by Elizabeth Ann Boyles | Jul 31, 2019 | Evidence for Faith, Sometimes I write about...
Today on the news, I listened to the account of a senseless, fatal shooting in California. The Dallas Morning News described more tragic loss of life locally. Death is our final, great enemy. Even Jesus wept for the deep heartbreak it brings.
Recently I read an account by Ruth Graham (Billy Graham’s wife—both now deceased) about how God touched one family during a terribly difficult time of loss.
Robert Armistead visited his elderly mother every day at a Nashville hospital, where she lay close to dying. During this time, his seventeen-year-old son Robin came down with a strange fever. Robert didn’t tell his mother about the illness in order to keep her from worrying about her dearly-loved, oldest grandson. Robin unexpectedly died after just a few days of sickness. While preparing for the funeral, Robert still didn’t tell his mother what had happened and worked hard to keep his bedside manner as natural as possible, thinking Robin’s passing would be too much for his mother in her fragile condition.
Returning to the hospital from the funeral, he found his mother in a coma. He sat by her, knowing it was the end. She came out of the coma, smiled at him, then became unconscious again.
While he watched her, her eyes opened a second time, with a “look of wonder.” And here’s the quote: “I see Jesus,” she exclaimed, adding, “why there’s Father and there’s Mother . . .” And then, “And there’s Robby! I didn’t know Robby had died . . .” Her hand patted her son’s knee gently. “Poor Bob [her name for Robert] . . .,” she said softly, and was gone.1
The Scriptures tell us that death is swallowed up in Christ’s sacrificial victory. Jesus’ resurrection, the eyewitness accounts—verified by their willingness to suffer rather than deny their message—and his followers’ changed lives, then and now, provide all the evidence we really need, yet isn’t it encouraging in the face of so much darkness to hear about the times God gives an extra peek into the hereafter. I’m sure you too have heard accounts like this.
[1] Graham, Ruth Bell. Legacy of a Pack Rat. Nashville: Oliver-Nelson Books,1989.
Photo by John Towner on Unsplash.
by Elizabeth Ann Boyles | Jul 4, 2019 | Evidence for Faith, Sometimes I write about...
I love to hear and read about remarkable answers to prayer. Here is one of my favorites.
Edith and Francis Schaeffer believed they had been led to Switzerland in the mid-1950’s to use their lifestyle and message to show that God truly exists. Yet, they received an official notice that they were being expelled from the country. A few local people had objected to the Schaeffers’ Sunday service and outreach. Others in the village strongly supported the Schaeffers, but the government said the family could stay in Switzerland only if they found a place to live in a different area. When they received the notice, very little time remained before the deadline to leave.
During the last possible day to find a new house to rent, Edith, in tears, realized that only God could provide the place. All the places she and Fran had looked at were either unavailable or too expensive. In the last thirty minutes before she had to go catch the train, a real estate agent, who had ignored them in the past, called to Edith to come with him to see a three-story chalet part-way down the mountain from the ski resort where she had been looking. The place turned out to be ideal, but it was for sale! They didn’t have any money, and besides that, who would buy a house when threatened with expulsion from the country?
After an hour of fervent prayer that evening, Edith startled herself by praying a very unusual and almost presumptuous prayer. She asked that they would receive $1000 by 10 a.m. the next morning if God really wanted them to buy that chalet. That amount, which would be toward a down payment, was really a great deal of money back in 1955.
The next morning, the postman met the Schaeffers on the way to the train. Edith opened a letter from an American couple who had never sent money before. They had enclosed exactly $1000! Later Mrs. Salisbury told Edith they had prayed for three months about how to spend the unexpected money her husband had received at work. One night they reached the conclusion that it should be sent to the Schaeffers for their work with young people. The couple immediately drove through a rainstorm to mail the letter at the main post office, feeling they shouldn’t wait until the next morning.
Only God could have orchestrated the perfect answer to Edith’s prayer, as the letter had to cross the ocean, be for the exact amount, and arrive at the precise time! I’m also struck by the purpose underlying this answer because the prayer verified the Schaeffers’ path for their life’s ministry.
The photo of the Dents du Midi in the Swiss Alps shows the mountains that could be seen from their chalet. Thanks to Vladimir Nordmann, who posted the shot on Unsplash.
This answer to prayer and stories of how God worked through the Schaeffers’ new alpine home can be found in L’Abris by Edith Schaeffer. It’s written in English and available on Amazon. 
by Elizabeth Ann Boyles | Oct 5, 2017 | Evidence for Faith
Here’s a great quote by Charles Spurgeon: “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion . . . let the lion loose, and it will defend itself.” What a splendid truth!
When a fiery dart of doubt strikes, I turn to the Bible so God Himself can remove it. It’s the Holy Spirit’s instrument of choice. Think of how even Jesus used the Scriptures to strengthen John the Baptist’s faith. John, no wimp of a Believer but stuck in prison, entertained a doubt whether Jesus was really the Messiah. Jesus responded by reminding John that He was fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy by publicly healing the blind, deaf, and lame. (Luke 7:18-23 and Isaiah 35:4-8)
I’m so thankful God is real. When our faith is weak, we need to let the powerful Word of God loose in our lives.
I’m sure every Christian reading this can remember many times that God has provided just the right Scripture to answer a question or doubt. I’d love to hear about it.
Roaring lion photo by Jason Charles Hill on Unsplash. Side photo by Adam King on Unsplash.
