It never ceases to amaze me how God seems to show up in some remarkable and spectacular way, often when I am least expecting to find him. Last night I had to venture into downtown Columbus, OH to meet with a pastor and a couple of lay members for a project that our group in Evangelism is working on. I will have to admit that, for one thing, I wasn’t overly excited about going downtown Columbus. It can be very confusing and the traffic is often bumper to bumper. In addition, I knew that even with the best case scenario, I wouldn’t get home until after midnight, and besides, all I could think about was the fact that, “Hey guys, I’m graduating in a few weeks and I am in pretty good shape grade wise in this class, so if you want a really good grade on this project, then you had better work hard, because old Jim is pretty much just along for the ride on this one” :)
When I arrived at the church, (I was very early since I had no idea where I was going) I watched as literally dozens and dozens of people went in and out of the church door. “Wow, something must be going on in there,” I thought. When it got closer to the time for my meeting I went in and was greeted by a very kind woman who tracked down the people that I was to talk to and then offered me dinner. The great multitude that was coming and going were a part of the food ministry of the church where they provide meals 4 nights per week to the community. What a blessings!
As I was sitting down with one of my fellow classmates, waiting for our meeting to begin, I was surprised when a man came into the room where we were sitting and asked if either of us was the pastor. Of course we both said "no, well at least not of this church," and he said, “So are you pastors or not?” We looked at each other and I responded that if a pastor from Indiana would work for him, then yes I was a pastor. He came over, introduced himself, sat down, and said “I just really need someone to pray for me.” After a brief conversation, we prayed together and then talked for the next 10-15 minutes. As he was leaving, I promised to continue to pray for him, he thanked us for our time and was gone.
He thanked us… Wow, that wasn’t what I was feeling in that moment at all. Instead, I felt that I needed to thank him. I felt so blessed for the opportunity to have my eyes opened to the suffering around me, I wanted to thank him, for allowing me to see and understand that God doesn’t care if I am in Ohio, Indiana, or lost completely in Kentucky, :) there is always work in the kingdom to do. What I thought was just another hoop that I had to jump through in order to graduate, turned into a massive blessing for me.
When our meeting with the pastor actually did start, I can honestly say that it was one of the most productive hours that I have spent in my entire time in seminary. The enthusiasm and knowledge that I gained from Pastor Dave, will remain with me for the rest of my ministry.
You know, I was pretty weary last night when I finally got home around 12:30, but I slept well and awoke refreshed. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. We just need to open up our eyes and hearts in order to see.
Blessings!
When I arrived at the church, (I was very early since I had no idea where I was going) I watched as literally dozens and dozens of people went in and out of the church door. “Wow, something must be going on in there,” I thought. When it got closer to the time for my meeting I went in and was greeted by a very kind woman who tracked down the people that I was to talk to and then offered me dinner. The great multitude that was coming and going were a part of the food ministry of the church where they provide meals 4 nights per week to the community. What a blessings!
As I was sitting down with one of my fellow classmates, waiting for our meeting to begin, I was surprised when a man came into the room where we were sitting and asked if either of us was the pastor. Of course we both said "no, well at least not of this church," and he said, “So are you pastors or not?” We looked at each other and I responded that if a pastor from Indiana would work for him, then yes I was a pastor. He came over, introduced himself, sat down, and said “I just really need someone to pray for me.” After a brief conversation, we prayed together and then talked for the next 10-15 minutes. As he was leaving, I promised to continue to pray for him, he thanked us for our time and was gone.
He thanked us… Wow, that wasn’t what I was feeling in that moment at all. Instead, I felt that I needed to thank him. I felt so blessed for the opportunity to have my eyes opened to the suffering around me, I wanted to thank him, for allowing me to see and understand that God doesn’t care if I am in Ohio, Indiana, or lost completely in Kentucky, :) there is always work in the kingdom to do. What I thought was just another hoop that I had to jump through in order to graduate, turned into a massive blessing for me.
When our meeting with the pastor actually did start, I can honestly say that it was one of the most productive hours that I have spent in my entire time in seminary. The enthusiasm and knowledge that I gained from Pastor Dave, will remain with me for the rest of my ministry.
You know, I was pretty weary last night when I finally got home around 12:30, but I slept well and awoke refreshed. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. We just need to open up our eyes and hearts in order to see.
Blessings!
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