Nr.121 ended with: “He agreed to a visit, “but only this once” he emphasized. And so on one of the last days of December I sat in their living room………..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

We had quite a discussion lasting between two and three hours, but it was more sort of a one way talk. Robert told me right from the beginning that he was a good Catholic and that his church was the only true church of Christ on earth. I answered him that his church when it first started out with the apostles was the true church, but that through the centuries it had changed a lot. Miriam had told me that her husband was willing to have me visit them once, but only once, so I realized that this was probably the only opportunity I would ever have to talk with him.

So for more than two hours I used the Bible to point out how wrong his church was, wrong in claiming that Peter was the first Pope, as he never was. Wrong to call the Pope “father”, as Jesus Himself had said, “Do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He who is in heaven” Matt.23:9. Of course, Jesus was not talking about our earthly physical father. That it was wrong to pray to Mary as she was a sinner just like us. That is was wrong to believe in purgatory, as it is not found in the Bible. And on I went, ending with telling him that the church was wrong in teaching that we must earn our eternal life, as the Bible says that Jesus has earned it for us on the cross. “And that’s why I am so sure that I will go to heaven when I die, while you are not sure at all.” Some sixth months later this conversation bore fruit.

Robert just sat there and listened, what could he say? Much of this was totally new to him. I sensed it was time to go. He looked at me and said, “I have to admit that you have something I don’t have, but I don’t agree with what is going on here in Peer.” And that was it, so I left.
Meanwhile Miriam’s condition was deteriorating and she found it difficult to attend the Bible studies. Robert had been told by a doctor that his wife did not have long to live, so when Miriam asked him whether the Bible studies could be held in their home, what could he say….……?

P.S. I may start writing two episodes a week, so watch for the next one. They may become a bit longer too; otherwise it may take another 100 years to get done. 🙂 href=”https://richardandmarina.net/category/musings/”>.

Nr.120 ended with: “Then again, very carefully, I asked, “but what about the beer glasses and the smoke…………?” (See richardandmarina.net).

To be honest, I was a bit nervous, as these were the elders of our home church which was partly supporting us. However, I soon let out a sigh of relief when I saw their smiles and heard them say, “Oh Richard, don’t worry about that, give these young believers time. There is no doubt in our minds that we are seeing a genuine work of the Spirit of God here and we are so happy with that.” What an encouraging words; inwardly I praised the Lord for such spiritual men who recognized a work of God. Sometime later they returned to Canada and reported to the church what they had seen and heard and there was much rejoicing and giving of thanks for the great things the Lord was doing in Belgium.

We are still in 1976 and I have to tell you about something that happened in Peer that was sad and at the same time wonderful. Towards the end of ’75 a woman in Peer had started coming to the Bible study, I will call her Miriam. She was married to someone, let’s call him Robert, who had an important position in one of the largest banks of Belgium. Miriam had cancer and was not well; she paid close attention to the teaching of God’s word and it didn’t take long before she accepted the Lord Jesus into her heart. A bit later she went along to Beerse on a Sunday afternoon to be baptized, what a joy! When she got home, her husband noticed her hair being wet and asked whether she had been swimming. She couldn’t lie and so told him the truth. He was shocked, being a good Catholic, at least in his own eyes, he did not approve of this “new faith” or “new religion”, as it was called. She asked whether he would be willing to have me come and explain things to him. He agreed to a visit, “but only this once” he emphasized. And so on one of the last days of December I sat in their living room…………………! (See Musings).

Nr.119 ended with: “One night I took them to one of my home Bible studies, but as we entered the living room I was a bit shocked ……..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

You see, that fairly small room was not only filled with about 25 people, but it was also full of smoke and the table was cluttered with beer bottles and glasses, some of which were still half full. I thought, oh dear, what are my elders going to think of this? Forty years ago in Canada, smoking and alcohol were taboo in most evangelical circles, just as in other cultures there are other taboos. We had a Russian preacher visiting Belgium some years ago and he was quite upset that women wore slacks to church meetings.

Some years ago I heard the following story. Members of an evangelical church in Germany had heard about the behavior of Christian women in America, that they were wearing mini-skirts, using lipstick and ear rings, etc. They were quite upset about this and decided to send a delegation to America to investigate, because this was pretty serious. And sure enough, when they came back they called the church together and affirmed what they had heard; in fact it was even worse. They all became so sad that many started crying; even some of the men, and as they did, their tears ran down their cigars into their beer glasses! 🙂 Different cultures, different customs, different convictions, right?

We had a wonderful evening as I taught the Word of God, followed by a time of questions and answers. Then we had a brief time of prayer, which we did in some home studies. It was wonderful to hear these new believers, baby Christians pray, just short sentences thanking the Lord for the Bible, for Jesus or for their salvation. After more coffee and discussion, we left the house and got into my car. As we were driving along I started asking the elders what they thought of the meeting. They were just delighted and happy with what they had seen and heard. Then again, very carefully, I asked, “but what about the beer glasses and the smoke…………?” (Go to Musings).

Nr.117 ended with: “But, towards the end of the year something very sad happened…..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

We are in a spiritual battle, the devil, Satan is real. He is not like some portray him, a figure with horns and hoofs. We understand from the Bible that Satan was once the most important and beautiful angel in heaven, see Ez.28:1-19, personified as the king of Tyre. But he rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven and ever since has been at war with God, seeking to destroy God’s work. He attacked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Jesus had just been born and Satan sought to use king Herod to destroy Him. When Jesus had been baptized He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and was there attacked by the devil. When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and the Church was born, immediately Satan stirred up opposition, and persecution started. So we should not be surprised when we are attacked, if we are true children of God, and even more, when we seek to do God’s work. He will often seek to attack the message first, and if that doesn’t work, he will seek to get at the messenger.

This is what happened to our co-worker in Antwerp. He started having personal and family problems, which became so serious that he had to leave the work in 1976 and after some time return to Canada. The young Christians were shocked, how could this happen to someone who had been so used by the Lord? But we need only look into Scripture and see that some very well known people had personal and family problems. Think of Abraham, Jacob, and especially, king David, who was called by God Himself, “a man after my own heart.” They were spiritual giants and yet frail human beings and the enemy of our souls attacked them in their weakness and sought to bring them down.

I met with the Lord’s people in Antwerp and explained things to them. I spent time with the leaders and amazingly, even though a couple people left, the church went right on and is still going, even though it has had its ups and downs, like so many others.

And then we got company……….! (Go to Musings).

Nr.116 ended with: “On August 15 they moved to a house they had rented in Peer, and guess for what that house was later on also used……?” (See richardandmarina.net).

Yes, you guessed right, the new church in Peer started meeting there on Sunday mornings towards the end of August, 1975, wonderful! The third church had officially started, praise God. And the church grew so rapidly, that very soon the Gelling’s house became too small and the church moved to the new house of a kind couple, I will call them Janine and Geert. After I had previously met with a number of friends of Phillip and Ingrid at their house, and had invited these folk to another evening, the doctor spoke up, “because we are living in an old house, with the medical rooms on the main floor and the living quarters upstairs, with a dangerous steep stairway and an unstable wooden floor, I am afraid of what might happen in case of even more people showing up.” Thankfully Janine spoke up and offered to have the meeting at her new house and so a new weekly Bible study was started there. And now the Sunday services were being held there too.

There were now four Bible studies going, one in Peer, one a few miles south of Peer in Martin and Lydie’s home, which drew quite a number of young people, even some boys from a boys home, then one in Zolder, further south and one in our house in Koersel. There were now new Christians in at least 7 towns in the province of Limburg. In a few years there would be new churches in several of these towns, the Holy Spirit was moving, wonderful. Many a night I drove home with tears in my eyes, tears of joy for these dear people, and of joy for being God’s instrument in giving them the true gospel. It was heart-warming, but also heartbreaking to watch the amazement of these folk as they heard the Word of God expounded and the true message of salvation for the first time in their lives, and that while living in a so called “Christian” country! But, towards the end of the year something very sad happened…..! (Go to Musings).

Nr.115 ended with: “Wonderful indeed, praise God! And a lot more wonderful things happened that year …….!

I hope you enjoyed reading the shortened version of the testimony of this doctor, I certainly did, but now, before going on with other wonderful things, I just want to add a few more sentences from his testimony. After telling more about his discovery he says:

“How was it possible that I had not “seen” this before? I did nevertheless have a decent Christian upbringing. I had daily gone to Mass until I was eighteen and even in Leuven, (the University City), I had gone to church every Sunday. I had heard passages from the Scriptures read and had read them myself. What then was different now? It was God’s Spirit who, through my new birth, was working in me.”

How true and important these words, they make me think of Jesus’ words, “Except a man be born again, he cannot “see” the kingdom of God.” I have many reasons for believing in God, one of them is the miracle of the new birth, it is just wonderful to see how people all at once “see” or understand spiritual things. I have to think of that one line in that beautiful hymn “Amazing Grace”, which goes like this, “Once I was blind, but now I see.” Can you say that, have your eyes been opened, are you born again? If not, why not go to Jesus right now and admit your sinfulness in God’s eyes and ask Christ to come into your heart? And you’ll “see” too and know exactly what we mean.

Some time later, the doctor’s wife Ingrid, also accepted Jesus in her heart and the two of them, together with others, were baptized in the mill in Beerse on June 22, 1975. Praise the Lord. Two days before that, on June 20, our new co-workers from Canada, Henk and Beryl Gelling with their 3 children arrived in Belgium and moved in with us. They came along to Beerse for the morning service and the wonderful and joyful baptism in the afternoon, quite the introduction to God’s work in Belgium! On August 15 they moved to a house they had rented in Peer, and guess for what that house was later on also used……? (Go to Musings).

Nr.114 ended with: “What a joy we experienced time and again. Next time we’ll look at all the wonderful, except one, things that happened in 1975……..!’ (See richardandmarina.net).

Due to being so involved in Beerse yet, we had not yet started a church in Koersel, but we held our first Lord’s Supper there on a Sunday evening the beginning of March. Phillip, the doctor from Peer was present. I had visited him and his wife regularly and I realized that God was working in their hearts. About two weeks later, two miracles happened, two births took place. The first one was that of Phillip and Ingrid’s second child in the hospital, the second took place in their home, in fact in their bedroom. I’ll let Phillip tell it in his own words. “While Ingrid was in the hospital with our second baby, I gave my heart to Jesus in bed one night. Tears of remorse rolled down my cheeks, remorse for all the wrong things I had done and, knowing that I would still do some of them. Tears of shame, shame that Jesus, the Son of God had to die on a cross to pay my debt, the debt of my sins and the sins yet to be committed, to pay with His sacrifice.

But also, and especially, tears of joy. Joy, because God’s grace which had befallen me. Joy, not only because Jesus had died for my sins, but had also risen from the dead. He was, and is, the Victor. And I wept because of the joy that Jesus had given me eternal life, and through the truth of His word, had given me assurance of that. I felt soaked with a warm, unspeakable joy. I was born again; I was a child of God! And because of my new birth I felt really liberated. Jesus was my Redeemer, my Savior and my Lord. He had completed everything for me; He had paid for my sins. I didn’t have to perform anymore so as to be found good enough. Through Jesus I had become a child of God. I wanted to live for Him.” Wonderful indeed, praise God! And a lot more wonderful things happened that year …….! (Go to Musings).

Nr.113 ended with: “And so the Biblical answers he received from me began to sprout and soon something wonderful would happen! I left their house at 2 am with joy and anticipation in my heart……!” (See richardandmarina.net).

I feel I need to make something clear. When I speak of the Catholic Church, I’m talking about that Church in Belgium or Europe. There are differences between the Catholic Church in Europe, North America, Africa and other parts of the world. The Church in Europe is very liberal, while in Africa quite conservative and I think that the North American Church is somewhere in between. Also, when I talk about Catholic people I am not against them, to the contrary, I love them and I am very much for them, I spent much of my life seeking to teach them the Bible and free salvation through the finished work of Christ on the cross. I am however, upset with Catholic Church, especially in Belgium and Europe, for having kept people ignorant and in the dark for so long.

When we came to Belgium in 1971, we found that people did not have Bibles. In fact we met people who told us that they weren’t allowed to read the Bible because it was a “Protestant” book. Of course, the Church will deny that, but that is how people experienced it. Now, of course, things have changed and children in school are to have a Bible, as our daughters did when they attended a very Catholic school. But they are told right away that the Bible is full of myths and mistakes, so how can they trust that book? You should have seen how excited people became when they received a Bible for the first time in their lives and began reading it, and attending Bible studies where the Bible was taught. Many came to a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and were born again. They experienced real forgiveness and received peace. I could tell you story after story and it proved to me time and again that God’s Word has real power, power to save and change lives! What a joy we experienced time and again. Next time we’ll look at all the wonderful, except one, things that happened in 1975……..! (Go to Musings).

 

Nr.112 ended with: “Martin had been asking them for some time to meet with me, but they were hesitant. Now, however, they were ready to come, but they brought two Catholic priests along……..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

Well, it became a very interesting evening. The discussion between the two priests and me was very polite, even though I put one question after another to them for which they had no real answers. They were familiar with many of the Bible texts I quoted or showed them, but they said that these could not be taken literally. I kept at them until they quite evidently started to become uncomfortable and excused themselves and left, saying they had another appointment to attend to. After they were gone I asked Phillip to read aloud one Bible text after another as answers to the questions I had asked. When they went home, they took the Bibles I had given them and much later Ingrid told me that on the way home, Phillip had said, “Richard doesn’t interest me but I’m going to read the Bible.” I know what he meant; it was not Richard the person who had touched his heart, but the Bible! And that is so good, I often told folks, it isn’t me or us who you need, but God’s Word. You don’t need to come to us, as long as you go to the Lord and His Word.

I had noticed their interest and went to visit them a number of times. Ingrid wasn’t all that happy with that as she had a stronger bond with the Catholic Church than Phillip. He kept talking to priests asking them what he needed to do to go to heaven. They would give different answers, but it all came down to the same thing, do your best. One Sunday evening during the winter of 1974, they invited a couple with whom they were friends, to come and meet me. This couple also brought a Catholic priest along, but his answers were quite vague, superficial and not satisfying to Phillip. And so, the Biblical answers he received from me began to sprout and soon something wonderful would happen! I left their house at 2 am with joy and anticipation in my heart……! (Go to Musings).