Serving the least of these

Recently I have felt the LORD prompting me to reach out to the "least of these" in our community. Through prayer and God's Word I was led to our food box ministry through our church. I have helped fill the boxes to be given out but, I feel that we need to supply physical as well as spiritual food for these people. They come from low to no income homes full of abuse of all kinds. They are Hopeless... I wondered how I could help them. "Pray with them, talk with them, give them Jesus" I was told by the Spirit.

The Food box ministry is the last two Thursdays of every month, we give out food that has been donated to the church and also through Oregon's food bank. We see people from all walks of life, a definite mission field.

Before I went the first time to be with the people and pray with them, I asked the LORD to bring people about who needed prayer or encouragement. Sure, enough, God is faithful. I arrived to the church and was told immediately that there was someone who was there and was asking for prayer specifically. What a confirmation to what God had in mind for me through this ministry.

After talking with and praying over this woman and her child I was led across the room to another table. The table had three women sitting around it. Two of which were believers in Christ and one whom was very confused about her beliefs. Of course I knew which the LORD had led me to. I began talking with the women about their faith and the churches they attended, one was my church, so I felt that the LORD had given me an ally to help out with the other lady. The lady, whose name I won't use, had been to church in the past, and was now investigating the Jehovah's Witness church. I asked her why she would choose that church over another and she couldn't tell me, she had no idea Who Jesus is, or what she believed from the Bible. Of course, I opened my Bible to John 1:1 and began to tell her Who Jesus Christ is and what He'd done for her. After talking with her for a long while I encouraged her to read John on her own to see first, if what I told her were Truth and second, to learn for herself about Who Christ is.

I prayed for her and her family over the past two weeks. As I arrived at the church last Thursday I was hoping to see her again, sure enough there she was! I was excited to see what God had done in the two weeks since I'd talked with her. I was so excited to hear her say that she knew I had been praying for her because she had felt "drawn" to our church the week before. I encouraged her to come with me this coming Sun. and told her I would wait at the front door to meet her so she'd know someone there. Well, the story doesn't end there. God had another job that needed done that day... As I was sitting there talking with this lady, a man came up and sat down with us at the table. I could sense the LORD prompting me to reach out to him as well. I began to ask him about his faith. Immediately I saw the wall go up and the defenses come out. This was going to be a major battle I could tell. We sat and talked for about an hour and a half. In that time period the man got up three times to walk away and kept coming back. At one time he told me he didn't want to hear anything about God and he is choosing Satan, because God hadn't done anything for him! WOW! This hurt my Spirit so much tears cam to my eyes, this man had been so hurt by this world that he was knowingly choosing Satan, the very one who had hurt him. He told me he already lived in Hell every day of his life and he was not good enough for Heaven. God could not forgive him, he had done too many wrongs. This is actually the first time I've had someone come right out and say that to me.

God was amazing to watch as he spoke through myself and this other lady, watching this man open up and tell of the ugliness that had happened to him, the "other" lifestyle that he is involved with currently. And, wouldn't you know, the lady had experienced the same exact things and was able to witness to God's Goodness in releasing her from them. She is now asking for prayer to stop smoking. After the first hour and I think the third time this man came back to our table the lady says "wanna come to church with me, I don't want to go alone since I don't know anybody" I was floored. God used me to reach out and talk with this lady, then, He connected the two of them with their pasts and current struggles all in order to get this man and woman back to church together since there was no one else for either of them to go with! Blown away? Yes, God is amazing, He cares and uses us in ways we'll never figure out. I was just an avenue to connect these two through opening up myself and God's Word to them. I will be waiting at the front door to our church at 11 am Sunday, praying the LORD would speak to them in a way that will keep them coming back for more of Him.