and hearts to those in poverty and motivate hands and feet to do something about what is seen. 

 

Globally, you can google places like Bring Love In out of Ethiopia and explore the different ways you can assist those living in extreme poverty.

 

Locally, the next time you see a homeless person you can offer them a bottle of water, food and/or even a $5 gift card to a restaurant so they can legitimately go in and relax sometimes which is particularly  welcome in extreme hot or cold weather.  You can offer up anything else Dad may lead you to as well and ask to pray with and for them which is rarely turned down.  I would invite you to have some of these items in your vehicle with you regularly so to be able to distribute when encountering a homeless brother or sister and ask Dad to help you start doing it for no other reason than to remind them that He loves them and so do we. 

 

If after reading this you begin to see more those impoverished and are led to respond to what you see, please share here to encourage others to do the same so that Dad can begin and continue to bless both us and others even more deeply:-)