Homeless?

The thought of my affliction and my homelessness

   is wormwood and gall!
My soul continually thinks of it
   and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
   and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
   his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
   “therefore I will hope in him.”
                       Lamentations 3:19-24 NRSV

I realized last night that my husband and I are about to become homeless. But, not like the truly homeless. We have an offer on our home in Florida and plan to be living most of the year in an RV. According to state standards, that would make us homeless. Truth be told, this does not make me in the least bit unhappy. It is a planned way of life that many people have chosen. I find it to be a kind of unshackling; to do with less stuff to care for. Managing less stuff will hopefully give us time to enjoy more life and to spend more time in service of God. That, to me, is not homelessness. It is not wormwood and gall. That is freedom. 

Unfortunately, state and local standards often cause many to be truly homeless. They live on the streets or in parks without benefit of any shelter. Some are able to cover themselves with blue plastic tarps. The more fortunate ones may find an abandoned building to sleep in. They wash up in public restrooms and beg in order to eat. After all, who will hire them when they have no clean clothes; no means to bathe; and no way to get to work? Where is the hope for those who find themselves without a home to lay their head at night? It is the same as for all of us. Genuine hope can only be found in God. Many people are generous and will help a bit. But, is a bit enough? There are so many things to overcome.  

Building codes, zoning laws, taxes, high rents and interest rates, and the list goes on all can contribute to the difficulty, if not impossibility of finding adequate shelter for those who may suddenly find themselves homeless. I read an article not long ago that gave me hope for the homeless in Jacksonville, FL. A Tiny House Village was being built for homeless Veterans there. At the same time, I could not help but wonder how many zoning laws around this country would prohibit this. 

Recently, a local city was preparing to move all of its homeless population to a very remote state park. How does that help? Out of sight; out of mind? I have often lamented that Christians from the United States send missionaries to third world countries not so much to share with them the Good News of the Kingdom of God or to give them what they need to thrive; but, what we think they need according to our standards of living. Our standards of living may be what we think is best and it may be for people here in this country. But, is that necessarily so for people of other cultures in other lands? It may not even be the standards that everyone in this country considers necessary. Yet, we've made law upon law so that instead of helping people up we push them down in attempts to exile them to places where we do not have to see that there are truly people in need. 

The state park idea did not work out as a place to exile the homeless in this county. Thanks be to God! When people are suffering we do not exile them so that we do not have to be reminded of the pain and poverty they are enduring. When people are suffering, Christians are called to give them a hand up, not out. Jesus tells us that if we truly love him then we are to "feed his sheep."  

Lamentations says:  "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end." In the caring for his sheep; that steadfast love is shared with others, his people will have hope, and God will be glorified. It is not up to the Christian to depend on the government to care for their neighbors. It is up to the Christian who would follow Jesus to love and care for all in need. 

I am looking forward to living in an RV even if it is considered by many, including the state, as being a state of homelessness. I am grateful to God that I will not be truly homeless. May God open our ears, eyes, and our hearts to a greater understanding of his love for all people so that all people might come to hope in Him. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

His Steadfast Love

Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
    your salvation according to your promise.
⁴² Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,
    for I trust in your word.
                                   (Psalm 119:41-42 NRSV)

It is always hurtful when we realize that someone we care about does not care in the least about us. It is in times like those that we remember the great love that our Lord has for us. His steadfast love shall sustain us. It keeps us from despair. 

It can be very tiring to be attacked by those we are called to serve. It is in times like those that we trust in his word and lean on his promises. There is nothing that humankind can do to us that the Lord does not know about. He will empower us to answer, with his word, those who would attack us. We do not have to trust in ourselves. The Lord is with us now and forever.

Rejoice, for our Lord loves us and has "....saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace." (2 Tim 1:8) Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J

My Jesus!

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Psalm 51:10-11 NIV

Happy New Year!

"My Jesus!" I don't recall what I was dreaming about last night. But, I do remember that just before I woke up, sitting around a huge round table I was asked who I would most like to be with. My response was "my Jesus."

Jesus promised to be with us always and he is. Who could ask for anything more than to abide in the presence of God for all of eternity? Living in God's presence is a gift from God. But, we are not worthy to even kneel at His feet by anything that we say or do or don't say or do. There are no new year's resolutions that are going to get us to heaven. Our hearts; are whole lives, are heavy with the burden of sin. But, thanks be to God, He can change our hearts!

And, so this new year's day we pray: create in us clean hearts, and renew steadfast spirits within us. Do not remove us from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from us. Grant that we should always live in your presence!

God's Peace - Pr. J