Love The City Day 1
It’s the end of a 17 hour work day on our first day of Loving the City of Spartanburg. What a day it’s been. We worked on a house on North Forest in downtown Spartanburg. There is no way to adequately express all that God has done today. But let me share a few of the highlights.
#1. We woke up to rain, but left our morning devotion time to clearing skies.
#2. We had nearly 60 volunteers help transform the house.
#3. Students actually asked to go door-to-door delivering food and the Good News to all the surrounding neighbors.
#4. God let us meet an angel today. Towards the end of the day a neighbor named Mark walked up and offered to help . He was a professional roofer and he jumped right in. In fact, he took over and finished a whole side almost by himself. More than that he’s coming back tomorrow to finish what we couldn’t. He said that he had done a lot of wrong in his life and needed to begin giving to others. He may not be an actual angel, but the Lord is working in his life and God used him to be an angel to us and to the roof work for Ms. Keenon.
#5. A hail storm was predicted to hit us – and it passed by with barely a few drops of rain.
#6. People from Morningside ranging from six years old to seventy plus came together to be the hands and feet of Christ.
#7. Ms. Keenon’s house now has: a new roof, freshly painted trim and front porch, freshly painted kitchen, new flooring in the kitchen, a refrigerator, cooktop, vent hood, bed (she had no bed before), ceiling fan in her bedroom, and a new hot water heater (her water heater has been broken since 2005 – she hasn’t had a hot bath in her home for seven years).
#8. Ms. Keenon was overwhelmed by the love of these students. Our church was overwhelmed by Ms. Keenon’s love for us. We are all overwhelmed by Christ’s love.
We have three more amazing days ahead of us. Keep praying for our mission team.
There’s No Place Like Home
A few days ago Anderson’s teacher (Mrs. Fisher) asked the class to write a journal entry about a place that makes them happy. To our great surprise we found out that Anderson wrote about our house. This was an in-class assignment so he came up with this totally on his own. Though he hash’t accepted Christ as his Savior, it’s awesome to see him drawing closer to it as he talks about how much he enjoys reading the Bible at the dinner table. The phrase that makes me just want to bust with pride is when he writes about bring his kids one day to this home. I sure do hope this continues as he goes through the teen years (though I know better). More than anything I pray that the Lord will continue to help Ashley and I raise all three of these little boys to become men who follow hard after Jesus. We want our home to be a place where Jesus is spoken of all the time and where children are loved, encouraged, and discipled. In the day-to-day hectic pace of being in ministry and raising three boys we don’t always get it right. Ashley and I sometimes fail as parents and as partners, but it’s awesome to see that at least in this moment it’s making a difference for Anderson. May our homes be places where disciples are made. That’s the place where God designed it to happen in the first place.
24 Years of Freedom
Today is a special day. It’s my birthday. Not my biological birthday – my spiritual birthday. On March 6, 1988 my life was forever changed. I was an eleven year old kid living in Florence, SC going with my family to Greenwood Baptist Church. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting with my family on the back left side of the sanctuary. For a few weeks prior to this day I had been sensing that the Lord was after my whole heart. I knew about Jesus, but I didn’t know Christ personally. I had never asked him to be my Lord and Savior. But during the invitation time on March 6, 1988 I release my hands that were gripping the back of the pew and nearly ran down the aisle. I can’t remember all that I said, but I remember crying and barely being able to speak. I remember telling the pastor of my sinfulness and my need for Jesus. As he and I prayed, the God of the Universe and I were reconciled to each other through Jesus Christ. That day began the amazing journey that I’m still on today. I love you Lord. You are my God and forever will be. Thank you for giving me this abundant and free life. To You be the glory forever and ever…amen.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9
