The Angels Rejoice

There is a parable in the Bible that tells the story of a woman who loses a coin, lights a lamp and searches until she finds it. This is a picture of how God is with us. He wants each and every one of His creation to come to Him. Jesus said in Matthew 18, that He came to seek and to save those that are lost. In Luke 15, Jesus says the angels rejoice when one believes. 

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

I can only imagine what it must be like…I imagine the angels maybe jumping up and down, singing, rejoicing, dancing…who knows what it looks like, but it must be glorious.

My dear friend Debbie shared with our women’s Bible study group this beautiful story. So I asked if I could share here. Some great news in the midst of this trial called COVID that all of us are dealing with in varying degrees. A new believer has her name written in the Lamb’s book of life. She is sealed with His Spirit until the day she is raised up to see Him, given a new body, to live with Him (and us) for eternity. She will never be lost again. And God’s angels are rejoicing because of her.

I love and pray for you all.

The Angels sang that Day

From Debbie: I have a friend that I have known only through Facebook, and many, many phone calls, since about 2010. A little less than 10 years! Today’s conversation lasted just a few minutes shy of 2 hours. Yes, I looked at my phone.

(My comment: Debbie had asked a few of us to pray for this sweet friend of hers (a Buddhist), that she might come to know Jesus, who loved her so much He gave Himself for her. I was privileged to be one of those who had this blessing.)

Debbie continues her story:

You all may not even remember me asking, we have prayed for so many — for each other’s family and friends.

But you faithful ones… Tears as I am writing this, I have had JOY UNSPEAKABLE…all day — so humbled by what His Word did today. By what He accomplished today.

My friend commented on a silly meme I shared today and she said something about needing to catch up this weekend.

I called her when her mother passed away a few weeks ago. We did not talk long that day.

BUT TODAY, I called her. About 20 minutes to do some catching up, THEN…she told me something that I cannot share, but it was bad. She said how that this last summer ‘the bad’ sent her into a despair… great…great…pain… for 3 days she was crying out to Buddha, to the universe, and to God.

“If you are real, if you are there, if Jesus… if you are real.. you have to help me… please help me.”

Then, she had a text, that changed her whole world…the thing she was asking for had happened on the 3rd day.

As she was talking, parts of Tom’s teaching (Cucuzza) on Coming to Grips with Suffering, kept coming and streaking across my thoughts… She said she had talked to a pastor. He couldn’t really answer her questions but he did pray with her.

She had believed God was real and Jesus was real. He was not just a good guy from history anymore to her, who just talked about love.

She knew He was real.

I asked her if I could get my Bible, to read some scriptures to her. 🙂

I began to talk about Salvation.

How God draws all men… all the time. His purpose is to draw all men to Him through different ways because He loves us so much.

We talked about Adam and Eve, and she knew that we have free will to choose… (that was exciting to me). I then took her to the book of John.

We went to the purpose statement of the book of John (John 20:30-31), then we went over 1 Corinthians 15:3-11… what Paul said he had taught them and they had received, believed. Then back to John 3 and Nicodemus. Then finished reading through to verse 18.

Then I read John 5:13 — ‘that you may KNOW you have eternal life.’

So, I went through it with her… I was going over it one more time…. what we need to believe to receive eternal life…

I asked her, “Do you believe that Jesus was the Son of God?”

“Yes…”

“Do you believe that He died on the cross, to pay for your sins?”

“Yes…”

“Do you believe that He rose from the dead 3 days later?”

“Yes…”

She started saying, “I believe! I believe!” (2 times). I thought of dear Avis*, who said, “I believe! I believe! I believe!”…three times to Holly several years back*.

8-10 years of prayers for a friend…. and now she has believed The Gospel.

The day just doesn’t get any better than that… when someone becomes a believer and you are there, and it is such a privilege, humbling, you are counting on the Lord and not on yourself, and praying as you speak…

Leaning…leaning….leaning on the everlasting arms…

It is His WORD that does the saving… we just sow, water and sometimes we get to be there for the harvest…It is just as thrilling and exciting and such JOY, as it was when my daughters allowed me to be in the labor rooms and I got to witness those babies take their first breaths….. NEW LIFE…..

When someone believes the gospel… It is being a witness to someone being BORN AGAIN… The NEW BIRTH… RECEIVING LIFE ETERNAL… <3<3

We cried together….

Keep praying for your friends and your dear loved ones..for those who hate us. For those who keep stopping up their ears…keep praying for laborers, for the harvest for the fields are WHITE WITH HARVEST…

Thank You Lord….Thank You Lord!!!

My friend was not afraid, she was not fearful, she was wanting rest..and God gave her that rest. Then she was open to hearing and believing. How wonderful the way He works. Praise the Lord!

My friend had an abortion..and also miscarried 2 more babies. She cried because she said she could now never have children because of what was done to her.

I said, You DO have children! You are a mom! Give them names. You will see them. I said. Because you are a child of God, you are going to heaven. Your children are already there.and you will see them. She kept saying What? How?

I told her that the moment that baby is made, he or she is alive. God is the giver of ALL life. Children are innocent and go to be with God. And in the womb they are living.

Then I quoted Psalm 139 about how He says in His Word He knitted us in our mother’s womb.

She just cried… “I am a mom?” and she cried, and cried.

End of story by Debbie

(Thank You Lord! Back to Holly continuing on with my part of the story)

*My friend Avis: 

Avis was an older Jewish woman (mid 80’s) who I met through my business. She called me wanting to sell some art. Unfortunately it was art I didn’t handle, but she persisted. And she kept calling and truthfully was driving me crazy because if I didn’t answer or get back to her right away, she’d call my sister, and my sister would ask why I wasn’t responding. I remember feeling like I wanted to tear my hair out because I had already spent so much time, and there really wasn’t much room to make any money. It was keeping me from my other work. Finally I prayed about it (Yes, I am slow sometimes to do what I should). I placed an ad, and contacted many people who handled this artist, and although it took much time, eventually the piece sold. It didn’t really pay for my time even, but I was to realize far greater dividends.

I had shared with Avis that my great grandfather was a rabbinical scholar, and how he had been chased from Hamburg by the Muslims. They put out a fatwa on his life and his family’s lives because of an article he had written. So they fled, and he lost his like to the bubonic plague. My grandfather was a baby. My grandfather was to become a believer in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah at the end of His life. 

Avis and I began to be friends. She had aches and pains and we discussed things that could help. I began to send her some things. She told me about her life, how her husband used to be her chaffeur. And after her husband died, she saw him again at his funeral. About 5 years later they married. John was African American, so they had two things to overcome in that day and age. They were very close. John was raised Roman Catholic and was a wonderful veteran who showed my children how to do certain things like fold the flag. We went out to meals together, and Avis told me how to make brisket (for our Jewish outreach) and tried to explain to me how to make matzo balls. We laughed at the fiasco of her trying to explain to me to use chicken broth to make the balls, and instead we used what was supposed to be for the soup and it never ‘set’ so we had to go buy more dry mixes to fix the issue and ended up with a ton of matzo balls. I asked her what she had been taught about Jesus. She said sometimes they didn’t discuss Him, other times she had been told bad things about Him. And yet others said He was a good man.

I told her I thought He couldn’t be a very good man if He was lying all along to His friends. And we began to talk about the Prophet that Moses said God was going to send. I went over the Isaiah 53 prophecy and asked her if she had ever heard it (she hadn’t). I also asked her about the prophecy in Daniel which said when the Messiah would come and die for the people. She was amazed, she did not know. I explained how those years had been fulfilled literally and historically. And how seven years were still yet to come. I read in Isaiah 61 and Luke 4. We talked about sacrifice and good works and how the sacrifice was temporary and never forgave sins forever. I don’t remember all the passages I read, but I read about the wages of sin bringing eternal death, and how we all have sinned and we all miss the mark. How God offers us a free gift though, in great love, and that gift is eternal life for those who believe (Rom 3:23; 6:23; John 3:16-18; John 15:13; John 6:40,47). I told her that Jesus Christ gave His life for all people. That His death on the cross, His shed blood paid for all trespasses (sin is trespass of the law) because He was the perfect Lamb of God. and that He rose again from the dead in 3 days (as the Scriptures said) which was witnessed by many. In doing so, He proved He is God, able to take His life back up again. He had victory over the grave, death, sin. And because He rose again, so would we. Some of the verses I read were (1 Cor 15:3-11; Col 2:13-15; John 1:29; John 10:28-29; 1 Cor 15:50-57. Some point into my reading the Scriptures, she began to exclaim, “I believe”, “I believe”, “I believe”. I had to ask her, ‘Avis, what do you believe’ and she told me she believed He was the Messiah. I was so shocked, I honestly hadn’t expected it to be so quick, so easy. Her husband and I discussed these things, I gave John a Bible and talked about some of the Scriptures that showed all we had to do was believe. He said he agreed and believed the same. Roman Catholics believe in works and sacraments to gain eternal life, thankfully John did not.

Avis went to be with the Lord a couple years later on my birthday. My husband had already passed away, but the girls and I went to her services. They read from the Psalms, and we were comforted. My whole life was worth living to see that precious woman come to know her Savior. Thank You Lord for continuing to bring her into my life until I opened my eyes to the opportunity You presented to me.

Psalm 126 says we sow in tears, but we will reap with songs of joy.

Friends, pray for opportunity and for Him to help you be courageous enough to speak. Pray about it. Pray for those you come into contact with, be kind, be wise, redeem the time wisely.

Love in Him.