Reflections - by Michael Trapasso J.DWhen Christ is to be our passion, our portion; when in Him we move and have our being ( as Paul said), when Christ, who, is our life, shall appear, so shall we also appear with Him in Glory when one is completely sold out to Jesus - even just a teenager, great and mighty things can be done by the Lord thru such a person.
The night I graduated from high school, some of my Christian friends wanted to go out and celebrate, but I excused myself. Alone, I made my way to the old church building, to the very alter where I knelt when I was but 13 yrs. old. I was alone in the building, and the weather was stormy - lightening and thunder. At about midnight, I stretched my body on that alter and did as the Scriptures say, I presented my body a living sacrifce, holy and acceptable to Him.
Many tears were shed that night as I thanked the Lord Jesus for keeping me. I had listened to speeches about "reach for the stars, dream your dreams, etc." I told the Lord that night I was sacrificing my life to Him. I was sacrificing all dreams I had for myself for the future. I ask Him, instead, to take this body and live out His dream s thru and purposes thru this body and mind, not mine.
That night, from what happened soon after, it appears the Lord did receive my bodily sacrifice. Just 3 months later, Lamar University was beginning a new semester and I wanted to make A's as my father was paying for it and he had high hopes for me. Well, Just as I was starting, I felt this strong urging in my spirit that I was to write a booklet about the name of Jesus. I resisted for the reasons stated.
But I couldn't shake this almost compulsion, you might say, that I would do as the Spirit was bidding. After all, had I not just 3 months earlier given up my ambitions?
I knew it would costs me dearly, but I began to write and study Scripure 6, 7, 8 hours a day for six straight months. By the time I finished it, I was just about finished at Lamar - I made 2 F's 2 D's, dropped a course and was put on probation!
Now how do I explain that to my dad?
After finishing, I knew I was to have what I wrote printed, so I did.
I gave the printer $500 cash that the Lord provided me for in 3 days without me telling anyone my need for that amount. The printer told me to come back next week, the booklets would be ready. It wasn't, so I went by the next week, still wasn't. I went back the next week, the next week, the next week and so on for about 9 months!
One day I walk in and the printer tells me, "Don't you get it, I am not going to print your booklet." I told him "I paid the full amount in advance." He told me that he didn't care and that I was never to come back on his property.
Next week, I went back - he yelled at me to leave. Next week, same thing. Next week I went back and put up with alot from him. But I was never going to stop - for one reason - Jesus told me to have it printed. At the end of a year, I walked in, he looked at me and said, "All right, All right, come back next week and they will be ready for you. I went back and sure enough they were ready.
The tenacity comes from one's determination to do the Will of God as they understand it.
I did not know what to do with them, so I passed a few out and went to see my Pastor. He flipped thru it, then tossed it on his coffee table and said, " We don't need that, there is plenty of good material already in print on that."
Seemed ever where I turned, there was discouragement. A couple came thru the church on their way to Ethiopia to begin missionary work. Their names were the Wendells. I slipped a booklet in her coat pocket as best I remember. That was about it. Nothing happened...or so I thought.
About 3 years later, I get a letter from the Wendells telling me that they labored and prayed to get a work started, yet they did not even have one convert. They were quite dissappointed and felt like failures. They decided they had missed the will of God in this matter and would come back to the states. Before coming home, they decided to fast and pray for 3 days. On the 3rd day, they felt the Lord impressed them to have my booklet translated in the Ethiopian language, and that if they would, the Lord would open the doors to Ethiopia.
They did. They mailed some copies out. One man named Teklemarian, who lived in Aidos, Ethiopia, received a copy of the booklet, now translated. According to his on testimony, He said, while standing at his mailbox, Jesus appeared to him and said, "Accept what your about to read." Teklemarian did read the booklet and thereby further enlightened about the Name of Jesus. Then he became a powerful minister of the gospel.
His wife rejected what he shared with her what he read. She became quite ill. Bro. Teklemariian went to the store to get some food and while he was gone, she read the booklet while laying sick in bed. She was instantly healed and rose up and joinded him in an Apostolic ministry that had profound effect in the life of many converts. Even the Emporer of Ethiopia - Haile Selassie - read the booklet, I was told.
The communist took over and they tried to stop him from preaching. They threatened to throw his baby over the balcony if he didn't stop. He refused to stop preaching, so they thru the baby over the balcony in front of not only himself, but his wife Urshacan. The fall killed the baby. He suffered other things for the cause of Christ. Years later he flew to the states and spent the night with me.
He would not call me by my name. He would only address my as "the friend of my soul". He told me that the saints numbered from his first convert to about one million saints and over 20,000 ministers. He went on to say, "That besides the Bible, it was your pamplet that opened the doors to Ethopia."
P.S. My father who fought me so much because I became a Christian. The night I was saved, I came home and hugged my day (I was just 13 yrs. old).
He took my arms off him and then my dad pushed me back and said, "Your not my son anymore." The next day he packed his back and abandoned our family because of it. Later, he sent word he would come back if I would not be baptized. I had ot make a choice - I chose to follow Jesus over my dad. I was baptized right after school when only the pastor was there and my mother and sister. After going to the far end of the church building to dry off, suddenly, in a very.
clear, loud and glorious voices, the angels of the Lord began to sing rejoicing over my salvation. I was terriified as I knew nothing of such things at that time. Dad did come home, but resisted me carrying my Bible to school, to gooing to church, etc.
The good news: at Dad's age of 92. I was privileged to lead him to the Lord and to baptize him in Jesus's precious name. Couple a months later he died. Soon thereafter, the Lord gave me a dream showing my dad worshiping the Lord. By that confirmation, I knew my dad will be waiting for me on the otherside!
Divine Protection
ONCE, when I was 14 old, I was alone, hunting , along the edge of a swamp for squirrels. While gazing at the tops of the cypress trees for squirrels, I hear a familiar Voice, don't step where you are about to step. I looked down but I saw no danger, only about a 4 inch drop off, nevertheless, I obeyed that voice out of trust. I went around on the left side and continued straight ahead. My eyes when back to the tops of the trying to see a squirrel.
About 10 yards further on my path, I hear the same Voice again, the Voice of the Lord, saying,"Go back, I want to show you something." I stopped and turned around and walked back to where I would have stepped, but for the Voice warning me otherwise. Now, however, I am on the backside of the 4 inch drop off; I still didn't see anything, but then, I suddenly saw it... a rather large, black snake...a water moccasin (very venomous) coiled up... just where I would have stepped were it not the warning from the Lord to not step there.
Way out in the swamps by myself with no one near to help me, I could have lost a leg or even my life. This was once of many times the Lord spared me from serious harm or loss of life.
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