Listen up!!

What would your immediate reaction be if someone said, "God told me to _________." (fill in the blank)? Would you raise a mental eyebrow and wonder if the person was dabbling in some new age philosophy?

Do you believe God speaks to people today? I do!!

Last Friday a friend I hadn't heard from in months called and said, "You've been on my mind for the last two weeks. What's going on? Are you free for coffee?" We met a half hour later and spent two and a half hours in mutual encouragement. I told her, "I know why the Holy Spirit put me on your mind ~ my mother died two weeks ago."

I've been on the other end of that senerio, too, when the Lord's impressed me over and over again with thoughts of a person and I don't know why, but I do know I'd better pray. Once after that happened, I decided to call these friends who lived out of state, and discoverd to my dismay that she had left him that very day! I was so glad I was listening to the Holy Spirit that day. I was able to pray with our hurting friend and entrust him to the Father's care.

Listening to God is how grace in ACTION usa came into being. God began to talk to me about helping economically in Jackson, Kentucky. My immediate response, "Who me?" And he said, "Yes, you!" So I kept listening and he kept speaking to me, as I thought, prayed, and read his word. Now I eagerly await each new thought from him.

I can't tell you how great the ride has been since that thought first came to me. If you want to live an exciting, thrill packed life of trust, listen up!

"Now You're An Orphan!"

My mother went to heaven early this past Friday morning. Isn't that wonderful? We are just praising the Lord for releasing her from the prison her body had become since her major stroke last September. She was a 91 year old woman of strength and faith, who loved life but was ready to die. What a great way to be! Is that your attitude?

Most of us find it very awakward when it comes to talking about death. Many of my mother's generation refuse to even discuss plans for the often inevitable care that will be needed, what they want done with their things, or the kind of memorial service they'd like. We'll be taking mother's body to her home town for burial. I mean literally transporting it in our van. That really spooks some people! That's nearly $1000 we won't have to pay someone else to do it. I'd rather give that money to grace in ACTION usa!

I've been surprised how many times in the last three days someone has said to me, "Now you're an orphan." Praise the Lord, I don't feel like an orphan ~ alone or abandoned, destitute or homeless. My apron strings have been cut far too long for that. When you're secure in your relationship with your heavenly Father you never have to feel like an orphan.

I can't even hazard a guess as to how many orphans there are in the world. And the number grows by hundreds each day, especially in countries where AIDS is rampant and children's parents die while they are still very young, leaving large families of orphans. How sad! Sadder still is the fact that these children may also be victims of the dread disease. I'm glad to be associated with mission organizations like ICDI & GBIM that are addressing a portion of those needs in the Central African Republic.

grace in ACTION usa doesn't have a specific plan to help orphans. But, God willing, our Community Life Centers will affect some of them, perhaps by helping them learn the life skills that will enable them to be good, Christian parents and teaching them job skills so they can raise and support a strong, healthy family. Maybe they'll even adopt an orphan! God willing, they'll have a faith strong enough to say "I don't feel like an orphan" when their parents are both gone.

May I point you to what James writes in chapter 1, verse 27. Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles., and refuse to let the world corrupt us.

If You Build It, They Will Come!

It's almost like the movie, "Field of Dreams."

In the three weeks since Hope Community Church opened their auditorium~worship center, attendance has increased by 600. Not to 600, but by 600! The 1450 seat auditorium is filled to capacity twice on Sunday mornings. Then there are the hundreds of children and workers. The staff is already contemplating when they'll schedule a third service. Parking is their biggest problem, eased by a host of volunteers manning the parking lots and shuttling people to and from the satellite parking areas.

What's the secret? As you can imagine, it's not just one thing. But I think Pastor Mike Lee nailed it when he pointed out this lesson from Jesus' ministry in Mark, chapter 3. "Meeting needs always results in a broader scope of ministry."

I mentioned in a previous blog the necessity for "putting your money where your mouth is." James said it much more graciously in chapter 2, verses 15 & 16. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

This is what motivates grace in ACTION usa. Our vision is to see churches and/or groups of believers leverage Christ into their communities by meeting their needs. Beyond that, our goal is to help them assist people who want to be able to meet their own needs ~ and while helping them, introduce them to Christ. We see Community Life Centers as venues where these very things can happen.

Come to think of it, that's what Hope Community Church is ~ a Community Life Center. For example, Moms can bring their children to the "recycled" McDonald playland, buy a cup of gourmet coffee (or even lunch), and visit while their children play. College students have their own "hang out" with computer hook-ups for study, lounges, big-screen TV and a laundry room! "The Gathering Place" with it's own coffee shop, serves lunches daily, and breakfast on Sunday. There are scores of classes and small groups for singles, seekers, and seniors! It's a center for community life.

The Community Life Centers GiA plans to help begin will include classes in job and life skills which are appropriate for each community they serve. Emphasis will be given to teaching children how to have a productive life when they're grown. Basic education skills and remedial tutoring will be offered. Does that get your juices going? I hope so!! We'll be looking for volunteers!

That's our "field of dreams"... . Please pray with us for prepared hearts so that "when we build it, they will come."

Empty purses!

Jesse and I are in Raleigh, NC. We're here attending the celebration of what God's done at Hope Community Church through his servants Mike and Laura Lee. This morning they'll dedicate the 90,000 square foot building God has given them. Last night there was a reception to honor those who have sacrificed in order to build a place where families can find God.

Our hotel is next to a beautiful mall. Yesterday we spent a few hours there ~ of course. Each time I shop, even in the grocery store, I'm more and more aware of all the stuff that's available. There's so much stuff available now that enterprising capitalists have created storage containers of shapes and sizes in which to store all that stuff! I heard someone say the other day that they had just come from "Stuff-mart". Too true.

As we walked through the purse department, it hit me again! How many purses does one person need? Key word, need! You can find a purse in every size and color. A purse for each outfit. Purses for day time and evening. I wonder how much time women spend transferring the contents of their purses from one to the other? Do you suppose they're loaded and ready to go?

You can pay a fortune for a name leather purse. And of course, you can get them in "knock-offs". By the time you buy all those purses, you have no money left to put in them. Empty purses! What an irony! Empty purses. Are they a picture of our empty lives? I think so.

If my purse is empty, I want it to be because my life is full of ways to give away all I have.

Are you wondering how many purses I have? Two. I think I'm going to send one of them to Jackson, KY for them to sell on eBay! I've only used it twice.

What Was God Thinking? Bono at the Prayer Breakfast!!

Do you ever wonder what God's thinking when he looks down on an event like this morning's Presidential Prayer Breakfast? Wouldn't you like to know? I would! Since he sees into our hearts and minds, he knows who's pretending and who's praying. The sheep, the goats, and the wolves aren't "pulling the wool over his eyes." ;-)

It's hard to tell who's faith is real and who's trusting in some false god. And sometimes, we totally misjudge a person's understanding of "the faith", when they don't use the same "christianeze" we do. But when you hear a person pray, it reveals a lot about how well they know the one to whom they're speaking. I learned a lot today, listening to others share their faith stories and pray.

But ~ wait just a minute!! Bono a main speaker at The Presidential Prayer Breakfast?. I can imagine that thousands of TV screens went black about then, and fundamentalists everywhere were incensed! I've only heard of Bono from the mainstream media. He's an Irish rock star from the group U2, I think! He's given millions of his own money and raised millions more to help the ease the pain and suffering on the continent of Africa. Wouldn't Jim Hocking like to tap into those resources for ICDI?

Once he got over the embarrassment of being asked to speak at such an event and began to open his heart of compassion for the poor, there was little doubt about where Bono was coming from. He knew more about Jesus' concern for the poor than most Evangelical Christians I know. He knew the scriptural teachings and how much of the Word deals with our attitude and care of those who can not help themselves. Not only that ~ he's doing something about it!

And would you believe he told that room full of politicians they should be tithing? Bono said he was really surprised when he learned how much Americans tithed. Then he chided our country's leaders for giving only 1% of the nation's budget to help the poor and challeged them to add one percent more in the coming year. By the way, 1% of the budget is 26 billion dollars.

One of Bono's closing quotew truly impacted me. "Stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Get involved in what God's doing; it's already blessed." That's what I want for grace in ACTION.

What did God think about The Presidential Prayer Breakfast? You'll have to ask him!