Turkey's giving away Turkeys

Turkey's giving way Turkeys.

This year we are shifting our focus from jointly going and helping people for Thanksgiving. We encourage you to gather your family, or a group of friends and serve a family you know that is in need. It's more organic, and hopefully more relationally connecting, as you serve with your family and friends touching a family in need whom you know. 

If you don't know of a family in need, simply pop in any local low income apartment, knock on a door with a dinner and surprise someone.

Giving Away Turkey’s List.
2 Cans Corn
2 Cans Green Beans
1 Large Can Yams
1 Can Cranberry Sauce
1 Box Au Gratin Potatoes
1 Box Brownies
2 Boxes Mac and Cheese
1 Dinner Bag Rolls
1 Box Stuffing Mix
1 FROZEN Turkey !
Optional:
1 Pie
Fresh Veggies
Roasting Pan
Fun Stuff !

• Several families who served last year were not aware of people in such need within their very own community. They were surprised, and glad they could help, yet at the same time they were upset by what they saw. They also came away from the experience more personally grateful and thankful. 

Twenty or so years consistently serving our community.

For the last twenty or so years we have consistently served, the less served of our community offering food support, encouragement and prayer. At the present time we help over eight hundred families a month. Our on-site food pantry helps four hundred families each month, each week we serve breakfast at our Riverdale Campus to one hundred and twenty or so people. We also help fifty children with backpack weekend food assistance partnering with the Hope Foundation and Fairborn Wright Kindegarten every week. Needless to say we are fully committed to make a difference offering short term care to those in need within our community.

Amazingly, we have taken hits from people who believe what we do by offering short term care is a crutch. They believe helping people with long term short team care keeps people in poverty. Although, in theory it is partly true, in reality, not.

My question, "What are people supposed to do in the mean-time?"

Believe me it is "mean-time." 

I wonder, "How people can have the energy to look for work or have a clear mind to study if they are worrying where the next meal is coming from? How can they have the where-with-all to function if they have haven't eaten in a couple of days?" 

Think family, think single mom, bills to pay and kids.
Think you, your kids, no food or being hungry for a few days? 

Yes, we often meet families who haven't eaten in a few days. 

For an experiment don't eat anything for twenty four hours and drink only water. Check out how clear you think, and how much energy your have, without food in just twenty four hours. Just eat rice and beans for a week, or try to live on three dollars a day for three days.

Each and every week I hear real life stories from the people we serve. The stories we hear often break our heart.

This past week a lady came into our party in Beavercreek. Before she could even sit down, she broke. She wept. She could barely contain her pent-up emotions in order to tell her story. Her brother died six months ago, and her mother, who has Alzheimer's, was now in a nursing home. The activity of caring for her mom over the last four years had finally taken it's toll upon her life mentally, physically and emotionally. She no longer had the energy, nor the ability to care for her mother. Her sense of exhaustion, personal guilt, emotional and mental pain was overwhelming. 

What did she need during her "mean-time?" Yes, she need groceries, but she also needed more than food.

She needed to be in a safe, loving place where she could tell her story; receive empathatic listening; verbal encouragement, and Holy Spirit comforting connection.  For her, on that day, she needed short term care. I'm personally glad we were there for her.

Think about it. 

Most of us who are living in the good ole USA are just two paychecks away from being in a situation where we will be one of those who need assistance from someone. We also may find ourselves in a trying situation where we are mentally, and emotionally spent.

Often when I'm criticized I ask, "What are you doing to help people in your world?" Most often the people reply they are not doing anything, nada, zlitch. Not helping the hungry, or sponsering a child in hunger, nor volunteering their time to help someone, anyone. So I reply, "I like what we are doing, a lot better than what you are not doing."

I often ask the question, "How can you know and see need unless you position yourself to venture out into your community in order to experience and see people the way Jesus sees people?" The answer...You can't.

Going, seeing, serving, and praying for others is really the only way to receive a personal ah-ha moment. Going, serving and loving others is often the catalyst that sparks a greater commitment toward personal involvement, lifestyle change, and a thankful attitude. 

Someone asked me, "How do you serve the less served week in and week out, it must affect you?" It does affect me. It does me good.

Going out into our community consistently helps keep me grounded, humbled, and personally grateful for all that I and my family have received... like the ability to work, pay my bills, to have heat, to have running water, to have clothing, to have a family that is somewhat normal, and to have some great relationships.

Jesus said, "The poor you will have with you always", so I understand whatever I do in a small way, or in a great way, is good enough. I can't possibly meet every need, but I can stop for the one, pray and give encouragement." 

How do you learn to serve? By serving.
How to you learn to love? By loving.
How do you learn to care? By seeing with your heart.
How do you learn to pray? By praying.

What we do is not rocket science by any means, it's just faith, that works through love.

Revealing the Kingdom practical tips.

A while ago we went to one of our stops to care for people in need. We load up our truck and help about 120 families with food and offer encouragement and prayer. Often when we pray exciting things happen.

One young man came to the outreach and was bouncing off the walls. He couldn't stand still. He was shaking and was very agitated. He received his bags of food and then received prayer. One of our guys who had just heard of someone being healed of cancer during one of our outreach stops was now going to pray for bouncing, shaking man. He thought if God can heal cancer surely God can help this guy. So he prayed and spoke peace over the young man. As he prayed and declared peace, the shaking slowly stopped and a sense of God's peace enveloped them. The young man stopped shaking and stood quietly for a few minutes and then exclaimed, "I have peace. I have peace."
 
Jon, who is a vet on our team, met a young man in the line who was waiting to sign up for our help. As the conversation progressed he discovered the young man was a felon, didn't have a job, and no hope of getting a job. Jon encouraged the guy to keep on looking and if he found a job to be faithful to work hard and get to the job on time. John then asked if he could pray.
 
So he began to pray and asked specifically that God would give the guy a good job that would match his persona, and that the job would come to him without a doubt that it was God giving him the job. Jon said 'amen.' At that moment a white car pulled up, a man got out of the car, walked up to the young man and asked, "Do you need a job I have some openings?" They talked and the man left his card with his info with the young guy. The people in the line were stunned.
 
As Jon walked the man back to his apartment. He asked, "Did you know that guy?" The young man replied, "No." and asked Jon what he should do? Jon replied, "Call, The, Man."
 
The above stories are describing prophetic people who create God Space where God things can happen.
 
A prophetic person in this context, means a person who unveils, or to reveals that which is unseen or unknown about God to another person; to reveal to others that which is not seen or understood concerning God’s nature, love and character. A prophetic person endeavors to create God Space so that people see in a new way. God Space is a place / a connection where God things can happen where heaven touches earth.

What is God Space?  
God space is a space that we create by faith. God space is a tangible atmosphere, or an environment, where God’s presence, goodness, kindness, knowledge, love and power is present to nurture life in another human being.
 

God Space, when created, reveals the goodness, generosity, mercy and love of God found in Jesus Christ to the people within our immediate sphere of influence.
How do we become a person who unveils / reveals the Kingdom of God to others?
By learning to refocus ourselves.

Upward...the first place to start is to look upward. to worship, spend time in God's presence. to ponder, pray and to listen. 
 

Outward...taking risks to reach out to another person when we receive a God hunch, impression, or prompting. The connection point / touch point for God Space created is usually a conversation followed by prayer connection.
 
Ex 33: 14 And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 Then he said to Him, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. 16 "For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?"
 

John 14:16-17
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

Heb 13:15 NAS Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. … for with such sacrifices God is pleased.


 
God Space, when created by a group of people of called out ones often re-defines / reveals / unveils Jesus to the people in our community.
 
Christians define themselves by what they believe.
 
Pre-Christians define us by what we do, the attitudes we express and what we say.
 
Heb 13:16 NAS And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
 
Believers are called to reflect God’s nature toward others in practical ways through words, attitudes, and actions.
 
As we honor those around us God Space is often created. Questions begin to flow from the person or from the community being served. Who are you? Why are you? Where are you? What are you?
 
One lady who was dumbfounded after receiving healing recently asked, "Who are you people?!"
 
Matt 5:16 NIV In the same way, let your light shine before men, that (in such away) they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
 
1 Peter 2:1 NAS Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. 

Words without action is rhetoric.

Philippians 2 New Living Translation (NLT) Have the Attitude of Christ

Paul asks three questions.

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? We all respond with... Yes!
 
2. Any comfort from his love? Our response is again... Yes!
 
3. Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Again we respond... Yes!

Here is the curve ball question.
 
Are your hearts tender and compassionate? This question certainly makes me pause and ask, "Is my heart tender and compassionate?
 
Compassion and mercy usually touches our heart when we have a deep revelation of God's goodness and mercy. Compassion is also reveled as revelation of what He has done for us, or when we see through God's eyes the plight or need of another human being. So we weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. 

True compassion always leads to action.

The truth: Forgiven much we Love much.
 
Ps103:15 NAS
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;

Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;

Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with loving-kindness and compassion;

Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
We are reflections to our world of His love for us and toward us. 

I don't think we really know how much we reflect God's love and presence, which is upon us, toward others.
 
Acts1:8 NLT But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

God's power is revealed by His manifest presence. As we seek to be and to walk with Him moment by moment, His presence remains upon us, with us and in us. 

Often a conversation, or serving someone, or having a God hunch opens the door for God Space where God things can happen. We seek Him for Him who He really is.
 
The result of spending time with Him, we become like Him, where His presence is felt, and His power is released. Most often this happens during a conversation, or an inquiry about a God hunch / impression is released and prayer is given. Sometime our words of declaration have power to heal, restore and encourage someone.
 
God space is a space that we create by faith. God space is a tangible atmosphere, or an environment, where God’s presence, goodness, kindness, knowledge, love and power is present to nurture faith in another human being.