Catching Up (part 1)

These last two months have been so full that I haven’t had time to blog. Now for the catch-up… Don’t worry; I’ll spread it over several blogs rather than one long one!

Around the middle of November, Ouachita Hills took a three-week mission trip to Cuba. When Pastor Soler (who is in charge of the mission trips) asked me to go along as the female staff member, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it. I told him of the obstacles and we prayed that God’s will would be done. Within a few hours every obstacle was taken care of, even to the finances! I was going to Cuba!

Finally the day came when we loaded the bus and headed to the airport. We were a group of 15, but we had only six visas when we boarded the plane in Little Rock, AR. When we landed in Atlanta, Pastor Soler checked his email and said the number of visas was now nine. When we landed in Miami, he had received all 15 visas by email. Praise the Lord! This was just one of the multitude of miracles the Lord worked for us during this endeavor.

The lady who met us at customs and helped us get everything through with no problems; the translator who had never heard the Bible stories before (she loved them!) and who hugged the Bible to her heart when we gave it to her; the bus driver who cried when we gave him his first Bible; the churches who had never seen young people do a whole evangelistic series; the people who were touched by the Word of God and who wrapped themselves around our hearts; the churches who adopted us and told us we were one of them now – the stories and the memories are too many to tell here. But in heaven I’ll be happy to share them all!

When I went to India, one grandfather was killed, and now when I was in Cuba my other grandfather died. But what a precious hope is ours! The Lord showed me His loving care in so many ways that day I found out about my grandpa’s death. The academy students I was working with had no idea what I was struggling with, but just by their buoyant spirits and cheerfulness they brightened my day. Peter, Nathan, and Sofia willingly gave up their free time to help me prepare the crafts for the meeting that night while the other kids relaxed. They had no idea how much their uncomplaining sacrifice gave me the courage I needed to get through that day. That evening as we were riding on the bus to our different sites, someone started singing Revelation 21:4-7 which says: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said unto me, ‘Write: for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said unto me, ‘It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.’” Truly we have a blessed hope!

This poem came from that experience:

Cloudy Blessings

Thank You, Lord, for strength in weakness;

Perfect peace within my pain;

Power to meet each strong temptation;

Promises to meet again.

Thank You, Lord, for trust in tempest;

Faith when darkest seems the night;

Courage when the heart is weary;

Assurance that all will work for right.

Thank You, Lord, for cloudy blessings;

For Your ways I do not know;

Thank You for Your patient guidance

O’er the path You only know.

The feet - and hands - of Jesus

"So after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and was set down again, He said unto them, 'Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.'" So said Jesus in John 13:12-15.

Yesterday we celebrated communion at church. As always, we had the footwashing service before taking part in the bread and juice. I followed some of the other ladies into the room where we would wash each others feet. Being a visitor, I didn't know the church members very well. When I walked into the room, there were two or three of the regular members already in the room. Immediately, I noticed her. I saw her every time I visited this church. She has one hand that's dramatically twisted at the wrist and her fingers dangle uselessly from that hand, though her other hand is normal. I heard the voice of my Best Friend whisper in my ear, "Go, serve her." Sitting in the empty chair next to her, I asked if she had someone to serve her. The reply was a quiet no. "May I?" I asked, wondering if she would feel comfortable to serve and be served by an almost complete stranger. As she whispered "Yes!" I saw her eyes sparkle. Taking the bowl of warm water and the towel, I knelt at her feet and began to wash them, feeling as though I had the privilege of washing the feet of Jesus Himself. In fact, I did wash the feet of Jesus in the person of my sister. What a privilege!

Then she brought another bowl of water and another towel, and bent to wash my feet. As she gently took my feet in her deformed hands to dry them, I almost cried. Jesus was washing my feet. Oh, for the day when her hands will be straight and strong! But what a privilege was mine that Sabbath. I washed the feet of the Savior when I washed my sister's feet, but Jesus washed my feet in return when my sister washed my feet.

"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Lord, let me always serve You in the person of Your hurting children.

“Love me!” is her silent plea;

She says it when she bats her eyes;

She says it when she misbehaves;

She says it even when she lies.

She says it in a thousand ways –

A rolling of the eyes, perhaps;

Or, disregarding what you say,

In church she doesn’t listen, but naps.

All these and more are simply this:

Her silent call, her deepest need,

A longing to see Christ in you –

“Please, show God’s love to even me.”

Deaning is a unique opportunity for ministry. I'm thrilled as I watch "my" girls catch the vision of God's plan for their lives. And when one makes the choice to give herself to her Creator, to surrender her will to His, my cup of joy overflows! On the flip side, when one of "my" girls gives in to the tempter's whispers, my heart breaks. The past several weeks have seen both an overflowing cup and a broken heart. 

But I know that I do not bear these dear girls on my heart alone. My High Priest carries them -- and me -- on His heart and in His hands. I can see Him there now, standing before the Father's throne, asking for reinforcements of angels to be sent to aid one of my girls as she struggles against the foe, or rejoicing to tell our Father of another soul won. Friend, can you see Him, too? He's pleading on your behalf, as well, for He carries you on His heart, too. "What wondrous love is this, O my soul?"

WANTED: WATERPOTS

Jesus was a guest at the wedding. “No more grape juice,” came the report. In the corner stood six stone waterpots, and servants waiting for His command. Stone waterpots. Each pot could hold 20-30 gallons of water. These were no low-quality waterpots, either. They were made of stone; they were solid; they were made to serve. 

“Fill the waterpots with water,” Jesus commanded. The servants yielded immediate, unquestioning obedience. And not content to just fill the pots, they filled them to the brim, the Bible says. So full the pots could hold no more. And the need for refreshment was supplied.

Stone waterpots. Powerless to fill themselves with water, powerless to empty themselves to receive the water.

“…no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul. It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be renewed.” Christ's Object Lessons 159.3, 4.

“God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27)

Powerless to empty myself of self, powerless to fill myself with the Water of Life.

God wants waterpots.

God sees the little sparrow...

I remember Mom singing to me when I was little the following song:

 

God sees the little sparrow fall,
It meets His tender view;
If God so loves the little birds,
I know He loves me, too.

He loves me, too, He loves me, too,
I know He loves me, too;
Because He loves the little things,
I know He loves me, too.

He paints the lily of the field,
Perfumes each lily bell;
If He so loves the little flow’rs,
I know He loves me well.

God made the little birds and flow’rs,
And all things large and small;
He’ll not forget his little ones,
I know He loves them all.

Today, Pastor Soler and some of his academy boys knocked at the girls' dorm. "Miss Rebekah," Pastor Soler began as I opened the door, "would you like a baby bunny?" There in his hands was the sweetest little brown bunny! He and the boys had found it while they were working and they brought it to the girls for care. The poor thing was so weak it hardly seemed to care what was happening to it. The dean and I tried to figure out what to do for it, knowing we couldn't keep it in the dorm. There was no way we could give it the time, care, and attention it would need, besides the rule of no animals in the dorm (except fish). After finally getting half a drop of soymilk down its throat (the best thing I had available for it), Abby (the dean) and I took it over to the office to see if we could find someone to adopt the poor thing. I'm so glad that our God cares for the little creatures! My friend Beth was in the office, and as soon as she saw the bunny lying on its side, looking like it was about to die right there and then, she almost cried. "I want him!" she exclaimed, gently taking the box from my hands. "I know my mom will help, too." 

About an hour later, Beth texted me to say the bunny had taken more milk and was doing much better. Yes, God doesn't forget His little ones, and "because He loves the little things, I know He loves me, too!"

Down Memory Lane...

 

This took place December 2012-January 2011, right at the end of my time in India. I shared this story with one of my friends, and she encouraged me to post it. So Beth, here it is. :) 

She was a young girl, maybe 17 or 18 years old. Quiet, hard working, sweet-spirited, everyone loved her. She had committed her life to Jesus in baptism just that summer. I’ll call her Mary.

 

Mary went home to her village in Assam, India, for Christmas break that year. A few days after she left, we got the news that she was demon-possessed. One of the staff was already close to her village with some other girls from the orphanage, so the staff member and the girls went to Mary’s village and brought her back to the orphanage. When the group arrived, I was shocked to see sweet Mary in such a condition. She acted as though drugged, until someone started praying, singing, or speaking of Jesus. Then she went into an “attack,” as we came to call it. The devil was trying to get her to kill herself. In her few semi-lucid moments, Mary told us that the devil was telling her that she was too much of a sinner, that Jesus couldn’t forgive her for something. Then she would start thrashing around, trying to beat her head against the concrete, or some other dangerous action. At times it took seven people to restrain her from hurting herself.

And so the battle began. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.” For three weeks we fought for Mary’s life, both physical and spiritual. We fasted and prayed. We sang and prayed. We read the Bible and prayed.

At one point early on, I was trying to hold one of Mary’s arms during an attack. I weighed just over 100 pounds soaking wet, but that ought to be heavy enough to keep one arm from flailing so she doesn’t claw herself, right? Wrong. Not if that arm is flailing under the power of the devil. As we were singing, I was about to lose my grip on her. “Lord,” I prayed, “I can’t hold her any longer! Help me!” Immediately, I felt another pair of hands on mine, and Mary’s arm, though still flailing, was under control. Looking down, the only visible hands on her arm were my own. The memory still sends shivers down my spine.

The devil hated to hear us sing, pray, or read Scripture. As we pulled out the hymnals, Mary would try to grab them out of our hands. As we sang, the demon would shriek and scream at us to stop. I already loved the old hymns and their deep meanings, but they became absolutely precious to me through this experience. Would you like to know some of the hymns the devil hates to hear? Here is a short list, though we sang many, many more:

Power in the Blood

Just as I Am

Amazing Grace

Whiter than Snow

Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It

There Is a Fountain

Take My Life and Let It Be

Nothing Between My Soul and the Savior

My Jesus, I Love Thee

Near the Cross

A Mighty Fortress

I Surrender All

Jesus Loves Me

Draw Me Nearer

Amazing Love

Let me share some of the words to that last one, “Amazing Love.”

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free;

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head,

And clothed with righteousness divine,

Bold I approach th’ eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Can you see why the devil hates the hymns?

After three weeks of this struggle, we were finally able to arrange an anointing service for her. The Lord set her free from the demons in answer to our faith. Mary slept for most of two days. After she had somewhat recuperated from her ordeal, she began to tell us what the demons had told her. Ever since her baptism that summer, she had heard voices in her head telling her that Jesus couldn’t forgive something she’d done, that she should stop reading her Bible and praying. She didn’t tell anyone about the voices. When she went home for Christmas break, she gave in to the voices and stopped reading her Bible and praying every day. As soon as she stopped, the demons took control of her, trying to kill her. She said that when we sang, she wanted to sing along, but whenever she opened her mouth to sing, the demons would speak instead. They wouldn’t let her pray, either.

Several times a day, we told Mary, “Come, let’s read the Bible together,” or “Mary, let’s go pray.” The first few days of her freedom, she joined us in worshipping the Lord, but after a couple days she began to say, “You go ahead without me. I’ll pray in a little bit,” or “I’ll read my Bible later.” “No, Mary,” we’d tell her, “you need to do it now. Don’t put it off! Remember what Jesus said about the devil coming back to the heart after he’s been thrown out? You need to spend time with Jesus right now, don’t put it off!” “I’m fine,” she’d insist, “the devil won’t bother me. I’ll spend time with Jesus – later.”

And so she put off communion with her Savior and Protector. Sure enough, just as Jesus said would happen, the demons came back. This time the attacks were worse than before. The first time around, Mary would only hurt one of us if we got in her way while she was trying to hurt herself. This time, she became violent towards her caretakers as well. One evening, she hid a knife in her waistband and tried to stab one of the staff. Finally, Mary made her decision to put her trust completely in Christ and to give her heart fully to Him. After a long struggle, during which the devil tried his hardest to stop her, she was able to pray a short prayer, giving Jesus her heart. Then she said loudly and clearly, “Satan, you can’t have me, for I belong to Jesus now!” With that, the demons left, and they haven’t bothered her since. Praise the Lord!

I learned a lot from Mary’s struggle. I gained a deeper appreciation for the hymns and Scripture songs. Still to this day, every time I sing a hymn that we sang with Mary, I hear again the sound of the devil screaming in fury, the sound of the vanquished foe. I learned the importance of spending time with Jesus each day, and of not putting off that precious appointment for anything! I saw firsthand part of the intensity of the great controversy that is being waged for each soul. I saw the power the devil has and that no human being can win the victory against Satan without help. But, praise God, I also saw firsthand how powerful our Savior is! While it’s true that no human can win against the devil, it’s even truer that the devil can never win in a fight with the King of heaven!

“He (Jesus) is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Heb. 7:25. “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the LORD, ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.’” Isaiah 49:24, 25.

Another semester has begun!

By the way, I'm back at Ouachita Hills College, starting the first semester of my sophomore year as an education major. I love my classmates and teachers, and am excited about all my new classes! I am thoroughly enjoying meeting all the new students and hearing everyone's summer experiences.

This weekend we will be enjoying our beginning-of-the-semester retreat at Camp Yorktown Bay. The time of spiritual refreshing is the best way I can think of to start each semester.

On Sunday the academy students will arrive for registration. My girls will soon be here! :) Yes, I am the assistant dean for the academy girls again this year. I can hardly wait to see the returning girls and meet the new ones!

I am so excited to see what the Lord does this semester!

To be continued...