Jesus— Completely! T “May I Tell You a Story?” BY DICK DUERKSEN
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he huge old tree needed to be removed, chopped down, and taken away before it caused any more damage to the roof of the missionary’s house. The roof was flat, covered now with leaves and dead branches, especially during wind and rain. And it rained a lot in their African home in Burkina Faso. No problem, thought Gilberto, the missionary. Every day our members come by to ask for food money, or to see if we might know of any work they could do. I’ll just let them know that we’ll pay for someone to cut down the old tree. The tree should be down in less than a week. Pastor Gilberto spread the word. Everyone talked about the huge old tree, but no one offered to do the job. One week passed, then two. Then three long rainy weeks slipped by without a single person showing interest in the job or the money. So Pastor Gilberto asked a couple of the church leaders what was wrong. *** “Well, Pastor,” they whispered, “you see, well, some people believe that maybe, ummm, possibly that, well, it could be that the huge old tree is a Spirit Tree. If we were to cut it down, we’re not really sure what the spirits would do to the people who cut it down. We
January 2022 AdventistWorld.org
wouldn’t be certain, but if someone in the family falls sick, we would know the spirits were at work harming us because we cut down their tree.” “That’s the way it is with spirits,” one of the church elders said. “You never know what they will do, but they will hurt you. Probably, if we cut down their tree, it will be standing up right there again the next morning.” Pastor Gilberto listened to his members, argued with them about how much power God has over demonic spirits, and even showed them Bible stories about how God is stronger than the enemy. No one seemed convinced, so Pastor Gilberto called in a nonbeliever to take down the tree. It was gone in two days. Permanently gone. Turned into firewood, with a loud witness to the greater power of God. Pastor Gilberto, and his wife, Glaucia, had come to Burkina Faso from Brazil, eager to guide people to Jesus, looking for every possible way to show how Jesus is far more powerful than the spirits the people had worshipped for so many years. With their young assistant, they visited members and made new friends. *** “Please, Pastor, could you visit my neighbor?” one member asked. “She is paralyzed in her bed and would like a pastor to pray for her.” Image: Richard Loader
