Promises fulfilled; prayers answered

Where do I begin? I'm sorry (if it concerns you) that I haven't updated in a couple of weeks. Let me give you a synopsis of what has happened over the past two weeks in the form of some bullet points:

- Most amazing and virtually indescribable is the first meaningful thing that I can think of that happened two weeks ago, mid-week. My wonderful girlfriend, Helen Salter, told me that she loved me for the first time! This occurred a few days after I first confessed my love and commitment to her. I knew that she loves me, but I sure was enthralled to hear it for the first time. Helen is a dainty and elegant British girl who is waiting on me back home in Birmingham, Alabama. She's quite funny and charming, I'd say even daring, and she isn't bad on the eyes either, if I do say so myself! :) She's also wise in the love and knowledge of God in such a way that is thoroughly intriguing to me. Her heart is a veritable treasure, which I alone have the privilege to search out and know. I am fondly looking forward to seeing her again and for us to have physical contact for the first time since I began pursuing her. (We started "dating" after I arrived in New York.) Ironically, what Mrs. Sledge prophesied over me was true: I did meet my wife while in New York City, and her name is Helen. :) Of course this sounds shocking to some of you who are unawares, but if you have talked to me at all in the past month, then you know that Helen and I love each other deeply. It's been wonderful building a solid foundation of communication over the phone (and texting) everyday. We are some 900 miles away from each other, but we are closer than we have ever been in the past 4 years that I've known her and been friends with her. She is truly a wonderful friend and will be a devoted wife and mother. Please pray for us. Specifically would you pray for Helen as she is currently facing possible surgery to remove two fibrous cysts. Thankfully, the results of the mammographical tests she had, returned negative. I praise God for the fruitful vine with which He has favored me in Helen--(Psalm 128:3; Proverbs 18:22). She truly is a promise from God fulfilled.

- Last Sunday (August 23rd), my boss, Earl Stocker approached me while I was working security on the third floor of the education annex, which is the children's department of Times Square Church. He offered me the possibility of joining the Ministerial Intern Program here at TSC. The MIP is a weekly class taught by Pastor William Carrol and goes from September through January, then from January to May. The class is on biblical interpretation and homiletics and is for pastors-in-training. Since I recognize the call of God on my life to teach His word, I prayed to be in such a class before I even arrived here, though I wasn't sure there even was one. I discussed the matter with no one but God. Earl explained to me that you cannot simply join the class, you have to be recommended by your department head, which in my case is Earl. He was very kind and generous to offer this to me. I will at least get to glean from Pastor Will for one semester until my internship is finished, or until I move back home to continue pursuing Helen and making arrangements for our future together. Being in this class is a great privilege and another prayer answered. Praise God! I have nothing, but He has all.

- Last Monday, I was profoundly blessed to have the opportunity to meet Pastor Ben Crandall, who is an associate pastor here and oversees the ministry to the seniors, which occurs on Wednesday afternoons. My friend and co-worker here, Billy Good, is in charge of retrieving Pastor Ben and his wife Jeanne when they arrive from Rhode Island bi-weekly. On this occasion, Billy asked me if I would accompany him to Penn Station to pick them up. It was quite an eventful day. Dr. and Mrs. Crandall are in their 80's and have been saved and in the ministry together for sixty-some-odd years! What a legacy of faithfulness they have had! Pastor Ben's messages from the pulpit and enduring perseverance in the faith have had a deep and, I pray, lasting impact on me. He is one of my favorite preachers now. He is known for encouraging the Body of Christ at large to never give up. It was truly an honor and faith-builder to meet and get to know them.

- Last Thursday, during my lunch break, I walked over to the deli on 49th and 8th to get some 99-cent pizza. On the way, I was stopped by a solicitor named Bonni from the ecological organization, GreenPeace. At first, I was a bit taken aback because typically no one talks to you on the streets of New York except beggars. She didn't just talk to me, she jumped in front of me. Impressed with her audacity, I made her a deal. I said, "Ok. You give me your spiel, and then I want to share something with you." She said, "Ok, I think." I said, "That's the deal, take it or leave it." So she did her best to tell me about saving the polar bears, reducing pollution, and planting windmills. And I told her I agree with her and that I am a Christian. Then she was really worried and said that she didn't get into religion. I said I didn't either, LOL! So we talked for about 20 minutes going back and forth. I told her that she had given herself over to this cause of saving the environment because God has created us with an innate desire to give ourselves over to a cause and to worship something. I undermined her faith in Darwinian evolution by explaining to her that if she merely evolved from an ape in a universe which is just slowly going extinct, then she has no real purpose, her life is meaningless, and she cannot even trust her own judgment because her brain itself is just a collection of evolving molecules that may never reach completion, whatever completion is in such a worldview. She had no substantial response and then I said, "God designed you with a special purpose in His mind; a special cause just for you to fulfill." I got her to agree that there is evil in the world that needs to be fixed. I also explained that for the same reason the environment is getting ruined by us, we also need a Savior to save us from our sins, for we cannot save ourselves. She replied, "I just don't believe that." We closed out our conversation and I began to walk away when the Holy Spirit prompted me to sign up as a GreenPeace sponsor, for her sake; as a witness to her. We departed with smiles.
Lord, I pray again that you save Bonni. Do not let the word which went forth to her return to You void. Make it accomplish its purpose. Seek and save that which is lost!

- Saturday my room was fumigated with insecticide to kill the bedbug infestation, so I could not sleep in my room that night. I slept in the elder's lounge, and then in the Raven Ministry office upstairs. Yesterday morning (Sunday, the 30th) I became conscious that I was in a dream state and in that state I was conscious of the spiritual realm actually and presently about me. I came under demonic attack and could not wake up from the dream. My mind was awake, but my body was comatose. I felt as though the unclean spirits were holding my blanket down around me so that I could not move. In my dream state, the door of the room I was in flung open and an eerie light shown in from outside. I could hear weird moanings and crashing sounds. Objects started falling off the tables and the walls, and I felt completely disoriented, unable to wake my body up from sleep. The enemy was using scare tactics to intimidate me. It didn't work this time. I was more fascinated than frightened. You see, this has happened to me one other time--four years ago in Opelika while I was the intern at His Place. That time the demons verbally mocked me, and when I could not move or wake up, I became panicked. Then I cried out to Jesus to save me and He did! On this new occasion, I remembered that testimony of His faithfulness and used it against the evil powers. While in the dream state I prayed, "Lord Jesus, save me. I have overcome them by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. There is power in Your name; there is power in Your word; there is power in Your blood!" At that point, immediately, I was free to wake up and the demonic intimidation ceased. However, I remained "asleep" and asked the Lord to show me the identity of those unclean spirits. He identified three: a spirit of violence and abuse, a spirit of sexual immorality and lust, and a spirit of "lack of self-control" and carousing. I didn't know what carousing meant, so I looked it up. It means "to engage in drunken revelry." I also wondered why that happened to me in that room and at church, on a Sunday no less. The Lord told me, "the devils come to work on Sunday; the devils come to church too." The reason it happened at that time of the day is because it was the time of day when people begin to get ready to come to church. The devil is not off on Sunday. He works twice as hard in order to counteract the preaching and receiving of the Word of God on that day. And so the spiritual battle is very real. The enemy sends his agents to buffett people, distract them, dismay them, tempt them, and confuse them. All the more we should pray for the dismantling of Satan's kingdom and of his schemes against mankind. Don't forget, we have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony!

It's been an eventful two weeks. I hope yours was as well. Stay connected with the Lord.

grace to you,

David