The Gutter

Here's a fun little challenge for you today. Take a close look at this picture and tell me what you see.

Garbage dumpsters, parking meters, a moving vehicle, pigeons on the sidewalk, palm trees, a couple walking, a pawn shop.... anything else?

Well, there's a "16th Street" sign, a McDonald's across the street, and... a church sign. Do you see it? Upper left. "San Juan 14;6 Pentecostal." San Juan is St. John. And here's the verse:

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6

Good verse. And this is a good place for a church. 

Regardless, welcome to "the gutter." This is where many of us live these days. How do you like what we've done with the place? The picture was taken in San Francisco.

Now, tell me the things you DON'T see. Besides Nancy Pelosi, that is.

I don't see any cars parked in front of the parking meters. I don't see anyone cleaning up the trash. And other than the couple walking through the mess, I don't see any other humans at all. Besides the walking couple, and the person taking the picture, there is no one.

Welcome to the future. And the future is now.

If you saw someone lying in the gutter on a street like this where you live, would you stop to help them? Or would you walk right by? Be honest.

Our apathy as a society is why we still have homeless people sleeping in the gutters of every major city in America. We don't stop to help.

We send news crews to take pictures and we say 'somebody should do something' but no one ever does. We are the reason Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." (Matthew 26:11)

The one thing missing from the picture above that really stands out is the church....the body of Christ. Yes, there is a sign, and a building, but there is no one out on the street....in the actual gutter....doing anything.

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have." - Luke 10:30-35

Jesus is returning soon. Where do you think we'd find HIM? With the sick, the poor, the homeless, the hurting.

Where then should WE be?

The Parable of The Gas Can

Have you heard about the homeless man who spent his last $20 on gas for a stranded motorist? A woman ran out of gas in Philadelphia. She had no money and no hope until a homeless man offered to buy her some gas. He told her to "get in the car and lock the doors" while he went to the gas station. But in doing so he actually demonstrated much more than kindness.

The story is a wonderful one - especially at Thanksgiving time. Not only was it a story about the character of this homeless man but it also spoke to the thankfulness of the woman who raised over $350,000 for the man through a GoFundMe page.

There is a deeper story here though. One with eternal ramifications. Hidden just under the surface -  the story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

How much like that woman are all of us - stranded in "the world"? We suddenly come to the realization that we are in trouble . . . in danger. We don't know what we should do. Call for help maybe? Walk through a sinful world in hopes of finding some salvation?

That's when someone walked into her life and gave her hope. Have you or I done that for someone lately? My guess is no. This guy gave everything he had to give some stranger hope for her future. He was her savior when He sacrificed himself and his $20 to give her hope. And gas. Didn't Jesus do the same thing for us?

I'm sure this woman has received more expensive gifts but none of greater value.

^"41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” - Mark 12:41-44
 
And look how grateful the woman was! She started a GoFundMe page and literally told the whole world what this man has done.

Are you a Christian? If you are you have been saved from the penalty of your sin. That should give us hope because the penalty for our sins is death. Yet, have WE gone and told the whole world? No. And why not? Good question. Jesus has COMMANDED us to do so.

This week I challenge us to tell this story of the homeless man who gave his last $20 to help someone else. And then share the Gospel with someone. It's actually easier than you might think. We should share our story of how God saved US. That's OUR $20 worth of gasoline.

⁴⁴ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶ who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." - Matthew 13:44-46

Homeless Man Gives Last $20 - Washington Post

What About Now?

There are times when we prefer to do things on our own. "We got this!" we tell ourselves. "No problem!" And sometimes we actually CAN do things on our own. But then there are other times when we need the help of someone else. Like last weekend for me. And like 2,000 years ago for all of us.

I constructed a few walls last weekend for a tiny home I am building. I did it all by myself. But when it came time to actually move the walls to the job site I was unable to do so. They were too heavy. A few days later however, when a couple of friends came over, all three of us managed to pick up the walls with no trouble at all.

Sometimes the opposite can be true. "There's no way I can do this all by myself. Why even bother?" We can be so unsure of ourselves that we often fail to even try. Perhaps, if we had simply made an effort, we could have made a difference.

Jesus made a difference.

2,000 years ago He sacrificed Himself, paying the penalty for OUR sins, so that we could do something we never could have done on our own. Get into heaven. We can never earn our way into heaven by trying to be good enough. We will always fail at that. But when we place our faith in Jesus, He does all the "heavy lifting" for us.

Have you ever thought about Jesus? Have you ever considered WHY He died? He died for YOU, you know. Embrace the One who has promised to never leave you.

There are people in this world who don't know Him. There are people, right now, in need of someone to do THEIR heavy lifting. We ALL can make a difference if we come together in love and exhibit the grace, mercy and compassion that God showed to us.

So, when are we going to do that? When are we going to love one another as Christ loved us?

What about now? What about today? Before it's too late.

"34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35

What About Now - Daughtry

The Swamp

When I was a kid on our farm in Michigan I spent a lot of time in "The Swamp". I'd go down to the swamp and catch frogs, turtles, snakes or anything else that moved. The swamp is where I had my fun. This story is not about THAT swamp.

Sadly, these days "The Swamp" is in Washington D.C. The snakes that live there get THEIR fun out of spending other people's money and making rules and laws that they usually don't obey themselves.

Our latest president won the election based on a word picture that resonated with many American voters. He said he wanted to "drain the swamp". Most Americans would like nothing more than to start over and recall ALL of our senators and congressmen and women from Washington and begin anew. Nothing seems to be getting done.

Our government throws our money at all kinds of ridiculous things.

I saw a video this week about a guy who decided to build some houses for all of the homeless people living in Hollywood. And there are a lot of homeless there! Things were going well with the project. Houses were getting built, people were loving that they had a roof over their heads.

Then the government got involved. They removed their tiny homes and destroyed them. One would think that if someone like the guy building the Tiny Homes wants to build them and give them to people, they would let him. But no.

LA Musician Builds Tiny Homes For The Homeless

Our government spends money on the stupidest things. They spend OUR money watching birds, vacation for people placed on administrative leave, or solar beer. Here's a Top Ten List.

Top Ten Most Ridiculous Government Programs

The model I like for helping others is found in The Book of Acts. If there was a need the members of the church took care of it.

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." - Acts 2 42-47

I'm not saying the church should pay for every government program. I'm saying that when there is a need it should be taken care of, or at least allow people to meet that need if they want to.

Is there someone in YOUR life who has a need? I'll bet there is. When you encounter someone in need, what would YOU do? Think about that. What would God have YOU do?
 
Helping Others

Me of Little Faith

Trying to find the right path through this world all by yourself can be like hacking your way through a dense jungle with a machete. It's possible, but it can also be difficult, especially if your blade is dull.

Recently, I ordered the trailer for a tiny home I am going to be building. It was slow going to make that decision. My machete blade, my confidence, was dull. Even though I only had two options.

Option One was buying a trailer specially built for tiny homes from Georgia. Option Two was simple - buy local. Only the trailer would cost $400 more. Even though it cost a little more, I chose Option Two. God, however, chose Option One.

This past Monday after work I was on my way to order the locally built trailer. It was going to happen. I had e-mailed the salesman and told him I was coming and when I was going to be there. It was a done deal. But on the way there I began feeling apprehensive about it. Really nervous and unsure. I began to doubt my decision. Was this really the right thing to do?

Upon my arrival at the trailer place the salesman I had been communicating with was nowhere to be found.  He was "unavailable" and was in his office with the door closed. Nobody else there knew anything about my previous trailer discussions. No one could find any quote.

After waiting 15 minutes, someone said, "I'll go get him." Good, I thought. He never came out. 15 minutes later I left. No sale, no salesman, nothing. I was SURE this was the right choice. I was clearly wrong.

I ordered my trailer on-line two days later from the company in Georgia - Tiny Home Builders. I couldn't have been more pleased. I received a phone call, half a dozen e-mails, a subscription to their newsletter, and I was provided access to numerous classes regarding tiny home construction. My logical choice was clearly not what God had in mind. God was clearing my way through the tiny home jungle, despite my desires to go in a different direction.

^{"11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.} - Jeremiah 29:11

What I didn't remember until later was that I had previously prayed for God to guide my decisions in my desire to build this tiny home for the homeless. He did just that as I literally found the door closed when pursuing Option One.

God had answered my prayer.

I found it very humbling to be reminded that God actually does hear our prayers. "Ye of little faith," I could almost hear Him say. I felt ashamed to realize my doubt in God. Perhaps I thought He was "too big" to help me with such a small decision. I was wrong.

How has God answered prayers in YOUR life? Has He brought someone into your life to help guide you in some way? Have you prayed for a new job and then suddenly been given one? Have you prayed for one thing to happen, then something even better happens?

As Christians, we have been chosen by God. That in itself is humbling! But I also believe that we have been chosen because we are supposed to do something for Him. We're not just supposed to sit on our butts in church for an hour on Sunday and then do nothing for the rest of the week. We are to move forward in faith . . . blind faith. God will direct us to accomplish His will. Why do we keep insisting on grabbing the steering wheel when He's sitting right in the drivers seat doing just fine.

May we be obedient in our decisions, may we be faithful in God's provision, and may we be sure of His direction for us. Even though sometimes it seems wrong to us, may we be ever-faithful of His plans for us, plans to prosper us and not harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.

God's Miraculous Plan - Nick Vujicic
Tiny House Trailer Video - Tiny Home Builders