Written by Judy Johnson
March 13, 2008
I have been struggling with the parable of the ten virgins from the Bible for a long time - ever since I can remember - as a child trying to understand the meaning behind that parable. Jesus told it to his disciples and they wrote it down. Then a breakthrough came for me! First - understanding its important meaning for us as individuals. What makes us different from each other person is our 'character'. This came as a surprise, but this aspect is the key to understanding the parable.
How do we recognize what sets the five virgins apart from the other five virgins? Why are they called, 'the wise' and 'the foolish' virgins? Both the foolish and wise virgins have the exact same thing - the great assistant, Holy Spirit. The Spirit whispers into their ears, or puts ideas into their minds to know which is right or wrong. All the ten virgins loved Jesus. They serve the Lord. Then what is it that makes them different?
The Bible talks of the 'extra oil' and that puzzled me for a long time. I first thought it was extra 'Holy Spirit' to live in our hearts. I was almost right. But there is more to it than that.
A breakthrough came when I realized the place of 'character'. I wondered what does it have to do with the 'extra oil' that the five wise virgins have.
When they woke up, the five foolish virgins found out they did not have 'extra oil'. They went and asked the five wise virgins to give them some of the oil that the wise virgins had saved.
What does character have to do with the 'extra oil'? First, we need to understand what character is. Character is what you are thinking and feeling even when people are not around or looking. It is the real you. I would like to quote from D.L. Woody's writing, "Character is what you are in the dark."
The five wise virgins asked the Holy Spirit to help build their character - to be a better person. The Holy Spirit is to help shape their thinking and feeling. It is their responsibility every day is to ask the Holy Spirit to step into their hearts to renew their spiritual commitment to God. Also, the Holy Spirit helps them to improve their relationship with God. That is the 'extra oil' Jesus was talking about with the five wise virgins. It is found in the character and the fruits of the Spirit. It is shown as written in Galatians 5:22, 23. The Holy Spirit cultivated their thoughts and feelings. Thus, the true character of Jesus was shown in their hearts. This gives them the 'seal' of eternal life from Jesus - to be with Jesus, the groom.
When the groom finally comes, all ten virgins wake up from sleeping and find their oil has run out while they were sleeping. The five foolish virgins panicked when they discovered they were not prepared, and did not have 'extra oil'.
The five foolish virgins did not bother to ask the Holy Spirit to come into their hearts. The five foolish virgins did not bother to change their way of life. They did not let the Holy Spirit help build their foolish virgins' thoughts and feelings so that they revolved around Jesus. That is the important part they have missed. They may have gone to church regularly, paid their tithe faithfully, and been very involved in serving in the 'duties ' within the church. Life may have become so hectic [busy] that they may have had no time set apart to pray, study and talk with Jesus. They did not invite Him into their hearts daily or, they may not have wanted to change their lifestyle. They were still the same person as before. They may feel no need to improve the character of their thoughts and feelings in their daily life. They may think they have plenty of time to 'enjoy' life before they change their lifestyle.
Too often someone has told me that they would wait until they get to their forty's or sixty's to change their life. They think to wait until they are getting old, then invite Jesus into their lives. I wonder - what if their plane crashed, or they had an auto accident or were shot by some drive-by gangster. What if their life is taken away from them and they are unprepared, and all is utterly lost. How that grieves me!
On the other hand, the interesting part that strikes me as odd is this. All the ten virgins heard that the groom was coming around the corner. When the five foolish virgins found out that their oil ran out, they turned to ask the five wise virgins to share their 'extra oil' with them.
That strikes me right there. How did the five foolish virgins know what they needed to do? They needed their lamps lit so the groom can identify who they are. The five foolish virgins do not have light in their lamps because they did not have 'extra oil'. The five foolish virgins are totally left in the darkness.
Now, the five wise virgin's response to the five foolish virgins is: 'We are sorry and we cannot spare the extra oil with you. If we give it to you, we will not be enough left for us. You must go and buy it at the store.' The five foolish virgins hurried off in search for the store in the middle of night.
Stop there a moment. Why can not the five wise virgins share the extra oil with the five foolish virgins? Let 's go back to the 'character' that I was talking about. Our character is our thoughts and feelings in the dark when no one is looking. The very nature of your decisions and your choices that comes up in the light, is who you are. It is like a pearl produced in the oyster. When it is pried open, the beautiful shape of the pearl come to the light, to please the eyes of the creator. That is like the secret work of Holy Spirit cultvated inside your heart. When the character is opened, the true colors of your character appear.
The whole point is, the foolish virgin cannot copy your character, because you cannot give them your own personal experience with Jesus. Jesus made it impossible for them to get it from you. Your character is like a blueprint. Character is not transferable. It cannot pass on to another person. It is your own individual character. Jesus makes you that way. You will have to tell them to go and ask the Holy Spirit to give it to them, but the 'store' is closed in the middle of the night. There is a time coming when the door to the Holy Spirit will be closed. No one can then get that holy oil from their neighbor.
Character is the only thing that the five wise virgins can carry with them to the groom's wedding. It is hard to believe how very boldly the Groom says to the five foolish virgins knocking at the door, 'I am sorry - I do not know who you are.' It is too then late for them to change when Jesus, the groom, comes.
Let us think about how serious this is. We must get that extra oil NOW!
Edited by PB
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
What would happen to you?
Written by Judy Johnson
March 21, 2008
The other night as I laid on my side of our master bed and I was thinking. Questions went twirling through my mind. What would happen to me if I asked the Lord to show me my future? What if I could be allowed to see the all the different results that would be the end of the several different paths - if I were to choose that path? If I could see would it then be easier to make my decision if I have seen ahead and choose them result that satisfied me.
Suppose I was shown several different results of my choices at the end of each path. I would perhaps became confused, or torn between these choices. Which would I choose of two paths or three paths? Perhaps there would be too many choices that would be shown to me. I might feel scared and not sure which should I take . . I cannot take two different paths at the same time.
Now I may perhaps understand why God does not tell me everything that will happen to me if I choose that path, or the other path. I might feel scared to make any decision for fear of making a terrible mistake. If I had known several different paths, I would have become worried so much and get sick and die. I could not handle the stress of worrying too much.
If I was a child, I would not want to take over the job of parenting. If I took over parenting while I was a little girl, I could not handle the 'adult problems' very well on my own. Let the older parents do the worrying, and let the children play and have good times until they are old enough to take on parenting.
The answer is already given to the question, 'What would happen to you?' It would be best to be blindfolded, and learn to trust the Lord to lead in our life.
I am happy to tell you that I learned something of great value in trusting while being blindfolded. I watched on the TV the other day about a couple who were seated in their van. Their therapist told one driver to put on the blindfold. And, the driver was told to trust his partner telling him which direction he should drive when parking in the parking lot. The partner shouted to the blindfolded male driver,
'Go left, left, left!'
'NO NO NO! Go back a little to the right.'
'Yes, yes! That's right!'
'Oh, there is a post ahead of you on the left. Swerve to the right a little further.'
'Yes, you are doing the right thing.'
'Go, go, very slowly! Now, you are entering the parking zone.'
'Let's drive straight a few more feet. Stop! STOP!'
'There you are! Finally turn to 'P' on your gear stick and park the van now.'
There were several other couples who got messed up when the drivers got confused when listening to the voic. Sometimes the partner was not clear enough, or did not speak soon enough before they hit some post or an other car beside them in the parking lot.
But with God. It is different. God would be patient, speaking in His calm voice. He directs us where we should go even while we are blindfolded to our future. We are to listen to His voice. We must listen very carefully, not going ahead prematurely or getting ourselves hurt. God knows where you are going. Let Him take care of worrying about your future.
God would help us brace for any thing that befalls us. This is a lot less frightening than knowing everything ahead that would further scare us.
Edited by PB
March 21, 2008
The other night as I laid on my side of our master bed and I was thinking. Questions went twirling through my mind. What would happen to me if I asked the Lord to show me my future? What if I could be allowed to see the all the different results that would be the end of the several different paths - if I were to choose that path? If I could see would it then be easier to make my decision if I have seen ahead and choose them result that satisfied me.
Suppose I was shown several different results of my choices at the end of each path. I would perhaps became confused, or torn between these choices. Which would I choose of two paths or three paths? Perhaps there would be too many choices that would be shown to me. I might feel scared and not sure which should I take . . I cannot take two different paths at the same time.
Now I may perhaps understand why God does not tell me everything that will happen to me if I choose that path, or the other path. I might feel scared to make any decision for fear of making a terrible mistake. If I had known several different paths, I would have become worried so much and get sick and die. I could not handle the stress of worrying too much.
If I was a child, I would not want to take over the job of parenting. If I took over parenting while I was a little girl, I could not handle the 'adult problems' very well on my own. Let the older parents do the worrying, and let the children play and have good times until they are old enough to take on parenting.
The answer is already given to the question, 'What would happen to you?' It would be best to be blindfolded, and learn to trust the Lord to lead in our life.
I am happy to tell you that I learned something of great value in trusting while being blindfolded. I watched on the TV the other day about a couple who were seated in their van. Their therapist told one driver to put on the blindfold. And, the driver was told to trust his partner telling him which direction he should drive when parking in the parking lot. The partner shouted to the blindfolded male driver,
'Go left, left, left!'
'NO NO NO! Go back a little to the right.'
'Yes, yes! That's right!'
'Oh, there is a post ahead of you on the left. Swerve to the right a little further.'
'Yes, you are doing the right thing.'
'Go, go, very slowly! Now, you are entering the parking zone.'
'Let's drive straight a few more feet. Stop! STOP!'
'There you are! Finally turn to 'P' on your gear stick and park the van now.'
There were several other couples who got messed up when the drivers got confused when listening to the voic. Sometimes the partner was not clear enough, or did not speak soon enough before they hit some post or an other car beside them in the parking lot.
But with God. It is different. God would be patient, speaking in His calm voice. He directs us where we should go even while we are blindfolded to our future. We are to listen to His voice. We must listen very carefully, not going ahead prematurely or getting ourselves hurt. God knows where you are going. Let Him take care of worrying about your future.
God would help us brace for any thing that befalls us. This is a lot less frightening than knowing everything ahead that would further scare us.
Edited by PB
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Pass on the Roses
Written by Judy Johnson
March 10, 2008
I have grown really Red.
All those around me have grown Red.
Out I came from a thorn...
Sorry, I hurt your fingertip when I
touched your fingertip.
Sorry, I do not offer many options to
brighten your day.
My favorite color is red.
I was surprised when I touched your
fingertip. I saw that you also have red color in you.
You have red color inside you.
The red color is outside on me.
My skin is red.
All around me are a lot of petals.
I do not know why you pick me.
Even with the thorns I have.
I do not feel I can brighten your day
but you picked me anyway.
I want to say thank you for choosing me.
I opened my heart to you.
You can smell my love for you.
You share your love with me
by sending me to share your love with others.
You placed me in the center of the table
to share the scent of my heart
with your loved ones around me.
I loved to hear you say,
'I love you' hundreds, even thousands of times.
You send me away to many different homes
and hospitals to cheer someone up, and
make them feel really loved.
You send me away to remind someone that you really love them.
May I remember who takes care of me, and feeds me.
Thus, it is you that takes care of me, and feeds me until
I reach full maturity.
I grow old fast - within two weeks or a few weeks after
you cut me from my birth.
I know you will continue to take care of new ones that replace me
after I die, to show others that you loved me.
You CANNOT keep me a secret.
But you can tell others the GREATEST secret.
How to keep me young, where there is nothing that withers and dies.
You will find me in Heaven after Jesus returns.
Now you die knowing that
you are well loved, and cared for.
Thank you for taking care of me, and loving me for who
I am - even with the thorns.
Edited by PB
March 10, 2008
I have grown really Red.
All those around me have grown Red.
Out I came from a thorn...
Sorry, I hurt your fingertip when I
touched your fingertip.
Sorry, I do not offer many options to
brighten your day.
My favorite color is red.
I was surprised when I touched your
fingertip. I saw that you also have red color in you.
You have red color inside you.
The red color is outside on me.
My skin is red.
All around me are a lot of petals.
I do not know why you pick me.
Even with the thorns I have.
I do not feel I can brighten your day
but you picked me anyway.
I want to say thank you for choosing me.
I opened my heart to you.
You can smell my love for you.
You share your love with me
by sending me to share your love with others.
You placed me in the center of the table
to share the scent of my heart
with your loved ones around me.
I loved to hear you say,
'I love you' hundreds, even thousands of times.
You send me away to many different homes
and hospitals to cheer someone up, and
make them feel really loved.
You send me away to remind someone that you really love them.
May I remember who takes care of me, and feeds me.
Thus, it is you that takes care of me, and feeds me until
I reach full maturity.
I grow old fast - within two weeks or a few weeks after
you cut me from my birth.
I know you will continue to take care of new ones that replace me
after I die, to show others that you loved me.
You CANNOT keep me a secret.
But you can tell others the GREATEST secret.
How to keep me young, where there is nothing that withers and dies.
You will find me in Heaven after Jesus returns.
Now you die knowing that
you are well loved, and cared for.
Thank you for taking care of me, and loving me for who
I am - even with the thorns.
Edited by PB
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
I Enjoy When You Enjoy
Written by Judy Johnson
March 3, 2008
I enjoy when I see you enjoy the things I have given to you, says the Lord. Suppose you do not enjoy the things I have given to you, then I would not find it fun to enjoy them without you.
I have given you mountains to climb to the top and you can say, 'I have beaten against all the odds.'
I have given you a mind to build the tallest buildings so you would say, 'I have built the tallest building in the whole world.'
I have given you a ladder to climb to success, and say, 'I have earned my way to the top to became president.'
I have given you a sense of the time of the day so you can say, 'I have gone my way without a clock '
I have given you both feet so you can accomplish your goal, saying , 'I have acheived my goal today.'
I have given you direction to receive 'grace' - then you can say, 'I have thanked the Lord for saving me today.'
I have given you a rock to sit on and mediate, and realize - 'This is the day I trust the Lord.'
I have given you seeds so that you would say, 'I have harvested what I have sown.'
I have put my words into your mouth, so you would know what to say to the King, 'I have spoken what the Lord has told me.'
All these things I have given to you, They are all for you to enjoy because I have helped you. I can enjoy watching you begin to appreciate the gifts I have given to you, said the Lord.
Edited by PB
March 3, 2008
I enjoy when I see you enjoy the things I have given to you, says the Lord. Suppose you do not enjoy the things I have given to you, then I would not find it fun to enjoy them without you.
I have given you mountains to climb to the top and you can say, 'I have beaten against all the odds.'
I have given you a mind to build the tallest buildings so you would say, 'I have built the tallest building in the whole world.'
I have given you a ladder to climb to success, and say, 'I have earned my way to the top to became president.'
I have given you a sense of the time of the day so you can say, 'I have gone my way without a clock '
I have given you both feet so you can accomplish your goal, saying , 'I have acheived my goal today.'
I have given you direction to receive 'grace' - then you can say, 'I have thanked the Lord for saving me today.'
I have given you a rock to sit on and mediate, and realize - 'This is the day I trust the Lord.'
I have given you seeds so that you would say, 'I have harvested what I have sown.'
I have put my words into your mouth, so you would know what to say to the King, 'I have spoken what the Lord has told me.'
All these things I have given to you, They are all for you to enjoy because I have helped you. I can enjoy watching you begin to appreciate the gifts I have given to you, said the Lord.
Edited by PB
A Shove - a true story happened in 1971
Written by Judy Johnson
February 17, 2008
Over the weekend, after the church potluck on Sabbath afternoon we went on a hike to the Lord's Hill park in Everett in northwest of Washington. A few of us, Suzy Best, Gay Frizzel, Joe Shabro and his wife, Kim, and their two kids, Jeff Thompson, Mike Johnson and me along with our two kids decided to take a shortcut down through the thick woods.
It had rained in the morning leaving the trail a little muddy as the clouds cleared in the afternoon. It is really a rough hike where there are a lot of fallen logs. We had to pull out legs over the log each time the logs crossed the path. It was late in the afternoon. Pretty soon it would be getting dark. It was still in the winter season. I became a little worried. What if it gets dark? We would not see our way back because we did not bring any flashlights with us. I would walk like a drunk person because of my poor balance walking, swaggering all over the trails like a blind person trying to find my way back.
We had to hurry along in fear of getting lost. No one knew about our plans to go hiking in the Lord's Hill park. The park went far into the farming country.
Let me tell you a story that came to my mind as we were hiking along in Everett, WA on Sabbath. The story was first told to us by Arlene Belser, and then updated by David Trexler and George Belser recently. A bit additional information by Arthur Griffith a while ago. The story was about an experience the deaf group had in 1971 during the fall season on a warm Saturday afternoon, August 29th, on the top of Larch Mountain situated above the beautiful Multnomah Fall, Oregon.
There was a group of nine deaf adults, Pastor David Trexler and his wife Francisca, Pastor George Belser and his wife Arlene, Harry Britzius, Pastor Arthur Griffith and his wife Alyce, Lorna (Yuros) Strait, and Gary Holden.
They were having a picnic on Saturday afternoon on the top of Multnomah Falls. When it is getting a little late. They looked at their watches, and they thought maybe would have a little time left to go on hiking down the Larch Mountain by Multnomah Falls. Arthur Griffith did not go down hiking with them. He drove his car going down the gorge to the bottom of the gorge by a lodge. He was to pick them up and bring them back upon the top of the Multnomah Falls because several of hikers have left their cars up there on the top of the Multnomah Falls.
While Arthur Griffith was waiting for the hikers down by a lodge. The hikers hurried down the trails. They came upon the two split trails. One hiker voted and wanted to go down on the left trail, but the other hikers voted go down the horse trails on right trail. Seven hikers outvoted one hiker. One hiker had no choice but went along with the seven other hikers. That brought on the unforgotten experience they have that night.
While the hikers continued walking down the horse trail. Arlene noticed something is wrong. The sun is going down behind their back, not going down by their side. Arlene realized that they might had went the wrong way going west instead of going down south. Arlene halted the deaf group, and she explained them about the sun going down behind them. They looked at their watches, and checked the distance of the sun going down. They hurried back and tried to find their way back down on Larch Mountain. They came up onto a little cabin. No one were home, and was locked. They would not get in. They have decided to use the tree-lined fire escape route from a cabin going down.
The darkness were settling in. The hikers were getting worried. Several hikers have poor balance once the darkness settled in. They would not walk down any further. The hikers were forced to stay overnight upon the hill. They wore only light short sheelves, and pants, and summer dresses. They did not bring their sweaters with them. The night was getting chilly. They huddled and sat close together to keep themselves warm during the chilly night. They would not see each other in dark. They only can feel the hands when were signed to each other like the blind and deaf person do.
Francisca got very cold and was in the danger of getting hypothermia. Her husband, David sat by her side, feel her shaking so badly. He alerted the two other females hikers by guided their hands toward and touched Francisca's body to feel her shaking. Several female hikers finally understand what David wanted the female hikers to do. They took turns stood next to Francisca to warm her up. Lucky for Francisca, Arlene had brought two little dogs with her on the hike. The dogs helped warm Francisca up by sitting on her lap to hold to her chest to keep warm.
Arthur Griffith was at a lodge waiting for their arrival. But, no sign of the hikers show up. He got really worried, and felt very uneasy all night while he was sitting in his car by the lodge in the park lot.
Alyce Griffith and Harry Britzius had gone down early, and hitch a ride to get some help at lodge but they were not allowed by sheriff to return to the deaf group. Arthur was so relieved when he saw Alyce and Harry showed up at the lodge. They told him what were happening.
The group of hikers was left sitting in the cold in total darkness through the night. They gave up waiting, and decided to send David Trexler and Gary Holden down the rough hill. They both slid down the rocks on the path several times in total darkness. They were using the belt to hold on to the ends to keep them together. When they got close to the bottom of the hill, they saw a shining light moving around in the dark woods. They tried to shout to the person with the flashlight but the person did not zoom on on these two, David and Gary. They were puzzled as to why the person would not come to them. They tried to rush to the person with the flashlight. They were surprised to find it was Gus Cordero.
It was no wonder that Gus could not hear David and Gary shouting because Gus was deaf. Gus explained to them that when he heard the news, he rushed home to get his rope and climbing equipment because he was a certified climber. He decided to go up on the search for the deaf group. Gus felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to go on another route and attempt to climb while the sheriff and the search and rescue group did not do anything.
Gus knew what to do. Once he got up to the deaf group, he built a fire to warm everyone up. He brought with him some food to get the hikers' sugar level back to normal. Then when everyone felt warm enough and ready to go down the hill, he had one person hold the rope while he himself held the other end of the rope. Each person held on to the rope, one by one, while walking down the hill in a single file at a time. Gus led them down the hill safely. He is a real hero.
Lorna's father is one that called the sheriff, and arranged for the Explorer group to check on the hikers. Because the deaf group did not show up at a surprise farewell party set up by her father for Lorna while she is up stranded in the hill. Gus Cordero were at the farewell party waiting for the deaf group, but no sign of them show up that got him worried when he heard the news. That is how he found out and was up with the hikers, helped them brought down safely.
Then a group of the grown men, Explorers, came up and tried to bring everyone down from the slope at the same time. Gus tried to warn them to not bring everyone down at the same time, but they would not listen to him. The foot of one Explorer clumsily dislodged the rock caused a rock to tumble down the path. The rock sideswiped Lorna's side but hit Francisca on the right side of her body because she had been told to move to left side of the path waiting for everyone to arrive down safely.
Francisca got seriously injured when the rock hit her because she would not hear the rock coming toward her. The rock that had tumbled down to Francisca was about a foot in diameter. David rushed to his wife's side. He had to take a boy who was standing at Francisca out of the way. David kneeled down to comfort her. Francisca was taken to the hospital by an ambulance to treat the injury that she had received.
Everyone was relieved that the hikers got down safely and were all alive. The Oregonian newsletter carried the story and was on the national news about the deaf group getting down safely after they had spent the night on the gorge. David Trexler told me that as he looked back at the gorge in the daylight he was surprised to see how rough it was to climb down that rocky cliff through the fire escape route. He thanked God for guiding them down safely. There were two other hikers in the Three Sisters mountain area in Oregon near Bend who got lost and died at the same time the deaf group got stranded up on the hill. Arlene added, she said, while the other two hikers died in the Three Sisters mountain, it was snowing there. But, at the Larch Mountain, even through it was chilly night, but it did not snow that night. She knew that the Lord protected the deaf group that night.
Now, back to our own situation, I wondered what is going to happen to us?
We continued to march on in the single line. When I saw the log, I leaped over the log and suddenly my feet landed into a mud rut. My right shoe got stuck in the mud. When I tried to pull out my shoe, my shoe got stuck in the rut route and my sock and foot got muddy. I lost my balance but I was fortunately that a friend ahead of me, Gay Frizzel caught me and held on to me as I stood with one feet up in the air.
The other friend, Joe Shabro stood behind me retrieved my muddy black shoe and handled it to me to put it back on. A fresh thought rushed through my mind. How good it is for a real friend to help another friend when something has happened.
I looked ahead on the trail. I saw my husband turn around and come back t check on me. he shook his head and smiled when he learned of my misfortune with my shoe. He stayed along in front of me, and he keep looking back behind him to check on me to make sure everything was going ok.
The time had came to walk extra hard as I saw the steep hill before me. I am the last person and got behind from the group. Mike got behind me and pushed and shoved me up the hill to help get me up and over the hill quickly. Once again another steep hill came up and he pushed me again to help me got over the hill. At last an opening in the trail became visible. By now it is pretty dark and the sunset is just beautiful. I maneged to try and take a few pictures of the group walking as their shadows were ahead of me in contrast to the bright yellow sunset ahead of us.
When we got to the last hill, I realized we were back to the car parking lot. We were relieved to know we got back just in time before the darkness settled in. I was thankful for Mike's shoves to help me make it up the hills and to keep on going. That made me remember the advice that Paul tells the Christian people who lived in the city of Thessalonian. Paul told them to comfort one another and encourage one another to stay faithful to God especially during the last days before Jesus comes again.
Edited by AMB, GB
February 17, 2008
Over the weekend, after the church potluck on Sabbath afternoon we went on a hike to the Lord's Hill park in Everett in northwest of Washington. A few of us, Suzy Best, Gay Frizzel, Joe Shabro and his wife, Kim, and their two kids, Jeff Thompson, Mike Johnson and me along with our two kids decided to take a shortcut down through the thick woods.
It had rained in the morning leaving the trail a little muddy as the clouds cleared in the afternoon. It is really a rough hike where there are a lot of fallen logs. We had to pull out legs over the log each time the logs crossed the path. It was late in the afternoon. Pretty soon it would be getting dark. It was still in the winter season. I became a little worried. What if it gets dark? We would not see our way back because we did not bring any flashlights with us. I would walk like a drunk person because of my poor balance walking, swaggering all over the trails like a blind person trying to find my way back.
We had to hurry along in fear of getting lost. No one knew about our plans to go hiking in the Lord's Hill park. The park went far into the farming country.
Let me tell you a story that came to my mind as we were hiking along in Everett, WA on Sabbath. The story was first told to us by Arlene Belser, and then updated by David Trexler and George Belser recently. A bit additional information by Arthur Griffith a while ago. The story was about an experience the deaf group had in 1971 during the fall season on a warm Saturday afternoon, August 29th, on the top of Larch Mountain situated above the beautiful Multnomah Fall, Oregon.
There was a group of nine deaf adults, Pastor David Trexler and his wife Francisca, Pastor George Belser and his wife Arlene, Harry Britzius, Pastor Arthur Griffith and his wife Alyce, Lorna (Yuros) Strait, and Gary Holden.
They were having a picnic on Saturday afternoon on the top of Multnomah Falls. When it is getting a little late. They looked at their watches, and they thought maybe would have a little time left to go on hiking down the Larch Mountain by Multnomah Falls. Arthur Griffith did not go down hiking with them. He drove his car going down the gorge to the bottom of the gorge by a lodge. He was to pick them up and bring them back upon the top of the Multnomah Falls because several of hikers have left their cars up there on the top of the Multnomah Falls.
While Arthur Griffith was waiting for the hikers down by a lodge. The hikers hurried down the trails. They came upon the two split trails. One hiker voted and wanted to go down on the left trail, but the other hikers voted go down the horse trails on right trail. Seven hikers outvoted one hiker. One hiker had no choice but went along with the seven other hikers. That brought on the unforgotten experience they have that night.
While the hikers continued walking down the horse trail. Arlene noticed something is wrong. The sun is going down behind their back, not going down by their side. Arlene realized that they might had went the wrong way going west instead of going down south. Arlene halted the deaf group, and she explained them about the sun going down behind them. They looked at their watches, and checked the distance of the sun going down. They hurried back and tried to find their way back down on Larch Mountain. They came up onto a little cabin. No one were home, and was locked. They would not get in. They have decided to use the tree-lined fire escape route from a cabin going down.
The darkness were settling in. The hikers were getting worried. Several hikers have poor balance once the darkness settled in. They would not walk down any further. The hikers were forced to stay overnight upon the hill. They wore only light short sheelves, and pants, and summer dresses. They did not bring their sweaters with them. The night was getting chilly. They huddled and sat close together to keep themselves warm during the chilly night. They would not see each other in dark. They only can feel the hands when were signed to each other like the blind and deaf person do.
Francisca got very cold and was in the danger of getting hypothermia. Her husband, David sat by her side, feel her shaking so badly. He alerted the two other females hikers by guided their hands toward and touched Francisca's body to feel her shaking. Several female hikers finally understand what David wanted the female hikers to do. They took turns stood next to Francisca to warm her up. Lucky for Francisca, Arlene had brought two little dogs with her on the hike. The dogs helped warm Francisca up by sitting on her lap to hold to her chest to keep warm.
Arthur Griffith was at a lodge waiting for their arrival. But, no sign of the hikers show up. He got really worried, and felt very uneasy all night while he was sitting in his car by the lodge in the park lot.
Alyce Griffith and Harry Britzius had gone down early, and hitch a ride to get some help at lodge but they were not allowed by sheriff to return to the deaf group. Arthur was so relieved when he saw Alyce and Harry showed up at the lodge. They told him what were happening.
The group of hikers was left sitting in the cold in total darkness through the night. They gave up waiting, and decided to send David Trexler and Gary Holden down the rough hill. They both slid down the rocks on the path several times in total darkness. They were using the belt to hold on to the ends to keep them together. When they got close to the bottom of the hill, they saw a shining light moving around in the dark woods. They tried to shout to the person with the flashlight but the person did not zoom on on these two, David and Gary. They were puzzled as to why the person would not come to them. They tried to rush to the person with the flashlight. They were surprised to find it was Gus Cordero.
It was no wonder that Gus could not hear David and Gary shouting because Gus was deaf. Gus explained to them that when he heard the news, he rushed home to get his rope and climbing equipment because he was a certified climber. He decided to go up on the search for the deaf group. Gus felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to go on another route and attempt to climb while the sheriff and the search and rescue group did not do anything.
Gus knew what to do. Once he got up to the deaf group, he built a fire to warm everyone up. He brought with him some food to get the hikers' sugar level back to normal. Then when everyone felt warm enough and ready to go down the hill, he had one person hold the rope while he himself held the other end of the rope. Each person held on to the rope, one by one, while walking down the hill in a single file at a time. Gus led them down the hill safely. He is a real hero.
Lorna's father is one that called the sheriff, and arranged for the Explorer group to check on the hikers. Because the deaf group did not show up at a surprise farewell party set up by her father for Lorna while she is up stranded in the hill. Gus Cordero were at the farewell party waiting for the deaf group, but no sign of them show up that got him worried when he heard the news. That is how he found out and was up with the hikers, helped them brought down safely.
Then a group of the grown men, Explorers, came up and tried to bring everyone down from the slope at the same time. Gus tried to warn them to not bring everyone down at the same time, but they would not listen to him. The foot of one Explorer clumsily dislodged the rock caused a rock to tumble down the path. The rock sideswiped Lorna's side but hit Francisca on the right side of her body because she had been told to move to left side of the path waiting for everyone to arrive down safely.
Francisca got seriously injured when the rock hit her because she would not hear the rock coming toward her. The rock that had tumbled down to Francisca was about a foot in diameter. David rushed to his wife's side. He had to take a boy who was standing at Francisca out of the way. David kneeled down to comfort her. Francisca was taken to the hospital by an ambulance to treat the injury that she had received.
Everyone was relieved that the hikers got down safely and were all alive. The Oregonian newsletter carried the story and was on the national news about the deaf group getting down safely after they had spent the night on the gorge. David Trexler told me that as he looked back at the gorge in the daylight he was surprised to see how rough it was to climb down that rocky cliff through the fire escape route. He thanked God for guiding them down safely. There were two other hikers in the Three Sisters mountain area in Oregon near Bend who got lost and died at the same time the deaf group got stranded up on the hill. Arlene added, she said, while the other two hikers died in the Three Sisters mountain, it was snowing there. But, at the Larch Mountain, even through it was chilly night, but it did not snow that night. She knew that the Lord protected the deaf group that night.
Now, back to our own situation, I wondered what is going to happen to us?
We continued to march on in the single line. When I saw the log, I leaped over the log and suddenly my feet landed into a mud rut. My right shoe got stuck in the mud. When I tried to pull out my shoe, my shoe got stuck in the rut route and my sock and foot got muddy. I lost my balance but I was fortunately that a friend ahead of me, Gay Frizzel caught me and held on to me as I stood with one feet up in the air.
The other friend, Joe Shabro stood behind me retrieved my muddy black shoe and handled it to me to put it back on. A fresh thought rushed through my mind. How good it is for a real friend to help another friend when something has happened.
I looked ahead on the trail. I saw my husband turn around and come back t check on me. he shook his head and smiled when he learned of my misfortune with my shoe. He stayed along in front of me, and he keep looking back behind him to check on me to make sure everything was going ok.
The time had came to walk extra hard as I saw the steep hill before me. I am the last person and got behind from the group. Mike got behind me and pushed and shoved me up the hill to help get me up and over the hill quickly. Once again another steep hill came up and he pushed me again to help me got over the hill. At last an opening in the trail became visible. By now it is pretty dark and the sunset is just beautiful. I maneged to try and take a few pictures of the group walking as their shadows were ahead of me in contrast to the bright yellow sunset ahead of us.
When we got to the last hill, I realized we were back to the car parking lot. We were relieved to know we got back just in time before the darkness settled in. I was thankful for Mike's shoves to help me make it up the hills and to keep on going. That made me remember the advice that Paul tells the Christian people who lived in the city of Thessalonian. Paul told them to comfort one another and encourage one another to stay faithful to God especially during the last days before Jesus comes again.
Edited by AMB, GB
Can We be Everywhere?
Written by Judy Johnson
March 5, 2008
'Alice, Alice, Alice! I want you to come help me with my homework!', Carolynn called from her bedroom where she lived in a cozy old fashioned log cabin.
Alice thought to herself, 'Oh no, I want to go to help the kids at the shelter.'
A phone rang in the hall. Alice grabbed the phone and said, 'Hello?'
'Hey, Alice!' came a voice over the scratchy phone line, 'I have not seen you for a long time. I am wondering if we can get together tonight to practice the familiar song on the piano for the seniors home?'
Alice's heart sank, and for she was torn in three opposite directions. She wondered what to do. She wished she could be everywhere at the same time.
She knelt in the hallway, and whispered a prayer, saying, 'Lord, I do not know which is the most important thing to do first. I really wish I could do all these things at the same time but I can not because I am human with my limited abilities. Please tell me which one I should attend to first, whichever you think is the most important thing to do. In my life, I want to make a difference for others, Lord. Amen.'
She started to think out loud, 'If I go to the shelter and let the girl cry on my shoulder, I can comfort her. I can tell that girl that the Lord loves her so much.'
Alice thought for a moment, then said to herself, 'I want to know when do we need to play the piano? If it is for next week, then I can reschedule the date to practice with my friend, Angelia.'
'As for my sister, Carolynn. I will go and help her for a short time. She can work on finding solutions by herself while I am gone to see the girls shelter this evening.'
Alice felt so much better after talking out loud to herself. She thanked God for helping see her through her frustrating time. Off she went to the girls shelter.
We cannot be everywhere at one time, or do everything we would like to do. Sometimes many people need our help but it is more than we can do.
We will have to choose to make a difference to one person at a time. There were many starfish dying along the edge of the shore. A young boy was making a difference to those star fish by throwing one dying star fish at a time back into the water. One man came by and saw what the young boy was doing and said to him, 'Hey, it is no use to throw the dying starfish back into the sea because they will all die, anyway. But the young boy told the man, 'Sir, I am making a difference to that starfish and that one and that one, as he threw them back in one at a time'.
When ever we help one person than that person can turn around and help another person. It is nicer to help others than to stay at home doing nothing.
Edited by AMB
March 5, 2008
'Alice, Alice, Alice! I want you to come help me with my homework!', Carolynn called from her bedroom where she lived in a cozy old fashioned log cabin.
Alice thought to herself, 'Oh no, I want to go to help the kids at the shelter.'
A phone rang in the hall. Alice grabbed the phone and said, 'Hello?'
'Hey, Alice!' came a voice over the scratchy phone line, 'I have not seen you for a long time. I am wondering if we can get together tonight to practice the familiar song on the piano for the seniors home?'
Alice's heart sank, and for she was torn in three opposite directions. She wondered what to do. She wished she could be everywhere at the same time.
She knelt in the hallway, and whispered a prayer, saying, 'Lord, I do not know which is the most important thing to do first. I really wish I could do all these things at the same time but I can not because I am human with my limited abilities. Please tell me which one I should attend to first, whichever you think is the most important thing to do. In my life, I want to make a difference for others, Lord. Amen.'
She started to think out loud, 'If I go to the shelter and let the girl cry on my shoulder, I can comfort her. I can tell that girl that the Lord loves her so much.'
Alice thought for a moment, then said to herself, 'I want to know when do we need to play the piano? If it is for next week, then I can reschedule the date to practice with my friend, Angelia.'
'As for my sister, Carolynn. I will go and help her for a short time. She can work on finding solutions by herself while I am gone to see the girls shelter this evening.'
Alice felt so much better after talking out loud to herself. She thanked God for helping see her through her frustrating time. Off she went to the girls shelter.
We cannot be everywhere at one time, or do everything we would like to do. Sometimes many people need our help but it is more than we can do.
We will have to choose to make a difference to one person at a time. There were many starfish dying along the edge of the shore. A young boy was making a difference to those star fish by throwing one dying star fish at a time back into the water. One man came by and saw what the young boy was doing and said to him, 'Hey, it is no use to throw the dying starfish back into the sea because they will all die, anyway. But the young boy told the man, 'Sir, I am making a difference to that starfish and that one and that one, as he threw them back in one at a time'.
When ever we help one person than that person can turn around and help another person. It is nicer to help others than to stay at home doing nothing.
Edited by AMB
We are all Pearls
Written by Judy Johnson
February 11, 2008
When a person chooses another person for a lifetime companion to share the gift of life with, no one knows what is inside this precious gift until they are finished saying the 'I do' vows at the alter.
The gift comes from within the person that they share life with. The gift of character that builds up - streaming out from the secret thoughts and habits that become unmasked after they come back from their honeymoon. Don't forget that there are also still good things about the person.
Something that both persons did not know is that they will see the real qualities of character come out after they get married. And - there is no such thing as 'refund' to return the gift, or to find another person - like you can do an exchange when dissatisfied with a gift. We are humans with real feelings that we often taken for granted.
The question, 'Can I exchange my partner for another partner', must be the furthest from our minds. If we decide to open and peek in to our gifts before the vows, it would be no fun afterward if you peeked inside the gift before the vows. Some experiment going into a depth of intimate time before the altar vows. They think that they can experiment to see what intimacy is like, but in the end this goes against the real close commitment needed later.
After our commitments at the alter are made, the character imperfections start to show when the the person's guard is down and they begin to relax. The good news is that true closeness does not end there at the altar. It begins a new chapter of life together. Each one can began to look for the good qualities in each of each other when two of them decide to work together as a team. They learn to appreciate the good qualities that they find in each other.
The imperfections that come in people's way in their marriage are like the speck of sand that gets into the oyster. The oyster cannot get rid of it. Instead, the oyster looks for secret qualities to import that cover the grain of sand. The qualities grow bigger, and more beautiful as the oyster grows older. The oyster continues to give and receive unconditional love. This love combines with the secret qualities found and the beautiful qualities of a pearl grow to surround the imperfect grain of sand.
We can be like Oyster and Pearl. That is God's gift to us.
February 11, 2008
When a person chooses another person for a lifetime companion to share the gift of life with, no one knows what is inside this precious gift until they are finished saying the 'I do' vows at the alter.
The gift comes from within the person that they share life with. The gift of character that builds up - streaming out from the secret thoughts and habits that become unmasked after they come back from their honeymoon. Don't forget that there are also still good things about the person.
Something that both persons did not know is that they will see the real qualities of character come out after they get married. And - there is no such thing as 'refund' to return the gift, or to find another person - like you can do an exchange when dissatisfied with a gift. We are humans with real feelings that we often taken for granted.
The question, 'Can I exchange my partner for another partner', must be the furthest from our minds. If we decide to open and peek in to our gifts before the vows, it would be no fun afterward if you peeked inside the gift before the vows. Some experiment going into a depth of intimate time before the altar vows. They think that they can experiment to see what intimacy is like, but in the end this goes against the real close commitment needed later.
After our commitments at the alter are made, the character imperfections start to show when the the person's guard is down and they begin to relax. The good news is that true closeness does not end there at the altar. It begins a new chapter of life together. Each one can began to look for the good qualities in each of each other when two of them decide to work together as a team. They learn to appreciate the good qualities that they find in each other.
The imperfections that come in people's way in their marriage are like the speck of sand that gets into the oyster. The oyster cannot get rid of it. Instead, the oyster looks for secret qualities to import that cover the grain of sand. The qualities grow bigger, and more beautiful as the oyster grows older. The oyster continues to give and receive unconditional love. This love combines with the secret qualities found and the beautiful qualities of a pearl grow to surround the imperfect grain of sand.
We can be like Oyster and Pearl. That is God's gift to us.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Who is the Most Stressful? The Groom or the Bride?
Written by Judy Johnson
March 2, 2008
Last Saturday evening, I sat in the audience and watched Rosalinda interpret the testimony of Shawn Boonstra's life because it was the last evangelistic meeting. It was a moving story that made many people shout a loud 'Amen'.
Anyway, he put a question to us and asked us, 'Who is the most stressful at the wedding? '
Many people guessed it was the bride because she does all the wedding planning. Shawn graciously declared it was the groom who is the most stressful. I gasped with the great puzzlement, and asked myself, 'Why did he say, "It is the Groom".
Shawn cleared his throat and began boldly telling his own experience.
I will try to tell you what he told us.
When he was a young student, he went to visit a man at a house. While the middle age man was busy talking, Shawn could not help but stare at the picture on the wall behind the man. When the man finished talking, Shawn pointed his finger at the framed picture on the wall behind the man and asked him, 'Who is the girl in the picture?'
The man, the father proudly answered, 'This is my daughter, Jean. You were staring at that picture the whole time while I was talking to you.' He frowned, but suddenly the frown disappeared when he asked Shawn if he wanted to meet his daughter.
Shawn answered with several eagerly big nods. 'Yes! Yes! I would love to meet your daughter.' When Shawn finished speaking, the girl came up the stairs onto the living room.
Shawn became fascinated with the beautiful green eyes of the girl. Then he went back to the dormitory and told his friends 'I really like this girl so much. Her name is Jean!'. He spread the story, hoping to lead her to himself. His friends later grew tired of hearing him talk about her over and over again, until they approached him to tell him to call her or else shut up.'
Shawn finally decided to call her, dialing the old fashioned phone, but he hung up on the fourth time when he heard her voice saying 'Hello?'. He was so afraid, what if she said 'no'?
One day, his friend cornered him and told him to shut up once more and shoved him into the closet to help him make up his own mind to decide to call Jean. The friend handed him a phone in the closet, and said that if he did not call her, then he must shut his mouth for the last time. He lamely picked up the phone, feeling hands trembled, heart beating fast. He heard Jean's voice kindly say 'Hello'. He blunted out, 'Jean, would you like go out with me on a date?'
She replied, 'Yes, sure, I would be glad to.' Shawn's heart slowed down, and relaxed. He was relieved and smiled with happiness, and went out. They went out on a date for that night and continued for four and half years while they got their education. He grew so fond of her, and had fallen in love with her. He decided wanted to ask her to marry him. The only one thing he thought he ought to do is to go to see her father to ask for his blessing.
One day at the family dinner, Shawn nervously approached Jean's father. He said to her father, 'I want to talk to you about something in private, please?'
All of a sudden, her father's face became stern, and it looked like he was upset about something. This only helped Shawn feel worse about approaching Jean's father. Dad lead Shawn outside in the back door, and both sat down on the porch facing each other.
Shawn sat very quiet. For first time he was really very much afraid. He was well known for talking about love a lot but this time he did not talk at all. He was afraid to talk to Jean's father. His heart throbbed wildly and his hands became sweaty. He could not bear seeing Jean's Dad look so stern.
Shawn finally spoke in a quiet voice, with his eyes shut, saying, 'The reason I am here is because I love your daughter. I am asking your blessing if I can marry her?' He continued to keep his eyes shut fearing the next answer, might be a rejection from Jean's father. But nothing happened in the next few silent moments. He opened his eyes, and peeked at her father.
Her father smiled widely, 'I thought you going to say 'I am breaking up with your daughter, but I am glad you didn't because I know you and Jean are good together.'
With that, Jean's father warmly embraced Shawn. Shawn was so relieved to know that and it explained why her father got a 'stern' look when Shawn wanted to talk in private.
Together Shawn and Jean's families rejoiced and then he went home.
He loved to collect books. Whatever books he got, he would read. One day, he came into his room, and saw his book laid open on his bed. He suspected it was his roommate. He asked his roommate if he had touched the book on his bed. His roommate said, 'Why should I touch your Bible, huh? I have nothing to do with your Bible.'
Shawn was puzzled how did his Bible got there on his bed. Apparently the Bible fell from his shelf. He picked up the Bible and read it. It opened to Revelation 13. He read with keen interest because it talked about the beasts coming out of the land and the ocean. He became confused hardly understanding any of it. He went on to read the next chapter, but he was still confused. Shawn was almost going to quit reading but a small voice told him to continue reading it. So he did continue reading until he got to Revelation 17.
He finally began to piece together what he was reading and started to understand better what he was reading. He went back to Daniel and read. He noticed Daniel and Revelation have lots of parallel thoughts and that explained a bit.
He became excited, and called up his girlfriend. He told her, 'Guess what??' I found something, I am so excited about?'She asked, 'What?'He exclaimed, 'It is Revelation and Daniel! I am reading about it in the Bible, about the weird beasts. I want to explain to you in person.' Her calm response, 'Sure, I will see what you have to tell me.'
He hung up and went over to explain the things to her. She became excited, and wanted to continue studying together. They became convinced and wanted to find the right church but did not know which one was the right church. They knew the Bible told them that they should not be unequally yoked together which means a believer should not marry an unbeliever. They both wanted to believe the same thing and wanted to find the church that believed the same things that they had just studied.
One day, when Shawn was driving into town, he saw a sign saying, 'Books for sale!'. He must stop because he loved reading books, anything he could find. So he parked his car on one side of the road and went into the yard sale and looked over the several boxes of books. On the note, it read, 'Five dollars for one box full of books.' He thought it was a good bargain. He rechecked with the owner to make sure. The owner said, 'Yes, five dollars for one box of books'. Shawn was thrilled, and went ahead to look at the books on top of the box. Politics, history were among other topics.
He smiled, and paid the price, and took the box of books home. He settled the box on the table, and went through the books. Under several books, he noticed a book titled, 'History on Sabbath-keeping'. He got so curious, he sat down right there to read it. He was convinced it is true because he checked the scriptures with the Bible. He found it was true after all, and it was also clearly explained, not a vague explanation. It left no doubt in his mind that the seventh-day, the true Sabbath which fell on Saturday is the day to worship the same as in the early times when Jesus was on the earth.
Of course, once again, Shawn shared everything he read with his engaged girlfriend, Jean. It became clear that the church might have some answers. So they went to worship in church on Sunday. They asked their pastor questions about the Seventh-day Sabbath. Their Pastor answered them saying, 'Yes, you are right, the seventh-day is the Sabbath, the day the Lord worshiped instead of on Sunday. But it is not important because all the other Sunday churches worship on Sunday, too.' Shawn was so shocked, he can not believe what he heard. Shawn swiftly replied, 'The Bible says so clearly that the seventh-day is the day to worship, not Sunday.' His pastor did not reply.
Shawn and Jean decided to leave their own church and start looking for another church. They attended another Sunday church. In one of the meetings, a woman stood up and asked her pastor the question, 'Is the story of Adam and Eve true?' Shawn waited for her pastor's response.
Shawn and Jean could not believe their ears, when they heard her pastor say, 'the story of Adam and Eve is not so important, it is just another fairy tale.' Shawn spoke up, 'Pastor, it has to be true because it is the very foundation of the whole Bible!' But the pastor said no more. He just ignored Shawn's comments and he went on to the next question. Immediately, Shawn and Jean were disappointed, and withdraw from that church.
Shawn prayed to God and asked for signs to help them find the right church. They wanted to be led to the church that teaches all what the Bible says, not half, or a little piece but all what Jesus teaches.
The next morning, Shawn received a call from his brother. His brother was so excited and muttered something to him. Shawn asked him to slow down and explain what he is talking about. His brother said , 'You remember you and I sat down together when we were little boys in the early morning and watched the program called ''It is Written" presented by George Vandeman?"
Shawn's face lit up as he recalled and said 'Yes, yes, that is right!'
His brother went on to say that he found a flyer with some meetings that talk about the weird beasts, and Revelation. That was exactly what Shawn told him before. Shawn asked him where the location was and what is the date, then he called his girlfriend to tell her of his plans. Jean did not want go with Shawn and his brother the first night because of what they had seen before. They had gone to one of the fellowship dinners, and saw an Adventist couple pour something out of a tin can which they thought looked like dog food. Some months later they found out it was not dog food.
Anyway, Jean thought it was so gross she refused to go with Shawn and his brother. Shawn told his brother why don't we go and find out how the pastor will answer the hard Biblical questions we will ask him. So off they went that first night.
They asked George Vandeman the hard questions. He opened the Bible, and showed them the answers. They were so surprised at the clear answers the Pastor gave them. They went home and told Jean. Jean went the next night with them. For a whole month they faithfully attended all the nightly meetings. They finally understand the whole picture of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation clearly.
For the past month of February, 2008, Shawn has shared with us these same topics that he learned those 15 years ago.
Getting back to our meeting Shawn again asked the question he had at the beginning of the meeting, 'Who do you think is stressed the most, the bride or the groom?' My answer is the Groom because of my experience when I felt so stressful for fear of receiving rejection from Jean's father. I was fearful of him because I wanted to marry his daughter, the one I loved.
That is the same way how Jesus felt, very nervous, Why? Because He really wants to invite all of us to His home in Heaven to a 'wedding' dinner with Him. He does not want to hear us saying 'No thanks, I do not wish to accept Your invitation to Your wedding dinner'. He might be very anxiously, pacing back and forth looking down to our earth from his Heavenly home, longing for us to accept the invitation to come to His wedding dinner. Jesus called people (his church) on the earth 'His bride' and He, a groom. Jesus wanted to give us understanding of His emotion, because He first loved us before we loved Him. He know us before we were born.'
That is the end of Shawn's long testimony on the 'Who is stressed the most, the Groom or the Bride?'
I really will never forget what Shawn shared with us the last night of his meetings. Special thanks to Rosalinda Davis who interpreted this most interested testimony of all for me. I sat wide awake all through the fast-talking testimony of Shawn Boonstra. I believe the Holy Spirit helped me to recall his testimony so I could share it with you too.
Edited by AMB
Pastor Shawn Boonstra, a native of British Columbia, is speaker/director for It Is Written International Television. He appears weekly on the It Is Written television program (and podcast) and regularly conducts major evangelistic meetings around the world. Boonstra made the decision to commit his life to gospel ministry after attending an It Is Written evangelistic series in the city of Victoria 14 years ago. Soon after, he graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Victoria, and later attended Andrews University, where he gained theological training.
Before moving to the It Is Written international headquarters in 2004, Boonstra served as associate speaker for the It Is Written telecast in Canada from 1998-2001, then as speaker from 2001-2004. In 2001, he and Pastor Henry Feyerabend held a special "NET" satellite evangelistic series in downtown Halifax called Revelation Speaks Peace. This event received international attention, and increased the visibility of the telecast in Canada.
Boonstra's recent satellite events have included The Presence and The Appearing, two 5-night series focusing on the Sanctuary and the Second Coming, respectively. In addition, he conducted a month-long satellite event from Phoenix called Unlocking the Signs in early 2006. More than 1,000 churches hosted this event. Boonstra's next satellite series, called Out of Thin Air, will take place Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, 2007. This series will take a fresh look at the creation/evolution debate and will only be available at a church near you. In the last few years, Boonstra has held more than 30 major evangelistic series and has written more than 12 books. Recent efforts have taken him everywhere from the Kalahari Desert to the Arctic to the major cities of North and South America. His clear grasp of Scripture and his warm, dynamic presentation style have been an inspiration to many. On September 1, join Boonstra each weekday for a 3-4 minute online devotional called A Better Way to Live.
He, his wife Jean, and their two daughters live in Southern California.
March 2, 2008
Last Saturday evening, I sat in the audience and watched Rosalinda interpret the testimony of Shawn Boonstra's life because it was the last evangelistic meeting. It was a moving story that made many people shout a loud 'Amen'.
Anyway, he put a question to us and asked us, 'Who is the most stressful at the wedding? '
Many people guessed it was the bride because she does all the wedding planning. Shawn graciously declared it was the groom who is the most stressful. I gasped with the great puzzlement, and asked myself, 'Why did he say, "It is the Groom".
Shawn cleared his throat and began boldly telling his own experience.
I will try to tell you what he told us.
When he was a young student, he went to visit a man at a house. While the middle age man was busy talking, Shawn could not help but stare at the picture on the wall behind the man. When the man finished talking, Shawn pointed his finger at the framed picture on the wall behind the man and asked him, 'Who is the girl in the picture?'
The man, the father proudly answered, 'This is my daughter, Jean. You were staring at that picture the whole time while I was talking to you.' He frowned, but suddenly the frown disappeared when he asked Shawn if he wanted to meet his daughter.
Shawn answered with several eagerly big nods. 'Yes! Yes! I would love to meet your daughter.' When Shawn finished speaking, the girl came up the stairs onto the living room.
Shawn became fascinated with the beautiful green eyes of the girl. Then he went back to the dormitory and told his friends 'I really like this girl so much. Her name is Jean!'. He spread the story, hoping to lead her to himself. His friends later grew tired of hearing him talk about her over and over again, until they approached him to tell him to call her or else shut up.'
Shawn finally decided to call her, dialing the old fashioned phone, but he hung up on the fourth time when he heard her voice saying 'Hello?'. He was so afraid, what if she said 'no'?
One day, his friend cornered him and told him to shut up once more and shoved him into the closet to help him make up his own mind to decide to call Jean. The friend handed him a phone in the closet, and said that if he did not call her, then he must shut his mouth for the last time. He lamely picked up the phone, feeling hands trembled, heart beating fast. He heard Jean's voice kindly say 'Hello'. He blunted out, 'Jean, would you like go out with me on a date?'
She replied, 'Yes, sure, I would be glad to.' Shawn's heart slowed down, and relaxed. He was relieved and smiled with happiness, and went out. They went out on a date for that night and continued for four and half years while they got their education. He grew so fond of her, and had fallen in love with her. He decided wanted to ask her to marry him. The only one thing he thought he ought to do is to go to see her father to ask for his blessing.
One day at the family dinner, Shawn nervously approached Jean's father. He said to her father, 'I want to talk to you about something in private, please?'
All of a sudden, her father's face became stern, and it looked like he was upset about something. This only helped Shawn feel worse about approaching Jean's father. Dad lead Shawn outside in the back door, and both sat down on the porch facing each other.
Shawn sat very quiet. For first time he was really very much afraid. He was well known for talking about love a lot but this time he did not talk at all. He was afraid to talk to Jean's father. His heart throbbed wildly and his hands became sweaty. He could not bear seeing Jean's Dad look so stern.
Shawn finally spoke in a quiet voice, with his eyes shut, saying, 'The reason I am here is because I love your daughter. I am asking your blessing if I can marry her?' He continued to keep his eyes shut fearing the next answer, might be a rejection from Jean's father. But nothing happened in the next few silent moments. He opened his eyes, and peeked at her father.
Her father smiled widely, 'I thought you going to say 'I am breaking up with your daughter, but I am glad you didn't because I know you and Jean are good together.'
With that, Jean's father warmly embraced Shawn. Shawn was so relieved to know that and it explained why her father got a 'stern' look when Shawn wanted to talk in private.
Together Shawn and Jean's families rejoiced and then he went home.
He loved to collect books. Whatever books he got, he would read. One day, he came into his room, and saw his book laid open on his bed. He suspected it was his roommate. He asked his roommate if he had touched the book on his bed. His roommate said, 'Why should I touch your Bible, huh? I have nothing to do with your Bible.'
Shawn was puzzled how did his Bible got there on his bed. Apparently the Bible fell from his shelf. He picked up the Bible and read it. It opened to Revelation 13. He read with keen interest because it talked about the beasts coming out of the land and the ocean. He became confused hardly understanding any of it. He went on to read the next chapter, but he was still confused. Shawn was almost going to quit reading but a small voice told him to continue reading it. So he did continue reading until he got to Revelation 17.
He finally began to piece together what he was reading and started to understand better what he was reading. He went back to Daniel and read. He noticed Daniel and Revelation have lots of parallel thoughts and that explained a bit.
He became excited, and called up his girlfriend. He told her, 'Guess what??' I found something, I am so excited about?'She asked, 'What?'He exclaimed, 'It is Revelation and Daniel! I am reading about it in the Bible, about the weird beasts. I want to explain to you in person.' Her calm response, 'Sure, I will see what you have to tell me.'
He hung up and went over to explain the things to her. She became excited, and wanted to continue studying together. They became convinced and wanted to find the right church but did not know which one was the right church. They knew the Bible told them that they should not be unequally yoked together which means a believer should not marry an unbeliever. They both wanted to believe the same thing and wanted to find the church that believed the same things that they had just studied.
One day, when Shawn was driving into town, he saw a sign saying, 'Books for sale!'. He must stop because he loved reading books, anything he could find. So he parked his car on one side of the road and went into the yard sale and looked over the several boxes of books. On the note, it read, 'Five dollars for one box full of books.' He thought it was a good bargain. He rechecked with the owner to make sure. The owner said, 'Yes, five dollars for one box of books'. Shawn was thrilled, and went ahead to look at the books on top of the box. Politics, history were among other topics.
He smiled, and paid the price, and took the box of books home. He settled the box on the table, and went through the books. Under several books, he noticed a book titled, 'History on Sabbath-keeping'. He got so curious, he sat down right there to read it. He was convinced it is true because he checked the scriptures with the Bible. He found it was true after all, and it was also clearly explained, not a vague explanation. It left no doubt in his mind that the seventh-day, the true Sabbath which fell on Saturday is the day to worship the same as in the early times when Jesus was on the earth.
Of course, once again, Shawn shared everything he read with his engaged girlfriend, Jean. It became clear that the church might have some answers. So they went to worship in church on Sunday. They asked their pastor questions about the Seventh-day Sabbath. Their Pastor answered them saying, 'Yes, you are right, the seventh-day is the Sabbath, the day the Lord worshiped instead of on Sunday. But it is not important because all the other Sunday churches worship on Sunday, too.' Shawn was so shocked, he can not believe what he heard. Shawn swiftly replied, 'The Bible says so clearly that the seventh-day is the day to worship, not Sunday.' His pastor did not reply.
Shawn and Jean decided to leave their own church and start looking for another church. They attended another Sunday church. In one of the meetings, a woman stood up and asked her pastor the question, 'Is the story of Adam and Eve true?' Shawn waited for her pastor's response.
Shawn and Jean could not believe their ears, when they heard her pastor say, 'the story of Adam and Eve is not so important, it is just another fairy tale.' Shawn spoke up, 'Pastor, it has to be true because it is the very foundation of the whole Bible!' But the pastor said no more. He just ignored Shawn's comments and he went on to the next question. Immediately, Shawn and Jean were disappointed, and withdraw from that church.
Shawn prayed to God and asked for signs to help them find the right church. They wanted to be led to the church that teaches all what the Bible says, not half, or a little piece but all what Jesus teaches.
The next morning, Shawn received a call from his brother. His brother was so excited and muttered something to him. Shawn asked him to slow down and explain what he is talking about. His brother said , 'You remember you and I sat down together when we were little boys in the early morning and watched the program called ''It is Written" presented by George Vandeman?"
Shawn's face lit up as he recalled and said 'Yes, yes, that is right!'
His brother went on to say that he found a flyer with some meetings that talk about the weird beasts, and Revelation. That was exactly what Shawn told him before. Shawn asked him where the location was and what is the date, then he called his girlfriend to tell her of his plans. Jean did not want go with Shawn and his brother the first night because of what they had seen before. They had gone to one of the fellowship dinners, and saw an Adventist couple pour something out of a tin can which they thought looked like dog food. Some months later they found out it was not dog food.
Anyway, Jean thought it was so gross she refused to go with Shawn and his brother. Shawn told his brother why don't we go and find out how the pastor will answer the hard Biblical questions we will ask him. So off they went that first night.
They asked George Vandeman the hard questions. He opened the Bible, and showed them the answers. They were so surprised at the clear answers the Pastor gave them. They went home and told Jean. Jean went the next night with them. For a whole month they faithfully attended all the nightly meetings. They finally understand the whole picture of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation clearly.
For the past month of February, 2008, Shawn has shared with us these same topics that he learned those 15 years ago.
Getting back to our meeting Shawn again asked the question he had at the beginning of the meeting, 'Who do you think is stressed the most, the bride or the groom?' My answer is the Groom because of my experience when I felt so stressful for fear of receiving rejection from Jean's father. I was fearful of him because I wanted to marry his daughter, the one I loved.
That is the same way how Jesus felt, very nervous, Why? Because He really wants to invite all of us to His home in Heaven to a 'wedding' dinner with Him. He does not want to hear us saying 'No thanks, I do not wish to accept Your invitation to Your wedding dinner'. He might be very anxiously, pacing back and forth looking down to our earth from his Heavenly home, longing for us to accept the invitation to come to His wedding dinner. Jesus called people (his church) on the earth 'His bride' and He, a groom. Jesus wanted to give us understanding of His emotion, because He first loved us before we loved Him. He know us before we were born.'
That is the end of Shawn's long testimony on the 'Who is stressed the most, the Groom or the Bride?'
I really will never forget what Shawn shared with us the last night of his meetings. Special thanks to Rosalinda Davis who interpreted this most interested testimony of all for me. I sat wide awake all through the fast-talking testimony of Shawn Boonstra. I believe the Holy Spirit helped me to recall his testimony so I could share it with you too.
Edited by AMB
Pastor Shawn Boonstra, a native of British Columbia, is speaker/director for It Is Written International Television. He appears weekly on the It Is Written television program (and podcast) and regularly conducts major evangelistic meetings around the world. Boonstra made the decision to commit his life to gospel ministry after attending an It Is Written evangelistic series in the city of Victoria 14 years ago. Soon after, he graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Victoria, and later attended Andrews University, where he gained theological training.
Before moving to the It Is Written international headquarters in 2004, Boonstra served as associate speaker for the It Is Written telecast in Canada from 1998-2001, then as speaker from 2001-2004. In 2001, he and Pastor Henry Feyerabend held a special "NET" satellite evangelistic series in downtown Halifax called Revelation Speaks Peace. This event received international attention, and increased the visibility of the telecast in Canada.
Boonstra's recent satellite events have included The Presence and The Appearing, two 5-night series focusing on the Sanctuary and the Second Coming, respectively. In addition, he conducted a month-long satellite event from Phoenix called Unlocking the Signs in early 2006. More than 1,000 churches hosted this event. Boonstra's next satellite series, called Out of Thin Air, will take place Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, 2007. This series will take a fresh look at the creation/evolution debate and will only be available at a church near you. In the last few years, Boonstra has held more than 30 major evangelistic series and has written more than 12 books. Recent efforts have taken him everywhere from the Kalahari Desert to the Arctic to the major cities of North and South America. His clear grasp of Scripture and his warm, dynamic presentation style have been an inspiration to many. On September 1, join Boonstra each weekday for a 3-4 minute online devotional called A Better Way to Live.
He, his wife Jean, and their two daughters live in Southern California.
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