It also really illustrates that God does indeed mean it when He says “come as you are”. If we had to be perfect to come to God, we wouldn’t need God because we would be perfect. But since we are not perfect, it is through His boundless grace that He takes us in, regardless of what we’ve done in the past or what we’re doing now. The first step is simply to acknowledge the fact that we need God and to make that first step… to come to Him with all our problems and baggage and pain intact. He will work with us and in us after we take that first step; we don’t have to do any more than simply admit that we need Him more than anything.

Please pray for the work the Dream Centre and other similar ministries are doing. It is of vital importance to the people that go through those doors every day.

“For He will deliver the needy when He cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.” (Ps 72:12-14, NKJV)

The above was part of my Bible reading guide this morning and it spoke volumes due to what we had done yesterday. Yesterday, we had put on a BBQ in probably the roughest neighbourhood in our inner city, a free BBQ to feed the homeless, helpless, and the less fortunate. Why did we do this? Because we love God, and we know He loves these people and street people are of value as well (which the above verse definitely indicates!), and they deserve to be shown the same dignity and respect that we are all accustomed to.

This is the third year this event has been put on, and preparation for it began months ago. There were preparations in the natural, of course, soliciting donations for the event, but there were also preparations in the spiritual realm. Twice we had done prayer walks around the field, just praying that God would do what He does best: meet with people, transform people, that His Spirit would be there in a very real way. As organizers, we had prayed together and individually for this thing for weeks beforehand.

Yesterday morning I was up at six in the morning, preparing to be down at the site for eight in the morning to begin setup. That morning I was reading from the book of Acts, and the works of the early church inspired me for the day. What powerful things the early church had done! What beautiful adoration to God, to His Word, to His divine purpose! What a humbling thing to try and recreate by the work we were doing!

The BBQ was an absolute success. Despite little technical setbacks early on that, in the grand scheme of things, really amounted to nothing, we had an opportunity to feed at least 500-700 people. Local media was out, so we got a few seconds of exposure on the local TV stations (keep reading to see the clips) and there should be an article in the local newspaper regarding it as well. It was a hot day, up to 24C and many of us got sun burnt. We gave away so much, a thousand hot dogs and a thousand hamburgers, brand-new clothes that were donated, pillows, donuts, fruit, chips, pop, bottles of water. Thank you to the many companies that supported us and gave freely to the event, and thank you to the many volunteers that helped. God bless you all!

Now that the natural results have been described, I need to describe the spiritual. And this is what made this day so exciting, so powerful, and so exhausting. As I said, we were praying for weeks before the event and even driving down, the music in the car was off, and I was praying for the BBQ, for the volunteers, for the food, for the people that were coming to the event. And God moved in an absolutely powerful way! Thank You God that You listen to the heart-felt prayers of Your people who are striving to be obedient and do Your will! There is so much to describe, so it may be a bit disjointed — please bear with me.

First and foremost, there was such a sense of joy among the volunteers. There were no arguments, no one complained about having to do more than others, or do something they didn’t like. We were united in one purpose. There were smiles everywhere, people were so welcoming to those coming through the line to be fed, there was a genuine servanthood evident. There was such complete _peace_ in that place. You need to understand that these are people who are accustomed to a life of strife and fighting, that literally fight over scraps of food. Yet it was so peaceful in the field. There was no striving for places in line. They were patient, despite the heat, and they were grateful for the food. They were polite, thankful. To put this in perspective, I drove off-site around 2:30 in order to get some coffee. Not even a block away I saw two men yelling at each other and fighting. When we were loading the left over supplies into the church at 6:00 there were young men and women, right before the doors of the church (which is also right in the middle of downtown) fighting and swearing and arguing. But in that place, at that time, there was complete and utter peace. No fighting, no arguing, no dissension.

I believe with all of my heart that God put His angels around that field as a hedge of protection. As we walked around and prayed for that field in the weeks leading up to the BBQ, and on the day of the event as we prayed, I believe God anointed that piece of land for His purpose while we were there. We prayed for protection and we got it. We prayed for peace, we prayed that the ground would be saturated with the blood of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit would overshadow that field and we received all of these things.

I remember a half dozen of us were behind the stage when the first pastor was preaching and we were crying out to God for repentance and open ears and open hearts and open minds. We cried out to God on behalf of the people, that the Holy Spirit would use the pastor’s mouth to speak life to these people. And we were rewarded with about a dozen people coming forward to the altar to be prayed for and receive Bibles.

Later in the afternoon a few us were getting ready to go off-site to clean up garbage. We had put it off to wait for someone who was supposed to come with us, and so we waited about an extra 20-30 minutes. Right when we were about to go (despite the person we were waiting for not coming back), preaching began and there was such an anointing that fell that we knew cleaning up the garbage of the streets around us was secondary to cleaning up the people before us, so we went into the crowd of people instead and just talked to people, showing them they were of value, speaking life into their lives, and just providing an ear to listen to them. Many people were prayed for, many seeds were planted.

After that, we had another pastor preaching and at the end of his message, he asked people who wanted to receive prayer to just put up their hands. I was at the front watching the sound board, having sat down for the first time in probably six hours, and I looked out and one man caught my eye. His hand was up and I felt led to go over to him and as the pastor was praying, I just stood behind him, put my hand on his shoulders and prayed. After the prayer was done I was able to sit with him and talk to him about how much Jesus loved him, how much value He had before God, and just really inspire him and lift him up. I told him about the inner city church, and he said he had a friend that went there and had asked him to go. I encouraged him to go, and I pray that he did go this morning, or will go this evening.

It was a long day of praying and interceding for people, and then there was the cleanup. Tearing everything down and hauling it back to the church was a job and a half, and we had less people to help with the tear-down than we did for the setup. Thank you so much to those who stuck around to help bring all this stuff back to the church! We were all tired and exhausted but we did it with a cheerfulness I don’t know if you would find anywhere else. And when that was said and done, we had another divine appointment waiting when we got back to the field. At this point, the field was empty, and all that was left were dirty BBQs waiting to be loaded up and taken away.

But with the five of us there, we had a man come over trying to sell us some shoes. He was obviously a street person, and not one of us really had a need for shoes (despite them being really nice shoes!). But my friend, God bless him, offered to buy the shoes if he could talk to the man for a few minutes about Jesus. You could see his back get rigid and he got defensive, but he was willing, so the two of them went off for at least 20 minutes. Then they came back, we chatted a bit, and then someone asked if we could pray for him. At this point, he had his $30 for the shoes and could have declined, but I know he was there by divine appointment and he was willing. I don’t know if he expected something short and sweet, but there were five of us and we all prayed over him… we covered him for at least 15 minutes and the Holy Spirit was definitely there. We poured God’s love over him, our love over him, the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance and discernment. We covered him the blood of Jesus and prayed that his heart would be changed and that he too, would find his way the next day to church, and that the enemies lies would be exposed for what they were. He was told in no uncertain terms that the shoes meant absolutely nothing to us, but that we had a deep and sincere desire to minister to his spirit, that the money meant nothing to us. He left with his money, and thanked us for the prayers. I sincerely hope he made his way to the church this morning as well; I pray that the Holy Spirit ordered his steps because I know that he was there by divine appointment. God had His hand in the whole day, and this meeting was no exception, no coincidence.

I got home at 8:30 last night, over 12.5hrs after leaving that morning. It was an exhausting day: physically and spiritually. But it was also one of the most beautiful days I’ve experienced, and despite what God did for the people that we served, I know that He was pouring His love into me — not necessarily love for _me_, but sharing His love for His children, for the people that live on the streets, the people that most would discount as non-people, people of no value. He was giving me His love for them so that it would become _my_ love for them! I know that a gratefulness for God Himself and a love for people was birthed in me yesterday, and it spilled over this morning.

Despite a good 9hrs of sleep and still being exhausted this morning, and feeling that I couldn’t give God what He deserved at church this morning, I was completely and utterly abandoned in worship to my almighty Lord and Saviour Jesus. The Holy Spirit visited me so powerfully that if I could have I would have knelt in the aisle and wept with joy before my God. As it was, I stood with arms raised and wept before Him, declaring my love for Him and the awesome privilege that He gave me to be able to do His work yesterday. Jesus, I love you so much, and thank You for the most awesome privilege of being able to serve a people so dear to Your heart! Thank You!

And the message this morning really struck me, as it was about the fruit of repentance, or the true signs of a Christian believer. And the first of the three fruit was being generous and compassionate. How amazing that this message came a day after the service we had done! (Have you ever noticed that God affirms His work in your life through the ministry of the Word? I sure have!) A true Christian will display the fruits of generosity and compassion to people, as John the Baptist said:

“So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none, and he who has food, let him do likewise.”” (Luke 3:10-11, NKJV)

I count myself privileged that God saw fit to use me yesterday, and I may myself available for continued. He blessed my heart yesterday, truly, and my reward this morning was to feel Him so powerfully to the point where I felt like I couldn’t contain it anymore. Thank You Jesus so much that You love me and care for me, and that You are continuing to shape me into a vessel of honour that can be poured out to bless Your people!

The following video clips are from the news yesterday. We got a little bit of coverage, but sadly they didn’t keep any of the parts talking about God. Truly this was done in His service, for His honour and His glory. And while the media might not acknowledge that, every person who was there yesterday, from those giving their testimonies and those putting ketchup on a bun, to those who received food for their bellies and their spirits, _they_ know that this was done all for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you again, to all the volunteers that helped out. I had a lot of family out to help, and I’m so proud of them for being willing to give of themselves to this cause. I’m grateful to my little girl who handed out water and pop with such enthusiasm and generosity; you make me so proud. And to my lovely wife who gave of herself the whole day, serving people and talking and listening, bless you for doing what God has called you to do. I feel such a pride for my family, yet I am humble before my God who counted me trustworthy enough yesterday to minister to people. What a privilege!

I just felt like I needed to share how God is opening my eyes and growing me. I am most definitely an unfinished work, more coal than diamond, but the Lord is revealing things to me and impressing things upon my heart — particularly the other night. My wife and I are part of a Bible study that for three weeks does a regular Bible study, then on the fourth week go out and do what we’ve been reading about. So we’ve been in Matthew, and as a result we pooled some money and put together some small bags of items for homeless people with the idea that we would wander around downtown and hand them out, witnessing to people.

The bags were quite modest: toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, a comb, shampoo, a pair of socks, some candies and a few other assorted hygiene things, and a business card sized print out of Jeremiah 29:11-13. We chose this because people on the streets need hope (well, we all need hope, but I think they need it in particular), and we wanted to share the fact that God does have good thoughts towards us, and that He wants us to have a future, and hope.

Now, I have to be honest here. I’m not a people person. I’m about as close to an anti-social hermit as you can get while having a family and going to church three times a week. I’m not generally a fan of people — I’m not outgoing, I don’t talk a lot, and I’m quite shy. My appearance probably doesn’t help matters much because I tend to intimidate people (or so I’m told), and my “style” of dress and skin adornments probably doesn’t help either. My wife, on the other hand, is the complete opposite — she talks a lot, she’s bubbly and outgoing, very animated and excited. As you can imagine, this is where God is growing me. Witnessing to street people sounds great, until you actually do it. And, if you’re like me, you’re fervently praying for strength and courage before heading out because this is _WAY_ out of my comfort zone.

The experience was nowhere near as horrible as my over-active imagination told me it would be. God did indeed grant me peace. I wasn’t anxious, I wasn’t nervous. As we were driving to our destination, we’re singing praises in the car and I felt great. Until we ended up at the homeless shelter for men. The idea was to get into the chapel and hand out our goodie bags to the men inside (provided there weren’t too many in the service as we only had about 40 packages). There were enough men in there to give everyone one and have a few left overs, so in we went.

We caught the tail-end of the chapel service and were there to pray over people. It was amazing to see what God was doing there. In a humble, run-down room in a downtown homeless shelter, the Holy Spirit moved. Words of knowledge came about people, hands were laid on them, and I know God did some healing there. And when that was done, it was our turn to bless these men with the packages we had prepared.

It took me until the next day to be able to really articulate what happened there. I think I was almost numb while we handed out these bags; there was a really oppressive feel to the place, and a real drag on my heart. Looking at these men, dressed in dirty clothes, not clean nor smelling the greatest, there was a run of emotions on different faces. There were guys animated and excited that the sandwiches and coffee were available; this may very well have been the only thing they were eating that day. There were those who looked thoughtful, as though pondering what the chaplain had been preaching about. There were those that looked like the only reason they were in a “church service” was to get some food, and they didn’t have anywhere else to be, so why not be there? And then there were those with sad eyes and depressed expressions. They moved slowly, they were quiet, they were embarrassed to have to need or want what we were giving out (which wasn’t much).

One fellow in particular struck me — I still can see his face. He was a normal guy. Someone you’d see in a shopping mall and wouldn’t think twice about. But something happened to him and this was his first night in the shelter. He was so absolutely sad… you could see the despair, the bleakness, just the unveiled emotion on his face as he quietly took what we offered him. He could have been my neighbour, he looked so “normal”. He could have been _me_.

Another older fellow, probably in his 60′s, that my wife has really engaged with had been living in the shelter for two years. Now I don’t know his whole story, but he definitely wanted to get out of there. He had a university degree, but he was an alcoholic. He collects his bottles every day and that’s all he gets. I think my wife was a real blessing to him, talking to him, actually paying attention to him. The new gloves she was wearing came off and she gave them to him — pushing his cart around during the day was causing his fingers to freeze and really hurt (it can get quite cold here). God answered a prayer for her that night, as she had been praying before heading out that she could give those gloves to someone who really needed them.

Another fellow took his boots off right then and there and put his new socks on.

My wife came home excited, feeling like she was Jesus’ Hands and Feet. When she asked me if I felt the same way, I honestly had to answer that I didn’t. With my personality (which I’m praying God changes!) I didn’t really connect with anyone or spend a lot of time talking to any one person. It wasn’t that I was scared or intimidated, but I just didn’t know what to say other than “God bless you”. How can I engage in a conversation with these guys when I have absolutely no idea what it is like to even walk a mile in their shoes? There is no common ground here and if there’s no common ground, I’m lost.

No, she came home excited and I came home with an overwhelming sense of both sadness and extreme gratitude for what God has done for me, and provided me with. I came home with the realization that the cheap coffee and jam sandwich they got after chapel might very well have been their best meal that day and the realization that even my most modest meal would be a gourmet feast for them. I came away with the feeling that I was surrounded by _stuff_ that really meant nothing. I’m not a materialistic person, but over the years when you have your own place, you accumulate _stuff_, and we have lots of stuff because God has really blessed us. I sat in the living room and really saw nothing but meaningless garbage. Yeah, it’s nice, but in the grand scheme of things, does any of it really matter?

I’m not planning on taking a vow of poverty and giving every penny I have to the poor, mind you. I don’t think that’s what God wants me to do, and I think I would be doing my family a disservice since I do work so hard for what I earn. But He has opened my eyes so that I can realize that it is the eternal things that matter. Souls, and eternal destinations. That when I’m blessing dinner and thanking God for it, that now I can _really_ thank Him because I’ve seen first-hand what the alternative is. That buying a new video game or movie really doesn’t matter. That He has to become more of my focus, and that my family has to take priority over so many other things (I’m a bit of a workaholic). That, at the end of the day, even small amounts of generosity to a class of people that most consider worthless can really be a blessing to them, and to really appreciate and not take for granted the family, the job, the home, and the many pairs of socks, that I have.

And we certainly intend to do this again. Maybe next time we can budget out a few of the extras we feel are so necessary (which really aren’t) and use that money to get some more of these packages put together. We had enough just for the men in the chapel and a few on the way out. But there were so many more that would have really appreciated receiving one, yet there was none left. And that was a hard thing as well.

God is growing me, and I’m not really sure where He intends this to go, but wherever it is I know He is with me and that if I obey His Word, He’ll keep me on the straight and narrow path that leads to life, and it’s my prayer that as I go, I can take a whole lot of people with me. Even that night — we didn’t have any miracle conversions or trophies to add to our “Going To Heaven” belt, but I truly believe seeds were planted. And the more seeds that are planted, the more chance there is that when the Holy Spirit waters, those seeds will grow and, I pray, eventually bear good fruit. So if we did nothing more than plant seeds, that is ok. There is no harvest without seeding, so if I’m called to be a sower rather than a harvester, then I’ll be satisfied with where God has called me and is placing me.