02-01-11

TRUE SACRIFICE

Dear brothers and sisters, God bless you. May I mention in the form of “a happy news bulletin” that on January 26, 2011, 73 willing and wise-hearted men, members of Gideons International, handed out 7,172 New Testament Bibles to the students and staff of The University of South Florida. Hallelujah! Thank you Lord.

That news was initially quite exciting, really… but let us give some contemplative thought to the valiant actions of these 73 unnamed men, heroes one might even say, who at the very least are to be highly respected and honored for voluntarily placing their persons, and in fact their lives, in the midst of the peril of what was surely an adversarial situation. And why did they do that? They did it for God. That being the case, and we being believing Christians, perhaps we should each ask of ourselves why aren’t 73 men in our own community doing that (and we among them), or why aren’t 730 men in our own county doing that, or why aren’t 7,300 in our own state doing that? Then let us multiply the latter relatively diminutive numbers of willing wise-hearted men one would suppose to be easily found within each population classification by the 100 Bibles that the 73 willing wise-hearted Gideons each distributed, and thoughtfully meditate upon the probable responses of the recipients, and the virtual certainty of an absolutely wonderful increase to God? J  Praise God. And the question now posed is: Isn’t that our work?

(Mark 16:15)  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,

and preach the gospel [of love] to every creature.

Interesting extrapolations: if 73 men in your own community (or even your church) can, in a single day or a part thereof, distribute (syn: disperse, spread, scatter, strew) 100 Bibles each totaling approximately 7,300 Bibles, then 730 men in your county can distribute (syn: disperse, spread, scatter, strew) 73,000 Bibles, and 7,300 men in your state can distribute (syn: disperse, spread, scatter, strew) 730,000 Bibles – in one day or part thereof. Is that doable? Certainly. Absolutely, at all levels. Then why aren’t we doing it?  Well… this activity is in itself an extended metaphor of our Almighty God in action always moving forward with His Word, and it is completely sacrificial in nature, bringing nothing to our own personal glory, aggrandizement, or financial solvency; therefore the doing of it requires faith (to believe) and willingness (to obey) and wise-hearted (spiritually led) men (to do). Do you see? They did it for God, and we ourselves did not, and do not. (I count myself guilty as well). Dear brothers and sisters, we need to start doing things (sacrificial things) that will enhance the Kingdom for God for our own eternal good. Please remember Jesus’ message of the widow’s mite; if your offering doesn’t really “hurt,” that offering is not reckoned a true sacrifice by God, and He knows our hearts. Father God wants the very best for each of His children (us), and He was not kidding nor exaggerating in the least bit when He said:

(Rom 12:1)  I beseech [Gk: implore] you therefore, brethren [you and I], by the mercies of God,

that ye present your bodies [as those Gideon’s did as] a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

May I mention in a related vein of true sacrifice, that last month our Rescue Mission freely distributed 72,508 pounds of food which weighted over 36 tons, the proper distribution of which, with our trucks coming and going, required that the food be picked up, moved, and set back down again several times. After distribution, the food was converted into approximately 48,000 meals that freely fed thousands of poor and impoverished men, women, and little children throughout Pinellas County. And it really did “hurt” not only the donors who sacrificed of their finances as a love offering for the purchase of the food, but it also “hurt” our hard-working staff and volunteers who labored intensely in the daily food distributions beginning at 5:00am in the morning. In our most recent successful effort last month, our Rescue Mission trucks and staff and volunteers traveled 5,335 miles (gas and vehicle repairs) exclusively in Pinellas County which tremendously “hurt” our somewhat meager monthly donation income. Please help us help others. Please “sacrificially” help us and receive a wonderful blessing from God Almighty, the Father of Love. Thank you.

A NEW RESCUE MISSION OUTREACH: PINELLAS SAFE HARBOR

God bless you. With a fair amount of mixed fanfare, Sheriff Jim Coats from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has opened a much-needed homeless shelter at a large annex building located at 14400 49^th Street in Clearwater entitled Pinellas Safe Harbor under the daily supervision of Chief Deputy Robert Gualtieri and Lieutenant Sean McGillen.

Current residents of the homeless complex number approximately 300 men and women, all at a minimum age of 18 years or older, to which about 25 more persons are added every day; the ultimate capacity is foreseen to be about 500 persons. There are no background checks and at this point, and no limitation upon the maximum length a person may stay at the shelter. Social workers are readily available on site to assist these homeless people in a variety of helpful programs including job training and placement.

The annex building does not contain cells or bars, but it is very open, freshly painted and clean, with large-screen televisions and access to two basketball courts. Residents may come and go throughout the day as they please except for the evening 8:00pm curfew. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served, and therein is introduced the purpose of this announcement.

The Suncoast Haven of Rest Rescue Mission has committed our willing staff and volunteers and our meager resources to providing the Monday evening meal, every Monday at 5:30pm for the residents of Pinellas Safe Harbor, and we initiated this feeding program two weeks ago. The results have been most excellent, and we leave over 300 happy, pleased, and very thankful people about an hour later. You see, heretofore the homeless residents of Pinellas Safe Harbor were subsiding on the same food that the jail inmates were eating, and although that food is nutritious, it is perhaps purposely designed to quite discourage, in everlasting memory, a discharged inmate from ever desiring to return to jail again.

And so, with our first sumptuous well-balanced meal of tasty roasted chicken quarters, mashed potatoes, salad, and desert, we did quite well with the residents that we served. However, our small Rescue Mission has been operating at capacity to accomplish this feat, and the problem that immediately presents itself is that as the population of Pinellas Safe Harbor continues its quite rapid growth as a countywide homeless shelter, we shall be hard-pressed to keep up with the increase… and, we need your help.

Perhaps your church or your organization could volunteer help to prepare and/or serve 50, 100, or 200 meals or more for the Monday 5:30pm dinner to supplement our (gasp) 300 meals. Four churches could provide 50 meals each, one or two churches or organizations 100 meals, etc. etc. Or, in lieu of sending cooked meals, perhaps you could help us with the obvious expenses engendered when feeding 300 plus persons a healthy well-balanced meal. Depending upon the entrée selections, a single meal can cost between $500 to $1,000 dollars and we are doing this four to five Mondays a month. HELP! J  Please help these poor persons who have been rendered helpless themselves by a downward spiraling economy. If the Lord so moves you, please send a love offering or call me at 727-398-1521. Thank you. God bless you.

Sincerely,

Rev. Lionel                                                            J         

(Dan 12:3)  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament;

and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.