i heard the bells
Greetings, beloved brethren, in the name of the Most High God, who, at a precise moment in human history when the fulness of time was come, "sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galatians 4:4-5). The angels saw fit to celebrate the birth of the Christ child (Hebrews 1:6), so should we; but not simply His birth during a single season of the year. Celebrate His incarnation, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His soon coming to "rule all nations with a rod of iron" (Revelation 12:5), a daily celebration worthy of all seasons. And, to truly celebrate is to ANNUNCIATE. As the angel Gabriel annunciated to the virgin Mary, so should the Remnant Body of the Lord Jesus Christ announce His gospel to the whole wide world.
I love the words of old verses from old hymns often left out of our modern hymnals (sadly, just like words and verses left out of modern English versions of the Bible). Some are so full of rich truth and rich doctrine; and all were composed within a specific historic context. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, one of my favorite old Christmas carols, is simply an old poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow set to music. Longfellow wrote "Christmas Bells" on Christmas Day in 1863 amidst America's bloody brother war that, at the time, seemed would never end. A month earlier, his son had been severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church during the Mine Run Campaign in Northern Virginia. This, coupled with the stalemate of conflict and the recent loss of his wife in a freak fire, a terrible accident in which she inadvertently set fire to her own dress and was engulfed in flames (Fanny died the next day, and in his futile efforts to put the fire out, Longfellow himself burned his hands and face. To hide his facial scars, he eventually grew the beard that gave him the sage look for which he is often remembered), inspired the poet's versification.
Of course, you may be familiar with the hymn's opening stanza and some of what immediately follows:
I heard the bells on Christmas Day, Their old familiar carols play. And wild and sweet the words repeat, Of peace on earth goodwill to men.
However, what is often neglected are the middle verses that speak directly to the historical context in which the poem was composed AND the final two stanzas in which the words seem to transcend time and are therefore all the more appropriate for us living in these troublesome days:
And in despair I bowed my head, There is no peace on earth I said. For hate is strong that mocks the song, Of peace on earth goodwill to men
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, GOD IS NOT DEAD nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail the right prevail, With peace on earth goodwill to men.
THE WRONG WILL BE MADE RIGHT, my friends. It will be made right when JESUS the CHRIST, born in a manger, crucified on a cross, buried in a rich man's tomb, risen up from the grave, and ascended to the right hand of His Father, returns with His Church, both physically and bodily, to set up a literal physical MILLENNIAL KINGDOM and sit on the throne of His father David, just as the Angel Gabriel promised to Mary long ago (Luke 1:32). Therefore . . .
Good Christian men, rejoice, With heart and soul, and voice; Now ye need not fear the grave: Jesus Christ was born to save! Calls you one and calls you all To gain his everlasting hall. Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!
The little children of our local church body did a wonderful job last Sunday with a Christmas concert designed to glorify Jesus Christ through sharing about the historical context out of which some of the old Christmas carols were written. I was asked to put together a brief video presentation to the instrumentation of three of these old hymns. Ok, it's far from professional, not even the level of an amateur, but it's rife with historic and contemporary allusion. Even the particular steeples pictured are of historic significance. Do you recognize any of them? Anyway, as you hear the music and follow the haunting imagery, remember Longfellow's words: "God is not dead nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail the right prevail, with peace one earth goodwill to men."
My last post was back in October, at which time I thus concluded:
Well, all of these events are now in the past and redound unto the glory of God. Thank you for your prayers and support. Pastor James is now back in Bangladesh, remaining bold in the face of persecution. Recently, I received from him these words of correspondence:
"We had a Baptism Service in which five men from a Catholic background and one woman from a Hindu background received the Lord. Almost seven hundred requests have come in for a Bible over the past two weeks. Two hundred and fifty people came to our Christmas program. The church body is looking forward to doing an evangelism rally on December 25th after our church service during which we hope to distribute thousands of Gospel tracts. We are planning to hire a van rickshaw for the whole day. We will decorate this rickshaw and take Bibles and tracts with us to distribute on the street. Please pray. Again, we hope to print a large and clear Gospel advertisement in a daily newspaper on December 25th. This advertisement will proclaim that Jesus is the only way in the world. Please pray that God will help us to print in the paper because many newspaper agencies have refused to print."
As for Esther, James' teenage daughter, thanks for all the prayers and efforts to help concerning my recent appeal. The Lord has provided for Esther to safely remain in the United States for the time being, and she is under the care of some good believers. I look forward to the day when I can share with you all a full report on what God has done. His divine Hand of Providence never ceases to amaze me. Until then, your continued prayers are appreciated. Already, Esther has proven herself a huge blessing to our local church body. We gave her a guitar for Christmas, and immediately she took it up and blessed our gathering with a beautiful voice and heartfelt praise to the Lord.
As for our recent Fall preaching circuit, it ultimately traversed 8,500 miles and targeted 10 university campuses. Moreover, after the manner of Acts 14:27, we were also able to exhort the brethren and rehearse all that the Lord has done with several local church bodies. Finally, we took occasion to visit and follow up with several of our Team Yeshua members from this past summer and hit the recruiting trail for next summer. It was a good time that also involved preaching and traveling again with Shawn Holes and Ken Lightsey, the same brothers I had the privilege of laboring with in Alaska back in September. It was a real blessing for my family and pastor James to be with me on the road for the first two weeks. And, at the end, my dad flew out to Las Vegas to help me drive home. It's pretty special when the one you trust the most for sound spiritual counsel is your own father. If you have a godly dad in these dark days, never stop thanking and praising God for him!
Here are a few brief journal entries from the road:
october 14th
Brother James is preaching at Missouri State University, and lots of students are taking Gospel tracts. My flesh did not want to come out, but my spirit rejoices that I am here.
october 22nd
Josiah is running around tracting everyone here at the University of Minnesota in Duluth. So bold, so fearless, so sad to him when someone rejects. Oh, the mind of a child! "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein" (Mark 10:15).
october 25th
It was a good night of preaching on the street corner abutting the University of Minnesota here in Minneapolis. Praise God for the handful of Russian believers who came out with us to pray and distribute Gospel tracts. We are staying with the family of one of our Team Yeshua members from this past summer. The Petruk's have shown us kind hospitality, sweet fellowship, and a cornucopia of delectable Russian foods. Mr. Petruk held the cross for us while we preached our guts out. There was some mocking, but by and large, the Lord restrained the evil that the Gospel might go forth unhindered. Today, I will preach at a local Russian assembly before Ken Lightsey and I drive four hours back to South Dakota.
october 26th
We had an awesome time at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska today--one of the best experiences I have ever had preaching the Gospel in the open air on a college campus. The police and the Dean of Students initially tried to run us off, but we politely stood our ground; and they left us alone. From the moment we started preaching, kids came out and hung around. We preached and witnessed for four straight hours without a minute to sit down, take a bathroom break, or even get a drink of water. There are some solid believers on that campus who had been praying for God to do something there. They were so encouraged by our presence and considered it a real answer to prayer. The Catholics came out in force, and one guy got pretty angry when I told him that Mary was a sinner in need of a Saviour just like us. Only a sinner can rejoice "in God my Saviour" (Luke 1:47). He got in my face and said, "Don't you ever talk about my Mother like that again, or I'll . . . ." I replied, "Ahh, you really are a Catholic; that Catholic spirit that hates Bible preachers and the Word of God is coming out, that same spirit that has been around for 1500 years and is the greatest enemy of the Bible that the world has ever known." He was furious, but truth is only hate to those that hate the truth. Anyway, we had a lot of great conversations with Catholic students. At one point, a Catholic missionary came out to try and stump us. It made for more great preaching and conversation about the Jesus Christ of the Bible versus the Catholic Jesus. A lot of Gospel tracts went out. We prayed for some specific things along the 100-mile drive to that rural school this morning. The Lord specifically answered every one of those requests. We had a real open door; and I was so encouraged to see some good believers in that place, believers that loved to hear the preaching of the Gospel.
Interestingly, I kept in touch with one of the believers I met at Wayne State that day. On November 1st, he wrote these words to me: "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that there is a young man who started coming to my Bible Study because of the work that Christ did though you guys on our campus. He accepted Christ and is now thirsty for the Word. Praise the Lord!" Time and time again, people ask me if folks ever get saved when you preach on college campuses. The answer is YES. Next week, I will be sending out a 2016 Team Yeshua application packet to the brother from Wayne State who wrote me this email. He has a true heart for missions, senses a call to go, and is of the caliber and quality that we covet in this work. Praise God for divine appointments! When all this happened, Brother Ken and I had been staying with a pastor friend near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We had been trying to plan a week of campus preaching and wanted to find a location within reasonable driving distance of our base (not too many options out there) where we had never been. For a couple days, we were stumped. Then, I thought, let's check Nebraska; it's pretty close. I looked at a road atlas and saw a little red square that stood out in the middle of nowhere. It read Wayne State University. I'd never heard of this place, and we certainly didn't know what to expect. But, it was a college, so we went. My pastor friend and a young man from his little house church came along. The rest is history.
october 27th
I was glad I had my "Downtown Ministry Songbook" handy here at Southwest Minnesota State. I put on a little hymn concert to the laughs, smirks, and catcalls of some. But, two brothers from Africa, one from Nigeria and the other from Côte d'Ivoire, were so encouraged by the singing about Jesus in the streets. It reminded them of their churches back home where the believers regularly go out with big speakers in the streets to sing praises to God and preach Jesus Christ. Many from Africa will rise up in judgment against America in the day of judgment. I exhorted my African brothers to burn the lamp stand; they are missionaries here in America by default. We need missionaries in America.
I also ran into a Nepali student here at Southwest Minnesota State. He was shocked when I started speaking his language. I always carry some Nepali Gospels of John just in case, even when it seems most unlikely. Then, lo and behold a few minutes later, here came two more Nepalis from Kathmandu walking down the campus sidewalk. I gave them the Word of God in their language. So, I got to preach in tongues today :) Wait, here is a whole other group of them. Who would have thought? I love Nepal. Pray for Nepal.
october 30th
Heading down into Yellowstone today to hook up with a ranger friend of mine, my very first street preaching partner. It was cold this morning, but I slept well on the prairie. Yesterday, after hitting up Bismarck State, we stopped in at Dickinson State College around 3:30pm. The place was a literal ghost town. So, we put out some tracts in the student center, tracted a parking lot full of cars, Ken gave a tract to a student, and I was able to upbraid a Catholic. Hey, I'm happy with it; we accomplished more for the Gospel in 30 minutes on a campus than most Chi Alphas will over an entire 4-year college career. In fact, that was more than I did for the Gospel during my entire stint at Liberty University. I think I gave out one tract one night at Lynchburg College. SMH.
Yesterday evening, we stopped into Belfield, North Dakota and visited an elderly pastor Bishnu and I met back in 2008. While driving back across the country, we felt compelled to pull into the little prairie town of Belfield and walk the downtown strip with the Gospel. I witnesses to a dude in the laundromat and put out a few tracts. Later, I noticed Bishnu talking to an elderly man who was watering flowers. It turns out he was the pastor of Belfield Baptist Church and was in a place of deep discouragement. He was so encouraged that a foreigner would walk down the sidewalk in his little town and take time to share the Gospel with him. I joined the conversation, and we prayed for this man right there on the sidewalk. I also gave him a stack of my Haven't You Heard? tracts and encouraged him to battle the discouragement by sharing the Gospel with the lost. He teared up and was so grateful. We kept in touch, and the little Baptist church smack dab in the middle of dark dark Catholic country would send FPGM some missions support from time to time. Not long ago, he contacted me and said they loved my tracts and had given all of them out in town. He asked if I could send more; and I did. Now, Pastor Hlibichuck is 78 years old. He has 12 children, some of them not walking with the Lord. Recently, his son-in-law committed suicide and left behind a wife and two small children. Times are still tough, but he and his wife of many years remain faithful. The time we spent with this saint in the basement of the church yesterday was priceless. We opened the Scriptures together, prayed together, exhorted one another together, and parted ways refreshed just as we had done back in 2008. Pray for this dear man and all other other brethren like him burning a lampstand in the darkest of places. Jesus retains His remnant; and He beseeches them to hold fast until He comes. Such has been one of many many many seemingly coincidental divine appointments over the years. When you heed our Lord's command to go, you never know what blessings lay in store alone the way. Well, it's on to Yellowstone but not without first soaking in the Boiling River.
november 6th
Please pray for Amos and his wife, two Israelis I met in an In-and-Out Burger in Stockton. They saw my shirt and asked me about it. Amos has rejected God because of the Holocaust when the Holocaust (read what Moses warned about from Mount Ebal in Deuteronomy 28) and the fruit thereof (Israel preserved and back in the land) is proof that Ha'Shem is real and that Yeshua Ha'Messiach is soon coming to sit on the throne of His father David. Amos refused to take a Hebrew New Testament, but he did take a Hebrew Gospel tract and said he would read it. His wife seemed to like me a lot; she turned to Ken and said "Your friend is a real sweetheart." Pray for these lost sheep of the House of Israel.
november 7th
We preached in downtown San Francisco, my old stomping grounds, today. Pray for Doris, a drug addict, who was drawn and overwhelmed unto tears at the preaching of the Word. At one point, she reached up and wiped the tears running down Brother Ken's cheek as he preached. She later took a Gospel of John and let me pray with her.
november 8th
It was an awesome night in Fairfax, California. Lots of people riding by and screaming "Get the #%@& out of our town," but we had an open door of utterance nonetheless. Praise God, I got to share Yeshua Ha'Messiach with two young Jewish guys. They took tracts. A local Christian brother, Jim, a lonely evangelical in a sea of paganism, was encouraged and challenged. Two youths were genuinely concerned about the times and what they see as biblical prophecy being fulfilled in Israel and knowing they aren't ready. These heard the Gospel and took tracts. Gavin, an athiest, came to curse to curse me out at the behest of his not-so-nice girlfriend. He left with a tract after hearing the Gospel. A bunch of high-school kids gathered around the preaching and heard truth. A couple of elderly ladies were encouraged. People stood across the street listening. The police initially shut down the amplification but then allowed us to use it and were super polite about it. The demons got stirred up and really upset. One girl told me I couldn't say such things in her town, and I replied: "You're not the boss of me." That town didn't know what hit them. Wow, what a privilege to preach the same message from II Corinthians 5 that I preached in that same spot 13 years ago, my very first open-air sermon. It's a long drive back to Modesto tonight, and I'm enjoying the company of two good brothers who stood in the gap with me tonight in a place that is dear to my heart. And hey, thanks for your prayers.
november 10th
I'm hanging out in Las Vegas with longtime friends and faithful laborers who have taught me much about outreach to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. My dad flew in last night to help me drive home. That will be a blessing. I finally made it back to the vehicle late yesterday afternoon after a 14-mile roundtrip slog to the top of Telescope Peak (the highest point in Death Valley National Park) in ferocious wind with wind chills that had to be approaching zero degrees. It was 3 miles of rugged 4WD road to get back to the pavement, and interestingly, I saw an individual walking down that road with a backpack. I hadn't seen a soul the entire day, so I pulled over to see if he needed a ride back to his car. Lo and behold, he was Jewish. I didn't have time to say much because his car wasn't far and the dude was in a hurry, but he did take a Gospel tract that we wrote proving Yeshua is Messiah from the Old Testament Scriptures. Pray for this young man; I considered it a divine appointment.
I really shouldn't have been up there because I blew a tire late Sunday night in the middle of nowhere on US 395. So, I was on a spare on a 4WD road to my campsite and the trailhead much later in the night than I had anticipated; and my hike therefore got started much later than it needed to. Pretty stupid, I guess. Anyway, the Lord spared me any further trouble, and I ultimately made it 300 miles on that spare to Pahrump, NV. Unfortunately, the inside of my blown tire was pretty messed up despite a relatively small hole. I have no idea what I hit; heard it but never saw it. So, I had to buy a brand new one. Bummer, but at least they had one to match exactly in this podunk town; and it was obvious that the relatively small problem could have been much worse. Perhaps it was all just to put me in the path of one of the lost sheep of the House of Israel, a divine appointment well worth the cost of a late night, a late hike, and a brand new tire. Oh, it was also worth a long sleepless night alone at one of the scariest camping spots I have ever bedded down. I had a high-powered pistol within close reach and made sure all my doors were locked. That place and that trail screamed Missing 411 all night and all the next day. But hey, by God's grace, I made it out and made it into the path of that Jewish young man.
I could go on and on with adventure after adventure for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. The LORD is good. As the Christmas bells peal loud and deep with dark clouds across the land, there's no need to despair. GOD IS NOT DEAD nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail the right prevail, With peace on earth goodwill to men.
Brother Ricky continues to labor faithfully on the front lines in Nepal. Christian Parks, one of our 2015 Team Yeshua members, has been helping him for almost 3 months nows. Back on December 18th, I posted this encouraging update concerning Israeli backpacker outreach in Kathmandu: Am Israel Chai. The Annapurna Sanctuary Trek mentioned in this report actually transpired before Brother Bishnu came to America at the end of November. He was with us for a couple of weeks and was able to give testimony concerning the earthquake relief efforts and his Nepal Gospel ministry at a few local churches. We also preached together at a local college campus and were able to make plans for coming year. Because of India’s unofficial border blockade against Nepal, imports and exports have come to a grinding halt. There is no fuel, cooking gas, grocery store shelves are bare, and its difficult to travel outside the Kathmandu Valley. As a result, we have been unable to exhaust the remaining portion of our earthquake relief funds. There is pretty much nothing to buy and nowhere to go until this blockade is lifted. Praise God, we were able to send some funds in cash back to Kathmandu with Bishnu to use for obtaining whatever supplies are available. This past weekend, Bishnu, Ricky, and Christian, along with 9 other Nepalis squeezed into a jeep filled with blackmarket petrol and found a way out to the Raamechap District, an overlooked area that was hard hit. They carried with them 55 fleece jackets for the students of a village primary school and a load of blankets to help the elderly battle a winter that is proving brutal this year in Nepal. These items were purchased with the funds many of you helped us gather in light of the terrible earthquake that hit Nepal back in April. Thank you. Of course, many copies of the Word of God in the Nepali language were also carried out there, for there is no earthquake relief without Gospel preach!
It was so good to have Bishnu in our home again as was the case with Pastor James from Bangladesh and other laborers we were privileged to house this Fall. Now, things have quieted down, and it's almost lonely. When Lydia, the first European convert to the Gospel, heard Paul's preaching down at the riverside in Philippi, she first opened her HEART to the things of the Lord. She then opened her HOME and was blessed. Will you open your home to a traveling preacher, a traveling missionary? Those that do, they do well (III John 5-7).
As mentioned, I did find time to take Bishnu to a local college campus, UNC-Asheville. Esther, James' daughter from Bangladesh, joined us, as did my two daughters and a local church pastor from Waynesville, NC. There was a moment that crisp autumn afternoon when Bishnu, Nepali believer, stood atop a small stool (There's an interesting story behind this stool) with an open Bible proclaiming a clear Gospel. Beside him stood Esther Roy, a Bangladeshi believer, holding aloft a cross. Behind at an outdoor table was an American student who had heard the preaching and received a Bible. In that moment, I paused and gave thanks to God for foreign missionaries who come to preach Christ in my country. Despite the spiritual darkness of the United States, despite the compromise and corruption of the American church, God's Word still goes forth, even from the mouths of foreign missionaries right here in this land, some here because they have fled persecution. No, my friends, GOD IS NOT DEAD nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail the right prevail, With peace on earth goodwill to men.
Pray for us in the coming year, that this ministry will remain faithful to the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Pray that the Lord continues to provide for our needs as we endeavor to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ an unavoidable issue for as many people as possible all around the world and just around the corner. On the nearer horizons, we are praying to send Brother Ricky down to Goa in southern India for a few weeks. This is a winter hot spot for Israeli travelers, and for visa reasons, he has to be out of Nepal by the end of this month.
At the beginning of December, FPGM funded the roundtrip travel expenses for 14 Ladakhi believers, including the family that was baptized last summer, to relocate to a foothills area near the western border of Nepal for the winter. During this time, they will undergo intense discipleship training under one of our national partners. He has asked Ricky to come and conduct a week or so of teachings, and our plans are to send him there after Goa. I have also been asked to come and teach and am praying about doing so in late January or early February. All of these believers will return home in the Spring, and the seeds, we hope, of a church plant in a very dark place will have taken root. Of course, this will only strengthen local ties as we continue to take in summer teams for Israeli outreach. Training new believers in the Word of God and basic biblical doctrine is very important and a worthwhile investment as far as FPGM is concerned. I will keep you posted on how all this transpires.
Speaking of summer teams, I am currently in the process of updating our Team Yeshua applications for 2016. We desperately need some solid young believers (at least 18 years old) who are willing to give an entire summer for taking the Gospel to the Jew first and also to the Gentile (Romans 1:16-17) at a true uttermost corner of the earth (Acts 1:8). Term of service will be early June through mid-August. We are in particular need of some CHRISTIAN SISTERS as many of the Israelis who come through Northern India are female. If you know anyone in your local church who might be interested, please have them contact Full Proof Gospel Ministries (828-292-0045). We had a great 2015 Team, and I am hoping for bigger and better things next year. Please pray that the Lord will raise up the right personnel. The 2016 Team needs to be finalized by March 1st.
In February or March, we are also praying about returning to Israel.
Please commit these things to prayer.
Friends, we here at Full Proof Gospel Ministries trust the Lord for His provision and labor freely as God provides. Over the years, we have made it a practice of following the Lord into the field FIRST instead of waiting for a specific amount of support to come in, of focusing primarily on the testimony of what God has done and what He is doing as opposed to requests for financial support. When this ministry was founded in 2004, we established these bylaws in the area of finances and have purposed to live by them:
Expenditures and budgets for this ministry will be bounded by provision, irregardless of investment potential. Full Proof Gospel Ministries will not subject itself to public or private financial debt for investment or ministry purposes. Fundraising and/or support gathering efforts will focus primarily upon the activities of the ministry and not requests for funds or solicitation. Financial support is needed and will be accepted but is not to be vigorously pursued or requested.
If you believe this is a ministry you can support with more than your prayers, or if you already support FPGM on a monthly basis and feel you can increase that faithfulness, even if but a little, our record is one of sowing into the work of the Gospel with simplicity and good stewardship. Some of the fruit of this can be seen in the report given above. For the monthly commitment of the equivalent of a tank of gas in an SUV, we can do a lot in places like Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Israel, and along the highway and byways of North America. And, you can rest assured that any of our labor will always involve the clear communication of the biblical Gospel and the free distribution of the Word of God.
My brethren, forget not the biblical injunction:
Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth (III John 5-7).
In the meantime, it's foggy and dreary outside here in the little hamlet of Vale, NC. Just a good stone's throw down the road from my front yard, there is a little brick Baptist church. Interestingly, Vance Havner, one of America's most beloved preachers, was licensed to preach in this little edifice at age twelve. His old homeplace is also nearby. Anyway, the bells atop this little church peal old hymns daily; I often hear them when I go for an afternoon jog. These days, it's old Christmas hymns. Like, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I hear these bells and bow my head in despair. But alas,
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, GOD IS NOT DEAD nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail the right prevail, With peace on earth goodwill to men.
Christ is born! Christ is crucified! Christ is buried! Christ is risen from the grave! Christ is coming again to sit on "the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:32-33).
For the Word of God and the Testimony of Messiah,
Jesse Boyd