Down in the Valley -- Valley so Low

Pastors Track Green Lake 2015

When I was a teenager I always looked forward to Summer Camp. Most of my high school years, camp was held at Thousand Pines at Lake Gregory, in the San Bernardino Mountains. My reasons for looking forward to camp were not very spiritual. I was looking for a good time, girls, fun, girls and so on. Yet, even though my intention wasn't spiritual, God would speak to me. I would have a mountain-top experience. I actually received my first call to be a pastor there. I remember having a prayer time out at Inspiration Point. It was a real experience -- of course when I got back to reality I quickly rejected that idea until the 1970s. The counselors tried to warn us about what happens to our mountain-top experiences when we return to the Valley. Life crowds in and the memory of that wonderful experience at camp begins to fade away. 

I had a wonderful mountain-top experience (even though there was no mountain) at the Holy Spirit Conference in Green Lake,  Wisconsin early in July. What a fabulous conference. Those of you on facebook have undoubtedly seen scores of pictures and testimonies about the conference, so I am not going to repeat that. My purpose of writing this is to help us deal with our return to the Valley. 

I was so happy to get back home to my wife. I missed her. But I hadn't worried about our financial problems for over a week -- now I was back and had to deal with these. I didn't worry about the church for over a week -- now I was back and problems had to be dealt with (the church is doing well -- but people always have problems, myself included.) I didn't read a newspaper and tried not to look at the newscasts on the TV in the dining room -- now I was back and reading about Supreme Court decisions, treaties with Iran, terrible persecution in other countries, as well as murder, mayhem and, of course, politics. All of this is enough to lead one into depression -- or, at least, lose the glow from the wonderful conference at Green Lake.

How do I keep from losing the glow? The first thing I must do is look at God. He is still on the throne. He may not agree with the decisions that are made by our government, other governments or individual citizens of any country, but he is not shaken. He has seen it all before for at least the last several millenia and he is still on the throne. He will remain as Lord no matter what happens to the United States or any other country for that matter. This should give us some stability, for it is God who gives us our protection.

Secondly, I must spend time with God. It is from him that I will learn how I should react in times like these. This is true for our personal problems, relational problems, problems at work -- or national concerns. God will help us to deal with real life issues. Spending time with him is what gave us that wonderful experience at the conference, so let's keep it up -- the glow won't fade.

Finally, pray for each of these situations. We are told in the Bible to cast all of our cares on him -- for he cares for us. There are so many things in life that are sometimes too much to handle. God is not overwhelmed. He will guide us. He will give us peace and take our stress. As we are at peace, God will direct us. Now we are ready to take appropriate action. 

Indeed, we can bring the mountain-top down into our valley. 

A Healing with Power; What an Experience

Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me

I shook him, no response. His hands were like ice. I pressed my hand on his chest, he wasn't breathing. I began to pray. George had his hand on Tony's head, Dorothy was already talking to the 911 operator, Marlene (his friend for many years) was crying while the rest of the congregation was in prayer -- although some of them were also crying. What happened? 

Let me start from the beginning. Tony and Marlene recently began to attend the church. They have only been here 4 or 5 times, although many years ago, Marlene had been a member. The worship service began at 10 o'clock with singing. After our worship of song and praise, George leads us in a time of intercessory prayer. As he was praying, I was almost overcome with a sense that something wasn't right. Was there some sort of spirit of lethargy or oppression? 

After the prayer and offering, I read the scripture and then did something out of the ordinary for me; I prayed a prayer commanding the spirit of oppression to leave. Then I began to preach. I was about half way through the sermon when I noticed that Tony was asleep. Now I have put many people to sleep over the years, so I wasn't concerned, but then I noticed Marlene frantically motioning to Dorothy who was seated behind her. Dorthy got up and went to them. Then I saw George get up and go over to Tony. Something must be radically wrong! I stopped preaching and went over to Tony.

I began to talk to him -- no response. I gently shook him -- no response. I am no medical expert, but I can recognize sleep and have dealt with people who have passed out -- this was different. Then I touched his hands. They weren't just cold, they were icy to the touch (It was a very warm day.) Then is when I pressed my hand against his chest. As mentioned, I felt no breathing -- if he was breathing at all, it was imperceptible through touch. I didn't think to check for a pulse, I just began to pray. I prayed a lot in the spirit and then spoke healing to him and commanded his spirit to return and energize him. After a moment, it was as if he had just surfaced after being under water -- a large gulp for air -- then he seemed to submerge again. This happened three times and then he seemed to stabilize and his eyes opened. He was still very disoriented and confused, but he was conscious and breathing.

By this time, the paramedics had arrived and they took over. Dorothy continued to minister to Marlene and followed them to the hospital. At the hospital, basic tests were run, but nothing was found amiss. They were going to send him home, but Dorothy insisted that something major must have gone on. They said they would run more tests, so they kept him overnight. He is home now and his daughter doesn't know why he collapsed when he did, but she is very grateful that it happened when and where it did.

Was this a major healing. All of us who were witness would absolutely say YES! Can we prove it? Of course not, but, when you saw it happen, it was real. Ever since, the song that we sang at worship has been going through my head:

You are my strength,

Strength like no other,

Strength line no other,

It reaches me

You are my hope,

Hope like no other,

Hope like no other,

It reaches me.

God was with us in a special way on Sunday. We accept his healing. We accept his love and we accept his power working in and through us.

What a precious day.