Heaven Bound

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but, against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Ephesians 6:12

There are times when we are more aware of the spiritual battle of which we are in than others; times, when the line between the two thins to such a point that both sides can be clearly seen.  Sunday was one of those days.

Sunday afternoon, my friend Nan and I went to Waikiki hoping to see some of the friends (homeless and otherwise) we had made on previous excursions and also hoping to meet some new ones. It was early afternoon when we arrived and it was scorching hot.  Not exactly the ideal time for meeting people as most people were either in the water cooling off, reading a book under the cover of a beach umbrella or snoozing somewhere in the shade of a tree. Nevertheless, we slathered sun screen on all reachable extremities and struck out, hoping in spite of the heat, that God would bring at least one or two people our way.

We walked along the beach for the better part of an hour and didn’t see any one we knew or anyone we thought we could strike up a conversation with.  Most of the homeless population was nowhere to be seen, it was obviously just too hot.  We continued on our walk until we finally reached the last beach along the way; a beach known to be popular with gay men on the island and the last point along our route.  Because of the heat, we decided to get off the side-walk and work our way through the park until we found a good place to sit down and rest. 

As we walked across the park, we noticed a lone figure raking leaves at the far edge of the park.  For some reason, he drew our attention, so we began to walk towards him. As we got a little bit closer, we could also see that in spite of the heat, he was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved black jacket and was using a very old and light weight rake for raking the leaves. He appeared to be twenty or so with dark wavy hair and dark eyes.  

When we got over to where he was raking, I commented on the size of the rake in contrast to the size of the job  – such a small rake for such a big job!  Big leaves, too, that seemed to keep getting caught in the prongs of the rake with every stroke.  He just shrugged; smiled wanly and told us he was doing community service.  I asked him if he needed any water and he shook his head no, motioning towards what looked to be a can of Iced Tea sitting on a bench.  At that, we said, “God bless” and headed for the shade of another tree where we could rest.

Dropping our bags on the grass, we took our water bottles out for a long drink, removed our sandals and massaged our feet. We were a little discouraged, but, knew the cure for discouragement is prayer.  We prayed of course, for our homeless friends and for those we hoped to meet a long the way; and we also prayed for the many gay men who had gathered along the beach and throughout the park.  Acutely aware of the stronghold the enemy has over this particular area, we specifically asked God to break loose the chains that bind so many.

After praying, we picked up our bags and returned to the sidewalk, ready to head back the direction from which we had come.

     “Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beast of the field which the Lord God had made …” Genesis 3:1

 We had only walked a few feet, when a man sitting on a bench called out to us.  Looking his direction, we saw an older man, deeply tanned and wearing a bathing suit.  He appeared to be of retirement age and looked much like any other older man enjoying an afternoon at the beach.  He got our attention by calling out “hey!” and from the way he was looking at us, it was obvious he wanted us to approach him. 

It was only a couple of steps from the sidewalk to where the man was sitting and as we walked over to him, he held a paper cup out towards us, saying something very strange. “This is eternal water; drink from it.” Eternal water?  Drink from it?  What was that supposed to mean?  I looked first at the cup, then back at the man who was holding it out towards us and wondered why anyone would call a stranger over to make such an odd request.  “Here drink,” he says, this time adding –  “its pure mountain spring water,”  I peer in to the cup and sure enough it is half full of what appears to be water. I notice a drinking fountain next to the bench where he is sitting and assume it to be the source for the “pure mountain spring water” which he so insistently offering us.

 About this time, my friend Nan pipes up, “We don’t need that water, she says, “we have the living water, Jesus!”  The man didn’t say anything in response to her enthusiastic statement, but merely glanced away, a sneer of sheer disgust caught in his eyes as he turned his head.  Looking back towards us, he thrust the cup once more at me admonishing me one more time to take a drink.  Not understanding quite yet, what this was really about, I tell him, “no, I have a bottle of water in my bag.”  I then go on to say something about needing to prepare for life beyond this life – needing something or someone who will sustain us into eternity. To this he replies, in the most base and vulgar of voices – “My wifes breasts are all I need to sustain me.”   This conversation was already bizarre and not wanting to engage any further, I said, “that might be fine for this life, but, it will do nothing for you in the next.”  And we left.

As we walked away from the man, it suddenly dawned on us. We were on enemy turf and the enemy had called us out!  I have no doubt, that what we encountered was a demon spirit; a spirit who saw and us and took the opportunity to mock us and the living water we represent.  Three times he admonished us to drink his water and three times we told him no.  Water is always spiritually significant, the choice of words by this “man” – no accident.

And, then for reasons neither of us can explain, we decided to double back to see if we could see the man raking leaves one more time.  When we got back across the park, he was still there – slowly raking leaves into little piles beneath the base of the tree.  This time when we approached him, Nan took a small scripture card from her bag and told him she would like for him to have it – it was a quote from Jeremiah 29:11 – 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

This time the man smiled widely and reached out to take the card.  We asked him how long he had been in Hawaii and where he had come from.  He told us he was from Texas and had been here about a year and a half.  When queried about why he had left Texas, he simply said “to venture out.”   We asked him his name, to which he replied, “Amos, my name is Amos”.  “That’s a bible name,” I said.  “Yes, I know,” he said.  We mentioned to him about some church groups that meet in the park every now and then if he were interested and he seemed to already know about them.  This time before walking away, we asked how we could pray for him this week. His response – a gesture towards the leaves – as if to say, “all of this.”   Indicating I suppose not just the leaves, but, God’s plan for his life.

Amos … Amos …. not a name you hear very often …….

By the time the afternoon sun had dipped below the horizon, we were almost back to our car, when we ran in to my Jewish friend Sam.  We spent about twenty minutes or so talking with him before he had to go and it was one of the best conversations I have ever had with him.   This time I shared with him about Yom Kippor, the day of Atonement which had just passed and how the sacrifice of blood of bulls and goats one time per year could never permanently take away sin. How the blood of a permanent sacrifice was needed to take away sin once and for all.  And only the blood of the Messiah, the blood of Yeshua, Jesus could do it.  This really seemed to resonate with him and although he was not quite ready to make that decision on Sunday night, he is very close.  Please pray for him!

And, as always –

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6   Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!   Cindy