God
Talk: Inside the RAV—Matt
Sugar-Free
but Spirit-Filled
 We
walked in, and Jimmy (pseudonym) walked out, not because he had
anything against us personally or even because he objected to
“church.” No, Jimmy asked to leave when he saw the
cake and cookie that we brought for the party—medical no-no’s
for this 16-year-old insulin-dependent diabetic. “Lead me
not into temptation” sometimes requires affirmative action.
What brought
Jimmy back before Dee began the lesson we may never understand.
What prompted him to ask to speak to Dee privately afterwards,
well that’s a different story. The Holy Spirit was clearly
working through Dee to touch Jimmy’s heart. Here’s
Dee’s account of what happened in that room that night as
he made himself available to what God purposed to do in Jimmy’s
life:
God-sightings
happen at different times and take many shapes and forms. They
range from different levels, from a simple spark in a child’s
eye to a complete commitment. We were recently blessed with
another experience that allowed us to see God’s use of
us as tools to touch the lives of a child. While we were having
a birthday party at one of our many locations in January, we
witnessed the impact that God was making. I was able to spend
time with one of the students after the birthday party and through
talking with this young man, I discovered a gentle spirit that
has been trapped by the anger that consumed him and the inability
to forgive those that have hurt him in his past. As we talked,
I felt the Spirit working on his soul, and he suddenly became
very calm as he talked about his past. I was able to pray with
him and talk to him about the difference between forgiving and
forgetting. As I looked into his eyes and prayed with him, I
felt the chains from the past begin to loosen which is a big
step in this young man’s life. Please pray that the journey
to freedom continues and the full release occurs for this young
man. Through this experience we observed once again that we
serve an amazing God and that He is at work in these young people’s
lives, changing hearts and healing wounds. In short, God is
good all the time, and I thank Him daily for allowing me to
be a part of Crosswalk Ministries to impact these young people’s
lives.
God’s
servant,
Dee Martin
Dee will begin
two new programs in the next two weeks at the facility where Jimmy
is detained. No doubt they will have opportunity for many more
discussions as this spiritual journey continues. Please pray that
Dee will be a vessel through which God continues to draw Jimmy
unto Himself. The enemy doesn’t stand a chance!
 Building
Relationships—
Teaching Service
ARTreach 180
staff and students spend a day of the holiday break helping at
a local food pantry. Greg Lee (staff) and Ricardo Villegas (student)
have fun as they work together to stock shelves.
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“My
momma used to tell me, ‘Son, be a shining example
or a terrible warning’…”
That's how the intro to Solomon Sunrise Volume 1
begins. The book is written by our ministry partner,
David Eberhart, owner of Symfinia. David and his crew
handle the majority of our communications projects,
including production of our newsletter and our website.
Knowing David so well, I can attest that he is an eye-witness
account to both "shining examples" and "terrible
warnings!"
From
now until the end of March, all proceeds from the sale
of this book will be contributed to Crosswalk Ministries.
Please, help us in our work by buying a copy today.
I believe it will be a blessing for you and your family.
Simply follow the link from the ad at the bottom of
this newsletter to Amazon.com.
Thanks
for
all your help!
Gina
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