Ezekiel 26:20 "...I shall establish glory in the land of the living."
May 6th I traveled from KC back to Scottsboro, AL to put my hand to the relief efforts after the storms/tornados of April 27th. What came to mind this morning as I was considering these past 5 weeks was that I have actually watched God's glory being established, not only in this region as His body has come together to help their neighbors, but also within the individual lives as I have watched men and women, young and old (er!) giving everything they had through days of heavy labor. I have seen His glory in the eyes and faces of those directly impacted with loss of everything they owned and for some even the loss of family members....and yet I hear trust and faith in God. What days we are living in! His glory will be seen in the land, which includes the earthen vessels, as the Bible calls us human beings.
It has been my privilege to work with my home church, the Rock Family Worship Center Scottsboro up 'on the mountain' in the Pisgah area these past weeks. Initially they were set up on a FEMA/Red Cross base feeding the community and volunteers 3 meals a day in a mobile kitchen. I believe when I arrived they were feeding between 600-700 a day. As the utilities were slowly restored the number began to decrease dramatically and the kitchen was then moved to a Christian campground and began feeding teams of volunteers that are coming to help with the clean-up and rebuilding phase of this relief effort. The Rock has also established a second Manna House up on the mountain, which is an ongoing food distribution ministry the church has already been doing in Scottsboro for the past couple of years. The mountain Manna House is also supplying cleaning products, baby items and basic household/kitchen needs for those starting over. As people are getting into their new FEMA trailors or housing, we are able to deliver 'start up kits' to help them get back on their feet. Of course there is ongoing manual clean up and rebuilding that will go on for many months to come. The Rock is organizing the volunteers for our county and connecting work crews with those needing the assistance. It has been so awesome to see and get to participate in these efforts!
The stories of courage, faith and the saving hand of God on peoples lives has been nothing less than amazing and glorious. I have had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends....some that go as far back as 35 years, as people from all over the United States have been in contact wondering how they could be of help. I have had a chance to meet face to face some that I had only communicated with in previous years per emails. And then I have had the blessing of meeting many new folks who are displaying the love of Christ to those in need.
I heard a little twist on Matthew 5:16 this past week that I think so applies to this blog. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." We often hear the argument that 'we are saved by grace; not by works'. Well, this Matthew verse actually indicates that our good works are not unto salvation but unto the glory of the Father! Let this encourage all of you wherever your at and whatever is at your hand to do....it is glory unto the Father!
This week, I will be transitioning from a disaster relief focus to working on my partnership development for returning to IHOP-KC sometime in August. The adventure continues! Blessings and grace to you all.
