November 2019 Newsletter

PSSSST! I just wanted to clue you all in; Jesus is living at Bridge Street Mission. You say, “What?”.   No, really, He is living here! And here is your chance to serve Him!

Here is what we read in Matthew 25:34-40 with a paraphrase for emphasis > “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine [at Bridge Street Mission], even the least of them, you did it to Me.”

Those of you who have partnered with us via donations of food, service time, and money, the King is pleased! You may not even have realized that ultimately, He was the beneficiary of your generosity! He thanks you and we thank you!! [By the way, look how God has used you: one of the men in our program just accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord at our Music Night in October (October 8, 2019)] To God be the glory!! Yes, you were a part of that in the big picture!!

On another note, a lady who has been delivering meals-on-wheels to our building for years, stopped by the office and stated that she has seen a notable difference at the program center over the past few months. She said it is cleaner and quieter, and the presence of God can be felt. Again, to God be the            glory!

If the passage in Matthew stopped at verse 40, we’d all be off the hook in a way. But it continues as               follows, again with a paraphrase for emphasis: (v. 41-45)  “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these [at Bridge Street Mission], you did not do it to Me.’

The implication here is that if they had known it was Jesus who was hungry or thirsty, or naked or sick, they would have acted. Bridge Street Mission affords the opportunity to love on our Lord Jesus Christ via loving on the homeless and the addicted, part of the “least of these” community. We would not want               anyone to respond like this last group in Matthew 25, and miss out on caring for “the King”.

We are not the only ones reaching the “least of these” in our community; there is the Hope Life Center, Salvation Army, and sundry others. But the Lord is looking to us as His children to care for those that are the “least of these”, who are near and dear to His heart. How are you loving on the “least of these”?

In His service—by His grace and for His glory,

Todd Van Ryn

Interim Executive Director