Interactions with God #94

Desert Foothills Vineyard Christian Fellowship, our little church plant in Cave Creek, AZ, had moved from the Charter School to a public elementary school called Desert Sun. The charter school had asked us to leave because one of the teachers complained that our kids where playing with toys that were in the classrooms. Ugh. Being the positive sort that I was, I believed that the move would be a good thing. It would cost more at the public school, but the auditorium that we would get to use was much larger. Still, with only 6 adults we looked rather odd in that large auditorium.

We had grown by a few here and there, but most people didn’t stay more than a few weeks. By early 2003 even Dan and Terry would miss a few Sunday’s every now and again. Most visitors, when we got them, never came back. It was really frustrating.

On one particular Sunday in early 2003, we finally had a visitor. In attendance, was Martha, myself, John, Jessica, Dan and Terry. I had set up the seats so that they were in a circle. Our worship was a CD player. The woman was visiting from California. She was fighting Cancer and not winning. She was in Cave Creek just to get a treatment from a specialized hospital there. She would only be there that week. We would never see her again. We were all glad she came either way.

As the worship time ended, I cracked open my bible to read the passage that I intended to focus on for the teaching.  It was Luke 11:5-8.

Luke 11: 5-8 (NIV)

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

I had picked the passage to teach about how the man represented us, in that we have nothing to give our friends. We need to boldly go to God to get the bread, just so we can offer our friends anything at all. In short, that was to be the main point of my message. I started it off by reading the passage out loud while in our little circle of chairs.

Just as I finished reading the last words of the passage, I knew. That is the only way to describe it. I just knew. No doubt, no consideration, I knew. I looked at the woman, our visitor, and said “You just read this!”

“Yes!” She replied. “This morning!”

I then continued with my message. I stressed the importance of us reaching out to God for the bread of Heaven.  Not just Jesus as a truth, but the Power of Jesus as real and relative to the troubles of our friends. That we get something wonderful from God, just to give it to others. Like He did right there in that very meeting. 

I didn’t get anything more for the woman. We did pray for her afterward. As far as I know, she did not get healed. We never saw her again. But she did get a message from God, much the same as I did on my prior birthday. A message that God was with her and that He was involved. I think for the woman, that was enough.

I was just glad to have some bread to offer a new friend.