Serving Him by Serving Others

It is amazing what God is doing in Food for Life Ministries. Our primary ministry is to the homeless and less fortunate in Greenville. However, in the last couple of years we have seen many different churches and schools increasing participate as volunteers. It seems that we have become a ministry for different groups that have a heart for serving, but otherwise would not have a place to express that desire. As an example, this week we were pleased to have youth from Eastside High School, Brookwood Church, and the Evangelical Institute. It seems every week we have various groups from the surrounding community come and serve. This week we were grateful for the 28 volunteers who served 108 hot meals to our downtown friends.

The students from the Institute this week performed a powerful skit for all. It showed two individuals who had died waiting to enter heaven. While waiting, they talked about how they had performed many good works in their lifetime, that more than qualified them for eternity. They each had a bag or suitcase which contained their records as evidence of their righteousness. As they excitedly waited entrance, they related to each other in detail their many good works. When time came for entering, they were shocked to find that their names were not written in Book of Life. Angrily, they protested and attempted to produce the contents of their bags or suitcases for evidence only to be surprised to find only filthy rags. They were shocked and immediately froze. Another student came on the scene and read from Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as fifthly rags; and we all do fade as a leaf: and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away”. It was a very powerful presentation.

Preacher Paul continued with the study of Romans in chapter 12. Starting with verse nine, it describes the blessedness of serving God and others. This is truly a sign to the others that God has the power to change lives and develop a true love from the inside out. This love can only result from a heart of humility and true desire to serve each other without expecting anything in return. Jesus said whoever desires to become great among you shall first become a servant. We are not to rely on our good works as was portrayed in the skit, but to give ourselves to help others. We can not do this on our own but only through the Grace of God. Grace is what empowers all of us to imitate Christ and know that true greatness is in serving others.

We had very sad situation. A lady had just been turned away from a local shelter where she was staying. We don’t know all of the circumstances, but we do know she was on the street on a very cold night. Fortunately, the men can sleep in the gym at the mission but there are currently no short-term facilities for women on these cold nights. We decided to provide her a room for a few nights so she could have a safe and warm place to stay until she could hopefully make some further arrangements. Please pray that God would help her find shelter.

~Marc

Birthday Party

Unfortunatey, I was not able to attend last Tuesday night. I am a CPA and right in the middle of tax season. It can be rather TAXing for me this time of the year to find time for other activities.

My wife, Bonnie, did attend and related to me that a youth group from Westside Baptist Church added to our group of 23 volunteers who presented a skit for everyone. The members of the youth group also helped serve 105 meals of pasta, fruit, cheese bread and rice pudding. One of the members' of this group wanted to celebrate her birthday by helping at the ministry night. At the end of the night, Preacher Paul held up a cake and everyone sang to her.

After the meal, Westside Baptist distributed bags of coats and clothes. We are always grateful for all of our volunteers and groups which come from different churches in the area to assist this ministry. Tuesday night would not be possible without the church facility and many incredible people who unselfishly give their time and donations to help the homeless and the less fortunate in Greenville.
~Marc

We are always blessed to have different youth groups visit. The greatest gift that God has given us is Jesus. Then Jesus gave us each other. There are many different churches with many different walks of life attending. One thing we all have in common is a deep need for the love of God. Through Christ we can take that love to the world.

This week I shared from Romans 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy, hate what is evil, and cling to what is good. God is a God of love, but did you know that God also hates? In order to truly love God and and each other, we must learn to love what God loves, and hate what God hates. Be blessed and see you next week!

Preacher Paul~

Cold and Windy

Last night was a little unusual. The kitchen at Triune Mercy Center was going through some type of remodeling. Therefore, we could not use the kitchen for cooking our hot meal like most Tuesday nights. However, Paul owns a catering business so hot food is still on the menu. A meal of Sloppy Joes, chips, potato salad, and slaw was catered in by Streetside and served just like we were any other customer. Thanks to our wonderful staff of employees who prepared the food, we were fortunate to serve 45 friends with the help of 11 volunteers.

Tonight Paul continued to teach from Romans 12 concerning the body of Christ. He referred to 1 Peter 2:1-17 that states we are living stones. He used that in an illusion of a wall and how each stone is necessary and important for its construction. In the same way, each child of God is necessary in the body to use their gifts to work together to glorify God. He further stated that this is why it is important to attend church. If a Christian did not, they would only be a finger. The individual finger could not glorify God like the whole body. Therefore, it is necessary that each of us become a part of that body for God’s glory.

This was one of those nights that the Mission was not open because the temperature had not reached that magic number of 40 degrees. The chill factor was much lower. I wondered if anyone takes into consideration what the temperature will be at midnight, when it will be much colder. I am not sure how this works, but someone still has decided there is no room at the Inn tonight. We encountered one man who had recently become homeless. He definitely was not prepared for a cold and windy night on the street. He requested a blanket but we did not have one on hand. Usually blankets go quick so it is difficult to maintain a good supply. We decided to make a trip to the store and purchase a blanket, small pillow, and a coat for him. He was very grateful and left that night looking for shelter. Many others were doing the same thing, but they had already decided where to find a "cat hole" (abandoned building) or building doorway to break the wind. On the way home, I happened see one individual huddled up against a dumpster. That is a scene you won’t soon forget.

If anyone can donate blankets and/or large or extra large men’s coats, we would be grateful. We need a supply almost every Tuesday night during the winter.

~Marc

We are the Body

Chris has been a regular each Tuesday night since Paul started his ministry in 2003. He comes each week to hear God’s Word and volunteer to serve tea and/or clean up after the hot meal is served. Last Tuesday night I started talking to Chris and asked him about his background. He told me he was from Pascagoula, Mississippi. As a young boy his mother influenced him to accept Christ when he was 12 years old. But he told me that he later fell away and led a life of sin until he rededicated his life to the Lord when he was 24 years old. Every since that day, he has continued to follow Christ by reading the Word, participating in various ministries, attending church, and encouraging his neighbors to come downtown on Tuesday nights.

After taking to Chris, I couldn’t help to think about Paul’s message tonight. He continued with our study of Romans in the twelfth chapter where it describes what is necessary for us to become part of the body of Christ. Paul mentioned that when we come to Christ that we must “subject ourselves” to change. If we don’t, we tend to stray away from the Christian walk. Just like Chris and many others, we dedicate our lives but do not change because we continue to associate ourselves with the same group of people and go the same places. Paul talked about his life after accepting Christ. He separated himself from certain individuals that he had previously associated with. He joined a church and immediately immersed himself in the children’s ministry. He became one of those members of the body discussed in Romans 12:4-8. He served and allowed God to develop his talents which prepared him for the ministry in downtown Greenville. This process is called sanctification. In order for God to do this work in our lives, we must be willing to yield to His direction and serve, so that God will then develop our talents for His glory.

Also, there were many who talked about the article in the newspaper about Paul’s catering business. The interesting part of the article highlighted the Tuesday night ministry and one of our long-time homeless/volunteers named Eric. Eric has been a key to this ministry in reaching the homeless and I think he was delighted to receive some notoriety. Many said that Eric was “riding on Paul’s coattails”. We all had a good laugh. Here is the link to the article that was in the Greeville News.

At the end of the night, we all pitched in to clean-up after serving 80 meals with the help of 18 volunteers. During this time I could see many volunteers praying with our friends and other volunteers were helping pass out much needed jackets on a cool night. We are grateful for all of our volunteers who serve tirelessly without desiring any recognition. Their reward is seeing positive change in the lives of our friends in downtown Greenville. They are truly allowing God to develop their talents for His glory.

~Marc