1/21/12

You say, I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:17-20

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Isaiah 5:21

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Isaiah 8:21

What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? Isaiah 10:3

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19

Praise God that he loves us enough to break us (gold refined in the fire). When someone comes to that place in their life, that there is no getting up, theyve been knocked down one too many times. That is when God will take over and over take. That is where someone can surrender their will to God. It stops being about what God can do for them, and becomes that desire and need to know God and love him. Sadly, to many times we hear about what God can do for us, and he can do abundantly more than we could ever ask or hope for. But God isnt willing that we settle for lesser things, he wants us to know him. The more we know him, the more we love him and the more we love him the more our lives will reflect his life. How could we ever think that the riches of this world could compare to His glorious riches? Someone that knows God doesnt think this way, but this is the way the world thinks. And we cant expect the world to think like we do. But we can pray and watch Jesus work his mighty arm to move heaven and earth to reach the lost!

We would never laugh at someone on the street, but sometimes we have to smile sadly as we listen to them talk. One person said he would go to church when he had a car and a house. He said then we would look forward to seeing him. We told him that we look forward to seeing him right now and nothing material could change that. God isnt looking for rich people to fill his Kingdom. He looks for a humble and merciful heart that looks to him in all things. One of the ministers saw a man from last week and asked how he was doing and added you gave your life to Christ last week. The man beamed from ear to ear and said yes. If you dont know what Gods treasures are, share Jesus with people. Seeing Jesus come into someones life and change it forever is such a treasure! One person asked for prayer to stop doing the things he was doing. The minister told him the way to have the power of God work in his life was to repent of his sins and invite Jesus into his life. Praise God another captive set free of his sins! Thank you to everyone that prays for and donates to The Street Corner Commission. We pray that God shows you just how much your prayer and donations mean to us and to the homeless. It shows the love of Jesus in a very tangible way to the lost, especially in the cold weather.

Love,

Steve and Donna

1/14/12

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.

Romans 5:18

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4

Condemnation is one of the road blocks to knowing Jesus. When someone turns their life over to Jesus, but doesnt understand Gods forgiveness, the enemy has a stronghold over that persons life. At best condemnation will keep that person at a distance from Christ, thinking that they arent worthy of the good that Jesus has for them and at worst they will feel like a hypocrite and give up wanting to know God more by believing the lie of the enemy that they could never measure up to Gods standards. Which none of us can measure up, if we could we wouldnt need a Savior.

Condemnation brings shame and guilt.

Condemnation is not the same as conviction. Conviction helps to free us from sin. Conviction always causes our heart and mind to want to obey. Conviction brings revelation of freedom that happens when we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness; Freedom from shame and guilt.

Today was a bitterly cold day. The wind blowing with the rain pouring chills to the bone. But even with the cold weather, we ministered to so many grateful people. Grateful not so much for the few material things that were provided, but grateful that someone cared enough to come out in the cold for them. We were happy to tell them that someone that cares is Jesus Christ. One man shared with a minister that he was tired of his addiction. The minister and this man talked for a long time and the minister shared that the way he came out of his addiction was Jesus Christ. The minister shared he had tried everything else and nothing worked until he turned everything over to Christ. This man was tired of living in guilt and shame and he received Christ. Praise Jesus! Another man came with his two children. He was happy he was spending time with them and knew that it was because he was choosing to walk with Christ that God gave him this blessing. One man as he comes to the street corner starts crying but the minute someone mentions prayer he get angry. We believe that God is ministering to his heart to soften it and hence the crying, but the enemy is working hard to keep him from peace with God. Please pray with us that any influence the enemy has in his life will be broken and he will receive the goodness of the Gospel of Grace that Jesus has for him. Thank you for everyone that prays for and donates to The Street Corner Commission. We are praying for a Holy Spirit fire to fall on each and every believer so that a passion for Jesus and for the lost will be so great people will start accepting Christ in the schools, grocery stores, and any place where there is someone lost. Shouldnt we give them the directions to get to peace, freedom, forgiveness and hope?

Love,

Steve and Donna

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2 Timothy 3:1-5

 

The more we have economic trouble in the country, the more we should see the stark difference between believers and the people of this world. Believers know the greatest commandment is to love God and the second to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). And if we love our neighbor as our self, we will do unto our neighbor as we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:2). But the ‘world’ encourages us to do unto the other person ‘whatever’ as long as it’s good for us. We see this played out in the nightly news every day. And it has gotten to the point where different groups blame other groups for all the problems in the world. The rich are greedy; the poor are lazy etc… Anytime a group of people start to demonize another group of people, there will be problems. In World War 2 the Nazis demonized the Jewish people. But as believers this is what we are called to do:

Do not pervert justice, do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Leviticus 19:15

This is something that can only be accomplished with the power of the Holy Spirit.

In these last days, God is allowing his saints to go through trouble to prepare them to stand in his army. A fellowship of believers more concerned with following Jesus, than being accepted by the world. A fellowship of believers ready to stand and war for their families, friends, and yes, their neighbors.

Wow! What a wild ride 2011 has been and this Saturday was no different. The enemy was working through several different people to try and cause disruption and distraction. As we praised and worshiped, one person stood down the street, yelling. This continued throughout the sermon. After the sermon he came up and tried to distract some of the ministers from caring for people. While this was going on, the enemy sent another person into the camp to try and cause problems. Praise God, Jesus strengthened us to keep preaching the good news of the Gospel! After the sermon one person asked for prayer for his friend who had died the night before. This person needed some comfort, the comfort that comes from knowing Jesus Christ. Thank you Jesus for comforting those who mourn. This person was comforted to know that his believing friend was with Jesus and that if he put his faith in Christ, when it was his time, he would also be in paradise with Jesus. This was the turning point in this person life, and he chose Jesus! Amen. One person, who is isolated even from the street community, came back – praise God! He seemed to have a little more clarity than before and as he left, he told the minister “you really love Jesus don’t you”. “Yes” the minister replied, “I really love Jesus.” We are praying that he comes to love Jesus the way all of the ministers that go out do! One of the ministers spent time talking with a believer that is part of the street community. This person stands out from so many, because he always has a smile. He readily admitted that most of his own choices got him where he was. This person was encouraged to hear that nobody is perfect, and that as we get closer to God we can hear him speak more clearly and those wrong choices become less and less. This year we have seen a large increase in the volume of people we minister to on the streets. We know that God is preparing us for the fruit that is ready to harvest! Thank you to everyone that prays for and donates to The Street Corner Commission. Please continue to pray for us to have the wisdom and strength to follow the gentle whisper of Jesus Christ, (1 Kings 19:12) when the storm is raging all around us. We pray that 2012 becomes the year that the saints stand together in prayer to set the captives free!!

Love,

Steve and Donna

12/24/11

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire? Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, Take off his filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, See I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you. Then I said, Put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: This what the Lord Almighty says: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here. Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord Almighty, and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree, declares the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 3:1-10

There are so many scriptures that speak of the coming Messiah. Each Saturday we see people with their feet on fire as if at any moment their entire body could burst into flames. Nobody desires to have their entire life engulfed with sin, but each sin separates us further and further from our loving father who has his arms outstretched waiting for us to repent and return to right standing with him. Today we saw what a merciful God we serve. As we gathered on the streets to worship, we noticed that there were a few groups of people that don’t usually gather together. We started praying quietly for God to work to soften hearts.

The sermon was about World War I and how the Germany and British soldiers on Christmas Eve stopped the fighting and started singing Christmas carols. They came together in what was called no-mans land and started exchanging small gifts of gum and items like that, and then began praying together. After the sermon, we sang Silent Night. At first some people started to walk away, but after the first couple of words, every voice out there was lifting up praise to God and most with tears in their eyes. God was touching the hearts people that didn’t believe that they could stand beside a certain person and definitely could not stand beside that person singing a Christmas Carol. We know that it wasn’t the same significance as what happened in World War 1, but it is the same God working in the same way today! Praise Jesus! We were told more than once that this was a persons Christmas celebration and we were their family. The Bible tells us, In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine. Thank you Jesus, we sat under the vine with our neighbor today! Thank you to the team of minister that put in much extra effort to make this a wonderfully blessed day for the street community! Thank you to everyone that prays for and donates to The Street Corner Commission. May this week be filled with God’s Heavenly Peace.

Love,

Steve and Donna

12/17/11

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12

Whenever we deviate from the word of God, we deviate from the will of God.

Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. Deuteronomy 4:23

The last few years the Christmas season has seemed little to do with Christ. People more concerned about what they were going to get someone, or what they couldn’t afford to get someone. In a year when so many people are struggling, some coming back from war, families having a first Christmas without a loved one, jobs and homes lost, and the list goes on and on, more and more people are turning to Jesus to find refuge from the storm. The refuge that we seek when we come to Christ is not that our problems go away or our circumstances change. We seek God to have true peace in all situations.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Some people would say that if someone becomes a follower of Jesus in desperate times that person is weak. But most often it takes God working through those desperate times to humble us. We cant come to Jesus in pride and arrogance. Jesus wants a humble and contrite heart that is willing to be taught by him.

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being? Declares the Lord. This is the one I esteem; he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. Isaiah 66:2

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29

When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers which he confirmed to them by oath. Deuteronomy 4:30-31

God is using these times to draw people to him, but what we have to ask ourselves as believers, what Jesus would have us do to prepare for the harvest.

This Saturday was a day of brokenness for the street community. One person seemed so unlike herself, having been out in the cold this month has taken its toll on her. As most Saturdays we met people that were new to the streets. Praise God that he leads them to a safe place and they stay and are able to be encouraged in Christ and leave with a few warm items. One man that we met for the first time didn’t want to hear about Jesus. One of the ministers felt led to start singing Silent Night and as he looked over at that man, the man was crying. God brought the man, not for the few physical things he received, but to soften his heart to receive Gods great mercy. Praise Jesus, he cares about lost sheep! Another man had recently lost his wife; this was his first Christmas without her. As he talked, he wept. The minister was able to pray with him and show compassion to him in his grief, the compassion that God had given him in his time of need. This man didn’t want to live through the night, but we know that with overwhelming grief, Gods grace is sufficient to bring him through and turn the grief into a compassion that will help others. One woman that showed up was trying to get into a shelter. She was new to the street community and had slept in her car the night before. She was cold and tired and crying out in despair. She also did not want to live through the night. She couldn’t understand how God could allow the things he allowed in her life. The minister was able to share that everything God allows he will use to bring glory to his name and that this was just one season in her life. As she left, she was making plans to come back next week. Praise God for bringing her to a place to find some compassion and comfort. As it was said in the Christmas Carol, this time of season people in need feel their need much more. Please remember as you celebrate Christs birth, to pray for those in need. We will be going out next Saturday, Christmas Eve, please pray that we can reach, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, those who are most in need, the ones others have given up on. We pray that God blesses this season with the truth of his grace and mercy in every gathering! Thank you to everyone that prays for and donates to The Street Corner Commission.

Love,

Steve and Donna

URGENT: PRAYER NEEDED ~

Dear friends,

I am writing to ask you to pray for Angel’s father, Allen. He is 70 years old and has been visit Australia for one year to be with her daughter and He just got diagnosed with prostate cancer. They did a major operation in Australia but then he flew to Sri Lanka soon after that. The Australian doctor recommended he get a checkup in Sri Lanka so he went to the capital city of Colombo (we don’t have the proper facilities in Kandy). The doctor there said Allen needs to get radiation and have a bunch of blood-work drawn up. So I am going to take him to Colombo for all of this. As you can imagine, Angel is very saddened by this situation. We all are. Will you please pray for Allen and for our entire family during this difficult time? Christmas is upon us and God has much work for us to do. But we also want to take the best care of Allen as possible. And mostly – we want healing for him. We believe God can do that. And we believe your prayers will help. We are also hoping to raise $3000 to pay for his care. We don’t know where it will come from but we are trusting God in this situation. It all seems bigger than us. But nothing is bigger than our great Lord.

Thank you and God bless you all for your faithfulness,

Bandula

To write to Bandu:

Bandula Daundasekara

# 31/5 Heerassagala Road

Kandy, Sri Lanka 20000

Email – bandugsc@hotmail.com

To donate to Bandu, you can send a check of support to:

New Life Family Church

Attn: Pastor Brad Carignan

208 Nutmeg Lane

Euless, Texas 76039

(Make sure the check specifies that this is for Bandu in Sri Lanka)

You can also donate online at:

http://www.newlifefamily.us/giving.html

After you donate online under missions, just send an email to Pastor Brad Carignan at brad@newlifefamily.us and mention your donation online and that it should go to Bandu. Their church does not keep any of this money. 100% is sent directly to Bandu and the Good Shepherd Church.

*If you ever want to be removed from this email list, simply reply with “remove me”, and I’ll get it done – no questions asked.

12/10/11

But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? Exodus 3:11

The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:21

When the angel of the Lord first spoke to Moses in the burning bush, Moses like most of us, wanted to stay as far away from any storm that might be on the horizon. But by Chapter twenty, Moses was willing to walk right into the storm to meet with God. So many times in the midst of our storm, as we cry out to God to make the storm go away, is when we grow closer to God. May we all be like Moses, willing to walk straight into the storm, for the benefit of others.

Today on the streets as we joined hands in prayer, it seemed like everyone walking up wanted to join in. Some days we go out to share the Gospel with people, some days its a matter of encouraging those who know Jesus. Today was both. One of the ministers talked to several different people who said they had been hurt by people who were Christians. The minister shared with them that there is no perfect human, if there was we wouldn’t need a Savior. He shared that knowing Christ wasn’t about how others who are Christians should behave, it was about us keeping our eyes and thoughts on and devoted to Jesus and letting everything else be what it may. One of the beautiful saints, that slept outside last night, came and asked how the ministers were. This person was happy she was able to wrap up in two pieces of cardboard to keep the moisture off of her while she slept. She could teach so many the meaning of truly giving praise to God in the worst of circumstances. Praise Jesus, one person that was even driving away some in the street community a few weeks ago, came back. He had a little more clarity and comprehension today. We will continue to pray that he comes back, and like several other people we know, after trusting that he is loved by God and us, we will be able to share the Gospel with him. One person seemed to be having trouble with forgiving someone. He said that he forgave a person a long time ago. But the minister asked if they could pray together about it and after the prayer the man had one of those aha moments. He said that maybe he hadn’t really forgiven that person because he was still carrying a picture of something that was involved in that incident. The minister shared that one pastor had put it this way; we are like onions and have different layers that we sometimes have to go through. It was through this small exchange that Jesus touched this mans heart and he received Christ as his Lord and Savior. Praise God!!! The weather has been wet and cold, and some of the people we minister too can’t or wont go into the shelters. Please continue to pray for large warm mens coats. Thank you to everyone that prays for and donates to The Street Corner Commission. We pray that we each can walk boldly into the storms of life for the benefit of others to the Glory of Jesus Christ!

Love,

Steve and Donna

This in from Jim Singer:
We have received and passed our final inspection of the new church building and grounds! Please join us in thanking and praising The Lord for His provision and faithfulness!!

11/26/11

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.

Revelation 7:9-10

Yours, O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, to our God, we give thanks, and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:11-13

It seems each day we see more chaos going on in the world and in our nation. As goes the nation, so goes the streets of Tacoma. It was a very chaotic day on the streets. We had three people manifesting at one time. We also had people showing up from the occupy group, wanting donations for their cause. As soon as we explained that we were out there to proclaim Jesus Christ crucified and nothing else, they took off. We believe that they need Jesus as much as anyone, but they also cause a lot of problems for the street community. With all that has been going on in the world, we see Gods army rising up. It seems everywhere we go, we hear people talking about Jesus or making choices to do something because of what Jesus has done in their life. God is pouring out his Spirit and no longer is it ok to be politically correct, and stay silent when we have the only answer to the problems that people are facing. Praise God, the saints refuse to stay quiet! The out pouring of Gods Spirit is bringing many sons to glory. This Saturday, three people invited Jesus into their hearts! Thank you to everyone that prays for and donates to The Street Corner Commission. We pray that this week you see God work in amazing ways!

Love,

Steve and Donna

11/19/11

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. Psalm 119:74

Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38

To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Acts 26:18

The forgiveness of sins is directly linked to hope. Most people know if they are truthful with themselves, that they are sinners. And when we have a relationship with Jesus, we know that we fall a long distance from the standard God set for us. Praise Jesus, we have hope because we know that he has forgiven our sins and washed us clean.

This Saturday the enemy was up to some of his old tricks. But we know that God works all things according to his purpose. One person sat across the street yelling and screaming, walking down the street and hiding behind a telephone poll and then walking back right across from us, and doing other things we wont speak of. At one point he walked over and asked the minister at the table for three hundred-fifty billion cookies. As he came close, the ministers prayed, and for the few short minutes he was on the side of the street with us, he was at peace. Praise Jesus! After the minister handed him a few cookies, he walked off, set the cookies down and started his yelling again. We are praying that God touches his heart and brings him back, so that the few minutes of peace he had, we can share with him that peace came from Jesus Christ. As one of the ministers spoke with one person and tried to tell him of the grace and mercy of God, he walked off saying that God couldn’t forgive him, the minister grabbed his jacket and told him that wasn’t true. Sadly, he pulled away and walked off. Of course we don’t recommend this type of evangelism, but the ministers heart broke seeing this person walk off without knowing our Great and Awesome God that is full of Mercy and Grace. One person didn’t want to hear about Jesus, he said that people had been pushing Jesus on him all week. He was told that God had a reason for that reoccurring theme playing out; Jesus was trying to get his attention. We see all these different people as answer to prayer. God is sending the ones that others, not Jesus, have given up on! Amen! One person who just a few years ago, was only able to communicate with anger, came and after the sermon told a joke. His joke was directly related to the sermon. He said that it was absolute truth that we could know God and his word, but we couldn’t know the Kentucky fried chicken secret recipe. At first the minister was concerned that he was serious, but then with a slight smile, the minister realized he was telling a joke! What an amazing God we serve! To some this might seem like such a small step, but to know the depth of the confusion and struggle that this person had, is to know the victory in which he is walking with Christ. With all that was going on, there were the ones that were giving praise to God for the few things that were provided. It can be very humbling to see such gratitude from someone that has so little. Please pray that God will provide more large warm coats, we went through all of the ones we had this Saturday. Thank you to everyone that prays for and donates to The Street Corner Commission. May God bless your Thanksgiving with a true sense of Thankfulness for knowing the love of your life, Jesus Christ!

Love,

Steve and Donna