welcome home

There are few places where the love of Christ can be experienced so warmly and genuinely than in a home group. There is just something about the fellowship and discipleship that occurs in the home as opposed other more impersonal atmospheres. In fact the power of God can be so powerful in that place that it drives people directly into the arms of their Savior.

I remember one instance in particular when my wife and I hosted the meetings for the young adults ministry of our church in our home. We really had a great group of young people who all really loved the Lord, and each other. When we met we always started with fellowship over food, and then we would do a little “bible study” together. It was always a great experience that everyone enjoyed.

Then I got the call…   a call from a young man named Tim who was inquiring about our group. He says that someone told him about it, and he wanted to check it out. Since we were having our weekly meeting that night, I gave him directions to our house and invited him to come by that night.

Then he said to me, “I have to tell you that I wouldn’t consider myself a Christian, and really don’t want to have anything to do with it. But I am 21-years old, and I am an alcoholic. I’ve been sober for a couple of months now, and I want to be true to the program that tells me to look for a higher purpose. So someone told me about your group and I though that I would check it out.”

Wow! So I just invited an alcoholic, anti-Christian that I’ve never met into my home. So I prayed for him for the rest of the afternoon that he would experience the love of God in our home with the group.

Our study that night was about evangelism, and what the “world” thinks of the “church”. When I asked the group what they thought that the world thinks about us, the first to respond after a moment of silence was Tim. He included himself in his reply when he declared, “WE hate it!”

Not only was I in shock, but I believe that the rest of the group was speechless. I asked him why he felt that way, and he continued to pour out his reasons including hypocrisy and judgment. The group learned a lot about how we should relate to people outside the church that night, and more importantly because of the lack of judgment and the way that the group just loved him and welcomed him in, Tim also learned a lot about what authentic Christianity was about.

So Tim left the meeting that night with a new perception of Christianity. After swapping several emails with him throughout the week, I can tell that his experience with our home group was starting to change his perception of what Christianity is all about.

So he came back the next week to learn more about this amazing new thing that he was discovering. After a lesson that focused on how God loves us the same no matter what we’ve done, and some more unconditional love and acceptance from the group, Tim was literally speechless the whole night this time. And as soon as we officially finished, he was the first one out the door.

About an hour went by, and everyone had finally left. The phone rang, and when I answered it, Tim was on the other side asking if he could come back over to our house. Tim and given his life to the Lord that night, and wanted to be in a place that was comfortable and full of the love of God. So we rejoiced with Tim that night, and welcomed him home.

Today, Tim has finished EMT and Fire School to fulfill his dream of being a Fireman. Now his life is about saving the lives of others that are like he used to be. He has purpose in his life, and the only fire that he is not willing to put out is the fire in his heart for Jesus! Check out this video of his testimony…

YouTube Video :: Video :: Testimony - Tim Myers  

Note: Written for weekly writing contest [Home Group] at http://www.faithwriters.com/.

 

for the least of these

Recently my wife and I took in an old friend who was down and out. When we first spoke to her she was on the edge of doing some really bad stuff, and we just felt really impressed by the Lord to do more than simply encourage her and tell her that everything is going to be okay. So we asked her and her daughter to come stay with us until they could get back on their feet.

We knew that this would not be an easy journey, especially since we have been a little tight financially recently. But we knew that this is what God wanted us to do. I cannot help but to think about the verse where Jesus talks about this issue…

Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.

Matthew 25:34-40 (ESV)

When this woman and her 8-year-old child came to us, they basically only had the shirts on their backs. I had the great pleasure of leading the child to the Lord during Kid’s Church on one Sunday morning. The hope that we started to see in their eyes was one of the greatest rewards that I could ask for.

Unfortunately, things never did completely work out with this whole situation. I’ve also had to use some Godly wisdom to do the right thing. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Sometimes people want to change, but simply cannot break away from old habits. The last thing that I want to do is to bad-mouth this person for not succeeding and taking full advantage with the opportunity that they had in front of them. However, I just pray that they take the situation as a learning opportunity, and remember the testimonies that we shared.

I want nothing more than for them to get back on their feet, and give God the glory for carrying them through it all. People keep telling me that I will get a blessing for what I’ve done, but that doesn’t even interest me right now for some reason. I just want to see restoration. I want to see lives and relationships restored. I want to see people grow closer to God. I believe that this is the heart of God working in my life. If nothing else I am encouraged to be a part of the work that God wants to do, and I am happy to submit myself as a willing vessel. It is just important to remember that with this heart to help people, we must also use wisdom to know when we are to stop as well.

What are you doing to share the redemptive heart of God today? Who are you reaching out to? Show someone how much you love them today.