the first night of a homeless shelter

Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

I sit here late at night thinking back over this day that seems too good to be true. We’ve been working for a few years to open a homeless shelter. But today it became a reality as a group of people came together to open an emergency winter shelter.

So many groups, churches, government agencies and others made this happen. It was incredible to watch it all happen. Early today I was on the phone in conversations that seemed would never end, yet they all came together to make this a reality. We aren’t serving many people, but we have the ability to serve many.

This is the first step. And this is why I am excited about the future. I believe this is only the first step for a year round homeless shelter that will be for men and eventually for families as well. The amount of people that are talking about this and willing to help is growing by the day.

I believe that God is about to build something that we are all going to be proud of and will serve people for many years to come. There are people who aren’t in yet, but they will be. What is even better is the fact that the more we serve, the more we share and the more we love, the more people will join us, come along side and help to serve people for many years to come.

This is one step of our Dream Center. A homeless shelter is a great piece of how our church and Dream Center serve the hungry, hurting and homeless in our community. God has called me, God has called you to serve Him. But what takes that to a greater place is that others will start serving because we serve.

2 Corinthians 8:14 NLT

Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.

Move forward to another level I saw reports from a good friend, Emilio Cervantes, started a new church in California. Sunday they had over 200 people come to their first service, and there were over 80 people who accepted Jesus. Because Emilio and his family stepped up many people, if not thousands, will be impacted for the cause of Christ.

What are we willing to do to help others begin to walk with Jesus and to serve others? Because this homeless shelter began many others will serve and many will be served. I am excited about the steps ahead. Join me. Join others as make a difference demonstrating the love of God to our community and beyond.

Francis Chan's "Forgotten God" (brand new book)

One of the most powerful preachers, writers and leaders of our time, in my opinion, is Francis Chan. His first book, Crazy Love , revolutionized my thoughts about God's love as well as my interacting with God. Now it is time for a brand new book from Chan being released tomorrow, September 1st. The book is Forgotten God . This is a phenomenal book about the power that Christians and the church can and must tap into. All of it is within the Holy Spirit. Francis talks about the power that was seen in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit began to move among people. It is true that many have avoided or maybe forgotten what the Holy Spirit is all about. And like the Savior who poured out His life and blood so we have reason to rejoice, we were made to lay down our lives and give until it hurts. We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves because we were made to do these things. It is when we live like this that the Spirit of God moves and ac...

inspiration from C.S. Lewis

There are many people, past and present, who get our attention by what they write or say or share. For me C.S. Lewis is one of those. He was a prolific writer who continues to grab the attention of thinkers from many different points of view. Lewis first grabbed my attention when I was in 5 th grader, and our teacher, Mrs. Foy, shared The Chronicles of Narnia with our class. It was a powerful time that this dreamer opened doors to thinking like I had never lived before. He wrote of faith, of far off places and of strong figures who found their character rooted deep in God. C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and died in 1963, 7 years before I was born. It wasn’t until his 30’s that under the influence of his friend Tolkien that he came to be a Christian. He was raised in a traditional church going home, turned away from God as an Atheist in his teen years and through trying to stay away from God and faith returned to God with...

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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