Hi Friends,
I feel like every week I start the blog post with this statement, "I can't believe what the Lord did tonight at "A Church Without Walls," but it's so fitting. Each week he moves so powerfully and it's so great to enjoy the power of God with friends and family. It continues to renew our faith and strengthen us as we seek to make Him known to a lost and dying world. I'm eager to share the power of God with you, as I testify to His glorious might! He is mighty, worthy, a strong tower, the prince of peace, the restorer, bondage breaker, a faithful friend to the broken, the Savior of the world and He deserves much glory. For he has done great things!
I was especially excited about this week, because my mom, step dad and mother-in-law came in for Noah's 6th birthday party. My mom watched our kids, so that Laura could go serve with us. I was thankful that she could go and see what the Lord is doing among the homeless community, in downtown Norfolk. She has worked so hard preparing food, washing cloths, blankets, etc, so I was grateful that she could be on the front line, witnessing God's mighty work, first hand.
We arrived at W. 19th street around 5 pm tonight. When we pulled up, no one was there, but I was in faith that the Lord would bring the homeless to us, as He has been faithful. We prayed on our way down there and we specifically prayed that the Lord would bring them to us, so I was in faith that He would provide as he saw fit. God provided many new blankets, gloves, hats, jackets, hoodies, soup, bread, cookies, etc that we were able to bring tonight, for which I'm grateful. I often catch my self wondering how God will continue to provide for these folks. Even tonight, Laura looked at me and said, "Maybe we should save some stuff for next week." I agreed with her at first, but I believe the Spirit was speaking this word to me..."This is what I've given you for them THIS WEEK. I'm faithful and worthy to be trusted. These are my children and I will continue to provide for them, just trust me," so we packed all that we had. :)
This week, it was me, Laura, Laura's mom (Ellen), and my step dad (Art). We got out of the van and started getting ready to serve by opening the packs of cups, bowls, etc. As I looked up, I saw one man walking towards us. It wasn't long before many came out of nowhere and we were feeding them, handing out bibles, cloths and blankets. It's been nice having people helping me, as they were able to serve them soup, coffee, bread and this allowed me to focus on ministering and praying for them. This week, I felt as if the Lord led me to James 5 and He was calling me to pray for those who were suffering and/or sick. I had a little bottle of olive oil, as I believe he was calling me to annoint them with oil and pray a prayer of faith over their lives. As many were eating, I had the opportunity to annoint a man named Keith with oil and pray for Him. He smelled like alcohol and as soon as I started praying for him, I noticed that he started to cry. Each tear that dropped was a drip of bitterness, hurt and pain coming out from within him. God was ministering to his heart. When I finished praying for him, mama (Ellen) gave him a bowl of soup and he asked if he could hug her. He was so grateful. He said, "Thank you," over and over.
We fed about 15-20 people at W. 19th street and we decided to go over to "Christ the King" a local Catholic church, where many of them would be hoping to get into the shelter for the night. When we arrived, there was no one there, but we noticed that some people were wheeling a cart in with food on it. However, we didn't see any homeless people, which was uncommon. Typically, they arrive early to try to guarantee themselves a ticket to get in to the shelter. I decided to park and go inside, so I could talk with those who were leading this effort. The folks there told me that all of the homeless people would be at the Greyhound bus stop, waiting for the bus to pick them up to bring them to the shelter. I explained what we were doing and asked permission to pray for the folks, hand out bibles, blankets, etc on their property. The head guy explained that he would have to discuss this type of thing at the next council meeting and he would take my phone number and let me know what they said. He stated that there were many other denominations, even muslims on the council that he would have to get approval from. He wasn't sure how they would feel about me praying for them on their property. I was really confused, but again God used this to show me why he's called me to this and why he's given me this vision. The man said, I could leave the food with them and he would save it for another day if I wanted. I said, "Well, it's hot and I feel like God gave it to me to use tonight."
I went back out to the van and said, "We have to head to the bus stop," so off we went. I pulled up to the bus stop and there were probably 40 people sitting against the fence waiting for the bus. We opened the back of the van and started handing out food again. I walked down the sidewalk and asked if anyone needed prayer, to which to my surprise, many said, "yes." I annointed many with oil and prayed a prayer of faith over them. I was able to pray for healing to Dion's back and Mary's leg. I was able to lay hands on Dianne, who was crying, telling me of her addiction to alcohol. She hugged me so hard, it's almost as if she didn't want to let go. I realized immediately, she was responding to God's love and she was ultimately clinging to him. She kept saying over and over, "there's something different...I feel it, I feel it..."
As I was walking down the street, I noticed a guy from the "Christ the King" church that I had spoken to earlier. I realized that there were others with him as well that I saw inside the church when I went in to speak with them. He pulled me to the side and said, "Sir, I just want to tell you that we screen these folks before we allow them to enter the shelter. If they have been drinking we don't let them in, as we don't want them to disturb others or those who are serving." He also said, "We're not trying to convert them, we're just trying to give them a warm place to sleep and keep them out of the rain. We're not going to force our denomination on anyone, and I would recommend you do the same." I was a little caught off gaurd and I said, "Sir, no disrespect, but their only hope is Jesus Christ and I'm hear to introduce them to Him and Him alone. Getting them off the street for the night is important, but tomorrow they'll be cold, again. Salvation is their only hope. It should be our top priority." He continued to tell me that he wasn't pushing his denomination on anyone, to which I responded, "Sir, there is only one way to the father...Jesus Christ is the only way, it's not like there are many ways to choose from." I asked him if he remembered the story of the women who was bleeding for 12 years and she knew that if she could just touch the robe of Jesus she could be well. That's what these folks need! How about the story of the demon possessed boy who ran around in the tombs, naked, cutting himself, crying out, unable to be bound by chains? When he encountered Jesus the bible says, "He was found sitting in his right mind." "This is what these folks need, sir!" I experienced a little taste of what Jesus may have dealt with when he encountered the religious leaders.
Then, the best part of the whole night...Mama came up to me and said, "Jimmy, I need you to take me across the street, as there is a lady over there - who a man told me - that she wanted to die in the streets tonight. I met this lady earlier and knew exactly who Mama was talking about. I offered her a bible and she gave me the worst look as if to say, "get away from me." I sensed that she was very bitter and was full of anger, so I left her alone as I didn't feel the annointing to speak to her. We got in the van and drove around the corner. We parked and me and mama got out. Mama went straight to her and at first the lady was bitter, complaining about this guy James. Mama began to love her and talk to her. I started talking to James and when I looked down, I noticed a different look on this lady's face. God was using Mama to soften her and rip down her walls of bitterness and anger. She was starting to be receptive and she started weeping. Mama was wiping the tears off her face, telling her that it was cold and she didn't want the tears to be cold on her face. She wouldn't accept food or anything earlier in the night and now, we were running across the street getting her a bowl of soup, bread and coffee. She was smiling and told Mama that she was at peace and even that she wanted to go to church with us tomorrow.
The crazy thing is that we brought this really BIG quilt and I intially was thinking of leaving it at the house, because I thought it would be too big and heavy for anyone to carry. It's the only blanket we had left. When we asked Rita if she wanted it she was extremely excited. I said, "It's really big, are you sure?" She said, "Yes, I'd like to have it." When I handed it to her she was so happy, she immediately covered herself with it. Once again, God's ways and thoughts are not like mine. It seems like everytime I say no to something, God uses that very thing to amaze me. He really provided everything we needed...just for tonight.
Tomorrow morning at 9 am I'm meeting several homeless folks at the Greyhound bus station. They will be joining us at New Life Providence to worship our great God. Many of them are very excited to go. Our God is great! I'm so grateful for his love and care. His ways are perfect!
PS - And to top it all off, when I got home tonight, I walked in and my mom was crying saying, "Adah got saved tonight as we were watching "Fireproof."
Rejoicing in His love,
Jimmy
I feel like every week I start the blog post with this statement, "I can't believe what the Lord did tonight at "A Church Without Walls," but it's so fitting. Each week he moves so powerfully and it's so great to enjoy the power of God with friends and family. It continues to renew our faith and strengthen us as we seek to make Him known to a lost and dying world. I'm eager to share the power of God with you, as I testify to His glorious might! He is mighty, worthy, a strong tower, the prince of peace, the restorer, bondage breaker, a faithful friend to the broken, the Savior of the world and He deserves much glory. For he has done great things!
I was especially excited about this week, because my mom, step dad and mother-in-law came in for Noah's 6th birthday party. My mom watched our kids, so that Laura could go serve with us. I was thankful that she could go and see what the Lord is doing among the homeless community, in downtown Norfolk. She has worked so hard preparing food, washing cloths, blankets, etc, so I was grateful that she could be on the front line, witnessing God's mighty work, first hand.
We arrived at W. 19th street around 5 pm tonight. When we pulled up, no one was there, but I was in faith that the Lord would bring the homeless to us, as He has been faithful. We prayed on our way down there and we specifically prayed that the Lord would bring them to us, so I was in faith that He would provide as he saw fit. God provided many new blankets, gloves, hats, jackets, hoodies, soup, bread, cookies, etc that we were able to bring tonight, for which I'm grateful. I often catch my self wondering how God will continue to provide for these folks. Even tonight, Laura looked at me and said, "Maybe we should save some stuff for next week." I agreed with her at first, but I believe the Spirit was speaking this word to me..."This is what I've given you for them THIS WEEK. I'm faithful and worthy to be trusted. These are my children and I will continue to provide for them, just trust me," so we packed all that we had. :)
This week, it was me, Laura, Laura's mom (Ellen), and my step dad (Art). We got out of the van and started getting ready to serve by opening the packs of cups, bowls, etc. As I looked up, I saw one man walking towards us. It wasn't long before many came out of nowhere and we were feeding them, handing out bibles, cloths and blankets. It's been nice having people helping me, as they were able to serve them soup, coffee, bread and this allowed me to focus on ministering and praying for them. This week, I felt as if the Lord led me to James 5 and He was calling me to pray for those who were suffering and/or sick. I had a little bottle of olive oil, as I believe he was calling me to annoint them with oil and pray a prayer of faith over their lives. As many were eating, I had the opportunity to annoint a man named Keith with oil and pray for Him. He smelled like alcohol and as soon as I started praying for him, I noticed that he started to cry. Each tear that dropped was a drip of bitterness, hurt and pain coming out from within him. God was ministering to his heart. When I finished praying for him, mama (Ellen) gave him a bowl of soup and he asked if he could hug her. He was so grateful. He said, "Thank you," over and over.
We fed about 15-20 people at W. 19th street and we decided to go over to "Christ the King" a local Catholic church, where many of them would be hoping to get into the shelter for the night. When we arrived, there was no one there, but we noticed that some people were wheeling a cart in with food on it. However, we didn't see any homeless people, which was uncommon. Typically, they arrive early to try to guarantee themselves a ticket to get in to the shelter. I decided to park and go inside, so I could talk with those who were leading this effort. The folks there told me that all of the homeless people would be at the Greyhound bus stop, waiting for the bus to pick them up to bring them to the shelter. I explained what we were doing and asked permission to pray for the folks, hand out bibles, blankets, etc on their property. The head guy explained that he would have to discuss this type of thing at the next council meeting and he would take my phone number and let me know what they said. He stated that there were many other denominations, even muslims on the council that he would have to get approval from. He wasn't sure how they would feel about me praying for them on their property. I was really confused, but again God used this to show me why he's called me to this and why he's given me this vision. The man said, I could leave the food with them and he would save it for another day if I wanted. I said, "Well, it's hot and I feel like God gave it to me to use tonight."
I went back out to the van and said, "We have to head to the bus stop," so off we went. I pulled up to the bus stop and there were probably 40 people sitting against the fence waiting for the bus. We opened the back of the van and started handing out food again. I walked down the sidewalk and asked if anyone needed prayer, to which to my surprise, many said, "yes." I annointed many with oil and prayed a prayer of faith over them. I was able to pray for healing to Dion's back and Mary's leg. I was able to lay hands on Dianne, who was crying, telling me of her addiction to alcohol. She hugged me so hard, it's almost as if she didn't want to let go. I realized immediately, she was responding to God's love and she was ultimately clinging to him. She kept saying over and over, "there's something different...I feel it, I feel it..."
As I was walking down the street, I noticed a guy from the "Christ the King" church that I had spoken to earlier. I realized that there were others with him as well that I saw inside the church when I went in to speak with them. He pulled me to the side and said, "Sir, I just want to tell you that we screen these folks before we allow them to enter the shelter. If they have been drinking we don't let them in, as we don't want them to disturb others or those who are serving." He also said, "We're not trying to convert them, we're just trying to give them a warm place to sleep and keep them out of the rain. We're not going to force our denomination on anyone, and I would recommend you do the same." I was a little caught off gaurd and I said, "Sir, no disrespect, but their only hope is Jesus Christ and I'm hear to introduce them to Him and Him alone. Getting them off the street for the night is important, but tomorrow they'll be cold, again. Salvation is their only hope. It should be our top priority." He continued to tell me that he wasn't pushing his denomination on anyone, to which I responded, "Sir, there is only one way to the father...Jesus Christ is the only way, it's not like there are many ways to choose from." I asked him if he remembered the story of the women who was bleeding for 12 years and she knew that if she could just touch the robe of Jesus she could be well. That's what these folks need! How about the story of the demon possessed boy who ran around in the tombs, naked, cutting himself, crying out, unable to be bound by chains? When he encountered Jesus the bible says, "He was found sitting in his right mind." "This is what these folks need, sir!" I experienced a little taste of what Jesus may have dealt with when he encountered the religious leaders.
Then, the best part of the whole night...Mama came up to me and said, "Jimmy, I need you to take me across the street, as there is a lady over there - who a man told me - that she wanted to die in the streets tonight. I met this lady earlier and knew exactly who Mama was talking about. I offered her a bible and she gave me the worst look as if to say, "get away from me." I sensed that she was very bitter and was full of anger, so I left her alone as I didn't feel the annointing to speak to her. We got in the van and drove around the corner. We parked and me and mama got out. Mama went straight to her and at first the lady was bitter, complaining about this guy James. Mama began to love her and talk to her. I started talking to James and when I looked down, I noticed a different look on this lady's face. God was using Mama to soften her and rip down her walls of bitterness and anger. She was starting to be receptive and she started weeping. Mama was wiping the tears off her face, telling her that it was cold and she didn't want the tears to be cold on her face. She wouldn't accept food or anything earlier in the night and now, we were running across the street getting her a bowl of soup, bread and coffee. She was smiling and told Mama that she was at peace and even that she wanted to go to church with us tomorrow.
The crazy thing is that we brought this really BIG quilt and I intially was thinking of leaving it at the house, because I thought it would be too big and heavy for anyone to carry. It's the only blanket we had left. When we asked Rita if she wanted it she was extremely excited. I said, "It's really big, are you sure?" She said, "Yes, I'd like to have it." When I handed it to her she was so happy, she immediately covered herself with it. Once again, God's ways and thoughts are not like mine. It seems like everytime I say no to something, God uses that very thing to amaze me. He really provided everything we needed...just for tonight.
Tomorrow morning at 9 am I'm meeting several homeless folks at the Greyhound bus station. They will be joining us at New Life Providence to worship our great God. Many of them are very excited to go. Our God is great! I'm so grateful for his love and care. His ways are perfect!
PS - And to top it all off, when I got home tonight, I walked in and my mom was crying saying, "Adah got saved tonight as we were watching "Fireproof."
Rejoicing in His love,
Jimmy
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