Nr.22 ended with: “That’s what faith is all about. He is there, and He can be trusted. He longs to have us know that! What a lessen to learn! And now on to California, USA…….!”

Before California, I have one more thing to share with you in regards to my experience at the Bible College. When I arrived there and met the different staff members, people who had been Christians for many years, I thought they were all saints. I really looked up to them, until one day I discovered that one of the teachers had marriage problems. What a shock that was! Some time later I found out that another had problems with his children, another shock! And to make the story short, I learned many had either one problem or another. Yes, they were saints in God’s eyes, but they were still very human too. And I learned a tremendous lessen, which was, to keep my eyes on Jesus.

Some time later I remembered what the first farmer I worked for after coming from Holland told me one day. He had put me on a big tractor with a large plow behind it and told me to plow a certain field, and, he added, here in Canada we plow straight furrows. He pointed to a tree on the other side of the field and told me, “Don’t take your eyes of the tree until you get to the other side.” I started plowing keeping my eyes on the tree, but in the middle of the field, a very large field, I couldn’t withstand the urge to just quickly look around, and, sure enough when I looked back there was one straight furrow. Pretty pleased with myself I plowed on to the other side, but when I got there and turned around, I looked and saw that right at the place where I had turned around there was a nice little curve. I believe that one reason we as Christians have curves and crooked things in our lives is because we have taken our eyes off the “Tree”, off the Lord Jesus. So let’s remember those words, “DON’T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE “TREE” UNTIL YOU GET TO THE OTHER SIDE.” That’s what faith is all about! Now what about California…………? (Go to Musings)

Nr.21 ended with: “Why do these happen? There may be different reasons, but let me suggest just one. Once upon a time there were a father and mother who had an eight year old daughter, Christine …….!”

Every morning the father would go to work on the bus, around the corner. Christine would bring him to the bus stop and then run home to go to school. Every afternoon at five, Christine would go to get her father from the bus stop. Her father would always have some candies for her. But this time he told her in the morning that he was out of candies and could not buy any where he worked, so when she would come and get him, he would not have any. That afternoon as the father sat on the bus he wondered whether Christine would be there. The bus stopped, he got out, but no Christine. The father was quite disappointed and started to walk home, when all at once around the corner Christine came running and jumped into his arms. The father was overjoyed and then realized that she loved him not because of the candies but because he was her father.

I think there are times that the Lord takes away our “feelings” (candies), He wants to see whether we love Him because of those feelings, or because He is our Father. Now of course, He knows that, but He wants us to know that too and learn to live by faith, just trusting Him, whether we feel Him or not. That’s what faith is all about. He is there, and He can be trusted. He longs to have us know that! What a lessen to learn! And now on to California, USA…….! (Go to Musings)

 

Nr.20 ended with: “Sunday night I went to the principal and told him that I would be leaving the next day, as I was convinced that I was not a real Christian. He prayed with me, but nothing happened and so I went to bed…………!”

Monday morning came. You have no idea how utterly miserable I felt. I examined my heart again and again. What was wrong, what had I done wrong, was there some sin in my life? However, I was so taken up with my feelings, that I had not done any rational thinking, but now it dawned on me, I planned to leave, but where would I go? I didn’t know anyone in this outstretched province. The nearest city was more than 65 km away, and, I had no money! So I went back to class and just sat there. A few days went by sort of feeling numb, but then slowly I became interested again in the studies, they started touching me again, and, to make the story short, by the end of the week my feelings were slowly turning around and I started experiencing the presence of the Lord again.

This was my first experienced of what is sometimes called a “wilderness experience”, or a “dry period.” A Christian looses all at once the sense of the presence of the Lord, he no longer “feels” God. The Bible doesn’t speak to him, prayer seems like talking to a brick wall and everything feels so unreal. Besides that the person often wrestles with guilt feelings and frustration. These periods may last for a few days, weeks or sometimes even longer. Why do these happen? There may be different reasons, but let me suggest just one. Once upon a time there were a father and mother who had an eight year old daughter, Christine …….! (Go to Musings)

Nr.19 ended with: “But then, as I was so much enjoying the studies, the atmosphere and the Lord, something happened, something that really threw me off and made me decide to leave…………….!”

The College had two large 3 day conferences a year, one in the fall, the other in April, closing off the school year. Hundreds of people from the surrounding area and even from far away would attend, many of them having to stay overnight. They were times of tremendous blessing, with inspiring speakers and with missionaries from all over the world telling about what the Lord was doing in other countries. I had been told about this and was looking forward to it with great anticipation.

Well, Thursday evening came, the meeting started, the choir sang, the speakers preached, missionaries told stories and everyone was moved, except me! I told you before that ever since giving my life to Christ I had been living on cloud nine. God’s presence was so real, I could “feel” Him. But now, all at once that was gone, I didn’t feel anything, my heart was empty and cold. As the days went by and people were so enjoying the meetings, I became more and more miserable. Many were often in tears as speakers and missionaries presented their messages and the choir sang. I had tears too, but not of joy, but of frustration, not understanding what was wrong with me. I went walking out on the prairies at night looking at the starry sky and asking God to give me a sign, to make a star fall, so that I would know that He was still with me, but nothing happened. As the conference drew to a close I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t really a Christian, I couldn’t be, as others were so moved and overjoyed, and my heart was so cold and indifferent. Sunday night I went to the principal and told him that I would be leaving the next day, as I was convinced that I was not a real Christian. He prayed with me, but nothing happened and so I went to bed…………! (Go to Musings).

Nr.18 ended with: “And so I discovered something new again, the truth of the words of Hebrews 12:6, “Whom the Lord loves, He chastens.” What a lessen to learn!” You maybe wondering whatever happened to that young lady in Bible College who had been praying for Martin and his wild friend, me! Well, she had graduated the year before I started and she had gone to Holland, Michigan, USA, to study at the Child Evangelism Institute. I was not to meet her until my second year of College. So we’ll just have to leave this most interesting subject for the moment. The time at the College was just wonderful. I enjoyed the lessens ever so much, it was all so new to me, and the whole atmosphere was something I had never experienced before. It was so totally different studying the Bible daily and also having daily prayer meetings, SO different from working with a rough construction crew. Ever since my surrender to the Lord and new birth I had sort of lived on cloud nine, it was almost too good to be true. God’s presence was so real, many times I could hardly keep back my tears as I listened to the teachers expounding the tremendous truths of God’s wonderful Word. The College had a three year course, but for those who had not finished High School, or who were older and had not been studying for years, there was the possibility of dropping some subjects and doing it in four years. Because my English was far from King James language, and because I was having a hard time following the principal when he taught Theology and used words as justification, sanctification, redemption, propitiation, etc. I at times wondered whether he was speaking Chinese. And so it was decided that I would take the four year course, which gave me time to also study English. But then, as I was so much enjoying the studies, the atmosphere and the Lord, something happened, something that really threw me off and made me decide to leave…………….! (Go to Musings)

Nr.17 ended with: “But, Lord willing, there is lots more to come before that happens. Because there was something else I discovered, something quite serious………!”

I haven’t told you much yet about Bible College. Which word describes my life as a new Christian until now? Discovery! I discovered that God is really real, that He is to be trusted, that Christians can really laugh and that we have a joyful and singing faith. The same goes for Bible College. I discovered one thing after another, it was just great! But I was a young Christian and still quite playful. I have mentioned before that I didn’t like studying and now, after having been free on the farm, having to sit in class every day for a number of hours and then doing homework and studying some more, it was a bit too much for me. Thank God, there was a gym and every night there were students playing volley ball. Because I am quite tall, I loved that sport and so every night I was there. Nothing wrong with that except that we needed to do our homework first. Several students talked to me about that as did one or two teachers, but I couldn’t resist the urge to go and play in the evenings. Until one night the Lord stepped in, I believe. I was playing and jumped up to smash the ball over the net, when at the same time a student behind me jumped up and bumped into my back. I fell over and landed on my right shoulder on the floor. I felt a terrible pain and soon discovered that my shoulder was dislocated. One of the staff members and a student drove me the 60 plus km to the hospital in the city, an agonizing and painful drive. But the outcome was no more volleyball, but studying. And so I discovered something new again, the truth of the words of Hebrews 12:6, “Whom the Lord loves, He chastens.” What a lessen to learn! (Go to Musings)

Nr.16 ended with: “There was a third positive outcome….!”

Besides the starting of never before held fire drills, and the wonderful spiritual experience for myself as the result of humbling myself, there was something else that struck me, and that was the response of the principal of the school. When he heard the story he laughed himself almost sick. Why was that so special? Because here was a very spiritual and godly man with a real sense of humor and that really impressed me. Remember, one of the things that kept me from surrendering to God was the idea that believing meant no more laughing and having fun. How wrong. I discovered that Christians have lots to laugh about. Christianity is a joyful faith, the past is forgiven, the present in God’s hands, the future secure, wow! I believe that God has humor, if you don’t believe me just look in the mirror! 🙂 “A merry heart does good like medicine” the Bible says, Pr.17:22!

And I also discovered that the Christian faith is a singing faith. The Gospel of God’s grace leads us to brake out in “Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” Think of the thousands of hymns, songs and other music, such as Handell’s Messiah, made by Christians. Fanny Crosby, a blind woman, wrote 8.000 hymns. I was amazed when I discovered all this and realized that as a Christian I was rich indeed, praise God!

When the noted agnostic Robert Ingersoll died, the printed funeral notices said, “There will be no singing.” If you plan to attend the funeral of an infidel, agnostic, or skeptic, do not look for hymns or spiritual songs. Without God, without Christ, without redemption, and without hope, what do they have to sing about? At my funeral there will be singing, victorious singing, praise God! I’m already looking forward to that! 🙂 But, Lord willing, there is lots more to come before that happens. Because there was something else I discovered, something quite serious………! (Go to Musings)

Nr.15 ended with: “Several positive things came out of this all, but that’s for next time.”

You may wonder how anything positive could come out of a crazy thing like putting a calf in the girls dorm. Well, the first is a very practical one. Even though the school had fire escapes, fire extinguishers and so on, it had never held a fire drill, strange as that may sound. But now, after some of the girls woke up from the fire alarm, thinking it was somebody’s alarm clock, it became clear that fire drills had to be held. Very good!!!

The second thing is personal. Although most of the students and staff thought this had been a good prank and laughed with it, I noticed that there were others who were offended and so I decided to apologize in front of the whole school. So the next day at noon after dinner when announcements were made, I got up and asked whether I could also make one. Permission was given and so I told everyone that this whole thing had been meant as a joke, but that I realized that some had been offended and that I was sorry for this. You have no idea how difficult this was, for me as a young Christian to get up in front of all students and staff members and apologize! I certainly did not enjoy my dinner that day as I sat there with clammy hands eating very little. But what a tremendous blessing that turned out to be in my spiritual life. The Bible says that if we humble ourselves, the Lord will meet us, and He sure did. It was a very humbling experience and it broke some of the old self in me, but that made room for more of the Holy Spirit. That doesn’t mean that I encourage others to put calves in dorms :-), but I do encourage every one to humble himself and the Lord will meet you in a new way. There was a third positive outcome….! (Go to Musings)

Nr.14 ended with: “What she didn’t know, and what we didn’t know either was that the calf was sick and had diarrhea…………!”

The dean went back to bed, but after a while she felt she should check on the calf once more. When she opened the door of the entrance hall, the floor was covered with….., well you know what and it smelled terrible. She called the dean of men, Ron, now my brother in law, who after he got dressed went to the bathroom where he met my friend Martin. He of course, in the strongest terms denied having anything to do with this, but said, “That’s Richard’s doing”, and went up to our room. However, we did as though we were sleeping and fooled him. So Martin and Ron went to the girls dorm and while Martin took the calf back to the barn, Ron had to clean up the mess! The “wonderful” part was that my room mate and I were able to watch everything from our bedroom window and my, did we ever laugh! J A few days went by and no one had any idea who had done this, so finally we  decided to go to the principal and tell him that we were the guilty ones, hoping that this would lessen our punishment.

So we went to his house and told him everything. He told us to wait a bit and disappeared. It took some time before he returned and I noticed his face being quite red, I wondered whether he wasn’t feeling well. He told us we would have to clean the barn for a whole week as punishment. I didn’t mind that at all, it had been worth it. Much later after the principal and I had become good friends, he told me that when we had told him the whole thing, he went to his bedroom, fell on the bed and almost laughed himself sick, that’s why his face had been so red. By the way, animal lovers, the calf got better within days. Whether it was because of being out in the cold or because of the pleasure of being in the girls dorm, which privilege a calf does not get very often :-), but it had no ill effects. Several positive things came out of this all, but that’s for next time. (Go to Musings)

Nr.13 ended with: “(And don’t forget the calf..!)”

So here I was in a small town of about 100 people, in the middle of the prairies, some 60 km from the closest city, in a Bible College. Now just in case some of you think that a place like that is a dull place and that students do nothing else than study the Bible and pray all day, let me tell you about some other things that go on there. Let’s get back to the calf! One day as we were sitting around the dining room table, the dean of women who was at our table spoke up and said, “It is so quiet here the last while, nothing much is happening. When I was in Bible College some years ago we had fun, playing tricks and things like that.” Well, she should have known better as to say that at that table where I was also sitting. When I got back to my room I told my roommate about this. Immediately we started thinking and wondering what we could do. At night before going to sleep we would lie in bed talking and planning, finally coming up with the idea of getting a calf out of the barn and putting it into the girls’ dormitory. So, one cold winter night at about 1am we went to the barn and carried this calf to the girls’ dorm, getting into it through the door of the furnace room which was not locked. The building had several stories, so we left the calf on the lowest floor and ran out after first setting off the fire alarm so that all the girls would wake up. We sat down outside on the steps of one of the staff’s houses and watched all the lights go on in the dorm. I don’t think I ever laughed so hard in my life. The dean of women, the one who had been at our table, went down to the lowest floor where girls were standing watching the calf and she somehow was able to get the calf up the short stairs to the main floor, into the entrance way, a small hall. She left it there intending to phone someone the next morning to come and get the animal. What she didn’t know, and what we didn’t know either was that the calf was sick and had diarrhea…………! (Go to Musings)