I don't know all the answers/ But I know Someone Who does/ You see
I know JESUS/ And I know His love His love is there every moment/ His eyes
are always on me/ I am His beloved/ I know I always will be (repeat
chorus)
He is coming to take me/ To my home in the sky/ To dnce in His presence/
For the rest of my life (repeat chorus)
To listen to this song, go to www.mydaddylovesme.org/cd_pob.html
It is track #7 on the 'Pink or Blue?' CD. Hope you visit. Hope you enjoy
the song(s).
There's a message in the song, my dear brothers and sisters. We live
in a society that exalts certain people for their excellence in certain
areas. The most beautiful. The smartest, fastest, strongest, the expert,
the officer, the congressman, owner, celebrity, pastor, prophet, inventor,
founder, president, chairman. If you fit into one of these categories,
the rest of us will listen attentively while you "share" your latest exploits
in India, China, Washington, DC, Toronto, Argentina, Ground Zero, Promisekeepers,
Women of the Word, etc, etc. If you're a Christian, we'll travel hundreds
of miles to hear you talk, and if you're not, we'll send hundreds of e-mails
asking people to pray for you. We'll wait in line to buy your book or your
CD.
Why? (I don't think I should write anything else until you at least
think about what I'm asking. Why should anyone travel hundreds of miles
to see me? Why should they send out hundreds of e-mails asking people to
pray for me?)
There's probably no reason you'd expect people to go to that bother
to hear you speak, but thousands are flocking to keep up with the latest
Christian galaxy of stars. Do we really think they have something we don't?
We must. Why would we go to all this bother?
I was singing and speaking at a homeless shelter last night in Pittsburgh
to about 40 men. Part of their required fare to have a place to stay is
to listen to bible teaching and attend chapel services. You can tell some
of the guys really hate it. If you could get inside their heads and hear
things, it would sound something like:
"Oh, crap, here we go again.
Oh joy, tell me about how you have the answers and God's gonna change
my life. Right!!
Man look at him. He probably makes 60 grand just talking about pie
in the sky.
I have to tell you, I've seen some very miserable people at this shelter.
You could even say they are misery professionals. They are determined to
be miserable and stay miserable. But at every meeting there are a few men
who wound up there by circumstances such as divorce, lost job, financial
catastrophe, who want to do something with their life. They haven't given
up, and aren't comfortable being in a homeless shelter. And then, maybe
there's one or two who are tired of being a "bum" and making excuses for
their life, who really hate what their life has become, who might actually
listen to the truth.
I asked this group, "How many have ever played a musical instrument?"
About seven or eight hands went up, and I asked them what they played.
Drums, guitar, trumpet, piano. Then I asked, "How many have never played
an instrument?" About five or six hands went up. I paused and said, " So
we have at least 20 people here that can't honestly say they have or have
not played an instrument?" I got some funny looks. "I asked if you had
ever or never played an instrument, and twenty or more of you can't say
whether you have or haven't."
There was a box of hymn books, and we passed them all out, as I promised
them, "Don't worry, we're not going to sing any hymns." Probably 5 or 6
refused to take a hymn book. I passed out a few World Book Encyclopedia
volumes, because there weren't enough hymn books.
I held up a hymn book and started tapping my hand against it. I said,
"If you're miserable today, it's not my fault. If you're miserable now,
you were miserable before I got here, and you'll be miserable well after
I leave. I've got good news for you. You don't have to be miserable. God
loves you. Yeah. That's right. God loves..........YOU!!!!
Then I started pounding a rhythm on the hymn book and singing it out.
"I don't have to be miserable. I don't have to be miserable. I don't have
to be miserable. Because God loves me."
Now, I could have taught a bible lesson, and in fact before I left they
knew about how Jacob deceived Isaac, Laban deceived Jacob, Joseph was sold
into slavery, Potiphar's wife had Joseph thrown into the slammer, Joseph
became governor of Egypt, and all kinds of good stuff. The thing that registered,
however, was this: God really, really, really, really, really, really,
really loves those guys. Because He lives in me, I am a partaker of His
love for those guys, which means I can hug a man even if he smells bad,
and not feel like some kind of great humanitarian.
I don't ask guys to close their eyes and say a sinner's prayer. I tell
them that God loves them, and He will respond to the cries of their heart
if they cry out to Him. The important thing is that some of the guys believe
me. They know I'm speaking from my heart.
There was a lot of teaching going around in the eighties about how you
move up the ranks in the local church. As a new believer, you must be willing
to clean the toilets, then you can be an usher, and eventually an elder,
or maybe, just maybe, go to school and enter the FIVEFOLD Ministry...
Some would say my ministry to the homeless is a sign of humility and
if I keep at it, with a good attitude of course, God will PROMOTE me. Please
excuse me if I vomit...
I don't want a promotion. It's a privilege to go where I went last night
and do what I did. I'll be back next week loving those guys. They need
it! Wow, it sure got quiet...
Zephaniah 3:17 Ministries is looking for one or two people who
are interested in speaking out for the unborn at local churches in their
area. If you are one of these people please contact us. You will receive
training, encouragement, and even get paid.
Jo and I thank everyone who has encouraged us in our ministry, and also
those who haven't for showing us our need to grow.