Feed the World!

Today, Wayne and I wandered over to Cafe du Monde for a beignet and a cup of chicory coffee.  New Orleans at its finest.  When we got there, a gentleman was sitting outside the entrance on a metal folding chair, playing his trumpet and singing This Little Light of Mine. Wayne and I were quick to join in, and he went through several verses before he began to chuckle and invite us to join the band. (Wayne had done his absolute best impression of a jazz singer.)

The gentleman, Hack Bartholomew, and we began to talk about the atmosphere of New Orleans.  He told us that for the past 25-30 years, he has been positioned outside the door of Cafe du Monde, singing songs that lifted the name of Jesus over the French Quarter.  We talked for a while, even prayed for a bit, and then we witnessed him lead a passerby to the Lord in his easy-going style.  When we prayed for his health and his ministry, sweet tears rolled down his cheeks, and he hugged us and told us that the Lord had told him to "make his living by giving."  He has faithfully given of his talents and his time right there in that spot ever since he heard the mandate.

We went inside and ordered the obligatory beignets.  They are much like doughnuts, only they are puffed up rectangles of fried dough smothered in entirely too much powdered sugar.  I love them, of course!  We watched the people through the windows who were busy at work making more and more of these carnival-like goodies.  The more they made, the faster people bought them up.  And like regular doughnuts, the squares of dough begin as little bits but puff up into much larger masses during the cooking process.  I immediately thought of Mr. Bartholomew. 

Mr. Bartholomew has spend so much time sewing his precious seeds of the Word of God.  He told us that every day at least one person prays with him to receive Christ.  But he is certain that when he gets to Heaven and begins to play his trumpet that there will be a mighty parade - New Orleans worthy - of people following him who have gone away with the seed sewn in their hearts only to end up with the mighty trees of faith planted in their lives.   He is letting the dough rise in their hearts.  It is up to God to turn them into the finished products.

Cafe du Monde means "Cafe of the World."  It is no accident that this sweet evangelist is planted right outside the door.  People from every nation find their way to that spot.  He has been there to sing, pray and preach to so many of them.  He is confident that the Lord is using him to proclaim a wonderful message to every people group. They buy his CDs as souvenirs - which, by the way, are not only Biblical but quite good.  Then these people take them back to their own homes. 

We have no idea how much our own actions could mean to so many.  Most of us will not receive "the call" to go out to every nation, but all of us will come in contact with the nations that reside here in our own communities.  We have opportunities to sew precious seed into every heart with a kind word, a prayer, a Bible.  Our possibilities are endless.  As I watched Mr. Bartholomew, his efforts were minimal, but the effect was tremendous.  Let's be faithful to feed the world!

Today's challenge: Make a point to speak to the foreigners within our borders.  Be sure to share the love of Jesus with them every chance you get.  Our country has been a great place of escape and hope for so many, but we would be remiss to give to them only from our source of materialism.  Let's give them the greatest gift of all - Jesus!