2050
THE LORD SAID TO ME- TAKE A GREAT
SCROLL AND WRITE IN IT WITH A MANS HAND- Isaiah 8:1
This week I want to cover some of
the gaps in our recent study called ‘Abrahams kid’.
I tried to give a brief overview
of the whole bible story in a few posts- to make it easier for people to get a
grasp of the main theme of the bible.
But- we skipped a lot of good
stories- practical things- at the time.
I have been covering the ‘skipped
things’ in our house meetings- and want to do a little for our on-line
community.
If you remember- I talked about
God making promises to people [Abraham and his descendants- the Jewish people].
The promises centered on them
having a huge family of people- so many- that you would never be able to count
them.
But- if you read this story in
the bible- the main characters- are mostly barren [can’t get pregnant].
Sarah- and the other women whom
this promise is connected to- are not having kids at the normal time when women
have kids.
Sarah was about 90 years old when
she gave birth to Isaac.
Even as the promise continues
into the New Testament- Elizabeth- the mother of John the Baptist [a key figure
in the story- John was a prophet that was to come before the Messiah].
Elizabeth’s husband- Zechariah
the priest- was praying for a son, because his wife too was barren [not able to
get pregnant].
If you remember- this is a famous
story in the gospel- the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah while he is doing
his priestly duties in the Temple.
And the angel tells him that his
wife Elizabeth will have a child in her old age [much like the story of Abraham
and Isaac].
Now- it almost seems like a
contradiction that many of the key players to a promise- that ‘your wives will
have millions of kids’.
That most of these wives- were
not able to get pregnant!
Why did God do this?
God often makes promises to his
people- calls them to various purposes/ministries- that in the natural- they can’t
perform.
There’s a verse in the book of
Zechariah ‘not by might- nor by power- but by my Spirit saith the Lord’.
God calls people to tasks- that
when the mission comes to pass- we can’t say ‘see- look what WE did’.
He often gives us assignments
that do indeed look impossible.
He also rarely gives you all the
details at the start.
Even though he knows them.
The prophet Isaiah says ‘God
knows the end [outcome] of a thing from the start’.
Again ‘ I HAVE DECLARED THE
FORMER THINGS FROM THE BEGINNING AND THEY WENT FORTH OUT OF MY MOUTH AND I
SHOWED YOU THEM- I DID THEM SUDDENLY- AND THEY CAME TO PASS’.
Ephesians says ‘God chose us- from
before the world was made- to believe in him- and to do a specific task in
life’.
God ordained you to fulfill this
purpose from day one.
It’s interesting- both John the
Baptist- and Jesus- were given their names by the angel Gabriel.
‘You will name him Jesus- for he
will save his people from their sins’.
Zechariah- John’s dad- was told
‘his name will be John’.
The bible says the people were
surprised that he named him John- because there were no other John’s in the
family.
The names denote their purpose
[John means beloved].
In a way- God was saying ‘I have
set purposes for these children- they have now come [been born] at this time- for
a purpose I ordained before I made the world’.
FOR THE LORD HEARETH THE POOR AND
DESPISETH NOT HIS PRISONERS
2- Had a real good meeting at
Pop’s house yesterday.
Pop’s [Bobby] used to sing and
play piano for some famous old time gospel groups- The Gaithers- Imperials-
etc. he even played a CD for us where he was playing piano in the background-
not a homemade CD- but discs that were released professionally.
I have been holding home church
meetings just about every day now- in different cities- spots around town.
I have been surprised that many
of my street friends have been interested in attending the meetings.
And some of the guys- so far-
have quit drugs.
Why Now?
For many years- I too was an
alcoholic- but I’m in my 2nd year sober- and this needed to happen
to get results.
Jesus said ‘a bad tree can’t
produce good fruit’.
If you’re not clean yourself- you
really can’t help others.
I have so many interesting stories/prophetic
things [dreams- visions] that have happened this last year- it would be
impossible to tell them all.
Let me give you just one.
Over the years I have learned to
‘see’ my buddies- who have died- as still being in our group.
In the mornings- when I pray- and
work with the guys on the street- I keep the old timers who have died ‘with me’
in this community.
Last year- before I went to New
Jersey- I made a journal- with verses- pictures- and little art things- things
I found on the streets of N.J. and Texas while I was doing my long walks [If I
remember I’ll post pics of the journal on Facebook].
Before I left- I found just one
actual picture of Bill.
Bill died a few years back- many
of the guys I’m working with now never met Bill.
A couple of them do.
Bill had a severe limp- and
walked in a unique way- you could recognize him from a mile away.
So- I have this photo of Bill in
my journal- it was hanging up on the bulletin board at the mission- I ‘acquired’
it for my journal.
The last few weeks- as I was
praying- I had a sense of Bill ‘walking and leaping and praising God’ [Acts]
On my long walks- I started
running into an old street friend- Carpenter Tim.
Tim, Bill and I go back for 25
years.
Tim was part of the original crew.
But many of the guys now don’t
even know Tim.
He has a homeless camp in the
Bluff- works- does his routine- and you don’t see him on the streets.
He’ll ride his bike into town-
and that’s when I have been running into him.
I have a prayer spot off the Oso
bay- he’ll catch me there every so often.
The other day I ran into Tim at
the store.
He pulled up in the parking lot
and tells me-
‘Hey John- I had this strange
dream about Bill the other day- it was so weird’
‘Bill was running and jumping at
the Wal Mart parking lot- there was an oil rig right there [I actually doodle
pictures of oil rigs when I do my little art stuff- to me it’s an image of a
Well- not the type you read about in the bible- but that’s why I do use this
image- you know ‘Texas well’ thing]
I told Tim- it was a prophetic
dream- because I just recently was ‘seeing’ this same image in my prayer time
[Not the exact image- but an image of Bill healed- and rejoicing about what we
were doing in the Bluff].
The next day I ran into Michael
at the mission.
Mike has been on the streets for
many years.
Works multiple jobs- just bought
a nice van- and will be getting an apartment soon.
Mike is a talented artist- he has
painted a couple of pictures for me- for the ministry.
[I consider him as the artist for
the ministry]
One is hanging up on the wall of
my partner at the halfway house [by the way- Mike just met him yesterday].
So when I saw Mike- I asked him
‘I want you to do another painting for me- I’ll explain it to you when we sit
down’.
[I posted the pictures of Bill on
Facebook- you can see Mike making the sketch]
We went back to the house and I
shared the dream Tim had.
As Mike was making the sketch- I
thought ‘geez- maybe I’ll just have him sign the sketch- and keep that’ [I’ll
also post the sketch].
It was so cool- all these signs
and stuff- from my street friends.
BEHOLD- I- AND THE CHILDREN THAT
THE LORD HAS GIVEN ME ARE FOR SIGNS AND FOR WONDERS. Isaiah 8:18
3-
HE THAT TOUCHES YOU [The poor-
homeless] TOUCHES THE APPLE OF MY EYE [GOD].
Yesterday I had about 12 of the
street crew at the house.
Not a bible study- per se- but
sort of a fellowship.
Lots of these guys are using
[drugs- etc.] but at the house it’s a drug/alcohol fee zone.
So- they are learning how to get
together- [I bought some chips and stuff] hang out- and have fun- all without
having to use.
I told Arthur ‘hey- check out my
room- I have the pictures hanging up from my New York [N.J.] trip I made last
year’.
I printed the phone pictures from
my journey- have the ‘street crew’ [the guys I befriended from North Bergen-
Rick, Nick and Billy] hanging on the wall.
Huey was crashed out on the spare
bed- and Art and Timothy checked out the room.
Pops called me- Pops is sort of
an elder.
He has been in town most of his
life- was an alcoholic for many years- has lots of very interesting stories.
He lives in a very run down Apt.
in a drug area of town, a few blocks away from the halfway house.
He is one of the most famous AA
people in South Texas.
He sang- wrote- played piano with
famous old time gospel groups [Gaithers, Imperials- wrote some of Dottie
Rambo’s famous songs].
I have made it a habit to answer
the phone when Pop’s calls.
He just wants to talk- he does
ramble on some times- but I see it as ministry.
Often time’s people feel better
when someone simply listens to them.
I have a few friends like this-
the other guys often say ‘I don’t like so and so- he talks nonstop’.
Part of it is the guys do suffer from
metal stuff- Bi-Polar- etc.
And that’s part of it.
But it’s therapeutic to let them
talk- and at times they do have beneficial stuff to say.
Anyway- when Pops called- we were
all watching The Apostle [Duval].
It’s one of my favorites.
I just recently have had an old friend
actually start coming to the meetings.
I have known him for years- he
always politely told me he can’t be one of those ‘phony’ type Christians.
Always smiling- quoting the
bible.
I have told him ‘trust me- I’m
not like that either’.
But he sat thru a teaching I did.
I never read from the bible- or
make notes.
I just talk from memory and quote
stuff- more of an informal format.
Mike had some good questions at
the end.
[Mike is the artist for my
ministry- I just posted some of his stuff on Facebook].
He also told me [this was a
meeting from the other day] that some of the things Pop’s said really helped him
a lot.
I kind of had the feeling when
Pop’s was ‘rambling’ that God was going to use it.
I knew both of their backgrounds.
Pops told us that when he was a
baby- his father beat him and rolled him in a blanket and threw him out of a
window.
They revived him at the hospital.
His dad was an alcoholic.
Over the years- he had many experiences
of being rejected by is family.
It was a situation where he was raised
by an aunt- as he grew up they never told him that his real mother had a bad
background- and he always thought his aunt was his mom.
Yet the ‘step mom’ favored her real
boys- and Pop’s always felt rejection.
His mom was also addicted to heroin-
and used- when she was pregnant.
Pop’s was a heroin Baby.
He told me of times when he was
around 5-6 years old- and he helped himself to some type of strong drug that
was around the home.
It was in one of those bottles
like where you pinch the little plastic syringe- and the drops come out.
He was an addict from a young
child.
He served in WW2- was a corpsman
[like me] and eventually became a registered nurse.
Got a job in a Dallas hospital-
and wound up at one point working the nursery- treating the Crack babies.
Yeah- he came full circle.
I practice the habit of not only
reading the bible thru- but also trying to ‘hear’ what God is saying for each
day.
Sometimes a friend will mention a
bible chapter- or a key phrase.
I’ll try and read that chapter later
when I get home.
When I was in North Bergen last
year- a funny thing happened.
I hung out a lot at the White
Castle restaurant that I used to eat at when I had the Munchies as a kid.
And I would meet the guys there.
There were a few of the senior
crowd- not street guys- who hung out there too.
And my street friends all knew
them.
They were all friends- sort of
like the ‘White Castle Crew’.
Rick got a kick out of Tony, an older
guy who served in the war.
He was retired- and drank every
day.
He’d sneak a bottle in- and sip
it during the day.
He would sing the song ‘You are
the sunshine of my life…’.
But he changed the words- it went
like this
‘You are the Apple of my Eye..’
To the tune of ‘you are the
Sunshine..’.
Rick got a kick out of that.
When he called me up- I would kid
him- and sing the tune.
He would crack up.
I guess you could say it’s the
theme song for my North Bergen crew.
So- last week I was reading
Proverbs.
In chapter 7 I read ‘the law is
the Apple of Gods eye’.
Hmm?
Kinda fits- in a way.
Then I’m with Henry- a homeless
friend.
He mentions Zechariah chapter 2.
I read it the next day- it says
‘He that touches you- touches the
Apple of my Eye’.
Yeah- that fit better.
BLESSED IS HE THAT CONSIDERETH
THE POOR- THE LORD WILL DELIVER HIM IN TIME OF TROUBLE- PRESERVE HIM AND KEEP
HIM ALIVE- HE WILL BE BLESSED IN THE EARTH.
[God will bring into judgment those] BECAUSE
HE REMEMBERED NOT TO SHOW MERCY, BUT PERSECUTED THE POOR AND NEEDY MAN, THAT HE
MIGHT SLAY THE BROKEN IN HEART.
FOR HE SHALL STAND AT THE RIGHT
HAND OF THE POOR, TO SAVE HIM FROM THOSE THAT CONDEMN HIS SOUL.
BEHOLD- WHEN YOU SEE ALL THESE
THINGS- KNOW THAT IT IS HERE- EVEN AT THE DOORS [Jesus Christ]
Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like
the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on.
Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [FaceBoook] - I have
posted lots.
No comments:
Post a Comment