Marie Woodworth-Etter

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Here is an interesting story about an amazing woman by an unknown author.

During the Civil War, Maria met P. H. Woodworth, who had returned home from the conflict after being discharged with a head injury. She had a whirlwind courtship with the former soldier and soon married him.  But God called Marie to preach. They took up farming, but nothing ever came of their labors. It seemed as if everything was failing.

Over the years, Maria became the mother of six children. So she tried to settle into a normal family home life while the Lord continued to call her. But Maria, exasperated in her role as a wife and mother, couldn’t answer the call. She was married to a man with no desire for ministry, she had six children to raise, and she was sickly herself. 

Then real tragedy struck their home. The Woodworths lost five of their six children to disease. Maria was able to pull herself together after this horrible episode, but her husband never recovered from the loss. She did her best to help him while raising their only daughter. Through all these situations she never grew bitter against God, nor did she harden her heart as a result of the loss.

But Maria needed answers for the nagging heartache that oppressed her because of the calamity that struck her family. Refusing to give up, she began to search the Word of God. And as she read, she saw how women were repeatedly used by God throughout the Bible. She read Joel’s prophecy predicting that the Spirit of God would be poured out upon men and women. But Maria would look to heaven and say, “Lord, I can’t preach. I don’t know what to say and I don’t have any education.” Still, she continued to read and find truth in the Word of God while she struggled with her call. She would later write, “The more I investigated, the more I found to condemn me.”

Then Maria had a great vision. Angels came into her room. They took her to the West, over prairies, lakes, forests, and rivers where she saw a long, wide field of waving golden grain. As the view unfolded she began to preach and saw the grains begin to fall like sheaves. Then Jesus told her that, “just as the grain fell, so people would fall” as she preached.  Finally Maria realized that she would never be happy until she yielded to the call.  In response to this great vision from God, she humbly answered yes to His call upon her life, and asked Him to anoint her with great power.

Many women reading this book are called of God to preach. You have had visions and unction from God’s Spirit to go and set people free. God has spoken to you in the area of divine healing, deliverance, and freedom of the Spirit. So never allow a religious spirit to silence what the Lord has spoken to you. Religion likes to suppress women and their ministries, especially young ones.

 You need to learn to obey God without question. If Maria had answered from her youth, possibly her children wouldn’t have died. I’m not saying that God killed her children. But I am saying that when we directly disobey God, our actions open the door to the works of the devil. His work is to destroy. God’s work is to bring life. So learn to obey God with boldness. Boldness brings the power of God and will leave your accusers speechless in your presence. Also find some strong women with solid ministries from whom you can learn. And allow these words of Sister Etter to stir you in your heart:

“My dear sister in Christ, as you hear these words may the Spirit of Christ come upon you, and make you willing to do the work the Lord has assigned to you. It is high time for women to let their lights shine; to bring out their talents that have been hidden away rusting; and use them for the glory of God, and do with their might what their hands find to do, trusting God for strength, who has said, ‘I will never leave you.’ Let us not plead weakness; God will use the weak things of the world to confound the wise. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God. Should we not honor our high calling and do all we can to save those who sit in the valley and shadow of death?

 Did He not send Moses, Aaron— Miriam to be your leaders? Barak dared not meet the enemy unless Deborah led the van. The Lord raised up men, women, and children of His own choosing— Hannah, Hulda, Ana, Phoebe, Narcissus, Tryphena, Persis, Julia, the Marys and the sisters who co- labored with Paul. Is it less becoming for women to labor in Christ’s kingdom and vineyard now than it was then?”

 Seek the Spirit of God for yourself. If you are called, you will have to answer for it. Obey God without question. He will handle the details.

William James Roop

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango

Brother Roop teaches the Bible

Acres of Diamonds

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

From the book, "Acres of diamonds."

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In the year 1843, a man was born who was to have a profound effect upon millions of people. His name was Russell Herman Conwell. He became a lawyer, then a newspaper editor, and finally a minister. It was during his church career that an incident occurred that was to change his life and the lives of countless others.

One day a group of young people came to Dr. Conwell at his church and asked him if he’d be willing to instruct them in college courses; they all wanted a college education but lacked the money to pay for it. He told them to let him think about it and come back in a few days.

After they left, an idea began to form in Dr. Conwell’s mind. He asked himself, "Why couldn’t there be a college for poor but deserving young people?" And before very long the idea consumed him. Why not, indeed. It was a project worthy of 100% dedication, complete commitment.

And almost single-handedly, Dr. Conwell raised several million dollars, with which he founded Temple University, today one of the country’s leading schools.

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He raised the money by giving more than 6000 lectures all over the country, and in each one of them he told a story which he called "Acres of Diamonds." It was true story which had affected him very deeply and had the same effect on his audiences. The money he needed to build the college came pouring in.

The story was of an African farmer who heard tales of other farmers who had made millions discovering diamond mines. These tales so excited the farmer that he could hardly wait to sell his farm and go prospecting for diamonds himself. So he sold the farm and spent the rest of his life wandering the African continent searching unsuccessfully for the gleaming gems which brought such high prices in the markets of the world. Finally, the story goes, worn out and in a fit of despondency he threw himself into a river and drowned.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch – or farm in this case – the man who had bought his farm happened to be crossing the small stream on the property when suddenly there was a bright flash of blue and red light from the stream bottom. He bent down, picked up the stone – it was a good-sized stone – and, admiring it, later he put it on his fireplace mantle as an interesting curiosity.

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Several weeks later a visitor picked up the stone, looked closely at it, hefted it in his hand, and nearly fainted. He asked the farmer if he knew what he’d found. When the farmer said no, that he thought it was a piece of crystal, the visitor told him he had found one of the largest diamonds ever discovered.

 

Well, the farmer had trouble believing that. He told the man that his creek was full of such stones, not as large perhaps as the one on the mantle but, well, they were sprinkled generously throughout the creek bottom.

Needless to say, the farm that the first farmer had sold so that he might find a diamond mine turned out to be the most productive diamond mine on the entire African continent.

The first farmer had owned, free and clear, acres of diamonds, but had sold them for practically nothing in order to look for them elsewhere.

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Well, the moral is clear. If the first farmer had only taken the time to study and prepare himself to learn what diamonds looked like in their rough state and, since he already owned a piece of the African continent, to thoroughly explore the property he had before looking elsewhere all of his wildest dreams would have come true.

Now the thing about this story that so profoundly affected Dr. Conwell and subsequently millions of others, was the idea that each of us is at this moment standing in the middle of his or her own acres of diamonds.

If we only had the wisdom and patience to intelligently and effectively explore the work in which we are now engaged, to explore ourselves, we’d usually find the riches we seek, whether they be financial or intangible or both.

Before we go running off to what we think are greener pastures, let’s make sure that our own is not just as green or perhaps even greener. It’s been said that if the other guy’s pasture appears to be greener than ours, it’s quite possible that it’s getting better care. Besides, while we’re looking at other pastures, other people are looking at ours.

The book "Acres of Diamonds" can be read online PDF

William James Roop

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango