Change of Plans!

Sometimes in life we have it all figured out. We wake up in the morning and the day is planned and confidently we start working that plan. Some days we work the plan to perfection and we accomplish much. Other days, something happens to change those plans, or maybe we should say someone steps in and alters our plans for us.

Last Saturday Larry and I were able to go serve with some other Christians to give out coats in a local neighborhood. Along with free hot chocolate, free blankets, and free bibles, there were 700 coats to give to anyone who needed one. It was amazing to see how many people showed up. Larry and I prayed with some recipients, but the two that stood out to us the most had one of those "Change of Plans" days.

Ahsan and Aasat came to the area the day before seeking to get $5 from someone so they could get into Manhattan and have a good time. They asked the "wrong" person. Our friend Boto was there getting ready for the coat drive, and he seized the opportunity to share the gospel with these youth. He said he'd give them $5, but they had to pass out these flyers advertising a coat drive for tomorrow. So they passed them out. Then he said, "For $5 more, you can listen to me for a few minutes as I tell you a story." They were delighted.

Those youth prayed to ask God to forgive them that afternoon, and then they showed up on Saturday. They had plans to pass out Astrology Reading advertisements that morning, but God had different plans. Instead, they prepared Bibles with me and Larry to hand out to all the recipients. :)

As we stuffed the Bibles, we told them the story of Adam and Eve and how it only took one sin to separate them from God. We talked about sacrifice and how there had to be blood sacrifice to pay for that sin. Then we told of how Jesus is that sacrifice and that we now can have life through him by trusting in his work and not ours. We talked about many other doctrines of the Christian faith. Ahsan is Muslim and Aarat is Sikh. At the end of the day, they confessed they knew more about Christianity than they know of their own religions. :)

These youth had never heard the story of Christmas before Friday, and had never heard who this "Jesus" was (is).  But those plans were changed. God knows these young men and desires for them to follow Christ as their Lord, just like he desires you and me to follow him. Please pray for these two youth as they deal with this "Good News" of forgiveness, and the battle they are now in. Their families will not encourage their new faith if they indeed have come to faith in Christ. There is a spiritual battle going on right now...

The only negative aspect of the coat drive is this: The harvest was plentiful, but the laborers were few. We needed more people to pray with the recipients and to share the Good News of Jesus with them. So pray that more people will respond to the calling of God to labor and work the harvest that he is providing. Pray for more laborers! If we are not already laboring then I pray that God will change all of our plans, so that we will find ourselves doing the work of the Lord. That kind of "change" is worth going through.

God Opens Doors!

Our family is becoming quite adept at finding "free" things to do in our new city. Fortunately for us, there are many exciting opportunities for fun that carry a zero cost price tag! On Wednesday night, November 30th, the McGhees and Mayberrys ventured into Manhattan to Rockefeller Center for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.

Larry and Lindsey arrived early in the afternoon to secure a great spot for our families. We had two kids in Chorus and couldn't get there until later, so we arrived two hours after they did. We tried to get to their location for over an hour! It was pointless... so we thought. Finally we gave it one more shot. We tried a different route to fight the crowd of "half-a-million" to find our friends. We knew we were close, but we hit a snag and couldn't get any closer.

I asked a police officer if he would let me walk in a closed off section and go tell our friends we were leaving. He looked at me a little funny at first, and then he saw the little faces of our four kids. He asked, "Are you all together?" I said, "Yes sir. But if you'll just let me go tell our friends we are leaving, then I'll come back and get my family and go." For some reason, I felt like he wasn't listening to me at all. Then he asked, "Are you wanting to see the tree?" We all answered yes. He looked around and then said softly, "Let's see what I can do about that." He then opened up the railing where we were standing and said, "Follow me." So... we followed.

We felt like VIPs as we walked past the masses of "ordinary" people waiting in an "ordinary" crowd of people. People at the edge of the railing were looking at us like and envied our ability to go ahead of the crowd. Then we saw Larry, Lindsey, and Micah at the edge of the railing. I asked the officer, "Can these three come with us? They have a little one in a stroller, too!" (I'm not afraid to leverage the kid card at this point) He said, "Sure."

So we helped our friends over the railing, and the 9 of us walked up to a reserved section that had PLENTY of room for the kids to run around in while we waited for 3 hours until the Tree Lighting! Wow! I can't tell you how special it made us feel to be escorted to the "good" section based on NOTHING that WE did! We were able to go based on who we KNEW and his mercy toward us! Our generous NYPD Officer!

We were so close to the action, and as you can tell... we had Bieber Fever! It was such a fun evening and it cost us nothing.

I can't help but see the gospel in this event. In Christ, we gain access to the kingdom of God based NOT on what we do, but based on WHO we know. God's gifts are just that... generous gifts. God chooses us, and when we obey his invitation we do feel special... like VIPs. When we experience God's grace in our lives, we want to share it with others and bring others with us, and God wants to bring them too! And there is much more we could pull from this...

But of course, the kingdom of God is greater than any man-made event could ever be. God truly opens doors for his people, and the ultimate door has been opened by Jesus' death and resurrection. When Jesus says, "Follow Me," then let's enthusiastically and obediently say, "Yes, Lord."

So today we thank our friend, our NYPD Officer. And most of all, we thank our Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of salvation that cost him so much.