Verse of the Day, 3/20/10, Saved Life C2C Launch Day, Luke 4:18-19

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 4:18-19

Since I had become recovered, I have had a vision and longing to take my passion to help alcoholics, addicts, and the chronically homeless to the next level. While serving my 9-month jail sentence, I started helping individuals to study for the exam to acquire their GED. I then started to teach basic literacy to people who could not read and write. I once taught a man who was 60 something years old how to read and write. The local newspaper actually came and did an article about us. I have never seen the article, but I have been told you can find it on the Internet. My heart went out to him; I could not imagine what it must have felt like to go through life not having such skills. But, one thing I did know was how much it hurt, how lonely it was, how desperate I had become, living on the streets. I believed I had found my purpose and meaning for life. The Spirit of the Lord had come upon me!

As I embark on Saved Life:Coast to Coast today, I believe the Spirit of the Lord is upon me…I believe… that He has anointed me to help these lost souls on the streets of America that I will soon encounter…I believe….we will preach the good news to the poor and they will accept it with open arms and open minds…I believe…we will free many souls from their current states of bondage…I believe…the blind will see that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life…I believe…the oppressed will rise….I believe…that together, united as the Body of Christ…we will proclaim this year to bring grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness to the poor and needy of society. I believe this in Jesus’ name…Amen

See ya on the road,

Jason

Saved Life Chronicles: Atlanta

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”

Luke 6:20-21

“Elderly gentleman sleeping in the abandoned lot across from the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless shelter.”

For the last week we have been in the Atlanta Metro area putting together supplies and purchasing our chase vehicle for this awareness ride. This down time has also afforded me some much needed rest and relaxation. We will be leaving the Jacksonville Beach Pier exactly two weeks from yesterday. During this time, I have spent several days with the street people of the City of Atlanta. I have met some very good people while in Georgia, most of whom spent last night either in a mission or on the streets of Downtown Atlanta.  After a uneasy nights sleep, I awoke this morning still wondering what God wanted me to see here in Georgia. Trials and tribulations in the form of a busted fuel pump, several rollback wrecker trips, and several days waiting in a mechanics garage,  have left us stranded in unfamiliar territory here in Georgia, both physically and for me, spiritually. “What are you trying to show me Lord?” A phrase that I have repeated over and over the past few days in my mind.

I had several bags of blankets and clothing that were donated to Saved Life to use on our awareness ride by a very nice couple we met several days ago. I decided I would drive into Atlanta today and stop by the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless and see what my friend Jillian was up to. Maybe we could be of some help. Jillian is a shelter monitor at the MATFH. I met him last week during my first visit to the mission. I figured the blankets could be used more effectively right here in Atlanta rather than drive them back to Jacksonville with us tomorrow. So, off we went!

Immediately upon arrival I noticed more people than we seen on a previous visit to MATFH. The abandoned parking lot across the street was filled with homeless men, women, and children. Several area Churches had gathered in the parking lot to hand out toiletries, blankets, clothing, and a steamng hot plate of homemade spaghetti and meatballs. As we parked the car, I noticed the man in the photo above off to the side sleeping amidst the hussle and bussle of the parking lot. My heart immediately began to ache. This was possibly someones father, someones son…bottom line…he is SOMEBODY.

After about two hours of ministering to the people in the parking lot, we decided it was time for us to leave and let the mission staff prepare everyone for the nightly meal. As I got back in our vehicle, I couldn’t help but look back at the man still laying in the corner. There he still was resting peacefully, or so it seemed. The noise had not bothered him at all. I walked back across the street and snapped the above photo of this man, this mass of humanity before me, wondering, “How can this be happening in one of the richest nations in the world?’ “How can we allow this to happen with a clear conscience and still call ourselves Christians?”

Man lying on sidewalk two blocks from the MATFH mission.

Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, Atlanta, Georgia

Heading into Downtown Atlanta

Blessed and Highly Favored

My name is Jason J. Day. I am a soldier in the army of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer. The Holy Bible is my Code of Conduct. Faith, prayer,and the Word are my weapons of warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity. I have a desire to effect a change in our society for the homeless …and all those who are lost and suffering. I have made a decision to do just that, to give the lost an opportunity to hope again! I am determined to succeed! Get involved! We are here to offer light to the lost, encouragement for the weary, and hope for the hurting. We are Saved Life. Keep us in your prayers! See ya on the road!

“Come to me all who are weary and burdened and i will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

Saved Life Chronicles begins Monday, February 15th, 2010

Beginning Monday, I will start my 30 days with the homeless in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. I want to bring you their story. I want to, hopefully, let you see what I see when I am with these men, women, and children. I want you to feel the compassion, the compassion I feel for them. I want you to see life through their eyes. I want you to see their pain, their sorrow, and their joy. I want you to see that we, as Christians, can bring them hope through Jesus Christ. And hopefully, I will make you want to reach out and help them.

Words cannot really explain how I feel about them. I was asked just the other day, “How do you feel about them?” When i think about the homeless, one word comes to mind. Love! I love them. These “Children” of the street are also “Children of God. Jesus commanded us to “Love your neighbor as yourself“ in Matthew 22:39. Are not the homeless our neighbors? Are not the street people you see on the corners, near the abandoned buildings, in the alleys, sleeping on park benches, and so forth, are they not your neighbors?

The Websters dictionary defines the word neighbor as follows, there are actually two definitions:

1 : one living or located near another
2 : fellow man

Statistics from the National Coalition for the Homeless, one of our outreach partners, had this to say in one of their studies:

“As a result of methodological and financial constraints, (we need to raise more money for programs to help the homeless) most studies are limited to counting people who are in shelters or on the streets. While this approach may yield useful information about the number of people who use services such as shelters and soup kitchens, or who are easy to locate on the street, it can result in underestimates of homelessness. (Studies show that it is very hard to count those who may be sleeping in the woods, obscure areas, etc.) Many people who lack a stable, permanent residence have few shelter options because shelters are filled to capacity or are unavailable. A recent study conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that 12 of the 23 cities surveyed had to turn people in need of shelter away due to a lack of capacity. Ten of the cities found an increase in households with children seeking access to shelters and transitional housing while six cities cited increases in the numbers of individuals seeking these resources (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2007). (Speaks for itself, they are sleeping somewhere, maybe in your NEIGHBORhood)

In addition, a study of homelessness in 50 cities found that in virtually every city, the city’s official estimated number of homeless people greatly exceeded the number of emergency shelter and transitional housing spaces (We need to provide funding to have more shelters and regeneration centers, such as we are proposing at Saved Life) (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2004). Moreover, there are few or no shelters in rural areas of the United States (like Upstate New York where we propose our Regeneration Minitry), despite significant levels of homelessness (Brown, 2002).

Source: National Coalition for the Homeless

My paraphrases are in BLUE

Bottom line:

Most of us who live in any city or major suburb have homeless men, women, and children living near them. They are our neighbors and fellow man by every definition of the word. If we are commanded by Jesus to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” and we sit idly by and do nothing to help them, nothing to reach out to them, do nothing to even offer a smile. What does that say to us about the person we are? What does that say about the community we live in? What does that say about the country we live in? I believe, homelessness is the greatest social disaster in America! The measure of any society is how it treats its weakest element. The widows, the orphans,  the strangers in the land.

The root word of community is UNITY! This is a call to action! I am asking that you unite with Saved Life on this Coast to Coast benefit ride and DO SOMETHING to make a difference! Donate Today! Volunteer at a soup kitchen or mission! Even a smile helps, they don’t take much time or cost a thing! Be blessed!

See ya on the road!

Jason

Feedback Forum

“Brothers (and Sisters), I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But, one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (paraphrased by me)

Philipians 3:14

Friends of Saved Life,

First of all I would like to thank you for all the support, prayers, and help to make my dream a reality! We are now asking for your opinion.

• What kind of content would you like to see on this website?
• How can we best bring the story of homelessness and addiction to you?
• Fundraising Ideas?
• How can we best unify the Body of Christ towards a common Good?
• Is the website easy to navigate?
• Have you subscribed to my daily blog?
• Am i expressing my vision enough that you can see the “Big Picture” of what I am trying to accomplish?

Please help us to help them. Your feedback and input is very important to us, to me,  as an organization, and to us as the Body of Christ! Most of you already know that I am a recovered alcoholic. Most of you also know that I spent an amount of time homeless because of my alcoholism! This is where my passion comes from! Pure gratitude to God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the written Word of God that delivered me from a horrible and misunderstood state of homelessness and chronic alcoholism. I am truly blessed because I am sober today and have been given an opportunity to bring this message of hope to you. I have been wracking my brain on ways to best tell you my story and the stories of those who are still suffering. Sometimes I have a lot of emotion concerning this issue and find it hard to put it into words.

Please leave comments and let me hear your ideas! No idea is a bad idea! Only those ideas that go unnoticed are bad, because you did not let the rest of us hear it! Anyhow, I have rambled enough. I love you all and may Peace be with you! See ya on the road!

One more thing before I forget! Our goal is to raise $3.5 Million dollars for the goals listed on our Financial Goals page. Over 1,500 site visits and donations have been almost nil! I am here to show you how committed I am to helping the homeless and this cause of promoting  Christian Recovery efforts! Our scheduled deadline was Labor Day 2010 in Santa Monica, California. If we do not raise the money by then, I am not gonna stop until we do, I will continue on to a new city with new faces that need our help. Whether it takes another 6 months or 6 years, I will not give up in what I believe. Jesus Christ SAVED my LIFE and I am grateful enough to tell the whole world about it! I have a DESIRE to meet this goal, I have DECIDED to do this benefit ride, and I am DETERMINED to see it through to completion! DESIRE. DECISION. DETERMINATION

See ya on the road!

Jason