MERRY MONDAY BY PARRIS-
Psalm 126 “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad”
When was the last time you dreamed? Last week I “attempted to jog/walk” through LaSalle Park listening to the latest Jesus Culture “Let it Echo” on my iPhone. (Loved it!) I was so enjoying myself, praying for my usual stuff when the Lord began to stir me about the 37 years being here at Victory. It was if I was in a dream! What a beautiful journey of the Love of God! Most of the folks at Victory know the story of Frank and I driving a car back to New Orleans, that wasn’t ours, bringing only what the car would hold, with our 4 yr. old son Jeremy. It was early morning the sun was rising over the city, and the Lord gave this verse, John 4:38-“I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” For the next 37 years at Victory we have done just that, reaped where so many have labored over this precious city.
When the Lord turns back our captivity, joy comes! The summer of 1973, we walk right into some “Jesus Freaks” around the Mardi Gras fountain at the Lakefront, singing and worshipping. Frank and I were ripe for the harvest we never looked back. We got married, went away to Bible School. Now it was fall 1978 and we found ourselves right smack in the Charismatic move impacting the city reaping where others have sown. Our church exploded.
As I jogged around the park, I saw so many that have plowed up this city, restoring the ancient wells that God intended to be here. People came in broken and left full and ran to the nations. In the Treasury of David it says, “In proportion to the sorrow of sowing will be the joy of reaping”. I pray you too have found this hidden joy. Christ changes people into reapers, after all isn’t this what redemption is all about? We sow our precious seed and God brings the harvest. Whether it be the tent meetings we had, our school that preached Christ for 32 years, Bethesda Bible School training leaders, the many productions we have had, including Beyond the Grave, feeding the hungry through “Feed the Multitudes”, creating communities of restoration centers where the broken can come, hosting care groups throughout the city—-Christ is preached and redemption comes to life.
By the time I walked back to the church from my run, these 37 years have turned my/our tears into joy, filling our mouth with laughter. I can truly say, The Lord hath done great things and we are glad! Happy 37!