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God's Sword of Mercy July 28, 2008 By R. D.
Talley, as told to Shirley McDonald I grew up in
an Apostolic home. Both my dad and stepmother were Apostolic ministers.
Yet as a teen I decided that I wanted to taste of the world, and
for the next 36 years I lived the life of the prodigal. Thanks to
a praying family, God began to speak to me, and finally I listened.
My way back to God began with a search for a sword. My wife attended
the Pentecostals of Lee Road in Covington, Louisiana. We were in
Arkansas when she mentioned that her pastor, Brother Rick Marcelli,
had preached a sermon in which he used a pretend sword as a “prop,”commenting
that he really wished he had a real sword in order to make his point
more memorable. My wife decided that she would find a sword for
Bro. Marcelli in one of the antique shops in the Arkansas town where
we were vacationing. We could not
find a sword anywhere. Shopkeepers kept sending us to another shop
and another shop and another. Finally, one directed us to a couple
who were just stocking their soon-to-open shop. Following directions
carefully, we found the shop, went in, and introduced ourselves
and our quest. After talking for a while, we were astonished to
find out that this couple had once lived in Louisiana. Upon further
conversation, we were astounded to find that I (as a teen) had actually
eaten a meal at their house while my dad and stepmom were preaching
a revival at the church in their town! What a coincidence!
No - it was not a coincidence; it was God's hand of mercy. For upon
our leaving, the woman took my hand, looked straight into my eyes,
and said, “Tell me one thing. What is the son of Oscar and Dorothy
Miller Talley doing living as you do?” (She had easily deduced from
my appearance and actions that I was no longer a Holy Ghost-filled
saint.) I shamefacedly bowed my head, unable to answer her.
Her words haunted me, and I could no longer ignore the voice of
God. A few months
later, with God still dealing with my heart, my wife and I went
to visit some friends in Michigan. By this time, I was feeling conviction
so strongly that I was hoping my wife would go to the church in
Michigan, thinking it would be easier for me to pray in a strange
church. Of course, I told my wife nothing of my feelings, especially
my disappointment when she did not attend the church services. After this trip,
my wife began planning to go to Louisiana Camp Meeting. For the
first time since I was a teenager at youth camp, I also made plans
to go to the Louisiana Campgrounds for camp meeting. My wife and
church-going family were ecstatic because they knew this decision
meant a drastic change for me. They believed that at camp I would
be restored to God. However, I couldn't
wait for Camp, and the Sunday night before Camp, I attended church
with my wife at The Pentecostals of Lee Road and was gloriously
refilled with the Holy Ghost. For the next week I could do nothing
but cry in thankfulness for the mercy of God. Whenever I could
finally talk without crying, I called the couple at the shop in
Arkansas and told them about my experience and their part in the
re-awakening of my desire for God. After rejoicing with me, the
woman said, “So that is why we opened that shop! I often wondered.
You know, we only stayed in business for a very short time and then
decided that we really had rather be retired, so we closed the shop!” How loved it
makes me feel to know that God cared enough for one prodigal son
that He spoke to a couple in Arkansas to open an antique shop for
only just a short time so that I would be sent there to look for
a sword for Bro. Rick Marcelli. What a lot of work for them! But
I am so thankful they obeyed God and spoke words to me that convicted
my soul. “O give thanks
unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth forever”
(Psalm 118:1). © 2008, R. D.
Talley, Shirley McDonald --------- R. D. Talley
still goes to antique shops with his wife, but he never again
has found anything of as much value as he found that day at the
shop in Arkansas.
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