Dan and Shelly are from Philadelphia. They are both disabled and just
arrived in Norfolk
a week ago. Although they had enough money to stay in a hotel until October 3rd
when their next check comes in, it was stolen from their hotel room.
So they find themselves living on the streets until the 3rd
of October. Crazy isn’t it?
Dan was hit by a train, pronounced dead and woke up in the
morgue with a toe tag on a number of years ago. It shocked the priest that was
there reading last rites so badly that he dropped his bible and ran to get
help. Dan has no bone running from his wrist to his elbow – it’s a piece of
metal now – he showed me. His jaw was broken and his tongue was bitten off. He
showed me his tongue so I could see where it was sewn back on – Crazy right?
He had to learn how to walk again. [Think about that for a
moment]
He had to learn how to talk again. [Think about that for a
moment too]
Now they found themselves living on the streets of Norfolk. They had no
blanket, just the clothes on their backs. We bought them a blanket.
The cool thing about Dan was that he was totally optimistic.
Crazy isn’t it?
I know people with a roof over their heads, with good jobs,
and food in the refrigerator who can’t see God’s mercy. Crazy huh?
Here’s Dan, walking with a cane, thin as a rail and smiling
and telling me about people in his family who are doing well, and you can see
the pride shining all around him. Crazy thing isn’t it?
Shelly told me that if it weren’t for folks like us, helping
when they can, that they just wouldn’t make it. She was so soft spoken, so
kind, so appreciative - we prayed.
I also spoke to Demetrius, a young man who has been quiet
for the many weeks that I have known him. Tonight Patrick and Demetrius were
debating about who exactly Melchizedek is… you know, the king that Abram paid
tribute to. He was an angel suggested Patrick. Demetrius argued that he was
God. They both had good reason. They both know the Word. It was a good
conversation…. One I would have expected to have in church and not on the
streets… although conversations about the Word can be hard to find in some
churches where the Word stays pretty tight to the pulpit. Crazy, wouldn’t you agree?
It was a crazy night out on the streets and I was reminded
of the many years that I faithfully sat in church each and every Sunday morning
thinking that I was attending to God’s work. In fact, despite my work within
the walls of the church, I was a flourishing, but fruitless tree. Crazy, right?
It was an exciting night at A Church Without Walls last night, as we witnessed a powerful miracle with our own eyes! Read on.
There seems to be more and more people on the streets each
week. We saw a number of new faces. By God’s grace there have been more and
more people coming out to help serve. Last night Aaron, Monique, Jeremy &
his brother Josh (from Elizabeth City), Ezekiel & Shannon, Tom & Elisha
& Hezekiah, Debbie & Sophia, and Jimmy & I went out to serve the spaghetti
dinner that Laura had made to those of us who have no home. Imagine, a hot
spaghetti dinner with homemade sauce and garlic bread! Last night A Church Without Walls became ‘home’ for
these beautiful people – just as Jesus intended when he commanded us to ‘Love
our neighbors as ourselves.’
The spaghetti was gone in a moment… but the night was just
beginning. Everyone gathered around Josh, Shannon, and Ezekiel as they began to
play music and the rest of us served dessert – homemade brownies. Once everyone
had found a place on the curb Jimmy brought a word of encouragement from the
Gospel of John, sharing the story of the man who was born blind and when the
disciples asked ‘who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?’
Jesus replied ‘neither, but that the glory of God would be revealed to them all’….
including us.
Jimmy shared his testimony and introduced our new friend
Ezekiel who brought full circle the teaching with his testimony of his trials
and God’s ultimate glory.
God’s power was evident, as one man risked missing his
opportunity to have a place to sleep in order to be prayed for, and another
took the initiative to ask that we pray as a group… and we did.
Ezekiel, who himself has spent many a night homeless, made
an important observation. He said some people look for miracles in their great
wealth, their many blessings, or some great and obvious move of God. But it’s a
miracle when you’re hungry and someone gives you food, or when you’re thirsty
and someone gives you something to drink, or when you are cold and someone
gives you something to wear. These are the true miracles that Christ has called
each of His children to perform.
We witnessed the miraculous last night as the hungry were
fed, the thirsty were given drink, and everyone heard how much God loved them,
even in their desperate situation. It was a miracle as lives were changed
(including our own) right before our eyes. The love of God was freely
displayed, and new hope was brought to those who are struggling to survive.
The cool thing is that miracles are so easy to perform. How
difficult is it to make a spaghetti dinner? To purchase a $5 pizza and give it
to someone in need? How hard is it to hand a bottle of cold water to someone on
a hot day?
The truth is that the miracle that you are to perform today is
only a heartbeat away.
What miracle will you share with someone today?
A Church
Without Walls exists to encourage, empower,
and provide opportunity for the children of God to ‘perform the miracles’
prepared by God in advance for each of them to do.
What I'm about to share with you is an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness and his greatness. He really does take us from faith to faith and glory to glory. I'm still very affected by how God showed himself faithful to me, once again, through this most recent event.
Last week, during my personal prayer time, I felt like the Lord was saying very clearly, "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be
stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes." I questioned this and began to ask the Lord what it was he was asking of me. As I listened to the Lord, I believe that he was calling me to take yet another step of faith in regards to ministering to the inner city.
Up to this point, we've ministered to the homeless each and every Saturday night for almost a year, but the Lord reminded me of the initial vision. He wants to do so much more in the inner city than just minister to the homeless. Although, the homeless are precious to the heart of God, he's ready to do more. The questions he posed to me were these. Are you ready for this work? Are you ready to surrender everything? Are you ready to leave it all behind for the sake of this great gospel?
He led me to Ezekiel 36:33-36 and it was obvious what he was saying. Here's what the scripture says, "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your
sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of
all who pass through it. They will say, This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of
Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now
fortified and inhabited. Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt
what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the LORD have spoken,
and I will do it."
The Lord quickly revealed the place where he was calling me to, the projects of the inner city. He gave me a picture of me and others working on bicycles in the inner city. I believe he was showing me that the bicycle repair ministry would bless the kids and ultimately get us to the families. The word is love, love, love - serve, serve, serve. I had a conversation with my new friend Brandon Lannie from Richmond, VA who leads a bicycle repair ministry in the projects of Richmond with the Richmond Outreach Center (ROC). Monday, he sent me the whole outline of how he does things and ideas of how to get started. I must confess, I haven't really worked on bikes in my life, so this was really just a faith thing as I have no clue what I'm doing. God told me to do it and I want to be faithful.
Sunday, I spent 4 hours seeking the Lord and forming the vision for the "project ministry". The Lord quickly gave me the name for the ministry based on Ezekiel 36:33-36 - "The Ezekiel Project." (Remember this name) I typed up 3 pages describing the vision. It was amazing, how the Lord was giving me ideas and clarity.
Monday, I put a post on Facebook, sharing my vision about the "Bicycle Repair Ministry" and asking folks to consider giving me damaged bikes for parts before throwing them away or discarding them. I planned to start taking bikes apart and putting them back together, so I could learn how the parts work together and how to assemble and disassemble. I received 4 bikes total to be donated, just yesterday.
Later that day, I went to the local bike shop to get a new tube for my little girls bike. I'm still not quite sure how she got a flat tire on her bike, but I know now it was the will of the Lord for me to go to the bike shop. I walked in and asked for a 16" tube for Adah's bike. The man working was very helpful and handed me the tube, quickly.
There were two men working on some bikes on stands. As I was speaking to the two guys, I said, "You may think I'm crazy, but the Lord has given me a vision to start a bicycle repair ministry in the inner city of Norfolk, VA. I was wondering if you guys ever have spare parts or junk bikes that you'd be willing to donate to bless the children of the inner city. I noticed the one man stop working on the bike he had on the stand. He looked me dead in the face and said, "I knew you were coming, I heard about you and I already started saving bikes for the kids. I have some parts too." I said, "Sir, you must have the wrong guy, as I just finished this vision today and only started working on it Saturday." He said, "Well my friend Eric is the one who told me about it and he's very prophetic so I'm not sure if this was a prophetic word or what, but I just started working on bikes and I have them in the back, ready to go. I was blown away in that moment, but that's not it....
I just so happened to bring my 3 page vision with me to the bike shop. I handed it to the man and said, "Take a look at this paper, as this is the vision the Lord has given me." He looked at it and immediately tossed it on his work bench and started to cry. He paced back and forth breathing heavy and looking into the air. I said, "Are you okay man?" He didn't answer right away, so I asked again, "Are you okay?" He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "My name is Ezekiel!" (The Ezekiel Project) He immediately said, "Man, I need to talk to you. Can we meet tonight?" I said, "Sure." It just so happened, Jeremy and Rebekah Miller were coming over for a cookout. It all happened so fast, I realized after I left that I didn't get his phone #, but I wrote mine down and gave him my address. Several of us were waiting on him in my living room I started to get worried that he wasn't going to come. As soon as I said to those in my living room, "I hope he shows up," I noticed him riding outside of my house.
The next thing I know, we're sitting in my living room with about 10 people who are involved with "A Church Without Walls," listening to Ezekiel tell us about his 2200 mile bike journey. He has forsaken everything just to lean on the Lord and watch him provide for his every need. He called it a "journey" where he lived strictly on faith. Trusting God to provide his daily food going from town to town playing music and telling people his story, blessing them with his amazing harmonica talent, playing the banjo, etc. He walked several miles as well and it's important that you know, he did this all on a prosthetic leg. He said his leg would hurt if he walked for a small distance, but as he was on his journey, his leg didn't hurt. Isn't that amazing?
He's going to not only come help us with the bike repair ministry, he's going to help us learn how to blow glass, play the banjo, and raise honey bees. :) God has provided again!
This is our great God! Who is like him?
Check out this link of my new friend Ezekiel! Let's help him get a new leg!
Imagine what it is like when your electricity goes out. You
have no lights, no refrigerator or freezer, no air conditioning, or heat.
Now imagine your house has been destroyed by a tornado and
you have no running water, no place to sleep, no place to escape from the
mosquitoes, the gnats, the rain or the snow. No protection from people who
intend to rob you or do you harm.
That’s what it’s like every day when you’re homeless.
Now imagine people driving by and looking at you. Some look
down at you. Some are pointing at you as they drive past, and others keep their
eyes firmly stationed straight ahead so as to purposely not notice you.
I noticed that last night as Aaron, Monique, Nick, Jimmy,
and I set out to serve those of us who do not have homes. People driving by
with their windows up and their doors locked. I thought of the story of the Good
Samaritan. Do you remember that story? (Luke 10:30-37)
After grilling countless hamburgers and hotdogs and serving
ice cream, Nick got up to bring the Word of God to these blessed but in some
ways desperate people. He had spoken to one of the men last week who expressed
to him that he was still paying the price for being a felon. When Nick referred
to his conversation many men and women nodded in agreement that they had made a
mistake and had paid the price with jail time, but now were still paying for
their crime because they would not be hired because of their criminal records.
Then Nick told them about a God who loves them, and who
keeps no record of wrongs. A King who makes all things new, and a Savior who
with a word will make them new creations. Their mistakes remembered no more,
their life to be started anew in Christ.
I watched the people as Nick preached the Word and many of
them were entranced just thinking about having an opportunity to start over. An
opportunity to not make the mistakes of
their past.
Like the Good Samaritan, Nick stopped last night to bring
healing balm to these hurting and desperate people. He bound up their wounds,
fed them, and brought them the hope that can only come from our gracious savior
Christ Jesus.
I encourage you to read the story of the Good Samaritan and
determine who you are in the story. If you cannot identify with the Samaritan,
then let me further encourage you to get up out of your church pew, identify
the ministry God has put before you, and be about the good works that Jesus has
prepared in advance for you to do.
As you endeavor to do his will, He will give you eyes to see
those in need and the grace to be His disciple.
[‘A Church Without Walls’ exists to encourage, empower, and
provide opportunities for disciples of Christ Jesus to walk in the ministries
prepared by God in advance for them to do]
