Isaiah 58:6-8
Isn’t the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,
To untie the ropes of the yoke,
To set the oppressed free,
And to tear off every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
To bring the poor and homeless into your house,
To clothe the naked when you see him,
And to not ignore your own flesh [and blood]?
Then your light will appear like the dawn,
And your recovery will come quickly.
Your righteousness will go before you,
And the LORD’s glory will be your rear guard.
There has been a lot of talk and news coverage about the national debt, Wall Street, unemployment, government bailouts of big businesses and the downfall of the housing market for several months now. This past week, our ministry received instruction by the authority of Christ Jesus, to do Father’s will in helping the homeless. Specifically, we are to develop a program to help those in the United States that have been deprived of the right to live within society’s boundaries. Many have lost their life savings, homes and are now forced to live in the streets. This is a part of the yoke of oppression that exists not only in the United States but in all parts of this evil world and as the prophetic global monetary collapse comes more and more into fruition, it will only increase.
Last year at exactly this time, I was homeless. Thankfully, I was extremely blessed in that Father provided me a safe haven via my sisters in Christ and I had a roof over my head for those five weeks. While I was extremely fortunate to have had the kindness of others to lean on, I still remember very well the feeling of not having a place to call home. Five weeks is not a long time, but when you’re homeless and without anywhere at all to go, even a single night can feel like an eternity. I recall one particular night, lying in the bed provided me with tears trickling down the sides of my face wondering what in the world I was going to do – where I was going to go or end up and how it was that I’d gotten to this point. While I was thankful and maintaining my faith in Father’s will the best that I knew how, I was also afraid. Looking back on it now and knowing how many individuals and families are going through so much worse, I’m ashamed that I even for a single moment felt the way I did not only because I didn’t have it nearly as bad as others have, but also because I didn’t recognize at the time that the experience would teach me something and prepare me for the mission I would take part in beginning this year.
For many of us though we may not be homeless now, we live on the verge of homelessness with many just a month of paychecks away from losing all we have worked for. Now couple that with the possibility that your job could be lost through no fault of your own but because your company lays you off, or goes out of business all together. Then add in that your mortgage payment may go up and on top of that the growing costs of gas and food. None of us are immune to the possibility and you too, could find yourself in the same situation as these people find themselves in. They are not there by choice or due to a mental condition of some sort or because they simply don’t want to work, they are there because they have no other choice. Any one of us could suffer the same affliction they are from Dawn Lucifer’s beast (the government) that will not offer help to those that have fallen outside of society.
The saddest part of all of this is that there are only so many shelters out there and many are already filled to capacity night after night. This is why we’ve seen an increase in encampments of tent cities popping up across the country. And, when the homeless can’t find a bed, a tent is the next best thing but then around the corner comes the city and forces them to leave because they are on city property or because of various city ordinances - and all of this in cities that claim to be “doing a lot for the homeless”.
Currently billions of dollars are being given by the beast to large corporations going belly up while families are forced out of their homes to suffer in the streets while top executive are accepting million dollar bonuses and resort retreats costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The money could have just as easily been given to those same families because after all, the money is partially theirs too. It is their tax dollars from labor they performed before financial crisis forced them from their homes. But do they have a voice in the matter? Do any of us? Will the beast bail them out by giving them portions of their hard earned dollars back to them when they need it most? The answer is a simple no. They are too busy literally taking from the poor and giving to the rich. It is sick and it is twisted and it is yet another sign of the end times.
There are some cities that seem to be helping the homeless. There’s a fenced in camp in California that has 140 Coleman tents that is patrolled by a guard, established after it was revealed that “400 people were living in small tents and hardscrabble camps made of tarp and plywood and anything else that hadn’t been nailed down. Now there are portable toilets and showers and sometimes in the evening kind strangers giving them food.” (Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin 9/2008) but at the same time, outside the camp is a sign that says, “WARNING: Enter this area at your own risk. Risks include, but are not limited to: Potential Trip Hazards, Hazardous Sharp Materials; Disease; Personal Injury or Death; Physical Assault or Attack; Damage to or Theft of Personal Property. Persons in this Area May Have Criminal Backgrounds, May be Registered Sex Offenders, or May Have Communicable Diseases. The City Has No Duty, Nor Has it Assumed Any Duty, To Provide Any Type of Protection…”
Psalm 91:1-2
The Protection of the Most High
1 The one who lives under the
protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the
Almighty.
2 I will say to the LORD, “My
refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
Protection. It is protection that they need; the kind of protection that only Father can provide. It is love and kindness and compassion that they need. They need to know that they are not forgotten. They need to know there is still reason to hope. The biggest difference between the situation I encountered in being homeless and those who have become homeless recently due to economic reasons, is that I knew in my heart that Father had not abandoned me. What these men, women and children need more than anything is to know that Father has not abandoned them and that their prayers are being heard and there is hope in the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom that is coming soon. What these men, women and children need is to come under the safety and cover of Father’s protection and to know that She guides their every step whether it be across the flatlands or up mountains that may seem to be at first, treacherous and impassible.
I have to admit in all honesty that when our ministry was given instruction on helping the homeless, I felt as if I was standing at the base of Mount Everest, looking up at its enormity and wondering to myself, “I know it will be done, but how in the world are we going to help all these people?” But then in prayer I was reminded of Noah, who built an entire Ark that was to provide a safe haven for his family and many animals. And then I was reminded of Moses, who went up against the Egyptian Pharaoh himself to free the Jews from slavery only to wander, homeless, for 40 years before being guided to the Promised Land. And then I was reminded of the apostles, who after Christ ascended to his Father were left alone with a large task of their own to accomplish. The one thing they all had in common was that Father was guiding them, just as Father is guiding this ministry so I know in my heart that we too will accomplish the task set before us. After all, as brothers and sisters in Christ we are all truly homeless – being not of this world and not yet a part of the world in which Father and Christ exist. My heart is set on fulfilling Father’s will, wherever it may lead and I know that the other ministers within our ministry feel the same. Father works through Her children to fulfill Her will whether they be angelic or human and I know in my heart that Her will, will be done and the prayers of the homeless have been heard and will be answered. They will be given Arks of Safe Haven...the Protection of the Most High.
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