"ROCKY GROUND"

The year was 1909 and the residents of Juanita, Oklahoma had been ordered by a federal court to change the name of their town so residents voted in the name of “Crowder.” Angelo Zito lived nearby Crowder, Oklahoma and had just graduated high school but now faced with a difficult decision about the rest of his life. He could go to work in the nearby coal mines with the rest of his brothers, uncles and cousins or he could follow his heart to serve the Lord. Angelo also wanted to see the world so he joined the Foreign Missionary Movement.

Completing the required prerequisites of basic divinity studies, Angelo had a choice of China or Bolivia to begin his work as a Christian missionary. He chose China and was assigned to the remote mountainous areas of southern China.

Completing his first year of missionary work in southern China, Angelo received five thousand copies of the Holy Bible’s New Testament printed in Chinese. Angelo was excited because neither he nor any of his mission team could speak fluent Chinese so these Chinese New Testaments would be an immense help in teaching natives about Jesus.

Angelo was so enthusiastic he made a decision for his team to make a 180 mile journey through two mountainous areas to distribute all five thousand copies of the Chinese New Testament. Angelo and the other three members of his team had distributed about half of these Chinese New Testaments when they were mugged by a band of armed bandits in a remote countryside village. The bandits took everything; money, clothes, shoes and the remaining 2,500 copies of the Chinese New Testament not yet distributed. Angelo and his mission team returned to mission camp barefooted and in their skivvies, but glad to be alive. The next week they were transferred back to the States.

Angelo returned to his Eastern Oklahoma beginnings to marry his childhood sweetheart and to pastor a small church. Some thirty plus years had lapsed and the United States was celebrating their WWII victory when Angelo and his wife were invited by the state church association to attend a lecture by a missionary currently assigned to southern China.

During a slide show presentation was a photo of the village where Angelo and his team had been robbed by armed bandits thirty years earlier. “Now,” the missionary said, “we come to the most important slide in my collection.”

The missionary went on to add, “I call it the ‘Miracle Church.” The slide showed a photo of a large building made of sun dried rocks, straw and bamboo. “This is the Miracle Church” the missionary continued, “because no one knows who started it or how it was started in these remote mountains of China. Yet, every Sunday for years and years, more than four hundred people attend, each with a copy of the New Testament printed in Chinese.”

Clearing his throat to avoid choking up the missionary stopped the slide presentation and stated, “no one can figure out how they got these Chinese New Testaments. So far as it is known from the national church associations and the company who printed these Chinese New Testaments, no missionary or distributor ever visited these remote mountains which were infested with bandits and robbers until this Miracle Church began.” The missionary was holding back emotion to state, “yet today this church is thriving with a large attendance each week and the people have God’s Word in their native language.”

Angelo smiled in gratitude and shouted a loud “Oh Man” and “Amen!” Warm goose bumps covered his entire body! God's Word, taken from him that day by bandits had been building it's own church in China for the past 30 years. Just as amazing was the invitation for Angelo to attend the lecture since the only one who knew he had ever been to China was the Almighty God!

God is a God of “sudden surprises.” Suddenly, He can surprise you by improving your health or increasing your wealth or both. Suddenly, He can surprise you by breaking a life long addiction or reversing a hopeless circumstance. Suddenly, God can reunite a family separated for decades or like Angelo, reveal the fruits of Angelo’s labor years prior.

Yet, one of the downsides to inheriting Adam and Eve’s DNA is our rebellious attitude of impatience. We want God to fix things right now and if He doesn’t act according to our timetables, we begin to think God has erased our name in the “Book of Life.”

Call it the carnal nature blues or just plain ‘ol immature selfishness but when God isn’t doing double time to help us, we begin to doubt. Yes, we might resort to doubting God’s love for us which manifests into doubting God has truly forgiven all of our sins to snowballing doubts about our salvation. Doubts about being saved are common for Christians, especially when we travel “Rocky Ground.” We all want to know we have a reservation for one of the Heavenly mansions the Lord promised. (John 14:2)

It is the actual distressing thoughts to think we do not have reservations for one of God’s mansions on the streets paved with gold which is where we find our salvation assurance. Yes, you read that right, the reassurance is in recognizing why we feel as alone as two buggies in a one horse town. When we are are distressed and worried as to whether we are saved, it shows the conviction of the Holy Spirit is still leading us. Because those who are not saved could care less they are lost or their name is nowhere to be found on the “roll called up yonder.”

While we detest the feelings of doubt and uncertainty, we are taught by the Apostle Paul to examine or test our faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5). When we complete our examination we will find the same answer as Paul did in that we are not reprobates. (2 Corinthians 13:6) Keep in mind the Apostle Paul would hurt, mangle, torture and murder Christians for sport before he was saved.

When the “Doubting Thomas” syndrome comes knocking, it is time for “heaven help us” by opening God’s Good Book to read “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) Next, go to Romans 8:38-39 to read “no one or nothing can ever separate you from the Lord.”

Finally, read Romans 8:16 which states the “Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit we are children of God.” This is the Scripture which in a biblical parable sort of way reassures you of your salvation because when you are worried, distressed and upset by your doubts the Holy Spirit is still in your heart and soul convicting you. Again, if you were truly not saved or a reprobate as Paul calls it, then you would care less about sins, doubts and Heaven just as Paul did before he was saved.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being a God of love, grace, forgiveness, miracles and sudden surprises. Thank You for understanding who we are, why we doubt and forgiving our doubts as You did Thomas. Lord, when we are in doubt or traveling “Rocky Ground” remind us to sing and shout Your promise that nothing can ever take away Your love for us or erase our name from the “Book of Life!”