First (and Last) Responder

Can you think of a more idyllic photo subject than a dad, a mom, their young daughter, and the family dog stopping by the roadside to pose for a group photo on a spring day against a lush backdrop of gorgeous south Texas wildflowers and other native flora?

But at the exact same instant that grandma snapped the family photo in 2016, there was something very wrong transpiring in the lower frame of this lovely tableau…

Sometimes, the most placid and seemingly innocuous environments can harbor things sinister and even deadly if we are not both aware and discerning of our surroundings. Imagine Eve in the garden of Eden! Could there have been a more beautiful setting within the protective confines of this harmonious, sinless paradise than beneath the shade, foliage, and luscious fruit of the tree of knowledge? Right now, the world is learning how something as unseen and even submicroscopic as the coronavirus can have deadly consequences for human life.

Today, we speak often of “safe places”; places of quiet refuge where one need not be afraid of physical threats or harm. We may even think of “the church” as always being one of those safe places, at least in a spiritual sense. We know in reality and from scripture that in some cases this can be far, far from the truth. Satan, after all, can manifest himself as a “minister of righteousness” (II Cor. 11).

In particular, the old satanic lie, “you shall not surely die” was with us in the beginning (Genesis 3). It was there when Ahab and Jehoshaphat consulted with the “prophets of the Lord” about their disastrously doomed plan to join forces together in battle (I Kings 22 *Note: these were not Jezebel’s Baal prophets; Elijah had already dispatched those with the sword). The lie, or more accurately, the Laodicean lies, are tragically still demonic traps and spiritual stumbling blocks for many persons who, at least outwardly, profess Christ today. “You say you are rich, and have need of nothing…” (Revelation 3).

It is possible to sit even in a “Bible-based” church for an entire lifetime when you might just as well be ensconced somewhere in a spiritual mausoleum because God’s Word has never penetrated your conscience to the point that sin has become “utterly sinful” (Romans 7), or you have become hardened over years of no real heart change. Paul warned in his epistles about spiritual leaders who have all the right “words” but no “power” (I Cor. 4). Be on the alert then, whether in ornate or unadorned religious settings, where there is no real, life-altering conviction of sin, no crying out for God’s mercy, no sign of anything supernatural outside of human understanding or interpretation. Why? Because we already have everything!

“You shall not surely die…because we have collected scriptures with which we are able to comfort you in the knowledge that Paul’s warnings of apostasy written to the churches do not literally apply to us “true” saints [see Romans 11]; that when you were saved you were also baptized “by default” by the Holy Spirit, even though there has been an absence of any real, tangible evidence (maybe even love itself) in your life; and that the “sign of Jonah” was irrelevant to the understanding of our salvation because Jesus’ human soul [not His spirit] never actually descended as a prisoner of death into the depths of Sheol, only to be released, empowered, and reunited with His glorified body and His spirit [the Holy Spirit] at the thunderous, resurrecting voice of God. [see Psalm 18].”

My brother-in-law was the attending ER physician when the man mentioned in the first paragraph was first admitted to the hospital; obviously he heard the snakebite story firsthand and would later receive an unedited digital copy of the photo (he is not at liberty to share the original version with faces for publication without permission, but on the internet the curious can find the exact same photo with the family faces blacked out).

There is nothing photographically “flawed” about the picture other than the man looking downward instead of at the camera, but if you zoom in to the bottom of the picture, there is a rattlesnake in the act of striking, fangs visible, in the apparent direction of the wife, whose hand is directly above the serpent. Amazingly, the family dog somehow distracted and deflected the strike, but the woman’s husband was envenomated in the leg by one fang, oddly, at the same instant that the dog was stricken in the face by the other fang. The man would be treated and later transferred to an urban hospital. He recovered fully. The faithful dog did not survive.

According to Paul, God has much better things in mind for us than being sidetracked by Satan or shipwrecked in our faith! (Hebrews 6). It is through a love of the truth and the consistent faith exercise of God’s Word that we gain spiritual discernment into things that could otherwise be harmful to us and our families (Hebrews 5). God’s great love is able to keep us and protect us in every circumstance, but He expects us not only to “deflect” satanic attacks, but to defeat the enemy of our souls with the spiritual weapons of warfare He has given us through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 6).

The Alpha and the Omega. Jesus is our first, and last, responder!

Bryan

Must reading for any believer desiring to enter into a deeper faith relationship with God and to learn more about miracles and answered prayer: G.C. Bevington biography / Kingsley Press (compiled in part during the 1918 “Spanish Flu” epidemic).

Help Me to Be A Good Neighbor!

My next-door neighbor’s little Yorkie died today. Seems it escaped from the backyard and was likely killed by a larger dog, according to animal control. I helped in the search for the pet and tried my best to comfort my brokenhearted neighbor, who has a young daughter and just lost her husband a few months ago. She moved in only recently.

I feel blessed to live in a culturally diverse area of the U.S. and I know virtually all of the neighbors on my street, at least on a first-name basis. We live at the very top and center of a long, steep, wooded cul-de-sac with a big sky and an open view, so I have a visual reminder of all of my neighbors on the block each time I go out the front door. Most of my immediate neighbors are white or hispanic, but there are many different ethnic groups represented locally.

It has occurred to me recently how even just my little neighborhood is such a microcosm of a hurting world…

Three people on my block are caregivers for parents, spouses, or a mentally disabled child. One of them lost his disabled father just three weeks ago and continues to care for his aged mother. He also sends food support to impoverished family members in Venezuela, but only when they can obtain the gasoline to travel to the border to collect it. At least two of my neighbors suffer with depression. One of them was just laid off from his job and worries that his age is a disincentive to potential employers. Some of my neighbors subscribe to “alternative” lifestyles. ALL of my neighbors, like us, simply need Jesus. We would not have known that any of these things were going on around us if we had not taken the time to reach out to a perceived need, or at least, to introduce ourselves.

This post is just to ask for PRAYER that God will help me and my wife be TRUE neighbors and that our influence will go well beyond just delivering handmade chocolates at Christmas, giving out sweets and tracts to trick-or-treaters at Halloween, or taking food if someone dies. Please pray that our neighbors will see JESUS, and not us. It’s only when people see Jesus that miracles can happen, lives and hearts can be changed, and people can be introduced to the only true source of comfort, peace, and eternal life!

Matthew 22:37-40 NASB “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’ ”

You may well be the only person reading my posts, but I would write them anyway in the hope that they might be of some encouragement, if only to YOU, my neighbor!

Did Signs & Miracles Die Out With The Apostles?

“The Gift of the Mismatched Shoes” (A TRUE Story)

If I am convinced that all supernatural signs, wonders, healings, and miracles fizzled out when the last of the early church apostles departed this life for their heavenly rewards, then it is very unlikely that I will ever see those things in my lifetime. Or, if I do, I will find some “natural” explanation. What is often called “faith” in the modern church is actually just “wishful thinking”, or “claiming” something we want from God. For those rare Christ-followers who have learned to be still, to ascertain God’s will, and then wait to “hear” the faith from God, it is “as good as done” when He finally impresses, or “speaks” that “Word” into their spirits.

John 14:12 ESV “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

The following is just one excerpt from the biography of G.C. Bevington, a “holiness evangelist” in the areas of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee during the 1920’s, a time when – depending upon your age – your parents, grandparents, or perhaps great-grandparents were living. Reading Bevington’s life story is a good “antidote” for the unsettling influence of the many fake “healing evangelists” of our time. This account is only one of the “lesser” miracles that attended the life and ministry of this godly man:

“…I will give another incident in the [missions outreach] work in Cincinnati. There I received clothing for the poor, and distributed it. I was out at Mt. Lookout, a suburb of Cincinnati, and a sister there gave me some clothing. In a few weeks I noticed that one of our strong members was not out for a week or so, so I went out to see what was the matter. I found her washing, and reminded her that several services had passed without her presence, which was rather an unusual occurrence. She was a poor woman, with three children, and had to pay her rent, but never allowed us to help her, as we were accustomed to help many others in similar circumstances. As she seemed loathe to give a reason for being absent, I noticed that she had on quite poor shoes, and finally I said, ‘Sister, are those the best shoes you have?’ Blushing, she turned her back on me, making me feel that those were her best; but she finally said, ‘Now, Brother Bevington, I will have to admit that they are. I am expecting to get a pair next week, as I am to keep the children clothed and fed regardless of my need.’

So I returned to my room; and that being Thursday evening, I began to plead a new pair of shoes for her, as I had none that I felt were good enough for her, and therefore I prayed the more. I just held on. Finally, I looked at my watch, and it was two minutes of 4:00 a. m. I had been there ten or eleven hours. Then I dropped on my face again, and inside of thirty minutes I saw a pair of ladies’ shoes, and new ones, too. That was Friday, nearly 7:00 a. m. I went to my breakfast satisfied that all would be all right for a pair of shoes for the Friday night meeting; that was our regular evangelistic night service. When I came back, I was detained some, and did not get to the mission until about 10:00 a. m, and went into the prayer room. One of the kindergarten teachers came out, and said, ‘There is a lady wanting to see you.’ She came out into the main hall, and said, ‘Brother Bevington, I bought a pair of shoes this morning, but one is at least two sizes larger than the other. They look like mates, but they cannot be. The ones I tried on at the store fit me nicely. Then, as I was near here, I thought that I would run in and see the kindergarten children work; and while waiting to see you, I thought I would put on my new shoes and wear them home, but found one to be entirely too large.’ I said, ‘Praise the Lord. I prayed all night last night for a pair of shoes, and I guess these are the ones.’ ‘Yes, but, Brother Bevington it seems too bad to give such a pair of shoes as that to anyone, and I don’t want to take them back.’ (She was most too proud to do that so she concluded to see if I could work them off to a good advantage.) I said, ‘She is a poor woman, and needs the shoes, and she can easily put cotton batting in the larger one, and the smaller one, I think, will fit her all right.’

‘Here they are; you take them up.’

But I wanted her to see this woman, as I felt that she might be able to help her in various ways. So I insisted on her taking them, as she would have to walk near that home to get her street car. Finally she took up the shoes and started for the woman’s home, and found her busy with her ironing. She introduced herself, and said, ‘Brother Bevington sent me here, on a rather embarrassing errand.’ She set the shoes out, not telling the woman that one was larger than the other. All the time she was talking about the shoes and other things, the sister kept thinking, ‘What will I do, as I can’t wear those shoes, as my right foot is nearly two sizes smaller than my left, and I hate to tell her.’ But she concluded to take the shoes, and probably could exchange them. The woman started home, but she was impressed that she must tell the sister, so she returned and she told about the shoes. The sister just laughed heartily, and said, ‘Which is the larger?’ ‘The left one.’ Then she laughed more than ever, and said, ‘Well, well, well! God surely understands all things, as my left foot is nearly two sizes larger than my right. Here it is just as I want it. Oh, praise the Lord.’ Now, I knew nothing about the difference in the size of her feet, but God did, and see how He worked in order to answer my all-night prayer. Isn’t that enough to convince us that God fully understands His business? I say, ‘Yes.’ What do you say?”

(Excerpt: G.C. Bevington bio, c. 1920)

Bryan