Through a series of blessed events, I partook in my first “homeless outreach”. As we were walking to the park where the homeless stayed, I realized that I had no idea of what to do, or how to even approach a homeless person. After all, it was my first time. But I did know one thing-I knew God wanted to bless me.
As we awkwardly approached a group of three to four homeless people sitting on a bench, we offered them sandwiches and bottled waters. The moment I looked into their eyes, I could sense an unbearable pain. It seemed as if, they wanted to cry. This alone broke my heart and I began to tear up. Eventually we sat down next to them and just talked. Honestly, I was still very awkward and shy so I just listened but something stood out to me. One man seemed to be resting his bare feet on his boots. It was weird because how many times in public do we see someone resting their bare feet? I was so curious and shocked that I had to ask him.
And it went something like this:
(He was the quiet one but suddenly he said something to me but I didn’t understand because I was zoned out on his feet so I just smiled and nodded)
“Yeah, sorry but I didn’t catch your name before. What’s your name again?”
“Odus”
“Oh, my name is Eric.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too. This may seem really random and weird but I realized that you were resting your feet on your boots. Why were you doing that?”
“Oh, I’ve been wearing this tims for the past two days and my feet hurt.”
At first nothing hit me, but then I realized this man didn’t take of his shoes for two days because he didn’t have a sanitary place where he can walk bare foot. So many times in life, we complain about the smallest things and yes, they are uncomfortable but here’s a man who doesn’t even have a place to rest his feet. Little things like that never cross our minds because we are truly blessed.
Overall, this was a great experience but the funniest thing is that we call it an “outreach” and expect that we will help them but in reality, they are blessing us. They are the heroes of the world.
Love All,
GhanDEEP
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Roller Coasters
For many of us, we struggle with riding that spiritual “roller coaster”. We believe that it’s “bad” because of the spiritual inconsistency. But what if this “roller coaster” was a blessing from God? What if this “roller coaster” was actually a “good” thing?
So many times, we focus on the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs, and the inconsistency, that it leads us further away from God. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that inconsistency is a good thing but I believe that the enemy has cleverly twisted this concept. After encountering God, our hearts desire to please our father, yet so many times, our actions don’t reflect our true intentions. We repent and start over, through God’s mercy. But soon enough we began grow sick of the guilt and condemnation found in inconsistency and because of that, we choose the dark path. Kudos to Satin for such a clever scheme but brothers and sisters, know that guilt and condemnation come from the enemy. God desires to love and only to love and in love, there is no condemnation.
These trials and tribulations we go through are here for our growth, but the enemy has seized this opportunity to attack us. They lie to us. The moment we fall over and over again, they feed us the guilt and that ultimately hinders our growth.
But I began to wonder; “If these trials are here for our growth, then why do we constantly fall over and over again?”
For the longest time, I struggled with not wanting to fall. My heart longed so much to do everything right for God but as time passed by, the more and more I fell. But one day I saw this video. It talked about how Jesus, himself, went through 30 plus years of training and all the other great prophets also endured 30 plus years of training. So what makes me think that I can walk this walk for 4 months and be transformed? God cares more about the journey. He wants to teach you and show you the way, rather than snapping his finger and changing you into a super prophet. All good things come with perseverance and patience.
But then I asked, “How does falling over and over again help me grow?”
Each time I fell, I realized that God taught me a certain lesson. Whether it was learning to run to God or rebuking me for seeking my own glory, each fall had a purpose. But now that I look back and analyze my falls, I realize that there is something common in each of them. With every failure, God never failed to reveal his everlasting love for me. Now imagine a roller coaster. Before you can fall down the steep slope, the chains must pull you up and notice that you cannot pull yourself up but you must rely on the chains. God is similar. He pulls you up to a high point and lets you fall so that when you lose momentum, he will pull you up again. He doesn’t focus on the fact that you lost momentum because he is too eager to pull you back up again. God wants you to rely on him. That is love.
In parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11-24), the younger son foolishly spends his share of the estate in wild living. Soon enough, he becomes broke and desperate. He surrenders all pride and runs to his father to find that his father has been waiting all along. If he had never fallen, then he would have never ran to his father and he would have never realized the love his father has for him.
The truth is simple, God loves you,and don’t let the enemy take that away from you.
Love All,
GhanDEEP
So many times, we focus on the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs, and the inconsistency, that it leads us further away from God. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that inconsistency is a good thing but I believe that the enemy has cleverly twisted this concept. After encountering God, our hearts desire to please our father, yet so many times, our actions don’t reflect our true intentions. We repent and start over, through God’s mercy. But soon enough we began grow sick of the guilt and condemnation found in inconsistency and because of that, we choose the dark path. Kudos to Satin for such a clever scheme but brothers and sisters, know that guilt and condemnation come from the enemy. God desires to love and only to love and in love, there is no condemnation.
These trials and tribulations we go through are here for our growth, but the enemy has seized this opportunity to attack us. They lie to us. The moment we fall over and over again, they feed us the guilt and that ultimately hinders our growth.
But I began to wonder; “If these trials are here for our growth, then why do we constantly fall over and over again?”
For the longest time, I struggled with not wanting to fall. My heart longed so much to do everything right for God but as time passed by, the more and more I fell. But one day I saw this video. It talked about how Jesus, himself, went through 30 plus years of training and all the other great prophets also endured 30 plus years of training. So what makes me think that I can walk this walk for 4 months and be transformed? God cares more about the journey. He wants to teach you and show you the way, rather than snapping his finger and changing you into a super prophet. All good things come with perseverance and patience.
But then I asked, “How does falling over and over again help me grow?”
Each time I fell, I realized that God taught me a certain lesson. Whether it was learning to run to God or rebuking me for seeking my own glory, each fall had a purpose. But now that I look back and analyze my falls, I realize that there is something common in each of them. With every failure, God never failed to reveal his everlasting love for me. Now imagine a roller coaster. Before you can fall down the steep slope, the chains must pull you up and notice that you cannot pull yourself up but you must rely on the chains. God is similar. He pulls you up to a high point and lets you fall so that when you lose momentum, he will pull you up again. He doesn’t focus on the fact that you lost momentum because he is too eager to pull you back up again. God wants you to rely on him. That is love.
In parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11-24), the younger son foolishly spends his share of the estate in wild living. Soon enough, he becomes broke and desperate. He surrenders all pride and runs to his father to find that his father has been waiting all along. If he had never fallen, then he would have never ran to his father and he would have never realized the love his father has for him.
The truth is simple, God loves you,and don’t let the enemy take that away from you.
Love All,
GhanDEEP
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