Amazing News report on the awesomeness of God!
My brother-in-law is not a Christian. Couldn't care less about God, Christ, or anything else spiritual. He's an engineer, practical, mathematical man.
Two weeks ago, one of my African clients requested some expensive study Bibles that he can't afford and aren't available in his Muslim-dominated area. Last week, his order came in and I notified him that I would be shipping it out right away. He begged me to send them air mail, since ground mail can take months to reach him. I told him I didn't have the money, but we should pray that someone would give us a grant to make up the difference in cost between shipping ground mail and air mail. We've been praying.
Three years ago, my brother-in-law bought a used book at a flea market or used bookstore. It was an ordinary-looking book about kids who use an amateur radio to save the world. Typical preteen reading material from the 1930's. He paid less than $5 for the book.
Three weeks ago, he was looking at ebay and saw a book being auctioned, and the book looked familiar. He went into his book collection and saw the exact same book, same edition, in the same condition on his bookshelf. He followed the auction as it proceeded, and the final bid on the book was $601. He contacted the runner-up bidders and told them he had the same book that he would sell to them. He heard nothing about it for weeks, and my sister was getting ready to give the book to her son's school for a rummage sale.
Last weekend, I took my nephew home for a visit (he's been with me all summer while he works at a local park), and I showed them my photos from my mission trip to South Dakota. They made appropriate remarks about the scenary and how nice the church looked when we were finished and I put the photos away and my sister and I went shopping.
Today, I took the box of Bibles to the post office and mailed it off, on faith, figuring the money for airmail would come from somewhere. The total postage bill came to $79, $50 more than ground mail would have cost.
On monday, my brother-in-law received a certified check from one of the runner-up bidders paying for the rare book.
Today, I went to my mailbox and there was a letter from my brother-in-law, which is unusual, since my sister usually sends all the letters. I opened it, and there was a letter explaining all about the rare book and ebay and how the check came when they had given up on selling the book. He said it was a windfall for them, and usually he didn't have any trouble finding a place to spend money, but he was sending it to me to use in my ministry, either for the library or for mailing books to Africa. I then noticed a small envelope inside the bigger one, and opened it. It held a check for $500! I gasped.
It was exactly 10 times what Victor and I had prayed for! I acted on faith, and God provided in a way and from a source I never expected. Jim is not a Christian. The Holy Spirit spoke to the heart of a non-Christian and provided a strange way to provide for the needs of poor Christian on a different continent.
I am driven to tears, for praise to God for providing the way he did, and for Jim, who listened to the Lord and responded in a way you'd never expect a nonChristian to respond to God.
May this be just one stepping stone on a journey of faith in Christ for Jim. That would be answer to a prayer I have been praying for 10 years!
My brother-in-law is not a Christian. Couldn't care less about God, Christ, or anything else spiritual. He's an engineer, practical, mathematical man.
Two weeks ago, one of my African clients requested some expensive study Bibles that he can't afford and aren't available in his Muslim-dominated area. Last week, his order came in and I notified him that I would be shipping it out right away. He begged me to send them air mail, since ground mail can take months to reach him. I told him I didn't have the money, but we should pray that someone would give us a grant to make up the difference in cost between shipping ground mail and air mail. We've been praying.
Three years ago, my brother-in-law bought a used book at a flea market or used bookstore. It was an ordinary-looking book about kids who use an amateur radio to save the world. Typical preteen reading material from the 1930's. He paid less than $5 for the book.
Three weeks ago, he was looking at ebay and saw a book being auctioned, and the book looked familiar. He went into his book collection and saw the exact same book, same edition, in the same condition on his bookshelf. He followed the auction as it proceeded, and the final bid on the book was $601. He contacted the runner-up bidders and told them he had the same book that he would sell to them. He heard nothing about it for weeks, and my sister was getting ready to give the book to her son's school for a rummage sale.
Last weekend, I took my nephew home for a visit (he's been with me all summer while he works at a local park), and I showed them my photos from my mission trip to South Dakota. They made appropriate remarks about the scenary and how nice the church looked when we were finished and I put the photos away and my sister and I went shopping.
Today, I took the box of Bibles to the post office and mailed it off, on faith, figuring the money for airmail would come from somewhere. The total postage bill came to $79, $50 more than ground mail would have cost.
On monday, my brother-in-law received a certified check from one of the runner-up bidders paying for the rare book.
Today, I went to my mailbox and there was a letter from my brother-in-law, which is unusual, since my sister usually sends all the letters. I opened it, and there was a letter explaining all about the rare book and ebay and how the check came when they had given up on selling the book. He said it was a windfall for them, and usually he didn't have any trouble finding a place to spend money, but he was sending it to me to use in my ministry, either for the library or for mailing books to Africa. I then noticed a small envelope inside the bigger one, and opened it. It held a check for $500! I gasped.
It was exactly 10 times what Victor and I had prayed for! I acted on faith, and God provided in a way and from a source I never expected. Jim is not a Christian. The Holy Spirit spoke to the heart of a non-Christian and provided a strange way to provide for the needs of poor Christian on a different continent.
I am driven to tears, for praise to God for providing the way he did, and for Jim, who listened to the Lord and responded in a way you'd never expect a nonChristian to respond to God.
May this be just one stepping stone on a journey of faith in Christ for Jim. That would be answer to a prayer I have been praying for 10 years!
