WE ARE MEDITATING upon “in every way you were enriched in him” (1 Cor. 1:5). I saw the most remarkable spiritual and moral awakening among primitive people imaginable—a Pentecost in an African setting—a real work of the Spirit. This place was virgin soil; the revival was in a new section and could not have been staged for my benefit; it was only two days old. Yet there were a thousand people out at 5:30 a.m., and the same number at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m. The people had built a palm branch tabernacle; they sat on small logs for seats. Most of the women had no clothing above their waists. There were babies galore. Yet there was an astonishing decorum. They listened with eager attention to the message. Then the Africans took charge of the after-meeting. They called for those who would repent and seek Christ to come forward. The long bamboo altar was filled inside and out, and there were rows of seekers behind them. The seeking was not confined to those at the altar, however. The whole audience became a seeking unit. Workers moved around in the midst of the audience calling out: “Give up your sins—all of them.” “Believe in Jesus.” “Make a full surrender to Him.” Everybody was praying audibly. It was the cry of a whole people for a long-lost heavenly Father. This would go on for half an hour; then the African leader would give them an opportunity to tell what they had found.
The chief stood up first and said that he now believed in Jesus, that before he thought only of cheating and deceiving the people, but now that was all gone. Another would tell of lying, adultery, and stealing. It was all gone. A chief’s wife told of stealing the kasawas (a kind of tapioca) from the fields of the other women. Another of deliverance from the power of the witch doctor and evil spirits. It was an amazing story of deliverance and redemption.
O God, our Father, we thank Thee for the possibility of change, of new birth, of new life. We are grateful that the worst can become the best, the weakest become the strongest. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: Since conversion is a possibility, I shall be its chief illustration.
