A Life After Death

El Roi. It's truly one of my top favorite names That God chose to reveal to people in the Bible. the God who sees. The rock ministries down in Kensington is an incredible church that is being led by and empowered by the Holy Spirit to minister in one of the darkest strongholds in Philadelphia. The Lord has provided the means for them to mentor and disciple kids and men and women through thir boxing ministry and their after school programs and tutoring clubs. they serve the homeless, proclaim the victory in Jesus Christ to those battling addiction, and above all they teach the word of God and preach the truth of the gospel to the lost and hurting of the city. That's only a smidgen of what I know is going on down there. Recently the Rock got a building down there. It's called going to be called the Lost Coin. The hope and vision is for the church to be able to house and disciple women who want to get out of prostitution. My young adults group is prayerfully getting involved in this ministry. Right now all we are doing is praying and collecting items for toiletry bags. These toiletry bags will be distributed on the streets to women who are selling their bodies for money. Our hope and prayer is that these bags will give us an open door to love on these women practically and to share the hope that Jesus Christ has to offer them. And the cry of our hearts is for them to accept that love and to accept the door we are offering through the Lost Coin to give them a way out of their lifestyle and to have a future of freedom in Christ. We were praying last night for this ministry and while we were praying I was reminded of the Lord's ability to reveal Himself to people. He's so able. He is the God who sees. he sees these women. He loves these women. in the Old Testament there was a servant girl named Hagar. An Egyptian slave girl. She was taken from her home and lived with an elderly couple who had no children. One day her master took her and sexually used her and got her pregnant. Then her master's wife hated her and treated her so crudely that she ran away. Oh yeah, and her master and mistress? Yeah, they were followers of God. So pregnant, alone, and thirsty she ends up by a spring in the wilderness. And there God meets her. he reveals Himself to her there. Yes, she had been used and abused and hurt. But when God Himself showed up in her life, she didn't need Reasons for why her life had ended up that way. She didn't need to understand how people who were supposed to lead her to The Lord could hurt her like that. She didn't need to know how God was going to fix everything in her life if she obeyeyed Him (and he was calling her to go back to her master and mistress). she just needed to know God saw her. That he was a God who wanted to have a relationship with her. That He wasn't a far off. And He showed Himself to her. And Hagar just reminded me that God is able to reveal himself to these women. That whatever barriers I can imagine that there will be to them receiving the gospel He is able to break down. I don't have to do anything but be a vessel. to be a vessel to show them they are not forgotten, forsaken, or unloved by someone why knows everything about them and the depths of their heart and their sin and their pain and loves them unconditionally. Anyway if you think of it pray for this ministry. And read Genesis 16 if you want to know more about Hagar.