No Life Down Here

30 November 2008

Dear Phyllis,

 A friend of mine, who had been at West Point, said the bravest act he ever saw was by a young plebe (underclassman) running across campus one day with a loose shoulder board flopping in the breeze. The discipline at West Point is extremely severe and one of the most serious infractions is to dishonor the uniform. Three upperclassmen spotted the plebe with the loose shoulder board, and started boring in on him for the kill. When the plebe saw the three upperclassmen running towards him he suddenly stopped to inspect himself to see what was wrong. He discovered the loose shoulder board, and knew he had had the course. Just before the upperclassmen got to him, he suddenly grabbed the shoulder board, tore it off his shoulder; holding it up to his mouth like a mike he shouted the famous line from a Star Trek movie, “Beam me up, Scottie! There’s no life down here.” Everyone within hearing range exploded with laughter. That brilliant remark saved the plebe from severe discipline.

That is the way I feel today. I wish I had a radio where I could speak to my Lord Jesus and have Him beam me up. There is no life down here.

 For the past five years Mark has been extremely kind in allowing me to live in his Bible warehouse for free. Without free housing it would be impossible for me to live anywhere. This means that I am somewhat responsible for the security of the warehouse. For the past several months we have had an enormous supply of Karen Bibles for the Karen people in Burma. Most of them were designated, but I did have liberty to allow a few people to have some for their personal work among the Karen. As the supply was getting low, Mark told me, “Please don’t give any more out.” Last week some excellent missionaries from a considerable distance visited here and asked if we had any Karen Bibles. We still have a very large stack and what they were asking for was about 1%. Mark was out of town at the time, and I couldn’t contact him. I knew it was wrong, but considering the over all picture of what these Karen Bibles were printed for, it seemed reasonable to allow these missionaries to have a few. I knew it was going to be a problem when Mark came back, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened.

I was over at their house fixing some things. Mark was not there, and I had not seen him since he had returned from his trip down south. I knew I had to break the news somehow, and decided to tell his wife first. When I told Astrid that I had given away some Karen Bibles, she went totally ballistic. For the next five minutes I was the recipient of the most severe tongue lashing I had had in many years. There was nothing I could do but stand there and bleed. Everything Astrid said was right. I apologized and agreed with all that she said.  But that didn’t restore the Bibles I had given away. Mark later came to speak with me and was extremely gracious. But that didn’t erase the fact that all that Astrid had said was correct, and what I had done was wrong.

I have greatly enjoyed living here, but have wondered when the roof would fall in, and I would have to leave again. This has happened every place I have ever been. It has come to me with overwhelming reality that Mark cannot have someone living in his warehouse who is not responsible, and allows things to go out that shouldn’t. The right and moral thing to do is to return the key to him, and move. I would have done that the other night except I have no other place on this planet to live. The only stable home I have is in heaven, but I can’t get there.

If I had the money, and a place to live in Japan, I would return to Japan.

New Life League is the finest organization I have ever seen. Roald Lidal is a world-class administrator. He is an extremely practical and pragmatic man. When the negative exceeds the positive, the object is eliminated. By doing this, he has created a very efficient organization. I watched several long-standing members of the staff ushered to the door, and the day came when the carpenter was another one deleted from the staff.

 When I was released from New Life League six years ago, Roald Lidal was extremely kind in allowing me to keep my name on the door to my room there. He assured me that that would always be my home as long as I was still on this earth. With my permanent Japanese visa, Japan is my legal residence, and NLL was the only legal home I had. But that went up in smoke.

Two years ago, on my way to America to get a Thai visa, I stopped in Japan for two months. At first, the time was excellent. They had a serious need for some boards for one of the presses. They had bought some from someplace, but they were a mess. I had the equipment and ability to make exactly what they needed for a cheap price. I was greatly encouraged. I thought if there was really a need for me, and I was making a positive contribution, I would be delighted to return to Japan three months of the year to help out.

But while I was there I felt the Lord was leading me in a certain direction and made some serious inquiry to determine the will of God. Unfortunately that was disastrous and caused a major problem. Three days before my time to return to Thailand, Roald had to call me in to have a difficult talk. I saw what a major disruption I had caused and could no loner stay there. I threw all my personal belongings in a dumpster, took my name off the door to my room, and left without saying goodbye to anyone.

 Since then I have tried to recover many times, but the mistake that I made has been carved in stone and can never be removed. I have learned by painful experience that the principle of the Prodigal Son and Onesimus (Philemon) is not operative in Christian circles. By law, we can be forgiven, but restoration is nearly impossible. I have been forgiven for my error in NLL, but all my futile attempts have proven that restoration is out of the question. As a result of that, I have lost my home in Japan and cannot return to NLL.

With this recent failure here in Chiang Mai, a shadow has fallen across my residence here. Fortunately, my initial coming to SEA has produced some positive results. Mark attributes much of his present success to contacts that have come through me. But it looks like the time of my usefulness may have come to an end, and now I am more of a liability than an asset. When the negative exceeds the positive, the negative must be removed. If this is the case, then perhaps the Cloud is rising and it is time for me to move on.

 Where that would be, I haven’t the faintest idea. There is not one place on this planet that has extended a request for me. The only thing that is keeping me here in Chiang Mai, at the moment, is wood working. And anybody can do that. With tight finances, I am greatly restricted in my options. If I had the money, I would be in Afghanistan today. I really don’t have the money to go anywhere, and my Thai visa will be up in a couple of months.

The Apostle Paul could say, “I am in a strait betwixt the two; having a desire to depart to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” But I can’t say that. It is more needful for NLL that I not stay there, and it is more needful for Mark that I not stay here. And I don’t know of one other place on this planet that has any need of me. Except perhaps someplace in the Islamic world. And I don’t have the finances for that.

Where does that leave me? Today I could joyfully stand next to that komaru plebe at West Point and say, “Beam me up, Scottie, my life is worthless down here.”

Hoping to see you soon,   bill

Jeanna in Prison

23 November 2008

 Dear Phyllis,

People often ask me, “What do you do in Thailand?” My reply is, “I do the same thing in Thailand that I did in Japan – I abide in Christ.” In following the Lord I have found that there are two aspects to guidance – geographic guidance and vocational guidance. If we get our geographic guidance straight – where the Lord wants us to live – He will take care of the vocational guidance – what He wants us to do. And very often we find that it is surprising what He wants us to do. Vocationally, I could scratch my head why I am in Chiang Mai. I came down here ten years ago for the express purpose of being a Bible Currier, of taking Bibles into closed countries around Thailand. But today I am doing very little of that important ministry. I am spending a large portion of my time in my shop making furniture for Christians. But that is only something to do when I am not engaged in things more important. Ironically, the important things are things I do on the side. One of which is to go to the Chiang Mai womens prison every Wednesday. This has proven to be a major event in my life.

A year and a half ago, Scott Noble asked me to go with him to talk to a lady who was in there for killing her husband. Jeanna was totally upside down with New Age, and infected with ridiculous demons of deception. What has happened since then has been one of the major blessings of my life. Jeanna has turned out to be one of the most amazing phenomenons I have ever seen. For the first year I went in there every week to teach and disciple her. But now I go more to drink. Gomen nasai for mentioning her soften, but she is one of the chief reasons I am here.

If I was to express Jeanna’s main distinguishing characteristic it would be, the flow is outward. Like few people I have ever met in my life, the entire flow of her life is outward. That is; she is thinking almost entirely, not what she can get for herself, but what she can do for others. A few months ago I was commenting on what an amazing thing the Lord has done in transforming her into an outstanding Christian. And she burst out, “Yes, but it is for a reason – we must reach others! We must reach others!”

 Last Wednesday was another banner day. I left that prison so full I was almost speechless. What I had just listened to blew me away. It had been five weeks since the last time Scott and I had been able to get back in for our weekly meeting and Jeanna was exploding with things to tell me. I can’t begin to get it all in one letter, but one was her experience in leading another prisoner to Christ

She said that recently she met a 61 year old woman who was in there on a 40 year sentence. She has served 1 year, and still has 39 years yet to go. The Holy Spirit said to Jeanna, “I want you to go witness to that lady.” Jeanna protested, “I can’t do that. I can’t speak Thai and she doesn’t know a word of English.” But the Lord was insistent. So Jeanna went up to her and gave her a big hug. The woman burst into tears. The next day Jeanna saw her again and gave her another warm embrace. Again the shower of tears. After a couple of days, the Lord reminded Jeanna that she had some excellent Thai tracts explaining salvation. Jeanna also had an English copy so she could track page for page what the Thai tract was saying. She sat down with her new friend and took her through the plan of salvation one page at a time. But when they came to the last page of accepting Jesus as her savior, the lady balked and kept pointing  to her cell. Jeanna had no idea what she was saying, but had to commit her to the Lord. The next day the woman came up to her with the tract and pointed to the last page of accepting Jesus as her savior. Then she turned to the page about believing in her heart that He had died for her sins, and confessing with her mouth that she believed. She kept pointing to the pages and pointing to herself, nodding her head. That was her way of telling Jeanna that she had prayed by herself in her cell and was saved. There is a very good church in that prison with many prisoners who have become Christian. Jeanna took the old lady to introduce her to the prison pastor, and has got her established into that church now. Pretty good!

I didn’t get the details of another incident Jeanna was sharing with me, but somehow the Lord told her to wash the feet of another prisoner. But the Lord warned her, “Have that person read the story in the Bible before you do it.” Jeanna has only been saved a year and a half, and is still a little fresh with her knowledge of the Scripture. She asked, “Lord, where is that story written in the Bible?” The thought came to her, “I believe it is in John.” Then an hour later she picked up a piece of paper that had a picture of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet with John 13 written on it. She showed the other lady that passage of Scripture and had her read it. Then a day or two later she got a bucket of water and a towel. She knelt down and began to wash the feet of the other prisoner, gently wiping them with the towel and kissed her feet. The woman burst into tears and wept loudly. Jeanna could hardly speak as she was relating this incident to me. Tears were pouring down her own cheeks, and she said, “Bill, that was God’s gift to me.”

This morning I went to Allan Eubank’s Thai church again. It is really wonderful to see Jesus in these Thai people. There was a young couple that gave an excellent testimony. David Eubank is building a new center for his FBR (Free Burma Rangers) ministry. His father, Allan, had led one of the carpenters building the center to Christ. The carpenter told what a wonderful transformation had come to his heart after Jesus moved in to live there; and several excellent answers to prayer. Then his wife gave a great testimony. Like many Oriental brides, she and the mother-in-law were having a fierce war. but Jesus has intervened and peace has come to that house at last.

That testimony reminded me of my friends in Karuizawa, the Aonumas. Like many Japanese families, the eldest son and his wife lived with the mother and father. The tension between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law was horrendous! Finally the parents were exhausted, and someone had to have some rest. They decided to go to Hawaii for a vacation to get away from that horrible atmosphere in the home. Before they left, Haruko was talking to my very dear friend, Takako Yamamoto, and told her that they were going to Hawaii for a vacation

When she heard that, Takako said, “Oh, I have a very good friend, Pastor Tsuchiya, in Hawaii. Would you mind taking a present to him from me?” Takako went out and bought some fruit. Then she called Tsuchiya sensei. It was a setup. Takako knew if she gave them fruit, the Aonumas would have to deliver the package soon after arriving. Three days later Takako got a phone call at 3:00 in the morning from Hawaii. The plan worked. The Aonumas had delivered the fruit to Tsuchiya sensei, and he led them to Christ.

When Jesus came into Haruko’s heart, the world became a different place. She saw her own sin in what she was doing in contributing to the tension in the home with the war with her daughter-in-law. As soon as she got home, she did something that is unthinkable in Japan. She went to her daughter-in-law, bowed her head, and apologized for the wrong she had done. The shock of that was utterly traumatic! Keiko was more than stunned. Soon she started going to church with Haruko to see what in the world kind of power it was that changed her mother-in-law. It wasn’t long before Keiko also opened her heart to Jesus.

You talk about a miracle; now there was one! What were formerly two combatants in a mortal fight to the death became two loving sisters in Christ. Both women developed a respect for the other and were quick to acknowledge and apologize when they became aware of their own wrong doing.

The gal this morning hasn’t come that far. She testified how the Lord has taken the bitterness out of her heart and dislike for her mother-in-law. Previously they were living in the same house but almost never spoke to each other. The mother-in-law isn’t saved yet but the lady was surprised at the way the Lord is working in her heart, and they are on pleasant speaking terms now – for the first time. Needless to say, she is praying daily for the salvation of her mother-in-law.

Isn’t that terrific?! That is what happens when Jesus takes over. The flow starts going the other way. The flow in Jeanna is unbelievable! It is like a river of living water. That same River saved the Aonuma family, and that same River is flowing in the family of the Thai carpenter and his wife. The faces are different. The language is different. But the same indwelling Christ is identical wherever you find him. Even in you and me.

                                                            bill

 

River, Balloon or Fountain?

16 November 2008

Dear Phyllis,

Another real slow week in Thailand. There is very little to write about today.

Perhaps the biggest news is that last week was the Loy Kratong festival in Thailand. That is one of the two most widely celebrated festivals in Thailand each year. Loy means washing away, and this is the time of year when everybody gets cleansed from their sins. We sometime think that the heathen don’t have a conscience of sin, but it is significant that nearly all cultures have some sort of a major festival to cleanses themselves from their sins. The Thais have an interesting way of dealing with sin. They make little boats out of banana leaves and put a candle on it; then they placed all their sins on that boat and set it adrift in the river. Some people place a little money on their boat to insure that god receives their offering to cleanse them from sin. This might help people to feel somewhat cleansed from sin, but it doesn’t do much for the rivers to be cleansed from pollution, as thousands of these little boats litter the banks down stream. And some enterprising folks add to their wealth by going through the litter of boats and collect the money placed on them.

Perhaps this might help some people, in an imaginative way, to feel relieved from sin by practicing this Buddhist custom, but we know that only God can forgive sin. And He has His own way that He has provided for us to cleanse us from our sins. In Zech.13:1 the Lord tells us; “In that day there shall be a Fountain opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness.”

I have often thought that I am glad that this is not an ofuro (Japanese bathtub). As you know, in Japan, a person bathes outside the tub and then gets in the tub to soak. Over in Kusatsu there are many onsens (spas) where the hot sulfur water comes right up out of that volcanic ground. That mineral water is so strong it actually will heal some kinds of skin diseases. Because of that, many years ago they built a leprosarium so that people with leprosy could bathe in that healing water. I have been over to that leprosarium many times sharing Christ with the people living there. I don’t mind sitting in a room full of lepers, but I sure wouldn’t want to get in a hot tub with any of them.

Jeanna Crain got baptized before she was saved. Jeanna later said to me, “When you get baptized, isn’t that where you are supposed to get your sins washed away?” I replied, “Some people look at it that way.” Then Jeanna went on, “When I got baptized, there were four other ladies. I was the last one to get in the baptistery. If the previous four washed all their sins away, and then I got in that filthy water it, what does that do to me?” I was greatly amused by Jeanna’s sincere concern for getting defiled by someone else’s sin, and I assured her that getting wet in that baptistery didn’t affect her in anyway. But if that was the way God had provided for us to get cleansed in an ofuro or a baptistery, I really wouldn’t care to get in that water after someone else had bathed there.

When I was a boy I worked on a farm one summer. At noon, the farmer’s wife would ring a bell and about half a dozen farm workers would gather at the house for hunch. They didn’t have running water in that house, and we had to draw water from a well to wash up. The first one there would get a bucket and fill the washbasin with water to wash his hands. Typical of human nature, the second man didn’t want to make the trip to the well, and would wash in the used water.  But by the time the third or fourth man got to the washbasin the water was filthy. He would have to throw it out and go get some fresh water. I have always been grateful that it wasn’t just a washbasin that God had provided for us to be cleansed from sin.

And I have always been grateful that it isn’t a river. A river might be an improvement over a Japanese ofuro, or a farm washbasin; but there are still disadvantages to a river. The problem is that the river doesn’t really deal with sin, but simply carries it down stream like the Loy Kratong banana leaf boats. If that was the way to deal with sin, the devil could easily go down stream to retrieve our sins and bring them back to us. He could hold our sins up to us and say, “Isn’t this yours? I just found it down stream.”

In addition to putting their sins on a banana leaf boat to set them adrift in a river, the Thais have another very interesting way of dealing with sin. They have amazing little hot air balloons, about a meter (3 ½ feet) high, with a very effective candle inside. When they light this candle, it heats the air inside the balloon. Then they place all their sins on that hot air balloon, and let it go up into the night sky. You should see it. I don’t know any place on earth where there is such an amazing display of dozens, to thousands, of these glowing hot air balloons filling the night sky. The first year I was in Thailand in November, I was riding my bike home from town one night, and saw the most bewildering thing in the shy. It was something like I had never seen in my life. I was many times brighter than the brightest star in the shy. It looked like an airplane with its lights on for landing, but it didn’t move like an airplane. Then someone told me it was a Loy Kratong hot air balloon. At Mae Jo University, very near where I live, they have a big deal every year when they send up at least one thousand balloons at one time. What a sight! It looks like northern lights as a thousand of these glowing balloons suddenly slowly go up together filling the night sky.

But there is a problem. What goes up must come down. There is a very large rice field right behind my house. The other morning I saw the remains of five Loy Kratong balloons that had come down scattered all over the neighbor’s rice field. I don’t know where all these balloons go, but I am sure someone has to clean up the mess. Thank God my sins aren’t on one of those balloons. I wouldn’t want someone else to see my sins and have to clean up the mess.

Fortunately, the Father has provided the most wonderful way of dealing with sin. He has provided a fountain. There is one thing about a fountain. You can’t defile it. No matter how many times you get in it, or how filthy the sin you wash away, the fountain is always flowing – it is always fresh. The fountain never gets polluted. And when you bathe in a fountain, where does the filth go? It just drains into the earth and disappears. You can’t find it again. One time I had gotten gunked up with sin, and had to go to Jesus for cleansing again. I was terribly discouraged and embarrassed. I was genuinely reluctant to go to Jesus and ask Him to forgive me again.  But then He said, “It is okay. It is a fountain. No matter how often you bathe; no matter how bad the filth you have to wash away, the fountain is always fresh. You can’t defile it.” It has been said that the forgetfulness of God is so complete that, no matter how many times you have to go to Him to repent of oft-repeated sin, and say, “Lord, I am sorry to ask you to forgive this sin again.” The Lord replies, “I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t recall of ever forgiving you of that sin.”

In Zachariah’s day he wrote in future tense – looking forward – “In that day…a Fountain will be opened…” But praise God we know today what that Fountain is, and when it was opened! That Fountain is the Blood of Jesus. “And the Blood of Jesus Christ…cleanseth us from ALL sin” (1 Jn. 1:7).  When was the day that that Fountain was opened? That was at Calvary, 2000 years ago. And that Fountain is as fresh today as it ever was. It was William Cowper who wrote, “There is a Fountain filled with Blood, drawn from Emanuel’s veins, and sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” Oh my goodness, what a mystery!!! Praise God it is real!!!

 The Thais may have their festival each year when they place their sins on their little banana leaf boats to set them adrift in the Ping River. Or place their sins on their hot air balloons; but that can never deal with sin as effectively as the privilege we have to be cleansed in the Fountain Jesus opened for us at Calvary.

Gomen nasai, Phyllis. I am sorry that I don’t have anything more exciting to write about this week than the Loy Kratong festival,  but I don’t know anything that is better news, or more satisfying, than to be reminded of the inexpressible miracle the Father has provided for us in this wonderful Fountain where we can bathe daily for cleansing from sin.

It sure feels good to be clean doesn’t it?      bill

Suicide

9 November 2008

 Dear Phyllis,

It would seem obvious that this past week has been a significant week in American – perhaps world – history. In my e-mail this morning a friend sent me a picture of a tomb stone. On it was written “The United States of America

                                                                 Born July 4, 1776

                                                                 Died November 4, 2008

                                                                 Suicide   

 

This may be a little graphic but there is no question that we have marked a highly significant event in history.

Recently a friend gave me a CD of a message by John McArthur, given on National Prayer Day. It was a truly outstanding message in which he suggested that God has hung Romans 1:18-32 over America. That passage in Romans 1 is probably the most frightening, depressing, passage in the Word of God. It describes the toboggan slide of humanity, beginning with what God has revealed of Himself to humanity and winds up at the bottom of the sewer of moral depravity. In that frightening free fall into the pit it is recorded three times, “For which cause God gave them up”  (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). Each time it is recorded three different nouns are used telling of what God has given them over to. In verse 24 it says that God gave them over to “uncleanness”. In verse 26 we read that God “gave them up to vile affections”. And finally in verse 28 we see that they were “given over to a reprobate mind.”

This principle applies to both individuals and possibly to a nation. But the sobering truth is that if God gives them up, it is all over. You can forget about praying for salvation. As long as God is striving there is hope. But when God gives them up, there is nothing left to stop the sicken plunge downward. In his message McArthur simple comment on the unbelievable moral condition America has gotten into and the shocking transition of how America moved from being a God fearing nation to where we are today; where the most vile forms of perversion are not only accepted, but taught as normal and celebrated. On this CD that I listened to, Jim Dobson played sound bite from a mandatory auditorium assembly for high school students in Bolder Co.; where the school officials had gotten some top-ranked authorities on social conduct – some eminent psychologists and educators – to talk to the students about social conduct. Unbelievably, these authorities (?) were encouraging the students to use drugs, engage in sex and practice any form of sexual perversion that came to mind. This was promoted by the school officials! Dobson suggested that what is happening in Bolder High School is undoubtedly being promoted in thousands of high schools all over America. When we see this being taught in the public education system, is there any question whether or not God has given us up?

The only criticism I had with McArthur's message was that he closed with the passage from Ps. 81:11-16 – “My people would not harken to My Voice...so I gave them up unto their own heart’s lust, and they walked in their own counsel. Oh that My people had harkened unto Me….” McArthur's concluded that if America repents that the Lord will again feed America with the finest wheat… (verse 11). Unfortunately with his conclusion McArthur denied his own message and disqualified himself as being a man of God. When he left the door ajar for repentance and hope for salvation he denies the principle of what happens when God gives a nation over to a reprobate mind. Ps. 81 is not a fig leaf of hope for salvation. The verb tenses are all past tense. The Psalm says, “If  they had… I would have…” We can be sympathetic with John McArthur in his attempt to excite repentance and hold out hope for salvation, but when God lets go there is nothing left but destruction

I don’t believe there is any question but God has turned America to the hands of some of the most evil people to run the government now. I fear the fall of America will be very rapid from here out. Thank God there certainly is a remnant of godly people still in America. God has not left Himself without a witness, but very soon the lines will be drawn between those who stand for Christ and those who are trying to be man-pleasers.

Ironically with the lights going out in America, I am even more encouraged with the Back to Jerusalem movement. It seems obvious that in the very near future China will be the number one super power in the world, and with that ascendance, the Church in China will ride that horse to evangelize the 10-40 window. When the lights went out in Jerusalem, at the time of the Babylonian captivity, the Lord raised up some of His greatest prophets in Daniel, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. Historically, we have seen the movement of the Spirit of God as He has moved across the face of the globe. Germany and England were once the fortress of the faith, but they are very dark countries today. America is rapidly joining them in their darkness but China is growing brighter every day.

Last Tuesday night I was attending a prayer meeting with mostly elderly missionaries, but there was one young girl (late 20s or early 30) who was radically different. I meet very few people that I would call Spirit-filled. But this sister was so filled with the Spirit of Christ, Jesus was just pouring out of her. After the meeting I asked, “Where are you from?”

“China.”

Naru hodo (oh is see), that explained it. I told her, “You have the spirit of the Chinese Christian.” She was slam different. She told me that she was with the Back to Jerusalem Movement living in Thailand for three years. She is just one of tens of thousands of burning Chinese believers. She obviously comes from the revival area in northeast China. The contrast of believes like that and “ordinary” Christians is dramatic.

In my last two letters I have mentioned a German man I have been meeting with. Last week I said, “The first time I met Mannford I thought he was about 2/3 saved. The first night we had a Bible study he moved up to 3/4 saved, but the next night he slipped to less than half saved.” We had another Bible study Wednesday night. Mannford is now 98% saved. He was outstanding. Previously he had almost no interest in the Word of God. and he had never marked a Bible. Wednesday night he answered every question right on the money and he is marking up his Bible. I believe he is falling in love with Jesus and His Word.

Wednesday night we were studying John 4 – the woman at the well. I told of an experience I had one night preaching in Siberia. I had preached to an auditorium full of seeking Russians and about 100 had come forward to be saved. I left the personal work to our Russian team members and I was praying backstage. My interpreter, Natasha, came back to find me weeping. She was surprised and asked, “Bill, why are you crying?”

“Because they don’t know the gift of God and who Jesus is.” In john 4:10, Jesus told the woman, “If you knew the gift of God and Who you are talking to, you would ask Me (for living water).” I was deeply disturbed that night that those poor Russians didn’t know the gift of God and who Jesus is. This is the basic problem with humanity today. Very few people know what the gift of God is, and who Jesus is. If they did they would ask and be saved.

Then I told of an exchange I had with a Bible teacher in the school in Chernigovka. She thought she had to keep the 10 Commandments to be saved. I showed her 1 Jn. 5:11, 12 – “This is the record that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

First I asked Mannford, “What is the gift of God?” He replied, “Jesus Christ.”  AMEN!!!

“Have you accepted Jesus, and do you have the Son of God?”

“Yes I have. I do have Jesus.”

“Do you have eternal life?”

“Yes I do.”       Amen! Amen! Amen! Ten thousand times amen!

A month ago Mannford couldn’t answer those questions. He told me flat out, “I do not know the Lord and I don’t have eternal life.” This is what it is all about. The lights are going out n America. God has turned the government to evil people who will hasten its destruction, but in the Orient it is getting brighter everyday. It sure is fun being here.

                                                  bill

 

PS: What is the weather like in heaven?

Holding It!

2 November 2008

Dear Phyllis,

I’m home. You probably guessed that already. My trip to Laos last week was truly a historic one, but the trip home proved to be unusual also. I have traveled so much on night busses that I have thought about putting a vibrator on the bed in my bedroom because I sleep better on moving objects than on a still platform. But this last trip was different.

I really felt marvelous during my 1,000 km ride in northern Laos, but Monday morning, as I was getting ready to head back to Thailand, when I went to the bathroom, I felt a sensation that was disturbing. Forty four years ago, when I was doing house to house dendo (evangelism) in Mei-ken (prefecture) I collapsed with shot kidneys. I had been trying to teach myself to live like the man who trained his horse to live on fresh air and exercise. He cut back on the hay a little bit every day until he finally got the horse trained. Unfortunately, after all that effort, the horse died. That is what I had been doing for nearly a year previous, and I was very proud that I could get by on so little – until I collapsed. Shortly after that I found myself in the states for a medical furlough. I had some painful moments passing blood. Urologists in the states told me that I had a kidney disorder from which I would never recover. Jesus healed me, and I have been in disgustingly good health ever since. But Monday morning I felt an uncomfortable sensation that was an indicator of a bladder problem.

I got back to Thailand shortly after noon and took the bus down to Udorn Thani where I get the night bus back to Chiang Mai. I asked for a VIP bus, but the gal selling tickets said all they had that night was a 2^nd class bus with no toilet. The price is considerably cheaper, and I have ridden 2^nd class busses many times. I was a little concerned about an emergency on a bus with no toilet, but I knew it stopped every two hours and thought I could tough it out.

I had to do some shopping in Udorn Thani, and went to the huge shopping center at Central. Unfortunately the calls to the rest room were getting more frequent, and I was having a problem with leaking. I thought, it’s ridiculous, but the only thing I could think of to alleviate that situation was to buy some sanitary pads. I thought, this is stupid; I’m a 72 year old male, and this is the first time I have ever worn one of these dumb things, and I didn’t know how to put one in my pants. And then the terrifying scenario kept plaguing me, “What in the world can I do on an overcrowded bus with no toilet, when I can’t wait two minutes?” The only thing I could think of was to use a bottle. Modesty doesn’t apply in that situation. I bought a bottle of tea for the sole purpose of using the bottle and put it in my bag.

 When I got back to the northern bus terminal, the situation was getting serious. There are two competing bus lines 50 meters apart and I went the other company to see if they had a VIP bus. Yes, they did. I canceled the ticket I had for the 2^nd class bus and paid a huge difference to get a seat on a VIP bus with a toilet. Man howdy, I got my moneys worth out of that!

We hadn’t been moving too long before the situation got totally out of control. I had absolutely zero control. My pants were getting very wet with it running down my leg. And then I started passing serious blood. That was the worst I had been since my problem in 1964.I thought the only way I could stay ahead of the curve was to try to preempt the call to the rest room, and started going to the toilet every 15 minutes – with blood at each visit. Then my body went bonkers. For an hour my whole body shook like I was having a severe chill. I thought, “Oh my goodness, this is going to be a ling night.” But by midnight the visits to the toilet got stretched out to an hour. And from 3:00 until 6:00 AM I was down to three hours. During the long night, I kept quoting Ps. 103:1-3; “Bless the Lord oh my soul… Who healeth all thy diseases…”.  “Lord Jesus, thank You for healing this problem.”

When I got off the bus in Chiang Mai the next morning I really felt quite well. Friends advised, “You had better go to the hospital to have that checked, and get some medicine.” I replied, “That is pointless. Jesus has healed me and I feel fine.” I really felt that I was completely healed, but I noticed that day that I was still spotting a little blood. Back to the sanitary pad. The only complaint I had Tuesday night was that I was shot. I didn’t feel like going anywhere, and went to bed around 9:00. I thought I got a pretty good nights sleep except I woke up very early, and had to go to the bathroom. I was shocked when I looked at the clock to see it was only 10:00 PM. The next time I woke up it was 11:00 and then 12:00.  But then there was only one more time before I got up at 5:00 to stay up. By Thursday all burning sensation was gone and my plumbing is working now better than it has in years. Praise the Lord, I am healed!

Perhaps I shouldn’t be embarrassed, but there is quite a stack of cabinet work waiting for me. I wonder if the Apostle Paul had to balance his ministry with orders for tents. The fact that he worked with Aquila and Priscilla would indicate that they had some sort of a business going (Acts 18:2). I thank the Lord for giving me a very fine shop with some excellent tools. It is a great privilege to be able to work with my hands in a trade that I greatly enjoy. Unlike Paul, I don’t make any money. Actually I almost always work for a significant loss. Of course, my work is free, but I also pay for a lot of the material that I use. I wouldn’t spend so much time doing cabinet work except the Lord has given me very little ministry. I seldom preach more than once a month somewhere. That is not a real heavy schedule. I do go to the ladies prison each week and have some ministry there. Recently the Lord has given me a Bible study on Friday night. But that still leaves a great deal of time to be filled up with something; and the thing the Lord has provided is my hammer. The girls next door have asked me to make a fairly large kitchen cabinet. Lord willing I will get that done early this week. Then I have a large order for about a dozen bunk beds for Dave Eubanks. That will keep me going probably through December.

Several weeks ago I met a German man who teaches at Mae Jo University, in this town. The Lord had miraculously healed him of debilitating migraine headaches, but he said he didn’t know the Lord. I asked, “Would you like to know the Lord?”

“Yes.”

“If you are serious, let’s get together each week for a Bible study.”

When I first met Mannford I felt he was about 2/3 saved. The first night we met to study the Scripture I gave him a 3/4-saved rating. But the next night when I asked him if he had been reading his Bible, he argumentatively said, “No! A person could read the Bible all their life and still walk far from God. I don’t need to read the Bible.” I was so mad I nearly closed my Bible and went home. I replied, “Yes, a person can read the Bible and be far from God, but it is impossible to walk close to God and not feed daily on the Word of God.” That  night he got less than a half-saved rating. But then the next two nights his stock has soared again. We meet at Scott and Kay’s home with several others. Scott had recently given Mannford a new English Bible. Last Friday night Scott asked him, “How do you like your new Bible?” Mannford replied, “I don’t like my Bible – I LOVE IT!” With that I stood up to shake hands with him, and hugged him. Oh, praise God! If the Lord opens this man’s eyes and draws him to Himself, Mannford might be just saved enough to be a child of God.

Some people wonder at my weird theology, but I make no apology for it. In Japan salvation is not that black and white. Sometimes it takes years before we can really be confident that someone is really saved. God knows who is born of His Spirit and who isn’t, but from our perspective the line isn’t that clear. Sometimes, from our perspective, it looks like a gradual process.

Secondly, Watchman Nee said that there is a difference between salvation and our citizenship in heaven. Being born of the Spirit of God makes us a child of God and gets us into heaven, but salvation refers more to our experience here on this earth. Being saved from sin is just as important as being saved from hell. The very Name given Him by the angel refers to His primary work – “Thou shalt call His Name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their SINS.” (Mt. 1:21). If Jesus doesn’t save us from our sins, it is questionable how much we can count on being saved from hell. AW Tozer used to talk about the “half-saved cowboy evangelist”. He was right. There are some who are evangelistic and yet so worldly, and marginal in their walk with the Lord, you wonder how saved they really are.

But Mannford is coming right along. Other than that it has been a somewhat uneventful week. But Jesus has been with me and I am in excellent health.

 Praise God!

                              bill