04-01-10

INNOCENT FAMILIES

Dear brothers and sisters, God bless you. We are “real people” are we not? Well, I must confess to you that more and more often I am overcome with sardonic laughter as I arise in the morning and listen to the late-breaking news. Today, the ever-smiling newsperson excitedly gushed that the ailing economy of the Great Recession is recovering marvelously, and in substantiation of that fact, he declared that the Dow Jones average was about to hit a new high and break through 11,000 points... and I broke out in laughter. The incredulity of that happenstance just blows my mind. May I say as an ex-stockbroker that the Dow Jones average is no longer relevant to any earthly reality that I am aware of except gambling, nor has it been for some time. Price-earning ratios are passé. It’s just a big game that rich guys play, an international crapshoot for those unbelievably wealthy men and corporations who don’t know what else to do with their money.

The real world for the vast majority of us lives in stark contrast. Here, we are in reality. Dedicated members of our Rescue Mission staff stumble out of bed at 4:15 am every week day morning to begin delivery of bag lunches consisting of two sandwiches, a fruit cup, and whatever else we might have available to hungry men and women who are earnestly, desperately, seeking a job for the day to support themselves and their families at eleven day-labor businesses spread out all over Pinellas County.

Forget the Dow Jones average. Day-labor businesses are an in-your-face bottom-line measure of the economy. When there is lots of day-labor activity, the economy is flourishing, and when there is little day-labor activity, the economy is floundering. Three years ago, our Rescue Mission gave out 250 to 300 bag lunches every day. Since then we have watched the numbers steadily diminish to 75 to 125 bag lunches per day. What does that mean? Well, there are no jobs, and lots of very poor very discouraged people have just plain given up on finding a job, even for one day (why stand in line from the early morning hours day after day for nothing?), and several of the day-labor businesses have either closed or downsize merged. We don’t need a rocket scientist around to tell us that there is no business activity do we? We can SEE that there is no business. As you ride down the streets, how many empty closed stores do you SEE? And the rest are floundering. Consequently, 50% of the homes in the Tampa Bay Area (two million population) are “underwater,” and their either poorly employed or unemployed innocent families of men, women, and little children have become thousands of new patron candidates for our Rescue Mission.

So while our poor-hungry population continues to steadily increase, both numerically and in abject desperation, our national economy continues to steadily decrease, and the smiling newspersons and their political guests and assorted talking-heads keep on quite convincingly telling us how things are getting better and better. Dear brothers and sisters, these soothing sound-bytes are nothing else but varying degrees and shades of “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” a futuristic novel written by George Orwell. The leading character of that book is Big Brother who is an authoritarian personality, narcissistic, and an omnipresent figure representing oppressive control. Yep, you guessed it, he is already here, and, step right up folks, “Soylent Green,” a film staring Charlton Heston, is coming soon at your local… experience:

Wikipedia Encyclopedia: Soylent Green is a 1973 American science fiction film depicting a dystopian future in which overpopulation leads to depleted resources, which in turn leads to widespread unemployment and poverty. Real fruit, vegetables and meat are rare, expensive commodities, and much of the population survives on processed food rations, including "soylent green" wafers. [J surprise wafersJ]

So what do we do now, you and I? While watching television evening news and commentary last night, I saw on “Countdown with Keith Obermann” via MSNBC, a program entitled “Armed and Dangerous.” Keith’s interview guest was Mark Potak, an attorney who tracks right-wing groups (as opposed to left-wing groups) for the Southern Poverty Law Center. During a discussion of the Christian Militia extremist group seized in Michigan by the authorities, Mr. Potak said that there has been a recent surge (I would term it “a reactionary surge”) of new “Patriot” right-wing militia movement groups who are armed, aggressive, and quite dangerous, and there are about 1,700 of those groups (that they know of) across the country.  Then I went to bed.

Dear brothers and sisters, may we ask ourselves: “Is that what God has called me to do?” And our unqualified response should be: “No!” The LORD God through His Son Jesus Christ has commanded us to obey those whom He has placed above us in authority, and He has placed them in authority for a reason, His reason. Even as we speak, God is preparing this world for His Son Jesus Christ to “come again” for you and I. Jesus Christ will return not to an ideal world of perfect harmony and peace, a world presided over by warm fatherly love, but to a chaotic tumultuous world seeped in fear and ruled by greed and hate. When there are none yet left to be saved, then Jesus will come.

TRUE LOVE IS SACRIFICIAL

Meanwhile, the command to us is: If you really love me, prove it so by your sacrifice and “feed my sheep” (John 21:17) the food they need both spiritually and physically. Jesus certainly would not have commanded Peter to feed His sheep spiritually, and let them starve to death physically. Nor would Jesus have commanded Peter to feed His sheep physically, and let them starve to death spiritually. Therefore the command of “feed my sheep” means both spiritually and physically, and it must be done sacrificially on our behalf to prove our love for Him and our love for our brother, because if it does not cost us, it has no meaning.

Last month volunteers and staff from our Rescue Mission ministered the evangelical gospel of Jesus Christ at The Pinellas County Jail, The Wagon Wheel Flea Market, The Juvenile Detention Center, The Oldsmar Flea Market, Arlington Gardens (a hospice), and Pinellas Hope (tent city). Daily evangelical messages and our Sunday Church service were broadcast live streaming video into every country of the world from our two websites www.havenofrest.com and www.tabernacleofmoses.org. Last month, our Rescue Mission was instrumental in providing over 30,000 meals to the residents of Pinellas County and Hillsborough County. Every day, homeless persons are fed a hot meal and have shower access, and Monday through Friday boxes of groceries and clothing are freely given to domiciled but impoverished marginal families of men, women, and little children (and used toys).

Our year 2000 Isuzu Rescue Mission truck with 171,000 miles on it blew a rod (the engine kinda exploded) and we were fearful of having to replace it with the $35,000 purchase of a new truck. However, after a few very stressful days of searching the junk yards who didn’t have an old junk engine, God stirred the heart of a gracious donor and we were able to purchase a brand new engine for $1,800. And our exceedingly proficient Operations Manager was able to single-handedly extract the old blown engine and replace it with the new – and it works great. Thank you Lord.

Let this be an appeal to any of you who possess fairly large but empty buildings. Even though our Rescue Mission is presently focused on another building, there may be funding problems. Because we are a 501c(3) non-profit and we give away all our money either in food for the poor or in overhead to sustain food for the poor, we would much prefer a no-cost or little cost building(s) donation should the Lord stir you. The cause is good and we only live this life once. God may be talking to you, and this may be your opportunity to respond. Thank you. God bless you.  

In His love (I had a lovely dream last night about God’s warm all-encompassing love, and didn’t want to wake up),

Please help us help the innocent families,

Rev. Lionel J

Ps. A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)