Exposing The Lie

Last week we gave our left-over pizza to a homeless man on a street corner. His face was bloodied--did he fall or did someone beat him up? I don't know, but a couple of pieces of pizza and a quick, "God bless!" won't help him much.

So how do we help? How do we expose The Lie that this man and many others like him may believe--that they are worthless, unloved and unable to be of any value to this world--that no one cares about them--that everyone has written them off including parents, siblings and friends--that they are the refuse of society?

From what I have learned over the past few years, most people who live on the street are very intelligent and highly creative. They would have much to offer if only they could get free from The Lie. How do we convince them of their value--that they do have something to offer--that even if parents, siblings and friends have written them off, God hasn't?! How do we do more than offer them our left-overs when we're so stuffed (again!) that we can't eat another bite? How can we show them the love of Christ without enabling their self-destructive behavior? These are not rhetorical questions. I really want to know and I'm really asking God.

My life has been sheltered and far from the world of poverty and homelessness. But now, every time I see a person on the street, a drug addict or alcoholic, I don't just see a homeless person. I see somebody's child, somebody's sibling, perhaps even somebody's father or mother. But they've lost everything including those relationships. They've traded it all in for a life on the street because of The Lie.

God, please tell me--how can we expose The Lie? How can I share My Unswerving Hope to someone is such a hopeless situation?

Between Times of Inspiration

Wow, apparently, it's been a whole month since my last time of inspiration. I feel like I'm just barely keeping up with daily responsibilities. Since my little one came, life has changed. I don't have hours to sit in my chair, reading, pondering and writing.

Oswald Chambers tells me that, "Routine is God's way of saving us between times of inspiration." He goes on, "Do not expect God always to give you his thrilling minutes but learn to live in the domain of drudgery by the power of God."

But I want to be inspired and inspiring! Hmm, "I." That sounds like it's all about me. I can't force inspired moments. I can't muster them. I can't cling to past moments of inspiration. Only God can inject me with moments of inspiration. If I try to create them, I will fail. I will be seen for what I am, and if I'm trying to force something that is not from God, I am a fake, a fraud and I will be found out!


Jesus laid down his life for 33 years. There was only one brilliant moment, according to Owsald Chambers, and that was at the Mount of Transfiguration. The rest of Jesus' life was pouring himself out--day in and day out.

Chambers says, "Jesus did not ask me to die for him but to lay down my life for him... It is far easier to die than to lay down the life day in and day out with the sense of high calling. We are not made for brilliant moments, but we have to walk in the light of them in ordinary ways."