Savage2Saint Sobriety Oct 14, 2026

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. - Matthew 18:20 (KJV).

Recently, my wife and I were given a building to use for our recovery meeting in Poplar Bluff, MO. This Saturday will be the first service we hold there. It's not what you would envision when you think of a church; it's a construction warehouse. But what looks like a warehouse to most people, looks like a hospital to us. A hospital for bound, bruised, and broken people to get into the presence of the Great Physician. A place for people to be set free, healed, and gently put back together by someone greater than anything in this world: Jesus.

If the "church" was just a building or a piece of property, then nothing we could do would matter. But the church is not just a building; it's a body. A living, breathing group of people who have been delivered and redeemed by Jesus. It's not brick and mortar; it's flesh and blood. And as our verse of the week states: wherever this body of flesh and blood believers gather together in the Name of Jesus, He promises to be there in the midst of them.

I can't help but think of when God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of captivity, God knew Moses would need His supernatural help. ⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent’” - Exodus 7:8-9 (NLT). God used something that was readily available to Moses and Aaron in their everyday life to display the awesome power that comes from God being in the situation. Even though it was just a shepherd's staff, it became a testimony to everyone around that God can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary when He's in it.

When the body of Christ begins to worship, the church begins to breathe. When they reach, the church becomes the hands and feet of Jesus. When God's people love and forgive others, the church begins to grow. Where two or three are gathered together in His Name, miracles happen because Jesus is in the midst of them. The bound are set free; the bruised are healed; and the broken are put back together.

No, the church is not a building, but when you put God in the middle of something, anything is possible. A property is just a property until you put Jesus in the midst. Then it becomes a sanctuary for the overlooked and forgotten, a hospital to the injured and hurting, and a place where miracles will happen.

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. - 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NLT).

We hope to see our Compass Recovery family at our new location Saturday, October 17th!

Service starts at 6:00 PM! Meal following service! Call or text (573) 714-8555 for a ride!

166 Red Robin Lane

Poplar Bluff, MO 63901

God Bless!