Small acts of love over a long period of time

With “Bibi” and the LH team at the church community center in Santiago, DR.

God honors the small faithful acts of love over a longer period of time. Our Discipleship schools have had the privilege to witness God’s work in communities in Santiago, Dominican Republic over a longer period of time.

When we first came to the Pontezuela community 7 years ago, Pastor Stanley and the Iglesia Comunidad Multicultural met at a store front church and would love on the community. Pastor Stanley showed us a rough plot of land in front of a little shack in the Haitian immigrant slum and shared with us dreams of a community center there.

The next year after that we prayed in the rain over a cement foundation that was built there. The following year we served food to community children over a first floor with a dirt floor. Last year our team saw the building complete with classes on the 2nd floor for community children that didn’t have the resources and papers to go to the traditional schools in the DR and enjoyed the Sunday service on the first floor. This year we came just in time to see some of the Kindergarten students graduate!

Even the atmosphere and the openness of the people in the community seemed to have changed. People know of the love of the church in the neighborhood. Another immigrant Haitian community that ICM in partnership with mission teams have been loving on is Secara. I remember a lot of spiritual warfare there and spiritual attack through voodoo practiced in the community. This year we were led by one of the local pastors to an alleyway in the neighborhood with people gathered. We offered to pray for folks and then suddenly a lot of folks got up and walked away. We prayed for two gentlemen that stayed.

And then a shop owner opened his window and asked for prayer.  Then people came back with others to ask for prayer.  One person poked his head into the space we were praying for the shop owner and I thought that was pretty rude to ask for something to buy from the shop.  But instead this man, Pedro, surprised us by saying he wanted prayer.  He remembers that other believers in the past had come to pray for his stomach and he had been healed.  He pulled up the back of his shirt and said that now he was here for prayer for his back!  The witness of small acts of love over time carries in a community and brings transformation!  

In Luke 13:18-19 Jesus shares: “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

Now imagine what it would be like if us believers continue to faithfully plant seeds of Gods love over a long period of time?  Continuing to do the small acts of watering with kind and encouraging words, some sunlight of praying into people the healing of Jesus?  Then there would be such Kingdom growth and transformation that it would bring shelter to whole communities!

Church, do not despise or look down on small acts of Gods love and goodness that you share.  Even if it is not received right away, trust that these small faithful acts matter and God will use them to grow His Kingdom, his powerful nearness over time to bring the change that we need so much in this world!!

Mission work is not just for d-school students and gifted missionaries. Gods mission work is for each person who is willing to love someone, as Jesus has loved you, even with the smallest act of love!!!

how you know God has shown up

it was about three weeks ago.  it seemed like any other Sunday going to church.

ji and I have been going to epicentre community church in lincoln heights for several months now.   it is a church that actually represents the community it is in.  a church of the city.  a church of the poor.  a church of the broken.  even though my family has moved in as outsiders, we have been welcomed as part of the church family and have been so blessed.  i am so encouraged every time i go.  we still receive so much more than we give.

but people still put on a nice face.  you know the face we put on everyday when we go out.  it’s not fake…it’s just acceptable.  not letting what’s inside show too much on the outside.

so during church service, we break into small groups to share out a bible study of a shared passage (one of the things i really LOVE about this church).  the passage is the one where Jesus is being beaten and mocked by a band of soldiers….but he doesn’t lash out…the soldiers get tired.   many people share out about how amazing it was how Jesus demonstrated such super-natural self-control in the face of such outright humiliation.  He took all the wickedness we could throw at Him…and He absorbed it…to demonstrate His love for us.

then the pastor invited us to stand and pour out all our junk to Him in prayer.

then it happened.  one person started confessing his sins in prayer to God…out loud.

in my head i was like: i think this guy misunderstood the directions.   we’re supposed to pray on our own, in our own minds to God.

then another man started admitting in prayer the ways he had failed God…again out loud.

uh-oh.

then one after another different people began confessing to God the messed up stuff in their lives…all aloud.  everyone could hear…the ways people let their anger get the best of them as they took it out on their own children, the ways they were holding onto things that were killing them, the ways they could not forgive, the ways they had thought life would be better without them, the ways they didn’t trust in God and had turned to other things.   the ways we need God to heal us of our brokenness.

i was just in silent awe.

God had shown up.

how else can i explain that, in the very place where most people expect the greatest hypocrisy, people were exposing the ugliest parts of themselves…people were being REAL…to a room full of people (many who they do not know)…of their own free will?

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.  At that time each will receive his praise from God.” – 1 Corinthians 4:5

2-29-12, 8am, Los Angeles from the Lincoln Heights.

dang John…

 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? – 1 John 3:17

g-dog

“the measure of your compassion lies not in your service of those in the margins but in your willingness to see yourself in kinship with them.” – father gregory boyle (aka g-dog)

don’t think Jesus’ words of warning to the rich refers to you (me)?   we may need to reconsider that position.  if you don’t believe me then you can check for yourself here (or at least here if you have a lot of conditions).  to the one much has been given much will be required.  may we do good with what we’ve been entrusted.

some census and neighborhood data about lincoln heights, los angeles