When Men Pray…

Monday Musings #41, April 8, 2024

Two missionaries had a great mission station in Osaka, Japan. One day the order came from high up that no more meetings by Protestants would be allowed in the city. These two missionaries did all they could, but the high officials were obstinate and unrelenting. The missionaries then retired to the room of prayer. 
Suppertime came and a Japanese girl came to summon them to their meal, but she fell under the power of prayer. A wife of one of the missionaries came to find what the matter was and fell under the same power.
They rose and went to the mission hall and opened it; and at once commenced the meeting. God fell upon the assembly and two of the sons of the city officials in authority came to the altar and were saved. Next morning one of the officials came to the mission and said, “Go on with your meetings; you will not be interrupted.”
The Osaka daily paper came out with a headline in boxcar letters saying, “THE CHRISTIANS’ GOD CAME TO TOWN LAST NIGHT.”
 _{–This story, from the Assemblies of God Achives, is credited to H.C. Morrison. No other information about Mr. Morrison is available.}

In the early part of the 1900s a move of God’s Spirit began in various parts of the United States. During the winter of 1900-1901, a group of Bible students gathered for a short-term study session at Bethel Bible College, directed by Charles F. Parham, in Topeka, KS.  By December 1900,  they had completed studies on repentance, conversion, sanctification, divine healing, and the second coming of Christ. In his travels, Mr. Parham had observed various people who claimed to have been “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” Some offered one proof, some another.
Toward the end of December, Mr. Parham left Topeka to hold revivals in the Kansas City, MO, area.  He assigned the students to study the book of Acts while he was gone, and to determine the Biblical evidence  of the Holy Spirit. Upon his return he was astonished at their conclusion:  While different things happened when the Pentecostal blessing fell, the indisputable proof was that those who received spoke in languages they had never learned.
The first to receive was a young woman, Agnes Ozman, who was filled with the Spirit on January 1, 1901. For three days she spoke a heavenly language, glorifying God with great joy. Other students continued their prayers, and within 5 days, 35 of them had received the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Within weeks, the students’ experience had spread. Since most of the established churches rejected the experience as unscriptural, the new Pentecostals had to find meeting places wherever they could. Soon various towns in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas, had fledgling congregations.
 At this time the couple who would become my parents were living in Stone County in North Arkansas. An evangelist who had received the Holy Spirit came into their community, walking and carrying his suitcase. He started brush arbor meetings, and God gave an outpouring of His Spirit. My dad, a 17-year-old boy, was saved, filled with the Spirit and called to preach during this time. These meetings went on until cold weather, when they continued in the Smart Schoolhouse named after the Smart family  who had given land for the school. My dad said that for about 3 years anytime he was outside at night, he could hear people praying.
Before he married, Dad traveled with a well-known evangelist, Rev. A.E. Humbard, father of Rex Humbard of TV fame. In the winter, most of their meetings were in school houses, and my dad’s job was to keep the fire going,  and to prevent anyone from throwing pepper on the fire which caused sneezing. Sometimes if no one invited them to go with them for the night, they kept the fire going and slept on the floor. Dad also attended a short-term Bible school in Malvern, Arkansas, in the winter of 1914, taught by E.N. Bell.  Both Brother Humbard and Brother Bell had seminary training, but left their former organizations when they received the Holy Spirit. My Dad formed his ministry after the patterns they laid down, but he missed the organizational meeting of the Assemblies of God because his widowed mother sent word that he must come home and do the spring plowing for their crops — their source of food supply.
Dad prayed and preached his first sermons while he plowed. Soon men were hiding along the edge of the field to hear him preach. He realized his educational limits and became a life-long student of God’s word, mingled with prayer.
When men pray, God responds. Our nation needs a new outpouring of the power of God. It’s time to get serious about prayer.
“If my people , which are called by my name, shall hunble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
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Personal Notes. A sunny April morning in Springfield, MO, with highs expected in the 60s. The eclipse is expected here around 2 p.m. God is still keeping His hand on our world!
Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me. I am still having tooth problems and hoping I won’t have to make a trip to the dentist. Your cards and e-mails are a blessing to me!  May God reward you with mercies overflowing! Peace, love, and joy!  Joyce Booze

FIRST WITNESSES OF THE RESURRECTION

Monday Musings #40, April 1, 2024

The women — at least three, maybe more — had slipped out into the quiet streets of Jerusalem just as day was breaking on Sunday morning. Heavily veiled, they walked closely together, moving noiselessly, not wanting to attract attention. Occasionally, they whispered to each other. One seemed to be the leader, choosing the way they went. If you could have seen their faces in the half light, you would have noted signs of weeping

Under their long loose robes, they carried bags and bundles of spices, partially hidden. After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. They were still struggling with what had happened on Friday. They had thought Jesus was the Messiah, but the Messiah would set up a kingdom, not be crucified by the Romans.

What could they do now that He was gone? Could they go back to the rituals of the temple? No one taught like He taught, much less healed the sick, cast out demons, and showed compassion to the poor. Certainly His disciples were no help. They were huddled behind locked doors, for fear the Jews would decide to kill them, too.

The women passed beyond the residential section of the city into a less populated area. They whispered another worry, “Who will roll the stone away? It’s really big! Do you think we can move it if we all push together?” Also, they knew the tomb possibly was being watched. But by the time they purchased the spices on Friday, it was too late to return to the tomb. They had to wait until the Sabbath had passed. On Friday they had observed the hurried burial given their Lord by Joseph and Nicodemus. The women wanted their Lord to have the best they could give.

These women had suffered the loss of a dear friend. His death still seemed unreal. How could He die, He who had raised others from the dead? If they hadn’t seen His torn, bleeding body hanging on the cross, hadn’t followed Joseph and Nicodemus when they carried Him hurriedly away to the tomb, they would have refused to believe it had happened. But they had seen and they knew!

In the Jewish culture, women had few rights. In fact, Jewish men of that time gave God thanks for three blessings: He has not made me a non-Jew, He has not made me a slave, and He has not made me a woman. Yet in all His ministry Jesus never omitted women; rather, He reached out to them: Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus (John 11:19-44); the woman at the well in Samaria (John 4:5-26); Mary Magalene whom He delivered from demons (Mark 16:9); the woman caught in adultery and brought to Jesus by a group of men for sentencing. When her accusers disappeared, Jesus forgave her, telling her to go and sin no more (John 8:3-11). Jesus also reached out to non-Jews. A Syrophoenician woman asked Jesus to cast devils out of her daughter, and after her expressions of faith, He did. Jesus reached out to teach and bless women who followed Him. On this dark morning, after the Sabbath had passed, these women who loved Him were bringing more spices to add to the burial shroud.

Here’s Mark’s story of what happened next:

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

And that’s the real story of Easter. On this Sunday, let us join in the worship of our risen Lord!
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Personal Notes. A cloudy Monday morning in Springfield, MO, with cool temps and rain. The last few days have been difficult for me. My arthritis doesn’t like this type of weather.

On one of the warmer days, I sat outside on a patio and saw that Sweet Williams have crowded along the walk and are blooming. God is still doing His part! The seeds have been dormant all winter, but when it’s time for them to stick their heads up and bloom, they get with it!

I’m not sure if I will be able to continue writing a blog each week, but I will try to keep in contact as my health allows. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me and encouraged me in writing. I appreciate hearing from you, whether it’s cards in the mail (I love getting mail!) or e-mail on the computer. May God bless and keep you strong in your faith. Peace, joy, and love, Joyce Booze