In
the coming days I am going to spend some time recounting the blessings as well
as the challenges of back2school 2014
with you, and this is a time where it is pretty easy to see what God is
doing. There are many opportunities
ahead for all of us to serve people we encounter.
Psalm 34:8 NLT
Taste
and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
One
of the brightest parts of the weekend and our event was having Manny Ohonme as our
special guest. Manny and his wife,
Tracie, started Samaritan’s
Feet International in 2003 which is an organization seeking to serve 10
million children around the world by washing their feet and giving them new
shoes. All the while they and their
countless team members are sharing the hope found in Jesus with those they serve.
Several
years ago a friend of mine, Ron
Pegram, went to work with Manny and encouraged us to add shoes to our back2school outreach that had been going
for a couple years at this point. The rest
is history, as the old saying goes. It
really has been a huge blessing to partner with Manny, and this is our first
year for him to be with us in our outreach event.
As
Manny shared in our celebrate service on Sunday night he gave us three kingdom
principles that are so true, pointed to challenge us and eye opening if we will
be honest. I will share these
principles, and then I hope to give you some verses and thoughts.
1.
You cannot change what you avoid.
2.
You cannot complain about what you tolerate.
3.
You cannot impact what you run from.
Joshua 1:9 NLT
This
is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or
discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
I
know lots of people who have chosen to avoid things rather than confront
them. It really is easy to allow things
to just happen or sweep them under the rug.
Yet when we compromise, we end up helping the negative get worse. If we want to make a difference in the lives
of people, we cannot keep on avoiding things.
Complaining
is something I deal with on a daily basis, and this is one of those things that
tick me off. I believe that we ought to
seek answers when we share problems or issues, but some people are just going
to complain about everything. By
tolerating wrong we miss more opportunities to be a catalyst of good and
change.
Finally,
take note of what you or others run from.
This is one note that Manny shared that I cannot stop thinking
about. I dislike confrontation. Yet I have seen myself and many others run
from difficult situations which let to even more difficulties. Digging deeper into problems and in to pain,
we have to stop running and start facing challenges, big and little ones, wrong
and right ones.
My
prayer is that we would continue to make a difference in our community. Manny shared, “if your community is not a
better place because you are there, you better ask why you are there.” God called us to make a difference. The back2school
outreach for seven years has made a difference and will continue. At least five people accepted Jesus as their
Savior on Saturday. Almost 2,000
students and their families heard about Jesus and the hope and life He has for
them.
To
make a difference we have to deal with our challenges head on and ask God to
use us to make a difference now and in the future!
Be
on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous.
Be strong.
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