22 January 08 - 10:50
Comfort My People
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." Isaiah 40:1-5Isaiah 40 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, especially at this time of year when we often listen to the songs and music of Handel’s Messiah. ‘Comfort’, what does it mean to comfort someone? The dictionary says: “to give strength and hope to”, how beautiful is that?
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; John 14:16The Comforter has many names, Helper, Counselor, Holy Spirit, Intercessor, Advocate. How blessed are we that our Heavenly Father sent His comforter to abide with us and that we in turn through his strength may comfort others. And comfort was the order of our evening as we reached out with love and prayer to others. “M” was looking for us tonight and it was so wonderful to see her again, to know she was safe and clean. We first met “M” about 6 months ago and she shared with us how she had been clean for over 5 years and recently relapsed. Her prayer request was for strength to walk away from ‘the life’ and focus her eyes on Christ. We prayed with her for about 4-5 weeks in a row and then we didn’t see her anymore. Well, tonight she came out purposely hoping to see us, to tell us that she is clean again, walking with the Lord, and to wish us a Merry Christmas, Praise God!!! “T Long Legs”, we haven’t seen “T” in over 2 years and truthfully we were afraid that she was no longer alive as the neighborhood where she worked had a number of the women die violent deaths. Thank you Lord for keeping “T” safe and allowing us the privilege of seeing her again. The last 2 years have been a struggle for “T” as she tried to maintain her recovery. She lost quite a few friends to the “life”, and she also lost her sister on Dec. 23, 2006. When we pulled up and “T” recognized us she was overjoyed and kept saying how this was confirmation that the Lord wanted her to turn her life over to Him, to enter treatment and not end up like so many of her friends and family. “S” shares with us some sad news, her friend “P” passed away last month. We knew that “P” was fighting a battle with pancreatic cancer, but it was still heartbreaking to know we would no longer see her beautiful smile. We pray that “P” is rejoicing in heaven with Christ and that “S” will seek the Lord for comfort and strength.Tonight could have been a sad evening with all the grim news, tears, and heartbreak but we know our Redeemer lives and He has placed us in a van, cruising the streets, passing out Christmas gifts, prayer, comfort and hope. What an awesome God we serve, a God who took on human form, suffered, died, rose again, ascended into heaven and then sent us His Comforter. May we never lose sight of the hope and salvation we have in Him and the call to share that message with others. As we prepare to celebrate the season of our Savior’s birth may we give thanks that He calls each and everyone of us to share in His glory, no matter our skin color, or economic status. Merry Christmas,Donna"Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out." Deut.28:6No comments
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