From Our Sister Church: FULL GOSPEL MISSION

FULL GOSPEL MISSION
887 W. Spruce Ave. Ravenna, OH  44266
Rev. Barbara A. Davis, Pastor

 

February 26, 2012----Pastor Pen: It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square . Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth.

 

For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure gig - I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the '40s to the '90s with a few original tunes thrown in.. During our emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along.

 

After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked. "No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?"  To my delight, she accepted my invitation. "You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?"  "Well. ... do you know any hymns?"

 

Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one." "Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one."  "Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?"

 

My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one." She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing.  Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?  The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.  I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free. For His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me.

 

When the last note was sung, the applause crescendo to a deafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee! I didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get somethin' to drink, just like you!" But the ovation continued.. I embraced my new friend. "You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!"

 

"Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said.  "Why is that?"  "Well . .." she hesitated again, "that was my daughter's favorite song."  "Really!" I exclaimed..  "Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual.. "She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week."

 

I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. "Are you going to be okay?"  She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. "I'm gonna be okay. I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything's gonna be just fine." She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.

 

Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it.

 

God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it's no stretch for me to imagine that God could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting God and singing the songs, everything's gonna be okay.

 

The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember....
Noah was a drunk                                 

Abraham was too old    
Isaac was a daydreamer       

Jacob was a liar          

Leah was ugly  
Joseph was abused      

Moses had a stuttering problem    

Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer    

Rahab was a prostitute            

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young                         

Elijah was suicidal            
David had an affair and was a murderer         

Paul was too religious             
Isaiah preached naked   

Jonah ran from God             

Naomi was a widow      

Job went bankrupt              

John the Baptist ate bugs   

Timothy had an ulcer
Peter denied Christ & The Disciples fell asleep while praying  
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once  

Zaccheus was short    
AND Lazarus was dead!  

No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.

 

Prayer List:  AndI’s Unborn child     Center of Hope    Soldiers Zac, Shawn     Bro. Dealer in Youngstown
Dennis--recovering at his Mom’s         Ruthie-health/twins     SOULS
RC & Esther           Susan          Dale        Bro. Willard--pretesting/procedure
FGCC/Radio Ministry      Growth in the Church        Hazen Ministries
Calvary Crusade            Easter Revival               Growth & UNITY 
 Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor who in 2010 was found guilty of apostasy and sentenced to death for refusing to recant Christianity, may have received a final execution order-- we need to pray!!!!!!

 

JOKE of the WEEK: An eye witness account from New York City , on a cold day in December,  some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering With cold.

 

A lady approached the young boy and said, 'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!'  

 

'I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,' was the boy's reply.

The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.  She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, 'No doubt, you will be more comfortable now..' As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her:           'Are you God's wife?' 

Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout your week