To the Last Drop

The believer in Christ has powerful resources that he or she can and must use in order to navigate spiritual battles that occur. No one is exempt. We can't sit spiritual warfare out - because, it comes to us. 1st Peter 5 states:
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

A Colorado man named Jamie Sanchez opened a coffee shop last summer as an extension of his ministry, called, Recycle God's Love.  As part of a ministry initiative called Project Revive, he opened up the Drip Cafe. 

CBN News had reported on the coffee shop, and recently released an update. It said...

...As previously reported, people began gathering last June outside the shop, shouting, and taking aim at the fruits of the ministry’s labor. A statement affirming biblical sexuality on the Recycle God’s Love website was reportedly a catalyst for the protests that began in June and haven’t ceased.

The article notes that "Sanchez said he changed the language not long after the cafe opened to make the ministry’s intent about love and truth more straightforward." But, the floodgates of protest had already been opened, and continue to this day.

Sanchez is quoted as saying that, “It’s a spiritual warfare going on...By now, they should realize they’re not affecting us the way that they thought they would. Their goal is very clear; it’s on their site; it’s on their posters. They want to shut us down.”

This is yet another example of people who are so intent on embracing a godless ideology that they act in order to shut down the voice of the Church, to silence those who believe and speak God's truth.  But, they have not succeeded, and Jamie is continuing to fulfill the mission that the Lord has given to him.

Now, the coffee shop, according to CBN, "has been training and helping its first homeless worker. It’s a recognition of his ministry’s efforts to help the homeless through employment and connections to much-needed resources." Sanchez noted: “[Our goal is to hire] homeless individuals, to give them a real W2 job, and to also disciple them while they’re working alongside us,” adding, “And the project encompasses everything from providing housing to financial advising with them, spiritual guidance.”

A man named Scott was the first hire, and it has been a successful experience. The ministry has indicated that it would continue to minister to those who are not as successful as Scott; the article relates:

Even if someone is let go from the job, Sanchez said his ministry will still help with discipleship, finding housing, and other relevant needs.

Already, Scott, who excelled at the job, is leaving his shelter and moving into housing through a local partner ministry.

“It just shows … how God really … when you put the trust in Him, what He does,” Sanchez said, noting working alongside like-minded people has helped Scott thrive. “It really just proves that the chains that come with being homeless can be broken with the power of Jesus Christ.”

The work of the Drip Cafe is continuing; you might say, it is persevering to the last drop. CBN included this quote from Sanchez: 

“For me, the cafe is not mine. I don’t really see it as my cafe,” he said. I don’t see it as Recycle God’s Love’s cafe. I see it as God’s cafe. He gave it to us; if He wants it to go away, then He’ll make it go away.”

And, "In the end, Sanchez said 'God gets the glory' for the cafe’s ability to remain open despite the chaos."

Some projects have an expiration date - a short-term mission with defined parameters.  Sometimes we are involved in open-ended endeavors; in other words, proceed until God says, 'stop'"  A danger comes in seeing something permanent as being temporary and not give 100% effort or seeing something temporary as permanent and hold on to it.  I think, whatever the case may be, we follow the call of God, give it our best in His strength, endure opposition if and when it comes, and seek to bear fruit every day. 

We also have to recognize the terrain that culture presents to us. We have to put on the full armor of God, as Paul relates in Ephesians 6.  We can realize that there are those who simply don't want to hear our message and may even seek to shut us down.  But, the good news is that Jesus changes hearts, so we can be prayerful, loving with the love of God, and devoted to speaking and living the truth of God, so that people might experience His presence.