SafeHouse

Last night I had the privilege of  serving at Safe House in Atlanta.  It is a ministry our church is involved in where on the 4th Tuesday of every month we feed about 300 homeless men and women.  When I say feed, yes we provide sandwich's, chips, a soda, and a candy bar.  But more importantly, we feed them the Word.  I don't say this to brag on myself.  The truth is, I always get more out of going down there then what I'm giving. 

Lately I have needed a lesson in love.  It is so easy to pass by a homeless person (or any person) and think to yourself how the situation they are in is their own fault and they should have made better decisions in life. I'm gonna be completely transparent here.  I would thank God that I was not like those people.  That's not the Jesus way.  Humbling is not the word to describe how I feel when I serve homeless people.  When I say privileged, I truly mean it.  Serving those men and women bring me closer to God every time.  It reminds me that we are not here to accumulate stuff, achievements, titles, etc.  We are here to share the love of Jesus.  Plain and simple. 

Experience Safe House on a Tuesday night, and I guarantee you will find a stronger presence of God there than wherever it is you are on Sunday morning.  Not to put down my church or anyone else's, but this is how Jesus did church.  Unplanned, unscripted, and un-produced.  

One of my favorite parts about Safe House is after the worship, the word, and passing out the food , we get to go out into the parking lot and love on those who came to hear God's word.  Most of the time they share their stories with us and ask for more food.  Last night something different happened though.  One of our Pastor's, Keith, was there with his son Blake who is about 10 years old.  Blake has many allergies and has a severe eczema condition that affects his entire body.  As we were about to load-up and head home a gentleman stopped us and wanted us to all hold hands and join him in prayer.  Just as I thought we were about to get his story, he asked Blake to stand in the middle of our circle.  This man prayed for Blake's healing and delivered a word with such intensity that I was convinced we were about to see a miracle right before our eyes.  We came to serve him, a 53 year old homeless man but in the end, he ended up blessing everyone of us.  This guy was oozing Jesus, I LOVED it!