Another page gone and now with the quick turn from our hands the calendar now says May! Where does the time go? I’m not sure, but I plan to spend what time I have left preaching His gospel to all I meet. Why not?
On a Sunday recently, after our service, I was heading out to my car when Bro. Arnold, one of our elders, stopped me and introduced me to a neighbor who had a request for us. Bill, our neighbor from across the street, needed to park his car on our parking lot for a couple of weeks until he could get it fixed. He was afraid that the city would ticket it and possibly tow it away. Now I had just come from a great service where God had showed up and showed off! We had preached of His love and of His mercy. Little did I know how soon I was going to be given the opportunity to show His love and mercy to our neighborhood, one neighbor at a time. Honestly I don’t like doing favors like the one that was asked of me, because I have been burned quite often, but Bill’s timing for his request was impeccable. I know what you’re thinking. What would Jesus do? Right? As I looked into Bill’s eyes I could see his desperation and I couldn’t say no. I asked him where his car was and he pointed to an old beat up Ford across the street. I showed him where he could park it on the church’s parking lot. He smiled and thanked me and said he would have to get some guys from his building to help him push the car into our parking lot. Needless to say there were no volunteers from his building but fortunately for him there were still some brothers leaving the church. You guessed it. His car was not working and had to be powered that morning by “the body” of Christ. I always wanted to be His hand extended; I just didn’t expect that to mean to have my hand extended on the back of a Ford pushing it up a little incline to our parking lot. Oh yea, there is a little hill going into the parking lot so needless to say we got as much of a running start as we could. We were successful on the first try! Even though his car was filled with his belongings as though he may have been living out of it, we managed to push it up the incline and into a spot on the lot. After two weeks sitting there, it was time for him to make other arrangements so I left several messages outside his apartment door. Then one day, when I least expected it, Bill had moved his car! It just so happens he was getting inside his car to leave from his apartment that morning. I came over to thank him for moving it and to ask him what had been wrong with the car. He explained with sheer wonder that he didn’t know. He said the car wouldn’t start. He thought it might be the battery or the starter, but none of those things were broken. It just wouldn’t start, but after two weeks of sitting on the church parking lot he went over to try starting it and wonder of wonders – it fired up the first time he tried! I told him if God can do that with his car after only two weeks on the parking lot, imagine what God can do for him if he came to a service just once for a couple of hours and sat inside our Father’s house! Isn’t that what God’s house is for? Bringing broken people who are sick and hurt, and seeing them leave healed and whole by His love and grace. That’s our prayer at Zion. We want to be His holy garage, where lives are made new by His resurrection power!
Seeing our neighbors made whole by His grace, Pastor Rick.