I FELT LIKE . . . WELL, I REALLY CAN’T EXPLAIN HOW I FELT! Those of you in church on Sunday heard parts of this story as shared by my husband. But I must tell “the rest of the story!” In some ways it’s pretty unbelievable – yet no one will ever convince me that we didn’t see what we saw!! It was New Year’s Eve in the afternoon and we were running some errands to get ready for the church party in the evening. We ran inside one store – and then into another for maybe 20-30 minutes total. When we came outdoors, the windshield on our vehicle was glazed over with frozen ice. The windshield wipers didn’t move it in the slightest, so my husband had to use the ice scraper and put some muscle behind it to clear enough surface so we could see through safely to drive. We made one more stop for another half hour, and went outside to get into our vehicle and experienced a repeat of the earlier window episode. Driving a few blocks from that store to the frontage road to head home, we realized how slick the streets were and how dangerous the road conditions were getting. My husband had one thought on his mind: get home safely. Making a careful stop at the stop sign, something, actually someone - caught our eye from across the other side of the street. Here stood a man holding a sign that said simply in bold black letters, “Stranded. Any help is appreciated. God bless you.” I never thought of it at the time, but as I caught my first glimpse of this man, what I saw first was his eyes. There was something about those eyes. What seems strange now is that I was able to see his eyes that clearly through iced-over windows. It was as if I was caught in their gaze. Jerked back to reality, I suddenly exclaimed as I saw his very red cheeks, “Why would ANYONE be standing outside in this freezing rain that’s glazing everything over?” No matter how stranded or homeless, my thought was that he would have sought shelter inside of a nearby fast-food restaurant at least until the freezing rain subsided. This weather wasn’t fit for anyone to be standing outside in. My heart went out to him, and immediately I knew we needed to help him – or rather, wanted to help him. There was never even a moment’s thought that he was just out to scam anyone. No one in their right mind would stand outside in this – hoping by chance that there would be at least a few compassionate people. We didn’t see anyone stopping to help. I got the muffled words past my throat, “We need to stop!” I could tell my husband agreed – but he was driven by the need to get safely home, and the intersections were the most treacherous places of all. We had just rounded the bend past the frozen, red-cheeked man, and I could still see those eyes. I blurted out, “What if that was Jesus … and we just left Him standing there in the cold?” My voice cracked. I felt such a strong, strong urge that we needed to go back. My heart was pulled as if a strong magnet was drawing me back. But I wasn’t driving, and my sweet husband was wanting to get us home safely. Finally, from somewhere deep in my soul, I heard myself praying, “God, if that was You on the corner, please do whatever it takes – so that we can do what we need to do to help You. You know our hearts, Lord.” The few miles between us and home rolled slowly by under our wheels over the icy roads, and at some point, a peace came over me. But I could still see those eyes. The New Year’s Eve party got cancelled – and we had an unexpected quiet evening at home. The thoughts of the man on the street corner dimmed for awhile, but as soon as I laid my head on the pillow at bedtime, I saw those eyes again. Without warning, tears began to roll down my cheeks, and I whispered … “Honey, I think that was Jesus! Somehow, I really think it was!” The tears continued to flow – but a sweet presence enveloped me and sleep came as I talked to Him. My alarm went off so I could be at work early, and my husband offered to take me over the icy roads. We were almost there, and as I was looking down, my husband said, “There he is!” I said, “What?” – and looked up in that instant to see that same man standing there. My heart nearly skipped a beat in the excitement at having been given a second chance to minister to him. My husband was slowing to a stop, and I in a tremendous hurry to get to the cash that I miraculously had in my purse (I usually never have any with me!) – just reached for the first bill I could put my hands on. Trying to roll the window down, it wouldn’t open. It was frozen shut. In one fell swoop, I motioned for the man to come over and I shoved the door open, and he was right there in front of me. I saw the same very red cheeks … and those eyes. I reached the money to him through the open door, and in the kindest voice he said, “Thank you! God bless you!” Unplanned words spilled from me … “He already has – He does! And I KNOW that God will take care of you!” And then we were moving. I don’t know why, but I was shaking inside from that unexpected encounter. It had happened so fast, there wasn’t time to think. But again, I came to my senses, and I realized that in my hurry, I had just pulled something from my purse, but it should have been more. The two twenties were on the bottom of the few tens on top. And I had just grabbed from the top. “Honey, it should have been more. Here, please take this to him and give him more. Find out what his story is. I’m so ashamed that’s all we gave him! Especially if that was Jesus!” My husband left on a mission with the money, and I was left at work with an indescribable feeling that I couldn’t shake. Though I couldn’t explain it, from somewhere in the depths of my soul, I knew that man had been Jesus. And when my husband got back to that street corner some minutes later, that man was gone. We never saw him again. Suddenly I realized that Jesus had come to us the last day of the old year – and when we missed Him, He came back to us the first day of the new year! We cannot explain it … we just know what we know in our hearts. And we’ll never forget … those eyes! Our prayer for all of us this new year – is that we will choose to see with His eyes and have His heart for the world around us! None of us ever know just when He will appear before us … let’s be ready!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- THOUGH COLD OUTSIDE, inside the sweet presence of the Lord enveloped us and warmed our hearts as we worshipped, praised, and sought to honor Him with our very best! Pastor Doug gave a stirring message from God’s Word, and God’s people seemed to be in one accord as we began the new year in His House! What God-appointments and opportunities will 2011 hold for Elevation North and for each of us?!
- A SPECIAL HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Keona … who celebrated her birthday on January 1st!!! God bless you, Keona ~ may your year be wonderful!
- IT WAS EXCITING to hear Cierra share about her witnessing mission in the Cities last week! God gave hundreds of college students open doors to share about His love and they were able to minister to many on a very personal level. There were testimonies of several who gave their hearts to God right on the spot! Pray for Cierra that God will clearly show her His perfect will as she serves Him, and that He will keep the fire and passion alive in her spirit!
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SUNDAY, JANUARY 9TH: 10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP with Pastor Doug sharing the final message in the “Season” series – this one on “Season Your Goal-Setting” from Philippians 4:2-13. Come and be challenged by this timely message at the start of the new year!
- 11:15 A.M. – SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES for everyone who wants to deepen their knowledge of the Word of God! We encourage you to stay after – and join your fellow believers in this enjoyable learning experience!
- MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDIES resume on Wednesday, January 26th
- RE: FUEL YOUTH sessions resume in late January – watch for details
- LOTS OF EXCITING THINGS are being planned for the coming months, including a progressive dinner, community ministry opportunities, DVD sessions with pertinent topics for believers today, planning for Women of Faith, and much more!!! You’ll be hearing more soon!
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .
- WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE! Let’s continue to pray for each other, for our world around us, for those who need Jesus, for our students, our military, our nation’s leaders, for those who serve the Lord in many kinds of ministries – and for our churches! This week, remember Aletta, Cindy & Roger, Julia, and Kay, for God’s touch!
- REMEMBER . . . “Whatever we do for the overlooked and ignored, that is Jesus – we do it for Him!” (from Matthew 25:40)
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
