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Archaic, antiquated, old-fashioned, call it what you wish, but there is more authority to it than washed-up stories; it's history. I just reread Pioneer Pentecostal Women, Volume I and it did something so many books do not do: it caused me to stop and do some serious thinking. The book is a compilation of brief biographies on early twentieth-century Apostolic women. These women defied traditional religions, unsaved spouses and inconveniences of the period to live their beliefs, search for the full truth and spread the Gospel. These interesting stories show us what it was like to heed God's call. There are many examples, but I'll mention two. Carrie Eastridge felt God and asked her son to stop the car at a stranger's house. While in the home she noticed a baby in a bassinet who had been badly burned. After asking the mother if she could pray for him, she prayed and God miraculously healed him. Easteridge, having fulfilled God's purpose for her at that house, left thanking God for His healing power. It was not until a few days later that she realized the complete reason God told her to stop at that house. Eastridge had been told by the Lord to start a work in this little town and she had, but they needed a church building. She had heard that the Free Methodists in town were building new facilities, so their old building was for sale. Eastridge went to negotiate with the church board and they told her their asking price was three thousand dollars. Even though she knew how ridiculously her bid was, she offered them five hundred dollars. The board expressed their dismay until a deacon said, "This lady has never seen me before and does not know our family. All of you know that recently my little son was seriously burned. The prospects were, if he lived, that he would be horribly scarred. . .However, when this lady drove by our house, God told her to go in. . .my son was instantly healed. . .I make a motion we give Mrs. Eastridge the church for five hundred dollars. It was then that Eastridge knew that God had a dual miracle than she could ever imagine when she stopped to pray for the boy. Maude Wilkins, who was still living at the time of the book's initial publication, told of an instance when she was in the woods, carried away in prayer. When she noticed the late hour, she asked the Lord what she was to do since she was the organist for special services that night. The Lord told her to close her eyes and lift her hands. When He told her to open her eyes, she was standing at the gate of her house. Once changed for church, she told the Lord she had to be at the organ sooner than she would be able to make it. Once again, the Lord had her close her eyes and life up her hands. When he told her to open them, she was sitting on the organ bench in her church! Pretty strange, yet a similar transportation occurred in Acts 9:37-40. Stories of this type flood the pages of this book. They made me realize that many times books only reiterate what we already know and what we already believe; but I found that after many years between readings, this book became more to me then just a recapping of people's lives, it pierced my soul with conviction and wonderment. How did it do this? Isn't it a compilation of condensed biographies of women who came to know the Apostolic experience early this century? It is short concise biographies, but it does not really stop there for the thinker/reader. This book is a template of what our Christian walk really should be. How many of us have seen a woman's leg grow to its proper length right? How many have been impressed to stop at a stranger's house while driving home in order to pray for a sick child? How many have been physically transported from one place to another? All of these examples sound like biblical days, but why don't we hear of these type of occurrences from our friends or, much more radically, in our own lives. This is not heavy reading or even difficult reading; many of the people who wrote the biographies probably never went to a university, much less graduated, but it gave me an education that goes much deeper than a degree. It gave me exactly what I am needing at this point in my life ¾ a hunger and thirst to know the God who manifests Himself in the Spiritual Gifts through my life. Don't even think about reading this book unless you desire to climb to a higher mountain in your spiritual walk. It won't teach you anything new and it won't expand your knowledge, but it will be a model for your life if you want to draw closer to God. After I had finished this book, I Peter 4:18 came to me, "And if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Self-examination, faith, and a desire to live a fuller Christian life; when was the last time a book did that for you? ninetyandnine.com ------- Article © Nita Curry, 1999 Nita Curry lives in St. Louis and has a Master’s Degree in History from the University of Missouri. She is in her eighth year of teaching the New Life College and Career Sunday School Class. She is currently heavily involved in a long-term sleep deprivation program under the guidance of Dr. Caleb Curry, who is now 21 months. Have an opinion on an article? Let us know how you feel! Click feedback & fill us in. |
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