The Ancient Church -- Boneyard of Faith

Earthquake in My Soul

"the removing of those things that are shaken...that those things that cannot be shaken may remain(Heb 12:27).

I had been reading this way for several months, checking and rechecking the promises. While meditating Mark 16:15-18 one morning, I had what I could only describe as an "earthquake in my soul". Suddenly, I had a new understanding of a scripture that I had read many times, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned".

Saved or lost

I saw that Jesus had divided the world into only two groups - the believers (saved) and those who do not believe (lost).  I had been well taught about the choice between heaven and hell, so this was no surprise. But what was said next changed my life. Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe. In my name, shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents (as Paul did in Acts 28:3-4); and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover". I had been a believer since childhood, but I had not been taught that those words of Jesus were meant for me - and for every believer the past two thousand years. That scripture was not only for the dim past! It was speaking to me today, and had been written for all who lived since Jesus walked the earth! Healing was not a special favor for special people, in this special time of the "charismatic movement", but was His promised response to the faith of any believer, any time.

"Lay hands on the Sick"

I cried, "Oh my God, if a pastor, a friend, a neighbor had known and believed what was in the Bible and had laid hands on my grandparents with faith, they might have lived and they and their children spared such heartbreak".

A View of the Ages

With this revelation, a most unusual thing happened. Like a scroll, history unrolled backwards before me. I saw my grandparents lying on beds, their life''s blood draining out of diseased lungs. I felt their agony, knowing they were leaving their children alone in the world. From my vantage point of family history, I also knew that their worst fears were realized in the lives of those children.

I saw back through the centuries - the dark ages when great plagues and famine took countless parents, mates and children, leaving orphans, widows, and parents with empty arms. I saw broken men and women addicted to alcohol, opium and other drugs with no hope. I saw demon possessed people screaming and tearing at their clothes like the demoniac of Gadera (Mk 5:1-15). For them, as for me and my family, as far as their earthly lives were concerned it was as if the redemption had never happened.

I spoke with a man in his seventies who at seven years of age was offered the choice by his mother to believe in God or to not believe. He decided that he would not, and eventually embraced atheistic Communism. Though a brilliant man, scholarly and wealthy, he saw no problem with living a lifetime and preparing for eternity on the decision of a seven year old boy.

Those Who Follow

My religion had told me that it spoke for God; it''s leader was the "Vicar of Christ"; he was infallible in matters of faith and morals; and he would tell me all that I would ever need to know about God. And I believed it. I looked to it for guidance in all the issues of my life. I had formed my early view of life, ma