Stories of Faith - Episode 57

Corrie ten Boom (April 15, 1892 - April 15, 1983)

The frigid night air wafted into the room as people began to leave. Corrie silently thanked God for another wonderful night of fellowship and started walking towards the coat closet to collect her things. A man approached her, hat in hand, and Corrie smiled at him in greeting. Suddenly, she saw his face clearly and the smile froze on her face. She looked at him and the past flashed by in a matter of seconds - she saw the man holding a baton, the look on his face as he struck a frail woman who had fallen under a heavy load, his many cruel actions in the concentration camp. Unbidden, tears flooded her eyes, and now as she looked at him more closely, compassion flooded her soul, for she saw something in his eyes. Sorrow, shame, repentance. She smiled again, but this time her smile spoke volumes - forgiveness, acceptance, reconciliation. Corrie and the former guard moved at the same time. As they grasped each other's hand, Corrie was flooded with a consuming love - God's love. She knew that in this moment, God was smiling.

The youngest of four children, Corrie ten Boom was born into a devout Christian family and grew up watching her father, a well-liked watchmaker, practice his art. She started training as a watchmaker in 1920 and in 1922, became the first woman to be a licensed watchmaker in the Netherlands.

However, watchmaking was not all her family was involved in - in 1942, two years after the Nazis invaded her country, Corrie's family became very involved in the Dutch underground, helping to hide Jews and protect them from the severe persecution they were facing. In time, the family built a secret compartment in Corrie's room for the refugees, and a large number of Jews received help in this way. Because of this, the ten Boom home came to be known as 'The Hiding Place'.

The entire family risked their lives daily to protect Jews, and one day in 1944, they would be found out. Corrie's family was betrayed by an informer, and they were all arrested. Corrie and her sister, Betsie, ended up at Ravensbruck camp together. There, in spite of their dire consequences and the unbearable prison life, they shared the gospel with their fellow prisoners, many of whom received Jesus as their Savior.

Eventually, four members of Corrie's family would die as a result of imprisonment - her father, Casper, died ten days after his arrest, her nephew was sent to a different camp and was never seen again, her brother contracted spinal tuberculosis and died after the war, and her sister Betsie died in camp.

However, Corrie survived her ordeal - not only physically, but spiritually as well. She always focused on forgiveness and never harbored any bitterness. When she discovered that her release was a clerical error, and that all the women her age were killed the week after she was released, Corrie said "God doesn't have problems, only plans"

At 53, Corrie began a worldwide ministry - she traveled to over 60 countries and had numerous speaking engagements. She passed away on her 91st birthday, but her message of God's love and forgiveness live on in the legacy of her life.

"Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart." Corrie ten Boom.

Source: http://meditationsofthesoul.squarespace.com/men-like-us/2010/10/16/corrie-ten-boom-april-15-1892-april-15-1983.html

Stories of Faith - Episode 56

Tears running down his face, he knocked on the doors of people he knew – looking for help. His feet ached from walking all day, but desperation fueled him. He had to keep going on. Not just for his sake, but for his wife and their unborn child. Their excitement at having their first child had turned to distress when they found out that the baby was too big to be delivered normally. Two weeks after the due date had passed, his wife’s cervix wasn’t dilating and the doctor told them that a C-Section would be needed to deliver the baby. The thought of the doctor’s ‘No service before payment’ policy spurred him on…he knocked and knocked on door after door. He had begged the doctor to deliver the baby and keep them in the hospital until he could find money to pay, but no. The doctor had refused. Tears in his eyes…pride turned to dust, he asked for money to help pay the doctor. Rejected time and again, he finally gave up for the day when nighttime approached. “Tomorrow is another day”, he thought to himself. “I’ll start again tomorrow.”

And he did…and the day after, but all to no avail. After the third day, the doctor decided to deliver the baby, but it was too late. The baby – a little girl – was gone. The doctor performed a D&C to remove the baby, and the baby had to be dismembered to bring her out. His heart broke as he looked at the baby that would have been his first child and he cried out “God, where are you?! I’ve obeyed you, why should it end this way?”

***

Born in Jaki, Benue State (Nigeria) in 1967, he was named ‘Dondo-Shater’ which means ‘Follow the Lord.’ His father was an evangelist and his parents worked together to bring the word of God to their small village. His father was the only Christian in the family and had joined with a few other Christians in the village to form a church. As a young child, Dondo had a mischievous streak and was always getting into one scrape or the other. Fueled by a natural curiosity, he liked taking things apart to see how they worked. He once punctured a clay pot and watched in fascination as his mother tried to cook with it. In spite of his destructive tendencies, Dondo was an honest child and always owned up to his mischief.

The death of Dondo’s father in 1982 threw him into a personal crisis. He had lost his best friend and confidant and a huge vacuum opened up inside him. He spiraled into depression and often heard his father’s voice speaking to him. His pain and distress over his father’s death drove him to prayer. One day while he was praying, God opened his eyes and he saw a revelation of his heart – he saw his heart open and full of darkness and evil. The image was so abhorrent to look at that he screamed “God, save me!” Dondo had always been conscious of his sin-nature, but for the first time he admitted that he was a sinner who needed the saving grace of God. The Holy Spirit came upon him and he started to speak in tongues. Like Dondo, several of his classmates also got saved at the same time and that was the beginning of a revival in the area. Dondo and his classmates preached to other classmates and everyone they met and within three weeks, 400 students were added to the fellowship.

Dondo’s love for missionary work was born when he watched a movie about Don Richardson, a missionary in Papua, New Guinea. The images from the movie followed Dondo as he extended his preaching ministry to the surrounding villages. Finally, his activities caught the attention of the church leadership and he was asked to stop preaching. Several church leaders interviewed Dondo and tried to convince him that he was teaching heresy and should stop. When their attempts failed, they located the man who had baptized Dondo as a child and asked him to speak to Dondo. The elderly clergyman met with Dondo and spoke to him in detail about the doctrines that he was teaching. After a lengthy talk, the old pastor met with the church leadership and gave them his opinion: all the doctrines that Dondo was teaching were Biblical. Unmoved, the church leadership ex-communicated Dondo.

Persecution against the fellowship increased so much that they could only meet in secret. However, this only strengthened Dondo’s resolve and he eventually became the prayer secretary for the FCS (Fellowship of Christian Students) branch in his school. In 1987, Dondo read a missionary magazine about the famine in Mali in 1983-1984. There had been a severe 2-year drought and people were dying of hunger. Missionaries had traveled to Mali to help distribute food and supplies to alleviate the effects of the famine. As he held the magazine in his hands, Dondo heard God say to him “The hunger in Mali is not only physical, but spiritual. I’ll send you to Mali.”

After more than a dozen years, God fulfilled His word and Dondo was sent to Mali as a missionary. He and his wife have faced some huge challenges including the death of their first child. But, they have been unwavering in their commitment to God and devotion to their mission. One year after the heartbreaking loss of their child, God blessed Dondo and his wife with a son and several years later, they were blessed with a second child – a daughter. Dondo and his family live in Mali and have worked to strengthen existing churches, and recruit missionaries for the villages where there are no Christians.

When asked how he would want to be remembered, Dondo said “This man gave himself to God as an article that God can use to purchase others into His Kingdom.”

Source: http://meditationsofthesoul.squarespace.com/men-like-us/

Stories of Faith - Episode 55

"The prayer for a miracle to save our baby son"

Cassie and Rick Littlejohn’s son clung to life in the NICU. Read on to learn how God’s hope arrived for thousands to see. 

On the day of the scheduled C-section, Cassie Littlejohn woke up anxious. 

It was as if she knew a storm was coming. Then God confirmed it in her devotional time. 

“Trust me. I’ve got this,” God spoke to her heart that morning. 

On the way to the hospital, Cassie prayed Jeremiah 29:11 about 30 times: “I have plans to prosper you; to give you a future and a hope.” 

That day, Levi was born limp and blue. He wasn’t breathing. 

Suffering from seizure-like activity, Levi was put on a ventilator and rushed to another hospital, where they put him in a medically induced coma by freezing his brain. 

An overwhelming crisis 

The storm ripped the Littlejohns' ordinary lives from their foundation on that Monday of Thanksgiving week. 

“Being a parent and not being able to fix or help your child, or take that pain from him, is quite overwhelming,” Cassie says. 

Cassie saw Levi for the first time in a transport unit covered with wires. 

Other women could hold their babies and bring them home. Cassie could only sit in a beautifully prepared nursery and stare at an empty crib, not knowing one day to the next whether Levi would make it. 

“It almost feels like your heart is being ripped out of your chest. You feel hopeless. You feel lost ... It can literally break you to your core, and it did,” Cassie says. 

Doctors speculated that Levi had choked on fluid inside the womb. They didn’t know how long he went without oxygen. He may also have suffered strokes in utero. 

After four days, Levi emerged from the coma. But over a sequence of weeks, he was hit with complications, one after another. 

They found a blood clot in his brain and a virus that attacked his heart and liver and caused those organs to become enlarged. 

Losing hope 

The doctors struggled to make sense of what was going on. After two weeks, the doctors were pessimistic Levi would make it. 

The only hope for Levi was a miracle. 

Cassie had to speak her faith over her child, even if she wasn’t always feeling it. She had to trust God’s promises. 

Family, friends, their network at NewSpring Spartanburg, and thousands of others on social media joined with them. 

“We prayed for the doctors to have wisdom. We prayed for healing. We prayed for intervention. We prayed for answers. We anointed Levi with oil and prayed Scripture over him.” 

One day, after crying out bitterly to God for answers, Cassie was riding home from the hospital with her husband in their pickup truck when a song came on the radio. The lyrics mentioned “coming home for Christmas.” 

In that moment, she felt God speak a promise to her heart that Levi would be home Christmas Eve. 

A dramatic turn 

That night, one of Cassie’s close friends had planned a special prayer time on Facebook. People in Spartanburg, across South Carolina, and all over the world were going to ask God for healing together at the same time: 8:30pm. 

For the first time, Cassie and Rick and everyone following Levi’s story, in person, online and through prayer chains, saw the true power of believing and praying in agreement with God. 

Overnight, Levi’s health made a dramatic turn. 

Many things changed all at once. He began to feed on a full bottle. He came off oxygen. His blood pressure regulated. 

It was like the difference between daylight and darkness, Cassie says. 

“He miraculously turned around,” she says. “It was all due to the prayer and God healing our Levi. I have no doubt.” 

Within two days, Levi seemed to be a brand new baby. Within a week and a half, he was home — on Christmas Eve night — just like God had promised. 

The doctors thought that wouldn’t happen for months. 

“Every day the doctors would come by and just marvel,” Cassie says about their visits to Levi's NICU quarters. 

The power of prayer 

From then on, prayer came alive for Cassie and Rick. It no longer seemed like a religious routine but a necessity. 

“Prayer is our tool to protect, heal, comfort,” Cassie says. “It’s our gift. It’s our shield. It’s our sword against Satan and the battles we fight.” 

Rick, in particular, saw the blessing of prayer. 

“He prays for everybody now. He stops what he is doing and prays right then. He has taught me to pray immediately,” Cassie says. “He sometimes will even go up to the NICU and pray for the children there.” 

The doctors warned the Littlejohns that Levi may face delays. But the now 3-year-old is healthy and developing normally. In fact, he is slightly ahead of his peers. 

For Cassie, Levi’s story is proof that God is the same today as He was when He parted the Red Sea, healed the lame, and raised Jesus from the dead. 

“When I look at Levi, I see the goodness of God. I see His favor, and I see His mercy and his hope,” Cassie says. 

Source: https://newspring.cc/stories/cassie-littlejohn

Stories of Faith - Episode 54

Despite the African heat, Walter Gowans shivered. He was miserable; malaria had laid him low. Seeing the desperate need of the Sudan for the gospel he had left his home in Canada, but here, barely a year later, in 1894, the mission pioneer was dying, separated from his co-workers.

Two other men had come out with him. The first, Rowland Bingham, had become so ill he had remained on the coast to procure supplies and act as a go-between. Thomas Kent, of Buffalo, New York, had traveled inland with Walter, but gone back to the coast to bring up the needed supplies. Meanwhile, an Emir who was raiding for slaves captured Walter, who was starving. When released, Walter tried to get back to the coast. He died alone in a town called Girku.

Walter was only twenty-six years old. Born on this day, September 17, 1868, he had developed a passion for the peoples of the Sudan. At that time, the name "Sudan" referred to all of Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia.

Rowland and Thomas were in the Sudan because of Walter. Walter's mother was sold on her son's vision to carry the gospel to the sixty million people of north central Africa. She invited preacher Rowland Bingham to her home. In her parlor, she laid Walter's dream before him. He was deeply moved. When Rowland left the Gowan residence that day, he was determined to join Walter. Hearing of their decision, the third man, Thomas Kent of Buffalo, New York, teamed up with them.

Unable to interest established mission agencies in their work, the three set out to tackle the work alone. They landed in Lagos, Nigeria. Their hope was to establish a work 500 miles inland in one of the most treacherous regions of the world. But the three immediately found themselves sick.

Thomas died, having brought the supplies up to where he had left Walter. Rowland was still desperately ill; and returned to Canada, where he took Walter's few belongings to Mrs. Gowan.

As Rowland remembered it, Mrs. Gowan met him with extended hand. "We stood there in silence. Then she said these words: 'Well, Mr. Bingham, I would rather have had Walter go out to the Sudan and die there, all alone, than have him home today, disobeying his Lord.' "

Walter's dream did not die with him. In 1900, Rowland Bingham made a second attempt to establish a mission work in Sudan. Again he failed. But the following year, he managed to send a team into the Sudan, and it established a base 500 miles from Lagos.

Walter's vision resulted in the formation of the Sudan Interior Mission. In the 1980s this mission merged with two others to become the Society for International Ministries. Today, thanks to such sacrifice, forty percent of Africans claim to be Christians.

Culled from https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/walter-gowans-life-drained-out-for-sudan-11630546.html

Stories of Faith - Episode 53

America’s first foreign missionary, Judson endured heart-rending suffering during his thirty-seven years in Burma. He left behind friends and family and a promising career in Boston. He had to master the complex Burmese language without the aid of any textbooks. He labored for six years before winning a single convert. While on the mission field he suffered the untimely deaths of two wives (he remarried after the death of his first wife), three children, and a number of coworkers. Judson was incarcerated for nearly two years in a mind-numbingly squalid prison—emaciated, filthy, shackled, and hanging upside-down much of the time. His few Burmese followers faced the constant threat of persecution. Still, Judson persevered in his work of preaching and translation.

When he returned to Boston for his only furlough, Judson was asked by a prominent printer, “Do you think the prospects are bright for the speedy conversion of the heathen?” Judson promptly replied, “As bright as the promises of God.” Today, thanks in large part to Judson’s pioneering work, there are at least four million Christians in Burma.

Culled from https://www.lausanne.org/content/serving-the-purposes-of-god-in-your-generation

Stories of Faith - Episode 52

The true story behind the song “I have decided to follow Jesus” according to Dr. P.P Job in “Why God Why”

‘I Have Decided to Follow Jesus’ is a Christian hymn originating from India. The lyrics are based on the last words of a man in Garo, Assam. 

About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales. As a result of this, many missionaries came to north-east India to spread the Gospel. The region known as Assam was comprised of hundreds of tribes who were primitive and aggressive head-hunters. Assam and its surrounding provinces was located in one of the most oppressive forms of Hinduism — a place where the caste system was entrenched. These provinces often prided themselves on the hostile reaction they gave foreigners. 

Into these hostile and aggressive communities, came a group of missionaries from the American Baptist Missions spreading the message of love, peace and hope in Jesus Christ. Naturally, they were not welcomed. One missionary, who had endured severe persecution, finally succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children. This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity. 

Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man said: 

“I have decided to follow Jesus and there is no turning back.” 

Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children. As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too?” 

But the man said these words in reply: 

“Though no one joins me, still I will follow Jesus”. 

The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down. In a moment she joined her two children in death. 

Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.”In the face of death the man uttered the final memorable lines: 

“The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back.” 

He was killed like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man. He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some remarkable power behind the family’s faith, and I too want to taste that faith.” 

In a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!” When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour. 

The formation of these words into a hymn is attributed to the Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh (picture above). The melody is also Indian, and entitled “Assam” after the region where the text originated. The song is based on the last words of Nokseng, a man from the Garo tribe of Assam (now Meghalaya and some in Assam), India. It is today the song of the Garo people. 

An American hymn editor, William Jensen Reynolds, composed an arrangement which was included in the 1959 Assembly Songbook. His version became a regular feature of Billy Graham’s evangelistic meetings in America and elsewhere, spreading its popularity.

Culled from http://charismatanews.org/2019/02/15/the-true-story-behind-the-song-i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus/ and https://pastorbradabley.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/the-incredible-story-behind-the-hymn-i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus/

Stories of Faith - Episode 51

The Story Behind the Hymn: Must I Go, and Empty-Handed? 

The story behind the hymn: "Must I Go, and Empty-Handed?" is short but remarkable. It was written by Charles Carroll Luther in 1877. Charles Luther (1847-1924) was a journalist and a lay evangelist before being ordained as a Baptist minister in 1886. He wrote about 25 hymn texts. In 1887, he heard Rev. A.G. Upham relate the story of a young man who was about to die. This young man had been a Christian for only one month and sorrowed because he'd had so little time to serve the Lord. He was thankful to the Lord for giving him salvation during his final hour. He, however, was grieved that he would not have an opportunity to serve the Lord nor to share Him with others. He said, “I am not afraid to die; Jesus saves me now. But must I go empty handed?” Upon hearing this account, Charles Luther wrote this hymn. Charles Luther then handed the lyrics to George C. Stebbins who did a wonderful job conveying the heart’s cry of this lovely hymn. The complete hymn was first published in 1878.

At death’s advent, may we be spared from sharing his lament. Sadly, because of the anxieties of this age and the deceitfulness of riches (Matt. 13:22), many Christians are stupefied by the lure of the world and consequently languish in their personal walk with Christ. This explains the prevailing state of spiritual barrenness among many of today’s Christians. Let us heed this hymn’s counsel to stop wasting our years in vanity and instead to give them to our Savior, to strive for the salvation of souls while we still have breath. May we pray to be spiritually energized to take up the burden of sharing the gospel, so that rather than living a life of vanity to later be regretted, we may redeem our time (Eph. 5:16) and bear fruit unto eternal life (John 4:36). 

“Must I go, and empty handed,” 

Thus my dear Redeemer meet?

Not one day of service give Him,

Lay no trophy at His feet? 

Chorus:

“Must I go, and empty handed?”

Must I meet my Savior so?

Not one soul with which to greet Him,

Must I empty handed go? 

Not at death I shrink or falter,

For my Savior saves me now;

But to meet Him empty handed,

Thought of that now clouds my brow. 

O the years in sinning wasted,

Could I but recall them now,

I would give them to my Savior,

To His will I’d gladly bow. 

O ye saints, arouse, be earnest,

Up and work while yet ’tis day;

Ere the night of death o’er take thee,

Strived for souls while still you may.

Culled from https://austinbhebe.wordpress.com/2014/11/12/must-i-go-an-empty-handed/