Homelessness

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Deborah_

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Luke 9:57,58

“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (verse 58)

Jesus lacked even the most basic of human possessions – somewhere to call home (John 1:10,11). He, the Creator of all things, had made Himself dependent upon the generosity of human beings for daily food and shelter. “Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor.” (II Corinthians 8:9) True, it seems to have been only rarely that He had to make do without a bed for the night. But He had no security, no property rights, and no lock on His front door. At the very end, even His clothes were taken from Him (John 19:23,24).

Therefore, can those who follow Him expect material security? To join Him is to join the outcasts and the dispossessed, the sofa-surfers and the Big Issue sellers – to share in His rejection (I Corinthians 4:11,12). This is no ‘prosperity gospel’…

And how can those who follow Him ignore the homeless in our own streets and the refugees on our own doorsteps? They are the ones with whom our Lord identified during His ministry. We can do nothing less than show our solidarity with them.
 

heretoeternity

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Maybe it's time some of those underutilized "christian" sheepsheds were opened to the homeless people...it would be a way to give them a place to sleep and also provide for an opportunity to share the Gospels with them, and the teachings of Jesus...seems like a good way to get converts, and to do some good in this cruel old world at the same time!.
 

OzSpen

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heretoeternity said:
Maybe it's time some of those underutilized "christian" sheepsheds were opened to the homeless people...it would be a way to give them a place to sleep and also provide for an opportunity to share the Gospels with them, and the teachings of Jesus...seems like a good way to get converts, and to do some good in this cruel old world at the same time!.
And we might get to fulfill Matt 25:31-46 (NLT):

“But when the Son of Man[a] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations[b] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[c] you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[d] 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
 

shnarkle

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Nov 10, 2013
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Deborah_ said:
Luke 9:57,58

“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (verse 58)

Jesus lacked even the most basic of human possessions – somewhere to call home (John 1:10,11). He, the Creator of all things, had made Himself dependent upon the generosity of human beings for daily food and shelter. “Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor.” (II Corinthians 8:9) True, it seems to have been only rarely that He had to make do without a bed for the night. But He had no security, no property rights, and no lock on His front door. At the very end, even His clothes were taken from Him (John 19:23,24).

Therefore, can those who follow Him expect material security? To join Him is to join the outcasts and the dispossessed, the sofa-surfers and the Big Issue sellers – to share in His rejection (I Corinthians 4:11,12). This is no ‘prosperity gospel’…

And how can those who follow Him ignore the homeless in our own streets and the refugees on our own doorsteps? They are the ones with whom our Lord identified during His ministry. We can do nothing less than show our solidarity with them.
We can do a lot more than just show our solidarity with them. There are a lot of people who are living on the street, in cars, vans, tents, boats, cardboard boxes, trees, storage containers, etc. who really aren't looking for a place to live. They like the lifestyle. They travel; they have no worldly possession to tie them down; no bills to pay; no rent; to maintenance or upkeep for a house or yard. They're free. They don't seem dependent on anyone at all. I see Jesus in a similar light.

However, this isn't to say that the rest don't need our help. Those who aren't cut out for the hobo life definitely need help, but it can be difficult to tell just what kind of help they need. Some need to spend some time in jail. Some need a job. Some just need a shower, and meal and they're good to go for a good long time.

Then there are the con artists. There's a scam going on right now outside the Lowe's Home Improvement store on the other side of town right now. Older men are probably going to want to know how this scam works so they can be on guard and on the look out for this one as it's a doozy.

Here's how it works. As you're walking out to your car, two young college girls will approach in tube tops and shorts. While you're loading your supplies into your car they will offer to wash your windows. I just told them: "Don't bother", and held out a couple bucks. They declined the money and asked for a ride to Mcdonalds, or Carl's Jr.(They usually pull this around noon or 4 or 5 pm) So after they pile into the car, and you're driving them over to get something to eat, the one in the front seat will pull her top off and jump in front of you while the other one grabs your wallet.

So far, they've got me on Jan. 3,4,6,12,17,23,& 27. I've pretty much cleaned out Walmart of all their cheap wallets, but Big Lots and K mart still have a few left.