Nr.81 ended with: “The third surprise or shock came when I showed them some passages in the letter to the Hebrews……..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

 It was just wonderful to have a room full of people, sometimes, 15, 25, 40, even 70, ready to listen to God’s Word, which was totally new to them. It was quite a revelation for them to hear that forgiveness and eternal life are a gift from God, received by faith without any works. And on top of that, that we can be sure of this. They were so surprised to hear me say that I was sure that I would go to heaven when I died. As I explained the Gospel to them, I took them to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10:5, “Therefore, when He (Jesus) came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You (God) did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.” And in verse 9, “Then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God. He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” This is one of the most important sentences in the N.T.

 What is meant with “the first?” This: the O.T. temple with its altar, its sacrifices, its priests and its ceremonies. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom, God thus indicating that He was finished with that. And why? “He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” And what is “the second?” Jesus’ own sacrifice on the cross, which was so perfect and so complete that no other sacrifice ever has to be brought anymore. He died “once for all.” The Catholic Church is still very much in the O.T. It has a temple: the church building, an altar, daily sacrifices: the mass, priests and ceremonies. And while God was finished with “the first”, the Jews did not accept that and restored the veil and went right on. But then come those shocking words in verse 11, “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” This is speaking of the Jewish priests, but my Catholic listeners took it to mean their priests, so what now……..? (Go to Musings)

Nr.80 ended with: “In our home Bible studies I started teaching some things that really shocked some of the catholic people……………….!” (See richardandmarina.net)

In the first year or two I used the gospel of Mark in home Bible studies, but after a while I felt I needed something else. So I made up 10 topical Bible studies from the first 3 chapters of the gospel of John. Some of the topics were, “How do we know there is a God?” “What about the Bible?” “What about sin?” “The Lamb of God?” etc. After the study on sin people would feel pretty guilty, which was good of course, because now they wanted to know what the solution was. So with John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world”, I would explain the gospel.

The first surprise they got was the fact that we are not saved by doing good works, something all religions except true Christianity teach, though they differ in what those good works are. They all say, “Do something”, while the gospel says, “It is done.” Forgiveness is a gift of God. Eternal life is a gift, paid for by Jesus on the cross, where He cried out, “It is finished”, or “It is done.” Often I would get the reaction, “You mean to say we don’t need to do anything?” Answer: “No, except to acknowledge your sin and accept Jesus, God’s gift.”

The second surprise would be the fact that we can be sure of going to heaven. When I would ask people whether they would go to heaven when they died, the answer pretty well always was, “I hope so.” I would say, “Well, I know so, I am 100% sure that I am going to heaven when I die.” They would look at me in amazement and often say, “You think you are better than we?” I would answer, “No, it has nothing to do with being better; I know that I am just as sinful as anyone else, but I also know that Jesus died for my sin, and I have accepted Him and God has accepted me.”

The third surprise or shock came when I showed them some passages in the letter to the Hebrews……..! (Go to Musings)

Nr.79 ended with: “At the entrance of this assembly stood a nice looking young lady who greeted every one who came in,…………!” (See richardandmarina.net)

We had friends from Canada, Hank and Beryl Gelling visiting us and they had come along to the baptism. As Hank entered the building, the young woman greeted him the Belgian way, with three kisses. Hank walked over to me with a big grin on his face and asked, “Do they do this all the time?” I said, “Yes, quite often.” He answered, “I think I feel called to come to Belgium.” We had a good laugh and a wonderful baptism service with much joy and praise to God for what He had done in the lives of these new believers. Hank and Beryl did move to Belgium much later and became dear co-workers, but it wasn’t because of the three kisses, of course. 🙂

So what happened after people were baptized? We again directed them to the book of Acts and together discovered that the new Christians in those days met together on the first day of the week for the “breaking of bread,” see Acts 20:7. So we also started meeting on Sunday mornings with a small group around our table with a loaf of bread and a cup of wine on it. We would sing some songs with Marina playing her accordion. After some singing the children would go to our bed rooms for Sunday school. In the beginning we only had two classes which were taught by Marina and our co-workers wife. One Sunday, Marina had 12 little ones in a small bed room, quite crowded!

We would continue the meeting with someone praying, a scripture reading, another prayer, a song, and another scripture and so on, as people felt led to take part. Then someone would give thanks for the bread and pass it around, someone would give thanks for the cup and it was passed. After that, a message from the Bible was given. It was all so simple and yet so beautiful. And the Lord blessed and more came to the Lord as the Spirit was free to move.

In our home Bible studies I started teaching some things that really shocked some of the catholic people……………….! (Go to Musings)

Nr.78 ended with: “We continued to really pray for him and asked the Lord to deal with him. One Saturday evening he phoned and with a trembling voice asked me to come over right away, which I did.………..!” (See richardandmarina.net)

He let me in and I noticed his face being very white. He told me right away that he had two car accidents that day. In the morning he had rolled his car which was a total wreck and in the late afternoon he had crashed another car. Amazingly he did not get hurt, unbelievable! But it had scared him to death, as it could have been deadly. He was now ready to give his life to God and accept the Lord Jesus, wonderful! Sometimes God uses drastic measures to bring people to their knees and draw them to Himself.

What happened after people became Christians? It was wonderful to work with young converts, who knew nothing about the Bible. After they accepted the Lord they would ask, “What do we do now?” I would tell them to read the book of Acts and see what the new Christians did in the days of the apostles. The next time we met I would ask them what they had found. Often with a sort of sheepish look on their face they would answer, “They got baptized.” I would smile and answer, “Well, what are you waiting for?” And so a baptism service would be planned. Their willingness to obey the Lord showed that they were truly converted. Seeing we believe the Bible teaches baptism by immersion, and we did not have a tank in our building, we went to other churches and even a private swimming pool.

One time we went with quite a group to Brussels to have a baptism in a French speaking assembly. While here in North America people who are friends or family will often hug each other when they meet, in some European countries they kiss each other. So also in Belgium and a person gives and gets three kisses, first on the one cheek, then on the other and then again on the first. At the entrance of this assembly stood a nice looking young lady who greeted every one who came in,……………………! (Go to Musings)

Nr.77 ended with: “Time and again the Lord provided, sometimes in little, other times in big things, absolutely amazing! Do you think there is a God……..?”

In episode 75 I wrote this, “But there was something else that amazed us, even more than God’s provisions, and that was the change we saw in the people that became Christians.” I would just love to give you example after example of dear people who accepted the Lord and were born again, but space does not permit; besides I might miss some folk and they may wonder why I left them out. So without using names, I will just mention some.

We came in contact with a family with four children. The mother was very interested and had been listening to the Evangelical TV Broadcast from Holland and I believe through it she accepted the Lord. We were invited to her home and a little later a Bible study was started there with 7 or 8 people, of which two couples were neighbors. The lady of the house who had accepted the Lord also started coming to our Sunday meetings, bringing her children along. Her husband had no real interest and was taken up with sports on Sunday mornings, but he did attend the home Bible study. One night I was teaching about the need to be born again. He laughed and said, “If I ever get born again, it will have to be cesarean”, which made all of us laugh.

However, after quite some time he did accept the Lord and even started coming on Sunday morning. Much later he became an elder in the Antwerp church and was a godly leader. He and his wife were also very much involved in our camp work. It was wonderful to see God’s work in their lives, not only becoming true Christians but really growing in the Lord and becoming such instruments in His hands. A couple of the neighbors also became Christians, but one man just kept resisting. We continued to really pray for him and asked the Lord to deal with him. One Saturday evening he phoned me and with a trembling voice asked me to come over right away, which I did.………..! (Go to Musings)

Nr.76 ended with: “Now just think, what would have happened had I not been home that evening?! Someone had kept me at home………….!” (See richardandmarina.net)

Marina slowly regained strength and the small assembly grew. However, there was a problem; many people in those days did not have cars yet. Quite a few were living at some distance from our meeting place and had to be picked up. But our car, as most others, was quite small and could not hold very many. Several families had quite a number of children, and so we would have to drive twice or have two cars go to pick them up. Marina and I started asking the Lord to provide for a Volkswagen bus so that we could take more people in one time. Of course we did not have the money for that. We had our car as a trade in, we also had some money saved, but we were a $1.000.00 short, which was a lot of money in 1972, more like $5,000.00 today.

We kept on praying and received the assurance that the Lord would provide in some way. So I went to the garage and by faith ordered the bus. It would take about two weeks before we could get it. A whole week went by, but nothing happened. One week before having to pick up the bus, we received a letter from good friends in Canada. They had a bad car accident, but the insurance covered it all, plus some. They did not really need all the money and when the husband came home from work that day, he said to his wife, “It was put on my heart today to send money to Richard and Marina.” His wife replied that she had felt the same way. They knew nothing about our need and our prayers to God for help. Enclosed with the letter was a cheque for $1,000.00. Amazing! We praised the Lord and thanked Him for His undertaking and for the fact that He had put it on the hearts of our friends to send us this money just at the right moment! Time and again the Lord provided, sometimes in little, other times in big things, absolutely amazing! Do you think there is a God……..? (See Musings)

Nr.75 ended with: “During one month we had more than 40 people staying with us for several days and nights. Then Marina had a breakdown…………!” (See richardandmarina.net).

With that many visitors and others coming and going, plus also Sunday morning and evening services and a weekly Bible study and prayer meeting, all in our house, it was no surprise that Marina went down. However, the straw that broke the camels back took place on an evening when I “happened” to be home. Marina was upstairs taking a bath and I was in the living room reading a book. Marina likes a hot bath and so whenever the water cools down, she lets some out and fresh hot water in. I could hear this downstairs, but all at once I noticed that the water just kept running. I waited a bit yet, went upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door but got no reply. So I opened the door and found Marina on the floor unconscious. I picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, finding out how heavy an unconscious person is.

I put her on the bed and called the doctor, who came right away. In Belgium doctors make house calls. He slapped Marina on the face and I said, “Doctor, not so hard” but I guess he knew what he was doing. Slowly she came to; was I ever relieved! After checking the bathroom and talking together, we discovered what had happened. We had the kind of hot water heater that heats the water with a gas flame. The burned gas goes outside through an exhaust pipe. But that night there was a storm and the wind was right on our house, blowing the burned gas back into the bathroom. Marina not feeling well got up to get out of the bath, fainted and fell on the floor. The doctor, who knew us quite well told Marina not to entertain anymore visitors, prescribed her some medications and told me to take Marina to the park every day and walk with her to regain her strength. And so we did, it was a new experience for us, as on the prairies in Saskatchewan people don’t go walking. 🙂 Now just think, what would have happened had I not been home that evening?! Someone had kept me at home………….! (See Musings)

Nr.74 ended with: “My wife and I have lived “out of God’s hand” for 52 years now and we have never lacked anything. The Lord has not always given us what we wanted, but He has provided for our needs, it is absolutely amazing! How can anyone say that God isn’t real……?!” (See richardandmarina.net).

But there was something else that amazed us, even more than God’s provisions, and that was the change we saw in the people that became Christians. The Bible says that the “Gospel is the power of God to salvation,” Rom.1:16. It also says that the Word of God is truth and has power to set free, John 8:31-32. We saw this happening again and again and it was so wonderful. Often after a Bible study somewhere I would drive home late at night with tears in my eyes as I had witnessed again the amazing power of the Word of God. I was so thankful to have been called by God to preach and teach His Word and see what it accomplished! It was beautiful to witness people changing for the good. People being born again and renewed, now experiencing the joy of the Lord. But more of this later.

Let’s go back to that first little church which began on April 2, 1972 in our living room. And even though I mentioned before that I found the first year in Belgium very difficult, people were becoming interested, especially when they saw the changes in the lives of some new converts and the small group began to grow and outgrow our living room. So we started looking for a building to rent somewhere and we found one in a street called de Uitbreidingstraat, which word means “Expansion Street”, very applicable! We moved into it in 1973.

1972 had been a very busy year. Besides the start of a small church in our house, I spoke at several youth weekends in Holland and one in Northern Ireland. We had a group of young people from Holland stay with us for a week of Bible study and training. And we had quite a number of visitors from Canada. During one month we had more than 40 people staying with us for several days and nights. Then Marina had a breakdown…………! (Go to Musings).

Nr.73 ended with: “At times we went on until after midnight. But at sometime the question would come, “Who or what are you anyway……?” (See richardandmarina.net).

The conversation would go something like this, I would be asked, “Are you a Roman Catholic?” “No.” “Are you a Protestant?” “No, not what you understand as Protestant.” “Are you a Jehovah Witness?” “No.” “Well then, what are you?” “I am just a Christian, in a sense I belong to the original catholic (universal) church of Jesus Christ. You know that your church has changed a lot during the last years. Well it has changed over the centuries and it is hard to know what and who to believe today, as your own priests often disagree with each other. The one says there is a purgatory, while another says there isn’t. One believes the Pope is infallible while another says he is just a man like any other. That makes it very difficult to know what to believe. So I am someone who says, let’s go back to the first church started by the apostles and found in the Bible.”

“Why did you come to Belgium?” “I came because I believe God sent me here.” “What do you want to do here?” “My only purpose is to get a Bible to every Flemish person, and to get every Flemish person into the Bible. I would like to study the Bible, God’s word with you and see what it tells us. I am not asking you to believe what I say, but what God says in His word.” “Who is paying you?” “Since God has brought us here to teach His word, we believe He will also provide for us. We have a home church in Canada which looks after about 1/3 of our income, the rest comes from friends and other churches, but we never know how much and from whom, yet every month there is enough. It is just wonderful to see how God meets our needs.” My wife and I have lived “out of God’s hand” for 52 years now and we have never lacked anything. The Lord has not always given us what we wanted, but He has provided for our needs, it is absolutely amazing! How can anyone say that God isn’t real……?! (Go to Musings)

Nr.72 ended with: “Mary had at least 7 children. It was very interesting to see the expression on their faces. The next question was about ……the Pope……….! (See Musings).”

I would say the following, “Did you know that Peter, who according to your church was the first Pope, was married?” Again the reaction, “Where does it say that?” I would show them Mark 1:29-31, where it tells us about Jesus healing Peter’s mother in law. And when someone has a mother in law……?! You should have seen the look on their faces! The Pope married? With some, their mouths dropped open and they didn’t know what to say, they were stunned. Don’t forget these people had never heard this before. Very often they would respond with, “What else is in the Bible?” Wow, those are sweet words in the ears of an evangelist and Bible teacher. I would ask whether it would be all right to come to their house the next week to show them things and I suggested that they should invite some relatives and friends who might be interested.

Some times when I arrived at their home, there were 8 people present, sometimes 25. I would give them all a Bible and we would start in Mark’s gospel. I would teach for an hour or hour and a half, have some more coffee, of which there was always plenty and then ask for questions, and there were lots! For example, “What does the Bible say about purgatory?” Or, “Does the Bible really say that Mary had many children?” Some found that very difficult. I would show them Mark 6 again where it mentions Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Some would argue that these were His cousins, so I would show them Matth.1:25, where it says that Joseph did not know Mary, had no intercourse with her, till she had brought forth her first born Son.” This implies that they did have intercourse after and so brothers and sisters were born. Psalm 69:8 says “I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children.” See also verse 9 and John 2:17, these verses apply to Christ.

At times we went on until after midnight. But at sometime the question would come, “Who or what are you anyway……? (Go to Musings).