Our lives are not our own

Pastor Matthew Barnett of the Los Angeles Dream Center once said, "Once you start putting yourself in another man's world you will never be the same."

He was talking about reaching out to the homeless, the hopeless, the hurting. He was speaking the truth. For the past nine years, Love In Action has been reaching out to the homeless, the hopeless, the hurting. From Brooklyn to L.A. and points in between, we have gone out on the streets to meet the people where they are at and tell them that God loves them and so do we.

It has made a tremendous difference in their lives. We have seen thousands accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We have seen the homeless come off the streets and live the lives God had planned for them. It's been incredible.

It has also made an awesome difference in all of our lives. Think about Matthew's quote for a moment. Put yourself in another man's world. That means you hurt when they hurt. You cry when they cry. When they struggle with something you are there with them. When they rejoice, you rejoice. Basically, you are living life with them.

The past year has been an incredible year of ministry for LIA. Martha and I have really done what Matthew said. We have taken the homeless to hotels to get out of the rain. We have taken food to them late at night. We have taken them to work before the sun comes up in the morning. We have sat out in the woods and cried with them. We have prayed with them about challenging situations. We have rejoiced with them. We have taken them to church with us, so we can all worship together.

We don't have children, but the feeling we get when we are in church with those we help, it just feels awesome. It's like we're worshiping God together as a family. It has to feel about the same way as parents feel when they are worshiping God with their children. We know that we are entering into the presence of God together. Then seeing them soak up every word the pastor is saying and talking about it after church is wonderful.

Living life with the homeless. Living life with them after they come off the streets. It is awesome. It has changed Martha and me. We never know what each day holds. It may be heartbreak, or it may be a joyous celebration. However God decides to direct us, we try our best to follow His lead. We aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, body and strength.

I told Martha and the other night that we live a very impromptu life. Martha said she wouldn't have it any other way. Then she said something very profound. She said, "Our lives are not our own." Wow! I've heard that many times in my life. "... You are not your own; you were bought at a price." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Our lives are not our own. Our lives belong to Jesus. We live for Him. We live to lead others to Him. It's an awesome life. Filled with all kinds of awesome adventures. It's filled with the love and joy of Jesus Christ. Martha and I praise God for our lives.

I challenge you to do what Matthew said. Put yourself in another man's world. Reach out and help someone. Live life with them. Lead them to Jesus. I guarantee you that you will never be the same.