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Topic: River (04/10/25)
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TITLE: PURE JOY | Previous Challenge Entry
By Arrah Atem-Tambe
04/17/25 -
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The elderly preacher mounted the pulpit with his characteristic fatherly enthusiasm to deliver a message to his youthful congregants. He had years of experience as a pastor under his belt, and even though he was retired, he wanted to instill the same zealous youthfulness he once had in the next generation of preachers.
He warmly welcomed us to the Bible study which held every Tuesday night at church. Reading from the book of James, he solemnly began his sermon, saying, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” He spoke candidly, as a father should, with love and a firm tone of voice.
“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything,” he continued, and then proceeded to tell us about an incident that happened when he was a young pastor.
He told us how he had organized a crusade in a village where he wanted to plant a church. It was a large crusade that lasted a couple of days, and people came from neighboring villages to attend it. It was hard for me to visualize the “village” he was talking about because it was now a flourishing town with many churches, cars and businesses. However, back in his day, cars were rare: only a few people had motorcycles; most people walked on foot.
The crusade was a success. The gospel was preached, and souls were saved. Everything was going on well until a young man left the event to go swim in a nearby stream but did not return. Unfortunately, he drowned. His body was found a few days later and further downstream by fishermen from a larger city several miles away from the village.
The community blamed him for their misfortune, and the elders of his church told him plainly, “You organized the crusade that resulted in the young man’s death; you go bury him.” The villagers were angry too. They wanted to avenge the death of their son. No other pastors agreed to accompany him to the burial; as much as they may have wanted to, they also feared for their lives. Another young pastor warned him, “I think they are planning to bury you along with the deceased man after you officiate the funeral. Be careful when you go there. As soon as it is over, leave immediately.”
The burial was tense and in full attendance, but the pastor was courageous and remained vigilant. A Christian brother who had a motorcycle was waiting for him under a tree close by. As he concluded with the graveside blessing, suddenly―out of the corner of his eye―he saw people bending down as if to pick stones, while others seemed to be pulling out sticks from behind their backs. He told us, “I do not know how I was able to escape from that crowd without them laying hold of me, but when I jumped on the motorcycle and the brother sped off, I could hear them shouting, ‘Catch him! Get him!’”
He escaped, I thought, just as the Lord Jesus escaped the grasp of those who tried to seize him (John 10 :39, NIV).
Some years later, the pastor met a stranger. He was apprehensive, and rightfully so, when the stranger introduced himself as a relative of the young man who had drowned a few years prior. “The stranger held me firmly and beat my chest strongly―not in a way to harm me, but as one would beat their own chest in a moment of pride,” the pastor said, smiling. “With gratitude, he commended me for my service toward the gospel of Jesus Christ and ended with this emphatic proclamation: ‘I, too, am born again! I have given my life to Christ and am now a child of God!’”
Upon hearing this, the church erupted into applause with shouts of praise and acclamation!
That preacher was my pastor many years ago, and 20 years have passed since he told us this story. Today, he is in his 90s, and I am so grateful for his encouragement through the years. If we ever meet again―and I know we will, I will tell him that it has been nothing but pure joy serving the Lord through every trial and tribulation that I have faced.
James 1:2-4, NIV
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That was powerful and intense.
Excellent writing and story.
God BLess~