The Kingdom Outpouring at Work
Isn’t it just like God to test our zeal? Just as we are experiencing an increased outpouring of God’s Spirit on Sunday mornings, God presents us with an open invitation to practical, hands-on ministry opportunities, helping our neighbors here in Linn County survive the massive floods of 2008! Right now, it appears that Cedar Rapids will undergo its’ worst flooding disaster in our history and by the weekend, we might have up to 1,000 homes in our county flooded, leaving thousands of our neighbors stranded and wondering what’s next for their lives.
My friends, this might be the Church of Cedar Rapids’ finest hour! Let’s arise as men and women of God, indwelled and empowered by God’s Spirit to take the loving compassions of Jesus to the streets in the weeks ahead. Even tonight as I write this blog, some of our leaders are filling sandbags in Palo, offering Jesus’ hands to those in need! Don’t miss this opportunity, my friends. Join the efforts!
Go to http://www.crvineyard.org/floodefforts.kt and check out the increasing list of volunteer needs in our community. The Cedar River will hit record flood levels on Thursday, and there is much to be done both now and afterward! Grab your gloves and let’s hit the streets in Jesus’ name, offering Kingdom hope and help to all we can!
What a night we had as 16 of us headed to Palo. Tonight we lined up in a chain to be the hands of feet of Christ. Asking for God’s grace as we filled each bag of sand, put it on a pallet and continued until we could no longer carry more bags. We were so blessed to be a blessing. The people in Palo were so thankful for our helping, always asking if we needed food or water and continuosly thanking us for our work. I don’t know if it was harder working or leaving…knowing as we left that city would never be the same. The water would come crashing in within 24 hours.
Later tonight we went to ‘Serve The City’ at Ellis Community Church and as we walked knocking on doors my heart went out to each house knowing it was just a matter of time before the steps I took would be covered by the Cedar River. We met a man that had recently lost his son and was more worried that his son’s grave stay settled in Palo than he was about anything in his house. He was burried only six months ago.
Tonight was a night I felt God’s presence…a presence unlike Sunday AM church but a love, a compassion like that of Christ for His people. Tonight was what ‘church’ is all about. We are to be the hands and feet of Christ and I’m thankful for the opportunity to be just that. Thank you Jesus for using us to help…I know your heart breaks even more so for each and every one of your children losing a home, their lives they’ve buiilt, and the hardship that is leaving it’s mark on the City of Cedar Rapids.