Belonging to the LORD

When the sun goes down over Stockton.

I have come to find that in Stockton, most ministry happens late and some times into the wee hours of the morning. This has taken some getting used to but I am starting to care less about sleep and more about enjoying the late nights talking with people, building relationships and growing in the Lord alongside them. 

Monday nights we do try to head to bed a bit earlier, so we will be rested and ready to go for 6am prayer on Tuesday morning. This last Monday we went to bed around 10:30 as I fell asleep, the sounds of Stockton came through my window. First the sounds of stray cats fighting, not a pleasant sound. A few moments later the sound of a woman screaming came piercing down the street, I had the thought that if it continued I would call the police, but it stopped and I started to fall back asleep. It is now midnight and I hear a loud pounding that shook the the whole house. I was not coherent enough to know at all what was going on. Next thing I know Raegan and Cari are in my room looking out the window. I wake up to find out the pounding had caused quite a  scare, not knowing if it was someone trying to break in or not. When Dave went to the door he saw it was an old neighbor who is a local drug dealer and alcoholic. Dave went out to talk to him and his friend who had brought with him. as Dave went on to share the gospel with the two men. Raegan, Cari and I sat inside and prayed.

This man has been calling Dave when he is drunk and continues to tell him that he wants to come to church. Pray for his salvation and that the scales would fall from his eyes that he would come to know Jesus. 

Now we all head back to bed its about 1am at this point, we are all ready to sleep. as I listened to sirens and a fly that had come through the window buzz around my room I fell back asleep. At 3am the wind picked up and slammed the doors up stairs shut, now awake again Cari and I hear a gun shot in the distance and next thing I know Cari is in my bed and we talked for a minuet, as we started to fall back asleep the sound of a grocery cart being pushed down the middle of our street comes through the window. 

To say the least this night was full of the sounds of the city. Sounds that would all too often be considered annoying and scary, but as we talked about it the next day Dave reminded us that as we hear these noises after dark they are specific reminders of how to pray for the city of Stockton. I am more aware of how to be praying as I go to sleep the sounds are coming from people in need of a savior and a LORD over their lives. 

The Lord reminded me sweetly with this verse out of 1 Corinthians That He choose the foolish and weak things, to shame the wise and strong. it is God working through us and in us, it is nothing of us. It is Christ working to further His Kingdom and to bring His name GLORY. 

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,

so that no man may boast before God.

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”