A Second Glance

The bottoms of his pants were splashed with mud and it looked as if he had been walking for days. It was raining; he was cold and had already used up the last bit of change that he had been saving. The last thing in the world that the coffee shop owner wanted to do was to let this man inside after closing time, especially at that hour of the night on the wrong side of town.
        "Hey man, all I need is to warm up a bit and then I'll go." The homeless man said with his arms crossed and shivering.
    The owner had already locked the door to the coffee shop and was halfway to his car before hearing that small voice inside, "Just let him in for a minute, dinner can wait."
    The man sat only for a few minutes, but spoke quickly and indifferently about his family, friends and his job- all things that he had recently lost. The man was bitter and misplaced. He blamed everyone else for his desperate situation.
    Offering the man a cup of coffee, the shop owner was able to spend some time talking with him and challenged him to forgive the people in his life that he felt wronged him. He also simply shared the love of Christ and showed the man stories in the Bible where God was able to take lives of poverty and use them to do great things.
    Given a few dollars, the homeless man left the coffee shop that night unwilling to submit his life to God.
    Almost two years passed and the coffee shop owner was again shutting down for the night. A last minute phone call surprised him. But it was the caller on the other end that surprised him even more. The voice explained how the owner helped him on a rainy night a few years before and had openly shared Jesus. The once homeless man was now living for Christ and operated a street ministry in a different town. The ministry was called "A Second Glance."
   

I challenge you. Be consciously aware of those around you and be willing to give a second glance to someone you would normally ignore. During His ministry, Jesus Himself was skilled at "seeing the unseen." These were the moments that He cherished. These were the moments when He was able to effectively bring about change in another.

It is found in the moments when we hear that quiet voice asking us to act, asking us to turn around and help, that we can truly be used of God. Sometimes our testimony is the most powerful, when we simply bother to take a second glance.

 

written by Gregory Kayne, previously aired on WMBI "Honest to God Radio w/Josh Wiedman"

Moving in Fast Forward

When you pray for provision from God, it shouldn't surprise you when He provides. When you pray for protection against your enemies and God builds a interoperable force-field around your life, your car, your family and your house - why question the power that he possesses? And when you offer God complete control of your finances, your job, your ambitions and your relationships, why is it so hard to accept when God suddenly hits the fast-forward button?

That is what has been happening with me. I thought God had me where He wanted me, working in a full-time position that was dedicated to furthering the cause of the Kingdom of God. I was busy, busy, busy. I was completely and sacrificially overwhelmed with my duties. I had succumbed to believing that anything new that I created had to be for the benefit of my little ministerial world. God had different plans - but then He hit the "pause" button. When that happens it is usually jolting to the spiritual system.

Sometimes it takes a very long 2x4 with a strategically position knot to help get the message through my head. If I trust Him to provide for my needs, then why do I question the blessings that start coming my way? Now, He has completely orchestrated a mass exodus from my career situation to lead me into a life that is fully devoted to living for Him. "But Greg, I thought you were in ministry...isn't that for God?" You rightly ask the question. The answer lays within my heart of hearts, as much as any person that is in active career that involves ministry. The truth is that I've had to leave "ministry" to enter the service and friendship of the King and only do kingdom work.

Now, it feels like he is hitting the fast-forward button. He is in control and all I have to do is be walking close enough to Him that I don't start depending on myself and walk out in front of Him - there is nothing more painful than when God has to step on the backs of my feet and even make me trip because of my own ambition. Yes, things are moving. Messages are becoming clear. Books, songs, musicals and other creative endeavors are becoming fruitful because of only one thing - obedience. Obedience really is the best way to show that we believe. If we are not being obedient to His word, than we are not believing that provision, protection and a true path is possible through the Lord. Faith can move mountains but the lack of faith and downright unbelief can be our undoing if we are not careful.

Trust Him. Believe that His way is the ONLY way. Know that His Truth is the pathway to Life. If you can believe that He has the power to forgive, the power provide victory over any downfall, then and only then will He be able to write the next chapter of your story. As a writer, this means everything to me. So I'll go forward or maybe fast-forward and pray for the wisdom to know when "pause" is the most important button of all.