In 1975, shortly after I was born again, I went to a business where I could make copies of papers.
A little old man came up to me and said, "Little lady. You didn't park behind that green and gold car did you?"
"No sir," I replied.
Then he said to me, "That's a Baylor car." (Baylor is a Baptist University in Texas.)
Then he asked, "You don't happen to be a Christian do you?"
With much excitement I answered, "Well yes, I am!"
Then he said, "Oh heck! I just joined the witnessing class at First Baptist Church, and you are the first person I have chosen to witness to."
***
When I lived in Clovis, New Mexico, USA (1985-2001), some teenaged girls who were carrying folded papers came to my house. They rang doorbell and I answered the door.
One girl said, "We are from Potter's House church and we have come to invite you to attend our church."
I replied, "Your pastor told me he did not want me to come to his church."
Without a word, the girls turned and walked away from my house. caring their give away pamphlets which told about their church group.
***
In 1982, I had a meeting for my radio audience in Seattle, Washington, at the convention center.
Waiting outside the meeting door was the Seattle radio station manager.
He said, "Joan ... you have many wonderful messages. Just speak those messages. If you keep speaking these judgment messages, I don't know what might happen to you. We might have to put you off the air."
Instantly, the Holy Spirit arose in me and I replied, "George ... if I don't speak the message I believe to be from God, then I don't have a message, and I may as well be off the air."
Luke 21
13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
***
In the 1990's, on a Sunday, I went to grocery store and was standing in line at the cashiers station, waiting to pay for my groceries.
The woman in front of me was talking to the cashier and she said, "I can't believe you are working on a Sunday." (Cashier seemed to be from this woman's church group.)
In a humble way, cashier began to try to explain why she was working on that Sunday. She said, "They needed me to work because the cashier who was scheduled became ill."
The other woman continued to chastise the cashier.
Finally I spoke up and said, "I can't believe you, who want to live by Old Testament laws, are purchasing groceries on a Sunday. For if you want to live by rules of the Old Testament, you would not be allowed to be out of your house buying groceries on a Sunday."
Both women were probably a little shocked and neither woman continued to talk.
I checked out and left.
The woman in front of me was talking to the cashier and she said, "I can't believe you are working on a Sunday." (Cashier seemed to be from this woman's church group.)
In a humble way, cashier began to try to explain why she was working on that Sunday. She said, "They needed me to work because the cashier who was scheduled became ill."
The other woman continued to chastise the cashier.
Finally I spoke up and said, "I can't believe you, who want to live by Old Testament laws, are purchasing groceries on a Sunday. For if you want to live by rules of the Old Testament, you would not be allowed to be out of your house buying groceries on a Sunday."
Both women were probably a little shocked and neither woman continued to talk.
I checked out and left.
***
I was playing golf with two women, one a Church of Christ member and the other a Methodist.
The Methodist woman, began complaining about those people who judge others.
The Holy Spirit arose in me and I said: "If you judge people are judging, aren't you judging?"
The Methodist woman made a gasping sound as if a balloon full of hot air had been stuck by a pin.
***
Pam Padgett has a very interesting story of a time in a non-denominational church in Oklahoma when she signed up to go on a "ministry" trip where their singles class was going to minister to another church group in another Oklahoma city.
Here is Pam telling that story:
Many years ago I was attending a non-denominational church (and its singles group) in Edmond, Oklahoma, the city where I went to college. After graduation, I moved about 30 miles away but continued to attend this church although I no longer attended the singles group.
I wanted to continue associating with the people in the singles group, so sat with them during the Sunday morning service. However, when it became known that I had shared scriptures warning of adultery to a man and divorced woman who planned to marry, as well as to the woman who planned to be the maid of honor, those in the singles group no longer wanted anything to do with me. I continued to attend this church and sat by myself rather than with the those in the singles group.
Over the next few months I noticed that those who sat in the "singles" area of the church building were not the people I had known; different people were evidently now attending the singles group meetings.
About that time an announcement was made during the Sunday morning service that those in the singles group were going to Guymon, Oklahoma to "minister" to a church group there. I thought this would be a great opportunity to get to know people now attending the singles group and I signed up for the trip.
It takes 4-5 hours to get to Guymon from Edmond. This trip was in the fall, which is a warm time of year in Oklahoma, and we were to travel on 3 or 4 non-air-conditioned, rough-riding school buses.
When I got on one of the buses to start the trip, I looked for someone to talk with, but no one showed even a smile. They were all involved in their own conversations with people they already knew and made no effort to welcome someone new. So I sat in a seat by myself.
Then I noticed a woman sitting a few seats behind me. She was crying but no one around her seemed interested or even to notice. I was getting ready to go see if there was anything I could do to help her, but just then someone else sat in the seat next to her. For the entire trip to Guymon no one was friendly toward me.
By the time we got off the buses at Guymon it was evening. Some people at the church group in Guymon had offered to let people from our group stay at their homes, so after we got off the buses we were assigned a home in which to stay. I was assigned to a home with the woman who had been crying on the bus, Linda, together with one other woman.
We were to stay at the home of a widow who opened her home to us. Linda and I visited with this woman who was very friendly, but the other woman from the singles group was upset because she wasn't assigned to stay at a home with her friends, so she went to her room and didn't visit at all with any one else. Extremely rude to all of us and especially to this widow who had opened her home to us and prepared for our stay.
The next morning we were to go to a church service and "minister". I asked one of the men who seemed in charge what we were to do to "minister" but, incredibly, he couldn't answer my question. We landed up just singing a couple songs, and then left after the service, riding on the school buses another 4-5 hours back to Edmond.
Linda and I remained friends, but I didn't participate in any other singles events.
***
As a relatively new Christian in 1977, I went to a prayer group which met in a home in my neighborhood in Dallas, Texas.
I liked the women in that group and I became involved in a "deliverance" group, 4 of the women who were going to homes "upon invitation from home owner."
Our goal was to cast devils out of the houses.
It was really great fun. And after we cast devils out of the house, we went to eat at some nice restaurant in Dallas.
(Years later, I learned that devils do not live in houses but rather devils live in humans! But never mind.)
One of the houses we went to belonged to Clint Murchison, who owned the Dallas Cowboy Football Team at that time.
His wife, Ann, invited us. She was a new Christian.
She was divorced from Gill Brant, the wonder-boy scout for the Cowboy football team.
The people I knew at that time were very concerned that Gill Brant might leave the Cowboys after Ann married the owner of the team. All that was important to us was winning. Gill Brant was one of the main reason the team was so successful during those years. Forget adultery. I never recall anyone in the church circles even mentioning adultery in this divorce/remarriage.
Mark 10:11-12 And HE (Jesus) saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
I Corinthians 7:10-11 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
Romans 7:1-3 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Church people that I knew just said, "We aren't under the law in the New Testament church" ... explaining away the above scripture. But Paul was speaking this to the New Testament church. The fact is this: The New Testament is not under the old testament law of Moses concerning sacrifices of animals for sins. But we are to follow the New Testament rules and we will all be judged by the rules in the New Testament Bible.
***
A pastor of a small church group in San Angelo, Texas, asked me to speak to his church.
After I spoke, pastor asked people who wanted prayer to come forward.
A line of people formed.
The pastor asked me to pray for the people.
I went up to a woman and asked her, "And what is it you want from God?"
She replied, "I's just wants more of God."
I said to her, "God will tell me what you are doing."
She began waving her hands in the air and in a very loud voice screamed, "OH NO, LORD. Don't tell her!"
The whole congregation broke out in gales of laughter.
I don't remember us praying for anyone else after that.
***
John 21, Jesus said to Peter:
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
Many of us did lots of strange and "wonderful" things in church groups as new Christians.
Acts 17
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31 Because HE hath appointed a day, in the which HE will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom HE hath ordained (Jesus, The Word); whereof HE hath given assurance unto all men, in that HE hath raised Him from the dead.
Now we draw much closer to the end and judgment.
We will be judged by the Word. Those who fall away from the Word put themselves into terrible situations.
We must agree with scripture and correct ourselves by scripture.
*****