Month: October 2024

A couple of weeks ago I went over to a young man who is homeless who sleeps in the shopping centre in our town. Joe (not his real name) is only 19. It breaks my heart because he is so young. He could be my son!

My friend and I had met him the week before where he’d seemed full of hope despite his bleak circumstances. Somebody had given him a bible the day before and we directed him to the story in Luke 15 which he said he would read. We bought him lunch and we prayed for healing from a chest infection, and he was visibly moved saying that after we prayed the second time it didn’t hurt when he took a breath in. God clearly touched him.

The next time I saw him he was pretty down. Someone had stolen all his stuff; his bag, his bedding and the bible too. Sadly it happens often on the street.  That morning God had been speaking to me about generosity and how extravagant his love is and how we can’t out give God.
As I looked at the thin sleeping bag, he was clutching I felt a strong urge to bless him extravagantly. I went to Primark, and I bought a duvet, a warm fleece and a bunch of warm socks and took them back to him. I wish you could have seen his face. I hadn’t realised he had no socks, and they were the first things he put on and then spread out his new duvet.

When I came back with these things there was a man talking to him who I later found out is an artist and who told me he wants to paint a picture of Joe and give it to him. What’s amazing is this man is 84 and nearly blind from glaucoma

As the three of us were talking together a lady in a mobility scooter asked if we could step aside; she was waving a five pound in her hand and trying to get to Joe. It was like God was showering this young man with his love. In that moment I saw and felt the atmosphere shift, and I recognised this is Kingdom culture and its contagious!

I share this story not, so you’ll think what a kind person I am but to encourage us to be intentional in looking for opportunities to bring heaven’s culture wherever we are. As we see the opposite of the Kingdom God is placing us to demonstrate kindness, speak life giving words over people, to bring comfort, and release peace and hope and as we do, we are pointing people to Jesus.

The elderly man let me pray for his eyes. I don’t know if there was any immediate change, but I told him Jesus healed blind eyes.