The Miracle of Real Life (Glendora Campus)

from Pastor Jim Miller

I am a pastor of a church that started five years ago, in a park, by accident. If you had asked me back then to guess where I would be today, I would have been pretty far off the mark. My predictions would have been a depressed, faithless shadow of what Jesus actually had in mind.

We started without a plan, a staff, a budget, or a place to meet. There was a whirlwind of providence and chaos that landed us in a middle school three weeks later, with a host of volunteers, a band, and a staff following soon thereafter. Everything we owned fit in a school closet. A rental office became our home base. We really didn’t know what the future would look like, but we had a vision for being a church that was more wed to the Bible and its picture of Christian community than to the dead traditions that often haunt churches.

We immediately started giving things away freely. We built houses and churches in Mexico, sponsored children in developing nations, and volunteered with food pantries. We stocked the middle school with new stage curtains and hundreds of chairs for free. We worked with Habitat for Humanity, Compassion International, and World Vision. We ran marathons to raise money to fight human trafficking and to feed the hungry. We started hosting free lunches for pastors in the area. We hosted Alpha and fed anyone who would walk in the door. When we discovered a church that didn’t have a pastor and needed help with hospital visits, worship services, and memorial services, we stepped in to help.

We baptized dozens of people. We baptized people who had never regularly attended church before. We baptized children in elementary school and seniors in their eighties.

I’ve never experienced the work of the Holy Spirit or the power of prayer like I have in the last five years. I’ve seen people healed of injuries and illnesses. I’ve watched God arrange divine appointments between people that led to someone coming to faith. We’ve launched into an entirely new prayer ministry and a series of prayer classes that are opening people’s hearts to God’s voice. I am more overwhelmed by Jesus than I have ever been.

In less than three years we moved into a rental property that was built to be a church, one that we found while literally just driving around. I discovered that a very close friend and mentor, someone who has been watching over us from heaven, had pastored at the church where we now worship. Even then I couldn’t have predicted what would come next. 

In the middle of 2020, mid-pandemic, a church that we had helped a few year ago called us out of the blue. “If we give you the building, will you keep the preschool alive?” We are now the owners of a new church campus in Glendora, California with a fully-functioning preschool, walking distance from the park where we first met. It was simply and unexpectedly given to us.

In response, what we have, we share. Freely you have received, freely give, Jesus said to his disciples as he sent them out to do ministry. We now host a Japanese-speaking congregation rent-free, and we are about to take in an Anglican congregation. We are planning our next build in Mexico. We welcome first-time guests every Sunday into our community in the hopes that we live up to the sign in our lobby, which reads, “We love everyone, and you’re next!” We are going to baptize people until the Pacific runs dry.

There are bigger miracles to come. I just wanted to pause today, take a deep breath, and give thanks, here in the summer of our church’s 5th birthday. Jesus, I am amazed.

Prayer Vision

A Vision for Prayer

by Jared Votaw

Because he is leading prayer seminars at Real Life, I’ve asked Jared Votaw to share his hopes for the kind of church that Real Life could become - a church built on prayer. - Pastor Jim

Jesus said his Church is to be called a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13). Today, I believe the house of prayer Jesus refers to are individual Christians and the collective Church. According to Jesus, Real Life is called to be a house of prayer.

The heart of prayer is friendship and encounter with Jesus. From this... Imagine Real Life as a prayer hub for the region. Imagine on Sunday mornings, there is a line of people waiting to be prayed for because God answers prayer. Imagine Real Life training and establishing ministries to pray for physical healing, to pray prophetically, and to pray soul healing prayer that helps set people free. Imagine people passionate for prayer gathering regularly to intercede and seek the Lord for Kingdom breakthrough. Imagine Real Life becoming a training center to equip leaders and pastors - regionally, nationally, and internationally. Imagine Real Life sending missional teams to minister through service and spiritual power. This is the type of prayer vision that Jesus has for us at Real Life.

Imagine Jesus handing Real Life a blueprint saying, “Build My Church” and he wanted to first accomplish this by us becoming a house of prayer. This is the opportunity I believe we have in front of us at Real Life. How do you respond to the invitation of Jesus to become a house of prayer?

Join us on Sunday, January 24th, 7pm, via Zoom for a Crash Course on Prophetic Prayer. Register at http://reallife.la/prayer in order to receive a Zoom link.

A Healing Report

by Lauren Morris, Real Life member

I have never been a firm believer in healing prayer. I know people who have been miraculously healed of cancer and other diseases as a result of prayer and anointing oils and things like that... People that have actual scientific proof of being healed and I can’t argue with it.  I believe Jesus healed people. I believe His disciples did, too. But nowadays, I am just incredibly skeptical of it for many different reasons. 

When it comes to prayer and healing, I prefer to think of myself as the person who will be there for others when they are NOT healed after being prayed for. I want to be there for them to help them work through their disappointment... to cheer them up.  That’s just how I feel. 

I believe that Jesus has very much challenged these thoughts and beliefs in regards to healing prayer over the last few weeks. I don’t know why He picked me, but I do know that I serve a powerful God who I submit to in every way, and for some reason He is challenging me in the area of healing prayer. I am trying to work through that. Perhaps someone can relate to me, and be open to hearing my story.

In March of 2020, I was lifting a bar bell with 125 pounds of weight on it over my head. My arms were so tired that I completely dropped the entire barbell onto my neck, and it landed square on my 2nd vertebrae. It was a pain I had never felt before that radiated completely down the right side of my shoulder and my back. I could barely walk to my car.

That night; I woke up and could not move my right side because the pain was so bad. I slowly got up, wrapped an ice pack on it, took a Motrin 800 and went to work with a giant bag of ice strapped onto my neck for the next 5 days. The pain finally subsided. I never went to the doctor. I hate going to the doctor. And even more than that, I hate the thought of being told I cannot do something like work out. So my irrational pride won and I let it go. The pain eventually went away a couple weeks later.

I found myself 7 months later, on Sunday, October 11 laid out in bed and unable to even get up because the pain was so strong in my neck. It had come back... Perhaps from teaching hunched over on Zoom 5 hours a day for the last 2 months. It was the first time in my life that I was not able to get out of bed because of pain. I was mad at myself, mad at the world and mad at God for making me be stuck there. I had so much to do, kids to take care of, a husband to hang out with, first graders to teach on Monday, in-laws coming to town and the house looked like a landfill. I was totally stuck.

To make matters worse, It just happened that I was watching these old Little House on the Prairie re-runs in bed, and this episode came on about a fake pastor and fake sick people who tricked all the townspeople of Walnut Grove into believing he was a “miracle healer”. He took all their money, made the real town pastor lose his job,  and even caused a little boy to die because he thought he was healed. I know it was all fiction, but it still made my mind swirl and I got really mad at God. I got fed up with everyone who believed in healing prayer, even our own Pastor Jim, whom I have actually witnessed heal people through prayer right in front of me.  

Why on earth would God allow this gift to be given to some people, and not others? Why would He allow people to misuse it? Why would he not heal people who are desperately in need of it... People like me who need to teach first graders!

In literally that exact moment at 5:42 pm, Anthony sent our small group a text inviting us to the healing prayer meeting on Zoom that would be taking place that night. What a great coincidence!! I was going to go. I was going to go so I could find every single theological hole to poke into whoever was teaching and shred all their ideas to little pieces behind my little hidden Zoom screen right there on my note pad.

So I showed up, thinking it would be a couple random strangers and I could be anonymous... No... it was around 60 of my friends and members of my church that I know and love. 

So they all saw me and said hi, and I knew I had to stay and behave. While I still have questions about some of the things that were shared, I could not argue with the interpretation of scripture that was presented. I know this sounds bad, but I was kind of bummed to be honest. 

So I was getting ready to leave when Jared Votaw said, “Now we are going to practice healing prayer. There is someone here on this meeting who is having neck pain, kind of down the side of the neck, radiating down their side. It came from some kind of an impact that happened a while ago, and it is very painful right now. And I am going to pray for you to be healed. I will just wait for whoever it is to say something.” 

Oh, no way... that couldn’t be me? I had not even talked to Jared since February. And I barely know this guy. He had no clue... what were the chances?

And no one answered after a minute. So he repeated it again. 

So I just sat there waiting for some poor soul to raise their hand or say something.  And no one did. So I started getting a little shaky and my mouth got dry, because I knew. Then out of nowhere, my eyes welled up with tears.

I knew that Jared was referring to me.

I was so embarrassed for what I had done before God. The thoughts I had thought and the true reason why I was there. It was all to bash in  the very God who was trying to let me know in a very real way that He was there with me. Reaching out to me.

So I spoke up and said it was me, then I explained my situation, told them all that I could barely turn my head and that my pain was at about an 8. Jared prayed a very specific prayer for me. He and all the other 60 people prayed for my neck. I can barely remember what he said, I was so nervous.

I wish I could explain this next part away, but I can not. My neck and shoulder got warm while they prayed. And when they were done, I opened my eyes and the pain was gone. Completely. I could not believe it. I must have looked like a fool because I could not decide wether to cry or laugh. I kept turning my head around like an owl.

While I was so happy and thankful that my neck did not hurt anymore, I cannot begin to explain the amount of guilt that I felt over what God had just done for me, and how little belief I had in my heart. It all came out, right there in front of me. My words and actions were not matching what was truly in my heart. I serve, I give, I teach and I give all I have for the Lord. I look good on the outside. But in my heart there was little faith for my actions to hinge on. Not even enough to think that God could heal me.

I stayed on in that meeting for another hour. I listened to people share about their physical pains, ailments, and life-long struggles with sickness. We prayed over them to be healed. Some were and some were not. Pastor Jim even asked me to pray for another person to be healed right there in that meeting. I prayed for her. She was not healed. 

Some people called their friends to join in the meeting because they heard about what was going on. Again, some were healed and some were not.

This is the most important part, and what I hope someone can take away from my experience. Those people who were not healed in that meeting still gave glory to God. They still were thankful to have had the opportunity to be there. They still stayed in that meeting to the very end and even prayed for other people to be healed. They saw other people be healed and rejoiced with them. They said they would continue to lift each other up even after that meeting.  They did not waver in their belief.

For the life of me, I do not understand that. All I know is that those people have a faith and peace in the Lord and His goodness that I can only hope to have some day. They impacted me deeply. I think about them daily.

I wish I could write about all the theological and Biblical things I learned from Jared and Jim and the reasons for believing in healing prayer and why you should do it. But I don’t remember those things.  I just remember knowing that God lined things up for me to be there at that exact moment in time. I remember that my neck has not been in hat kind of pain again since then. I hope my story just helps you realize that God can use healing prayer in many different ways, not only to cure people but also to restore faith. 

As for me, I will never look at healing prayer and the power of prayer the same ever again. I will always be grateful to the Lord for reaching out to me right in the middle of my own unbelief.

The Viral Blessings Challenge

I’ve challenged Real Life Church to take every opportunity to care for people and to point towards Jesus in a time of crisis. That started the Viral Blessings Challenge. Please honor health officials’ request to respect social distancing, but if you have to go out for essentials, like food, make sure you are caring for people who can’t be home.

Often, by the checkout line, there are gift cards. I’m encouraging everyone to buy a gift card, populate it with whatever amount of money God puts on your heart, and then turn around and give it back to the cashier. Tell them, “Jesus is watching out for your, and I want to say thank you for what you’re doing.” I’ll share the latest stories in each Sunday message, but here are a few of the reports so far. And if you have a story, send it to me at info@reallife.la!

-Pastor Jim

Hi Jim, Took you up on your challenge at the grocery store this afternoon. I bought two gift cards for the cashier and bag boy. After he processed the transaction, unknowingly thinking I was going to take the cards with me, I handed it to them saying this is actually for you guys. Simply just said thank you for being here in this time of need. The look on his face, I'll never forget it. He seemed so surprised and so grateful. I'll take that with me forever. Thank you for the suggestion and the reminder that we all need to look out for each other, especially those who are working hard to keep us healthy. If you need help with anything, I'll be available in the afternoons and all day this weekend. Let me know!

Chelsea

"Hi! Got your email just before going to the grocery store. We gave the cashier the gift card back and told her it was for her and that Jesus was taking care of her. She had the most grateful look on her face and said, 'Really? Thank you!' Thank you for the idea!!"

Kristin

I was just checking out at the grocery store and noticed a Starbucks gift card on top of the cashier stand. I told her that I would like to buy it if it didn’t belong to someone. She rang me up and I gave right back to her, thanked her for her hard work and said “God bless you.” She was really shocked and asked “Are you serious?” It was so fun to see the look in her face!

Brenda

Hi. My neighbor asked if I would go get distilled water so she could make baby formula for their baby. I called the grocery store to see if they had any. The employee checked and held 2.5 gallons for me. My friend needed 2 gallons for this week. So I went and got it. I gave him a thank you card expressing my appreciation and his loving servant's heart. I wrote that I was sure that God is very proud of him. And put inside some money asking him to get a treat on me. We talked in line. I told him I knew what it is like to have to work when everyone else gets to stay home. He is a Christian and such a nice young man. I also commended him to his boss.
This was a great morning.

Kim

I loved your idea of giving a gift card to a grocery clerk. Yesterday I went to Stater Bros on Lone Hill.
I decided to purchase a gift card cuz who doesn't need caffeine these days and the two checkers were young hip looking kids!!The young man who checked my groceries was so shocked when I presented him the card I had just purchased. He seemed hesitant at first then like OK this is so cool, he thanked me a number of times, and this small gesture made me feel so good!Thanks for all you and your staff are doing during this stressful time. Blessings,
Carol

Hi Pastor Jim,
I wanted to thank you for the encouragement to show Christ's love with those we meet.
Today I went for groceries. People were very uneasy and tense. In the bread isle, I shared my faith with a woman! At the check out, the cashier was a bit tense as well. As he charged the last item, I took 5 gift cards from the check out stand and asked him if he could also put a certain amount of cash in each. As He handed me the cards, I looked at him and gave him one of the cards. At first a little astonished he said "no, it's ok." But I looked at him and repeated exactly what you asked us to say earlier this week. He took the card and was sooo very touched and thanked me. As the bagger directed me towards the exit door, I asked him to wait because I also wanted to give the three workers outside a card and to express my gratitude to them as well. When the cashier who had just helped me heard me say this he said under his breath.."oh my God, I don't believe this.." I just headed outside and gave each clerk a card and repeated your message telling them how much we all appreciated what they were doing, and how much Jesus loves them and will protect them because they are helping others unselfishly. They were so grateful and so moved but not so much because of the cash cards but because of the words "Jesus loves you and will protect you...." What I didn't expect was the reaction of the clients in the front of the line who witnessed this.. they were so taken aback and shocked and there were lots of "wow's." I didn't acknowledge anyone. I just walked to my car with the bagger who was pushing my cart. When he had finished helping me with my groceries, I gave him the last cash card. At first he said "no it's really ok." But I insisted and again thanked him and repeated your message. He was visibly moved This evening I went to Vons looking for hand sanitizer. As I walked towards the door, there were 2 homeless people sitting outside. I have helped out the man before but the woman who usually hangs out at a cafe or walks around Glendora, has always been much more reserved. Tonight the man greeted me and asked me if I could buy a chicken sandwich for him because he was very hungry. I said of course and asked the woman if I could get something for her too? She said Yes, please. So I went in and bought one item because I could not find the sanitizer. I came out and handed them each money so that they could buy what they needed. They were so very grateful and then I asked if I could pray for them. They looked at me, startled and said yes. I know that it was the Holy Spirit that put words in my mouth as I prayed over them. When I finished praying, it was quite evident that their anxiousness had turn to Peace...it was amazing!! As I said Amen, the man looked at me and quite moved he sincerely, loud enough for me to hear, and reverently said, "Amen!" The woman was so touched and said I know I can't hug you but Thank you so much. Pastor, it wasn't about the money, it was VISIBLY about the prayer...that someone had stopped to tell them how much Jesus loved them!
Thank you Pastor Jim and for your example of caring and for your encouragement to "Go out and be the Church." It was an amazing day!

Elisabeth

Did the challenge at the store but they couldn’t accept - but I loved that he said that the ‘message was received and he greatly appreciated that’ - will give it to someone else at my next trip - great idea Jim

Zack

Good morning Pastor Jim. Hope you and your family are having a good day. Just wanted to share with you that this morning we were at the grocery store. We gave a gift card to the woman who normally works in the meat department to thank her for all the hours she is working. She was bagging groceries and was very very appreciative and said we are all Gods children and thanked us for appreciation. Also handed a card to a guy who also was in meat dept and now was bagging and collecting shopping carts. He was actually speechless and was very thankful. Thank you so much for this suggestion! What an amazing lesson to me on how we are supposed to live our lives always.

Sylvia

Pastor Jim
I am beside myself! I'm on verge of happy tears! God IS with me! I am saying this because this morning at grocery store I bought a $25 gift card and gave it to the clerk. She was surprised and shocked and grateful. Said nothing like has ever happened to her before and then she gave me an air hug. I told her it was to thank her for working so hard in this crazy atmosphere and God is with her and He is blessing her. She said thank you.
I have then been doing my day and then had to go to my scheduled dental appointment for the removal of my braces. Well once you’re done with braces, you need a retainer. It costs $550 for 4 sets. However with the pandemic I am no longer employed so I said I'm sorry I cannot. He completely understood. When I was leaving and paying my final payment for the braces he interrupted and said, “I'm going to give her the $550 retainer set, I think her results are perfect and I'd hate to see them get messed up”. He just forgave the $550 bill for 4 sets of retainers and gifted them to me! God must have seen my good act and replenished me 500 times!

Monique

Also want to share that giving a gift card to a cashier who has always displayed immense kindness was awesome tonight. He was awestruck. He has worked with seniors in the past and is very concerned about their safety. Such a lovely guy and he couldn't believe my gesture. Also my dad gave a gift card on Sunday to one of the workers at his local grocery store because of your charge, Jim. He was beside himself.

Vanessa

Hello Pastor Jim, After listening to our Sunday service it became very clear that anytime I left the house for anything I may need I was able to get because of someone else’s hard work and sacrifice. So I made it a point that if I needed to get out of my home I would buy a gift card. I left one for our mail carrier and our amazon driver as I’m expecting a package. And as I went to the grocery store tonight I thanked the cashier for being there during this time. He told me how he is happy to do it and how much he loves his job. He felt it was his job to make sure we all have food. So when I handed him my gift card back to him and thanked him he was taken back and was in shock. It was great to see how appreciated he felt. My heart of happy. God is so great. Thank you for leading our church and guiding us all to do what the lord wants us to do.  Hope your family is well and safe.

Sandra

Good morning. Just wanted to share my morning with you. I went to the store this morning and as I checked out I saw that 4 checkdstands were open. I grabbed 4 gift cards. My cashier was someone who has always been so kind to me. I handed him the 4 gift cards and told him what amount to put on them. He reminded me that I have to pay an extra fee on them since they are Visa. I said no worries. Then he handed me the 4 cards and I gave him back one. He was in shock !! His eyes glazed up and his day was made. I thanked him for all he does And how much I appreciated him. Of course he says no charge for my bags and I giggled. Then I walked to the other 3 checkstands and handed each one of the cashiers a card letting them know how thankful I was for them and how much they are appreciated The joy on their faces and the “God Bless You Sweetie “ that I received back from them just made MY day. I walked out feeling so much happiness but forgot the most important part, to Let them know that Gods got this. I had to pick up items from the drug store and so i decided to purchased 4 more gift cards. I went back into the grocery store and walked to the produce department. I thanked the produce lady for always making the produce department look so nice. I then told her that GOD has got this and that he loves us all. I handed her the gift card. She was shocked and her eyes started to tear up. She smiled and thanked me. I continued to shop around so I did make more purchases and was back in line once again. I took this time to let all the cashiers know that God's got this and he loves us. I had such a fantastic morning showing appreciation to the people on the front lines. I've got 2 more gift cards in my purse and am looking forward to giving those out next time and continuing to share with the community the Blessings from my heart. Also Just to let you know I've been verbally thanking people since you told us about this challenge. I pretty much now thank everyone I see who is helping and working during this. People love to be appreciated and I will continue to do so. But this morning I had fun with the gift cards. Blessings sent to All my Real Life Family. Gods Got This. Much Love,

Kathy

I did the Viral Challenge today! I bought a $25 gift card for the cashier at the store. She is always super nice. When I handed it right back to her, her eyes got really big and then teared up. I said, “This is for you. I want to thank you for being here, and tell you that Jesus loves you and will protect you.” She thanked me, and said that many people had expressed their appreciation.

Heidi

Hi
Bought gift cards for my friends at the market!! Saying Thank you!
Great recommendation ! Thx For the tip!

Anna Marie

Last Friday I went to the grocery store buying groceries for an elderly lady who I know who also has an auto immune disease. It was a very long line. But I was happy to be on a mission for Jesus.When it was my turn, I remembered the admonition to buy a gift card - I could only afford a little so I bought a $ 20 gift card to the same store and bought it. Before the cashier could give me the card I told it was for her. She didn't believe me but I insisted. She then got tears in her eyes and blushed and said thank you several times and said she appreciated it. It was a blessing to me to be a little angel for this young lady.Who knows where the tears came from. God does.Please let me know if anyone needs anything - I'm happy to share what we have.

Christa

Jim, Mary and I gave a gift card to our grocery store cashier tonight and she was shocked and grateful. She refused to take it for herself but insisted that she share it with her crew. We were able to thank her and bless her for serving us on the front line. It was fun to see her tell the story to her crew and see the surprise and smiles on their faces. Thanks for the challenge!

Shawna

Hi Jim, 

I have been meaning to participate in buying a gift card with our community, but until today, each store I have visited has not had gift cards at the register, I know God was preparing me and the recipient for this opportunity to share His love. Today, I went to a store in Azusa and had such a devoted employee help me. I watched her sanitize everything each customer touched, including the pin pads for our credit/debit cards. The first thing I handed her was a gift card and then gave her the rest of my items to scan. At the end of our transaction, I let her know that the g/c is for her to thank her for all her hard work and to let her know Jesus loves her and He is with her. She responded with, “oh my gosh are you serious?! I want to cry right now”. 

Thanks for reading, just wanted to share this with you! 

Have a blessed weekend! 

In Christ,

Amanda

Bobby and I have both taken you up on the challenge of gifting the checker or worker with a gift card. Bobby ended up giving it to one of the managers at the grocery store who was just yelled at by an angry patron. She was so surprised and extremely thankful. He told her he was thankful for her and her service.

I went to the store yesterday and the checker, Edgar, was enthusiastic, kind, and had a great sense of humor. I asked him to load $25 on a Starbucks card. He repeated $25,000?  I laughed, then handed back to him telling him thank you for making me smile   Then he said seriously!?!?!  And also said he really did wish it was $25,000. Lol. He couldn’t believe I gave it to him. This act of kindness not only brought joy to the people we gave it to, but to us as well.

Thank you for this challenge. Next time I go out I will load up a few more gift cards for my kids to give out the next time they go through a drive through, since I don’t let them go to the store anymore.

In appreciation,
Kim

Hi Pastor Jim,

Both Billy and I have been buying gift cards for checkers at the store. I purchased one for a young man about 20 years old. I asked him how his day was going and he said “The customers today have been so much better than yesterday. Yesterday was literally hell on earth” he sounded defeated. So, I purchased a gift card and handed it back to him. I said, “This is for you so that way you are reminded when you have a day like yesterday that Jesus loves you and we are thankful for you. God bless”. At first he didn’t understand the card was for him, so I said, “no, this card is especially for you! Thank you! Jesus loves you!”. He just about cried.   Billy too has purchased gift cards for checkers and he has had similar responses from the store checkers…..pure shock and on the verge of tears from gratitude.   One day while Billy was walking from the store to his car, he noticed a woman who appeared to have become recently homeless. He handed her some sanitary wipes and struck up a conversation with her. He gave her $10 cash and she said, “Thank you so much, now I only have $12 dollars to go before I can get a room.” Billy handed her an additional $20 dollars and said “well, now you don’t have to wait. God bless.” She stood there and cried and thanked him, from the bottom of her heart.   We have been soooo blessed with the RLLA Challenges, thank you!!  The girls are having a blast on Tuesday nights with their big and small group - Thank God for technology, Zoom and Kevin, Staci and the all of the leaders! Last night they had a scavenger hunt and it was fun to watch them run around the house! We also LOVE Homeschool For The Soul and have enjoyed church from our living room couch, but we do miss our church family!

Yvette

Hi Pastor Jim,

I wanted to share our gift card giving experience this week. As a family we have Everett (age 5) earning his chore money through the financial peace Jr. and what comes with that is a giving envelope. With church not in person for the last month he hasn’t been able to bring his money and put it in the offering tray so he’s had his money accumulated for a few weeks now, this week he said he wanted to count his give money and get a gift card for someone working while we are out. (He does actually listen during church) he had exactly 25 dollars and I said that’s the perfect amount for a gift card for someone. This week we went to the grocery store for our groceries and as we went to check out he spent a good amount of time looking over all the gift cards he wanted to choose and he decided on Amazon because he said “everyone loves to buy things off Amazon mom” as we checked out the checker Cathy chatted away with us and told Everett how he looked like such a super hero with his avengers mask on and that made his day. As we finished up I purchased one other gift card for the young man bagging our groceries as well. Everett handed Cathy the gift card and his wadded up cash and she said oh lucky boy you get an amazon gift card and we told her no this is for you and the other one will be for Chris bagging our groceries. She was speechless, I told her thank you for all your hard work during this difficult time and God bless, she started to cry and couldn’t believe it and just kept saying thank you so much I don’t even know what to say I’ve never had anyone do something like this and everett then handed Chris the other gift card as he finished putting the groceries in our cart and he couldn’t believe it either and said this has been the best part of my day. Thank you for giving our church this challenge and Everett said he can’t wait to give out more gift cards when we shop again!

Katelyn

O.K., Jim, over the past few weeks my wife and I have been listening to the great stories about RLLA members who purchased gift cards at the grocery store and gave them to the checkers or box people at the register.  This is such a great idea, and these stories inspired us to do the same.  My story, however, has an ending which may bring tears of a different kind to your eyes. 

I finished my shopping last week and grabbed a gift card off the rack before I got into the (well-spaced) check-out line.  When I got to the register, the strapping young lad who served me scanned and bagged everything and I had him add $25 to the gift card.  His bagger had been momentarily called away, so he was a bit harried with the double duty he had pulled and was hustling to keep the checkout line moving.  As he worked, we chatted briefly about these crazy times and agreed that it could not last forever.

When he had finished and before I walked away, I handed him the gift card and said, “Thank you for all that you do for us.  This is for you.  God bless you.”

I hesitated a moment, waiting for the tearful thank you, the virtual hug, and the “This turned my whole life around,” comment.  I waited for the store to close and the marching band to show up, the Eyewitness News van to instantly appear, and for the employees to form an exit path for me, lined with rose petals.  I waited for the heavens to open, for the laurel wreaths to descend upon my brow, and the Angel Gabriel to wing down, slap me with a heavenly high five and some extra Monopoly game tickets, and say, “You da MAN!”

Well, that’s not quite what happened.

The cashier took the card, said, “Oh, thanks,” shoved it in his shirt pocket, and turned to serve the next customer.

Uh… say what?

I sat in my car for the next ten minutes as the tears ran down my face.  I don’t remember the last time I’ve ever laughed so hard.  God’s voice was pretty clear at that moment: 

“I guess you didn’t get the memo, ding-dong, but you know the gift card giving thing is not really about making YOU feel better, right?”   

Thanks, God.  Got it.  Good lesson.  Really good yuks.

Cheers, 

Hal

Jim,
For six week I've stayed away from the grocery store.  I have a friend who has been shopping for me and a few others.  On Thursday I decided I'd go shopping for a few things at a small store. Once I checked out my groceries I asked the cashier for a store gift card and gave her money for it.  She reached to give it to me and I told her it was for her to keep.  She started crying and asked me why I was doing that.  I told her because I appreciated her hard work and risking her health for mine.  This gave me so much joy to help someone else during this pandemic.
Susan

Hi Jim, I've been using Instacart for obtaining groceries. Today I asked the person fulfilling my list if they could include a gift card also. Unfortunately it wasn't possible.
Fortunately I had $25 and was able to give her the cash when she delivered the groceries. She apologized for not being able to get the card...I told her the card was for her as I handed her the cash. She was amazed and shocked  and kept saying really! What a blessing to participate in giving back in this way.

Nancy

Hi Pastor Jim! A few days ago as I walked into the grocery store I greeted one of the cashiers while she was out on break. She looked tired and worn down. Later, it just so happened that I got her at the cash register. I purchased a $25 gift card and as I handed it back to her I said “This is for you. Thank you for being on the front line and for all your hard work. God Bless You!” As she thanked me, she was so overwhelmed with gratitude that she came out from behind the register and even though she had an initial hesitation due to our expected social distancing, she could not stop herself from literally giving me a hug as she thanked me once more. Everyone at the store stared in shock trying to figure out what was happening. As we finished our embrace, she replied “God Bless YOU!”  Indeed God has blessed me and I want to thank you Pastor Jim for encouraging us to use such small gestures to bless others.God bless you!

Judy and Barry

Pastor Jim,
When we went grocery shopping, we decided to participate in the Viral Blessings Challenge by buying gift cards for the cashier and the associate bagging our groceries. God has blessed us with so much during this time and we wanted to pay it forward. As we finished paying we handed the gift cards back and told them that we greatly appreciate all that they have been doing. Their immediate response was, “Thank you, but per policy we cannot accept these.” I told them that I really wanted them to have the gift cards because they deserve it for all their hard work in these difficult times. They finally agreed to keep them and said they would make sure it was okay with their manager, but requested my phone number to call me in case they needed to give them back. I told them if that was the case to please just pay it forward by giving the gift cards to someone else. They thanked us several times and had smiles on their faces as we walked away. I love that such a small gesture can make a difference to those working tirelessly to serve others!I also was able to bring diapers to the church today for the diaper drive. I love knowing I can help others by donating these much needed items. However, I feel just as blessed from this experience. I drove out of the church parking lot with a big smile on my face. I love that you and the rest of the Real Life staff took the time to talk to us today as we dropped off diapers. The face to face time, personal conversations, and prayer for my family gave me a much needed emotional boost. It really goes to show that although the building doors are closed to us for now, the church is still open and shining God's light on others.Thank you for all that you do!

Jennifer

I did answer the challenge and bought a gift card. It was near closing time and the young cashier was still very sweet and gracious. She was surprised, said thank you as I said “You are welcome, God loves you and so do I” I was so grateful you had shared someone else’s response of a fairly underwhelming response. I laughed walking to my car telling myself yup, clouds didn’t part and no conversion story but it did feel wonderful just to say the words. Doing it again...God Bless You,

Doris

I did the viral blessings challenge last week. First I went to a grocery store during senior hours and gave a grocery store gift card to the checker and also to the young lady who bagged my groceries. The checker first said, "Oh, no, no, no, no. You shouldn't do that." I just told her how much I appreciated them being there for us, and I insisted that they accept the cards. I expressed that God loves them, and said, "God bless you!" As I left I was smiling under my mask and I could tell that they were smiling too even though they had tears in their eyes. Then I went to a big box store and gave store gift cards to the checker and the bagger. The checker said that they were not allowed to accept any gifts. I insisted, winked, and said if they didn't tell anyone I wouldn't either! So that worked out too.

Sherrie and Wayne

Colors

I went to a prayer meeting tonight. During the session, a guy was supposed to pray for me while I prayed - both of us silent. As I prayed, I saw images of the stained glass in our sanctuary, and then bigger images of stained glass like the Rose Window in Notre Dame. When we finished, I asked him if he heard anything in prayer.

He said, “I saw a crazy amount of color. There was color everywhere, like splashed on the walls. Then I saw cans of paint all around, and Jesus picked up a can of paint and began to pour it. And he was waiting on you to pick a color. You hesitated, and you took a long time to pick it. But when you finally picked one and poured it alongside his, it was royal blue. You two painted a big wall together, and on the wall I saw the word ‘LIFE’ in all caps and in white. Then you two sat on the wall enjoying what you had done together.

Does that mean anything to you?”

-Pastor Jim

Super.Natural.

I’d be selling the church short if I didn’t tell you about how supernaturally the church’s story is evolving. I’ve shared previously about the Miracle of Valley Center, and how we supernaturally found our new church home after a fervent prayer that Jesus would lead us to it.

Now it looks like the Holy Spirit is on overdrive.

A few weeks ago, during a sermon, I felt a “voice” of sorts, though it wasn’t out loud. As I preached on the subject of doubt, I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, “There is someone here named David who is struggling with doubt.” I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t feel confident to. Essentially, I told God, “You and David work that out, because I don’t want to sound like a crazy person.”

A few minutes later, I was standing in the lobby, and I was about to walk to the other side of campus, and I felt the same voice say to me, “Stay there. Someone close to you is going to need you. Don’t move.” So I stood still. Sixty seconds later, a new visitor walked up to me in tears asking for an appointment with the pastor. I began to wonder if I had missed a real David who needed to hear that God knew he was there.

Two weeks later, I apologized to David, in case he was out there listening. And now I think I’ve found him, a David struggling with doubt.

A few days after that sermon, I was praying with a woman in the church office. I told her, “I keep seeing an image of car keys. Does that mean anything?” She hadn’t said anything about a car, but she started to tear up and said, “Yes, I’ve been borrowing a friend’s car, and I’ve been praying God would give me a new one.” I shared that story in a sermon a week ago, and this week, someone from Real Life bought her a used car to call her own.

There are better stories than that. Supernatural things have occurred since then, things that couldn’t have a natural explanation. I’ll be sharing some of them this Sunday - hope to see you there.

My hope is that we become a congregation of open ears and open hearts, a people who listen to God’s Spirit and follow God’s leading. Our faithfulness can open up the possibility of the supernatural and direct, first-person encounters with the living God. I can’t wait to see more!

-Pastor Jim