Search the Community

Here is a poem of mine: I am an amateur. The reason I said "came out of nowhere" was because it took a revelation to realise Jesus was the truth I had been searching for! LOST AND FOUND I'm the poor and wretched, blind and naked, woman on the street Who's looking for her knight in shining armour, if ever we should meet I'm a broken person, looking down, so undeserving of his love Don't think of ever looking up, never dreaming he's above Would he ever consider one so degraded, blind and lost Would he ever come looking for one who is storm-tossed? But there He is! Came out of nowhere! ... HE'S NAILED TO A CROSS! Never did think I that He could buy my freedom .... WHAT A COST! A miracle! My Lord, My God, you've taken me by the hand The Lamb of God has looked for me ... He's left the 99 and found His little lamb. People, I must apologise. I have been convicted by the Lord that I may have given the wrong impression here. The words "woman on the street" were meant to convey how I felt on the inside when I received salvation, nothing more. Nonetheless, I was a sinner and now I am a sinner saved by grace. Thank you everyone.

I have been going through one of the most challenging physical and financial times in my life. So much so that at times it's made me question my faith in God. I have reached out to over 70 churches for help and have been sorely disappointed with the responses I recieved. They ranged from indifference to flat out shaming me for asking for help, even though I know that Jesus would gladly help me if he was here. He is helping me now to stay alive. Many churches that I spoke to said they had no money or were close to bankruptcy. They ones that said they could help, refused to help because I was not a member of their congregation. So far I have been able to find a small amount of help from 3 churches and $25 worth of grocery cards from another. This is out of over 70 plus churches that I contacted. I find this absolutely shocking and a disgrace to the Christian faith. I contacted 2 very famous mega churches that I have tithed with and was turned away. I keep wondering what is going on . Are the churches not there to help the sick and poor as Jesus instructed so many times? I don't remember him telling anyone that he wouldn't help them because they were not members of his clique. It is literally by the Grace of God that I am still alive. I tried contacting government and city services that are set up to help the poor and those without housing and was not able to get help. I called several non profits but because I have no children, I didn't qualify. I filed for disability since I have had to have 8 major medical procedures to stay alive and was denied. Others said to apply again , that you are alwats denied the first time you apply, but the process takes almost a year to go through again. I have had to walk completely by faith, hour by hour and I am happy to say that God has been faithful. The thing I keep thinking about is how with the government cutting funding for food,housing and healthcare for the poor, is that more and more people will be turning to the churches for help. What is going on with the church? Through this experience I see that many have become more social centers, concerned with putting on concert like music productions and opening new "campuses" rather than following Jesus' mandate to help the poor and sick. Even though this experience has been humiliating and challenging to the point where at times I wanted to just give up on living, I am grateful for the experience. God has shown me that He is here, even if "the church " is not. I pray that for those still reading, that if you attend a church whose focus is not on helping others, then please consider trying to set something up. Remember, that whatever you do to and for those that need help, you have done to Jesus. If you judge the poor, you will be judged. If you say horrible things to those asking for help , your words are heard by Jesus. It seems that many Christians have forgoten this. https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-helping-others/

Luke 14:12-14 Then Jesus said to his host,“When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” I think often times in our society we try to pay people back things for the things that they have done for us. Sometimes a verbal or written "Thank You" is enough, and a grateful heart. I once was given 2 weeks paid leave to use for sick time at work by one of my dad's friends. I did not have enough time for my medical leave, and you were allowed to transfer your own personal/sick time to others. I was so grateful for his generosity that my dad and I took gift cards over to him to thank him. He was not as happy to receive them as we thought, as he told me I was robbing him of his blessing by giving him his reward down here. He did take them, and was not mad at me, but that has always stood out to me. This verse reminded me that sometimes we just need to say thank you, and praise God for all the many blessings in our life that we can never repay....the biggest one being our salvation/forgiveness of sins! Also, for application of God's Word....any ideas as to where to find poor, crippled, lame, and blind random strangers to invite/would want to come to a banquet/dinner? James 1:22 says...But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. I'm always challenged to "do" when I hear instructions given in the Bible. Genesis 25:17-18 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them. I knew it was prophesied that Ishmael would live in hostility. Genesis 16:12 "He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." I guess it makes sense that the hostility was passed down to his descendants cause children are often products of their environment, but they don't have to be. You sometimes see people break free from all kinds of family cycles...abuse, alcoholism, poverty, etc. Deuteronomy 5:9 ...for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity (sins) of the fathers on the children, and on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me. My understanding of this is that the sins of the fathers are only poured out on to the subsequent generations that hate God. Hating God is what gives the punishment, not the fathers sins. So for example if Ishmael's descendents had broken away from his sinful ways, then they wouldn't have been hostile and suffered the consequences of hating God.