Do you have a Dream?

Yesterday after a very "stressful" week (stressful for my pampered little life) I finally carved some time out to sit down with my Bible and spend some time just meeting with God.  Two hours flew by and as always, I was blown away with how different I felt.  I had tap into the same power that raise Jesus from the dead and I could feel it.  As I sat down to start my work day, I started through my email box.  One of the emails waiting to be read was my daily devotion from Proverbs 31.  OH.... it was a good one!  She had recently visited The Dream Center in LA, CA.  Let me share some bits and pieces of what Lysa TerKeurst  had to say.  

"The Dream Center is a converted hospital run by Pastor Matthew Barnett and his church, Angelus Temple. It is a 700 bed facility that is a homeless shelter, a drug rehab, a healing place for those rescued from sex trafficking, an education facility and a ministry hub for over 120 outreach programs to help people in need...

Only lavish abandon to God can do what I saw at the Dream Center.

It’s what changed the ex-gang member with eight bullet hole scars into a Jesus loving servant. So gentle.

It’s what changed the ex-prostitute into a counselor for girls being rescued from the streets. So pure.

It’s what changed the ex-drug addict into a loving father teaching his son how to be a godly leader. So integrity filled.

So, I asked Pastor Matthew—a man who lives this lavish abandon, “Aren’t you afraid sometimes? You run a facility where you have to raise half-million dollars a month—a MONTH! Do you walk around with the weight of that on you all the time?”

And his answer cracked my heart wide open. “No. When you experience God the way I’ve been experiencing God for 17 years, you stop being afraid. I’ve seen too many miracles.”

Pastor Matthew lives our key verse from Isaiah 58:10. He spends himself in behalf of the hungry and oppressed. And honest to goodness I’ve never seen someone so happy, so positive, so on fire for the things of God. Like our verse, his light rises in the darkness.

He sees the miracles therefore he dares to be part of them.

If I truly want to be a woman who lives by faith, I must live a life that requires a little bit of faith."

© 2011 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved.

That last line hit me, I pray all the time to be a woman of faith and that I can live a life with out fear.  I love what Pastor Matthew said, he's not afraid because he has "experienced God".  I want to experience God!!  

Today she had a follow up to yesterday's devotion with a tangible and super easy way to do something to help make a difference for these people, to let them know that Jesus loves them.    If you are looking for a way to make a difference here's one idea. http://lysaterkeurst.com/2011/08/helping-the-dream-center/ (it's as simple as writing a letter and buying a gift card).  There are tons of ministries out there that need help and support, find one that pricks your heart and do something!!  We can make a difference!  You can make a difference... I can make a difference!