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Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.
II Kings 13.20-21 A recent blessing from God reminded me of this little Biblical episode when, even in his death and in the midst of an unpleasant situation, the prophet Elisha was able to bring life to an unknown man. Twelve young people from Strasbourg had committed their extended Labor Day weekend (celebrated May 1st here) to evangelism and service in a church up north. The day before their arrival, a dear brother and long-time pillar of this church passed away. With all the details of the funeral to arrange and a heavy spirit pervading, it was no longer possible to host the young people for a weekend of upbeat, animated activities. But instead of canceling the whole thing, they called me and proposed their services and zeal, if we were in measure to receive them. That launched us in a whirlwind of activity to prepare the weekend: house and feed a dozen people on the fly and set up continuous evangelistic activities, as they did NOT want to come and do tourism. I printed thousands of invitations and tracts, and we announced a gospel meeting for Saturday evening with lots of songs and testimonies and a closing message. God did a magnificent work of ordaining and maintaining and blessing the whole thing. During the weekend, we headed out to populous areas in the heart of Paris (Place St Michel, Jardin du Luxembourg) to sing and engage conversations and invite interested seekers to discover the message of the Bible. It was encouraging to see the effect of numerous, joyful, faith-filled, singing youth, even on the hard-hearted Parisians. 3 persons came to church that evening as a result and lingered long afterwards discussing the gospel. We discovered anew the truth of Jesus’ words: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” God is powerful to do many things simultaneously as he works out his good plan. I praise God for the many things he has done here in Paris over the past 3 years, which have all worked together for good. I arrive at the end of my term in Paris, having completed three years of studies and service and now, numerous changes arise on the horizon. I’ll be coming home for 2 months this summer, our marriage will take place here in the fall, and in the winter, we plan to work alongside the church in Toulouse. We can’t see far into the future, but we proceed joyfully and expectantly “armed by faith and winged by pray’r.” Haste thee on from grace to glory, |
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