The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

~Mark 5:1-20
New International Version

Encouragement during Persecution

Dear brothers and sisters,we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.

And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

~2nd Thessalonians, 1: 3-12
New Living Translation

THE BELL

THE BELL

I AM - WHO I AM

I am God's child (John 1:12)

I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )

I am united with God (1 Cor. 6:17)

I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)

I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)

I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)

I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)

I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)

I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant ( Phil.3:20)

I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)

I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)

I have access to God through the Holy Spirit(Eph. 2:18)

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)

I cannot be separated from the love of God(Rom.8:35-39)

I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)

I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )

I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)

I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)

I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16 ). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3) I have been justified (Romans 5:1)

I am God's co-worker (1 Cor.. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship(Eph. 2:10)

I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil 1: 5)

I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col.1:14).I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)

I am God's

very thought.

the light

That keeps this bell ringing

Prov 23:7 As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he

May the Lord bless you and keep you;

Numbers 6:26

GMU Kids

By paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground.
Isaiah 42:16

Missionary children enrolled in boarding school. Quito, Ecuador SA, 1957
photo by Bill Gibson

These were the GMU kids. Children of missionaries affiliated with the Gospel Missionary Union. We lived and went to school in Quito, the capitol city of Ecuador.

Our parents lived and worked in many different places throughout the country. We spent 3 months with our parents in the summer and 3 weeks over Christmas. In case you're wondering, I'm the one wearing cowboy boots.

Serious Business

Agree with God and be at peace; in this way good will come to you.
Job 22:21

Jivaro Indians engaged in serious discussion after church. Ecuador, SA 1954

photo by Bill Gibson

In the early days, there were so many family feuds and vendettas that the social time before and after church was fraught with tension and hidden danger. The men brought their guns, and kept them handy.

To read more about Shuar history, go here.Two books that are worth reading are: Mission To The Headhunters by Frank and Marie Drown, and The Jivaro by Michael Harner

2 Thessalonians 1: 3-12

3. We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
4. Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5. All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
6. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
7. and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
8. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
10. on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
11. With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
12. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Matthew 22

1. Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:
2. "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
3. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4. "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'

5. "But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.
6. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.
7. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8. "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.
9. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.'
10. So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
12. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.

13. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

14. "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

Play House

Ask and ye shall receive.
John 16:24

Shirley Gibson, age 6, enjoying the playhouse made with leaves, scrap lumber, and love. Sucua, Ecuador 1957, photo by Bill Gibson

The walls were made of split bamboo, the roof was palm leaves, and there were no screens in the windows. It may not look like much, but to me, this play house was like a palace. It was my own place to play make believe, and pretend to be grown up.

The Flute Player

May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.
Psalm 20:4

Shuar Indian playing a hand made flute. Ecuador SA, 1953
photo by Bill Gibson

He’s got everything he needs, a muzzle loading shot gun over one shoulder, a mesh bag with essentials over the other, a cap on his head, a friend at his side, and a flute.

Shuar Family

By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us.
Luke 1:78

Shuar family
Ecuador SA, 1954
photo by Bill Gibson

Here is a typical family. A man with his two wives and several children. In this case, the two wives are sisters, the husband is a believer who kept his family intact because it would have been an extreme hardship on whichever wife he “divorced”, and he cared for them both. As you can see the youngest wife is pregnant.

Often women would encourage the husband to marry a younger sister because it was more likely that they would be able to live in harmony, and when two women shared the work, life was easier.

Look!

And you will have confidence,
because there is hope.
Job 11:18

Little boy with a balsa canoe.
Chupientsa, Ecuador 1957

photo by Bill Gibson

This little boy made this little canoe in Daily Vacation Bible School, and he is very proud of it. It was carved out of Balsa wood, a very soft light wood from which even very large canoes are made.

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
   
2. O Lord, hear my voice!
   Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
   
3. If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   O Lord, who could stand?
   
4. But with you there is forgiveness,
   that you may be feared.
   
5. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
   
6. my soul waits for the Lord
   more than watchmen for the morning,
   more than watchmen for the morning.
   
7. O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is plentiful redemption.
   
8. And he will redeem Israel
   from all his iniquities.
   

Your Birth Verse

I found an interesting little website today called Birth Verse. What they have done is to assign a bible verse to each day of the year. There is an online form to enter your birth date (you can enter other birth dates too) and then they will show you your "birth verse".

There is also this nice little affirmation: You are a child of God, His treasured possession. He created you in His own image. He chose the day for you to be born. He has a plan and a purpose for your life. Cherish your birthverse.

It's pretty cool. This is the link to the website is www.mybirthverse.com. I entered my birth date, and this is the verse I got:

“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take."

~Nehemiah 9:19 NIV

Big Smiles

A cheerful heart is a good medicine.
Proverbs 17:22

Shuar children posing for a picture.
Ecuador 1954,
photo by Bill Gibson

This picture is one of my personal favorites. The children loved to have their pictures taken, and they loved Bill Gibson. He was gentle, and funny, always loving and kind with them. They loved the attention he gave them, and crowded eagerly around whenever he brought out his camera.

Waiting for the Bus

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace

at all times in all ways.
~2 Thes 3:16

Shirley Gibson waiting for the bus to arrive.
Ecuador SA, 1957
Photo by Bill Gibson

Waiting for the bus that would take me to boarding school. In retrospect, I think we all realize that 5 years old is too young to be away from home and on your own. But at the time, there was this idea that boarding school would be fun and educational, a nurturing supportive environment full of resources and friends. And I think for some of the children it may have served that purpose. My own experience there was quite different. It did, however, give me an inner resilience and strength that I may not have acquired had I not had that experience. So, now, all these years later, I am grateful for it. I still have that old teddy bear!

Something to hang on to: A talk by Bill Gibson

Have you ever been in a bus full of people and you didn't have a seat and there was nothing to hang on to? It is difficult when we all of a sudden find ourselves in a speeding bus with nothing to hang on to.

People come to the time when it seems the days are speeding by and it's a rocky road and there is nothing to hang on to to hold us secure.

Perhaps you feel you have lost control with nothing to hang on to? People say to us, "Hang in there old buddy," and there isn't anything we know to hang on to.



There is, thank the Lord, something to hang on to. The Lord gives us his solemn promise ant that is what helps the believer, the Christian, to stand solid when all around us there is everything happening.

The promise is a good one. I have a friend who has blood cancer and he tells me he is hanging on to this promise and is confident that he will not fall.

The promise is in Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

Beloved, the Lord is worthy of our trust. He never fails and He will never fail you. It's so easy to trust in our own strength, our own will, and our own thoughts. But God says not to trust anybody, not even yourself because friends will fail, and you will fail, but the Lord never fails.

Does it seem that nobody cares and you are seemingly tossed about like a feather on the waves of the sea?

The message we have for you is that there is hope. There is help. There is something to hang on to that will never ever fail you.

Why not this Sunday morning put your trust in Jesus and let Him take over and hold you tight? He wants to do just that.

• Confess to Him that you are a failure, a sinner
• Believe that Jesus is your Savior and trust Him.
• Then thank him for the gift of salvation.
• Thank him for the gift of security.
• Thank him for the gift of hope.

Bill Gibson 06/03/01
Mountain Villa Health Center
El Paso, Texas

Chief and Sons

I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
~Isaiah 41:10

Chief Chiriapa and his two sons.
Macuma Ecuador, 1953 Photo by Bill Gibson

The original photo is less than 1 inch square, dog eared and well worn as you can see, but I just love it.

The traditional dress of shuar man was a skirt or kilt made of hand woven fiber. Surprisingly, the men did all the spinning, dyeing and weaving of the cloth which was made from home-grown cotton.

The man in this picture is also wearing a headdress made from toucan feathers, and a necklace that he most likely made himself.

The Chief is on left, his two proud sons are on the right.

Bill's Talk on Brotherly Love

"Let brotherly love continue."
~Hebrews 13:1

One of the key words
in the life of the believer is the word "let".
"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts," Col 3:15
"Let this mind be in you," Phil. 2:5

In chapter thirteen of Hebrews we have the secret.

The secret of the believer's life.
The secret of the believer's life of service.
The secret of the believer's life of joy.

The word "let" speaks to me of: to loosen, turn on, not hinder. It's what happens when we turn on the faucet and the water runs free. We let the water run. It does it by itself. It comes from an unseen supply. We don't have to force it out, blow it out, push it out, or draw it out. It just flows.

The problem lies in the fact that there are hindrances. A kink in the hose, for example. These must be straightened first to let the water flow. So it is in the life of the believer. It's not the blowing, pushing, drawing, and trying, but in the letting the love for the brethren that is in us flow. Six kinks are mentioned.

Forgetting to be hospitable.
Forgetting to care and share in suffering.
Forgetting to not be critical or judgmental
Forgetting to be content with what we have.
Forgetting to trust.
Forgetting to obey those who led us to the Lord.

"Now may the God of peace... equip you with every good thing to do his will, performing in us through Jesus Christ that which is well pleasing in His sight to whom be the glory forever and ever amen."

~Heb 13: 20,21

It is my sincere desire
that this will be a blessing and a joy to you.
Bill Gibson, February 1983
El Paso, Texas

Gospel Missionaries

Each one helps the other, saying to one another, 'Take Courage!'

~Isaiah 41:6

The Gibsons, the Drowns, and a visiting family friend.

Macuma, Ecuador 1957

I love this old photo. The original is quite small only about an inch square, and it is a little blurry—but it has this wonderful nostalgic quality that melts my heart.

What you can almost see on my shoulder, is my pet monkey, Chit Chat. I spent a lot of my time pretending to be Dale Evans, and so the dog’s name, of course, was Bullet.

The other family in the photo is Marie Drown, with 2 of her children, Timmy (he has a parakeet on his shoulder), and Lolly, and a family friend whose name I have forgotten. Frank and Marie Drown wrote a book called “Mission to the Headhunters”. It is still available for sale, and a link to it can be found on the side bar of this page.

Bill's Message on Calm

Perhaps one of the words we hear little about is the word "calm". We are living in a world that knows nothing about being calm or even what calmness is.

As I was reading in the Chronological Bible NIV, I came across a verse that stuck to me. Ecc. 10:4 in the NIV (New International Version) the word "calm" is used. In the NAS (New American Standard Bible), the word "composure" is used.

"If the anger of the ruler rises against you,
do not leave your place,
for calmness will lay great offenses to rest."

~Ecc 10:4

The dictionary says that calm means: not excited and not agitated. In our modern language today it would be "cool". Don't lose your cool.

Now in the new testament and the Psalms, the word calm is used to describe the sea after a storm. Jesus calmed the sea. The matter of being calm is not NOT listening or acknowledging. Sleeping is not calmness. Dead people are not calm. Calmness here has to do with what is in your spirit when everything seems to be out of control. When facing a storm, or a stormy person. DON'T LOSE YOUR COMPOSURE.

Last week our friend and Bible teacher lost it at the business meeting. He got mad and angry and stormed out saying he was finished. It is easy for us to lose our cool. The world in which we live pushes us to react violently. But the WORD says "... calmness can lay great errors to rest." "... composure allays great offences."

When some one or something opposes you, don't push the panic button. Be quiet, still, and sweet even though on the inside the bats or butterflies are beating their wings. The one thing that destroys churches.. destroys friendship.. destroys marriages is the lack of composure.

In 1st Peter, Peter tells wives to have a quiet gentle spirit. Also he says the same for men. Only God can give us calmness in the midst of trouble. We need to trust Him for that.

Anger is not the answer. Jesus never lost His cool. Look with me to 1st Peter 2:21-24. Over and over Peter tells us to follow in Christ's footsteps, to see His example. After every exhortation, he points to the example of Christ.

Am I prone to anxiety.. panic, fear, worry when things seem to come out of the blue?

YES!

One more word. Calmness is not just sitting down resting, trusting, sleeping, deadness to all around us. Calmness is not stagnation.

In life, there is a need to be stirred up, excited, and moved. If we are in a state of perpetual calm, we will never go any place. Calmness, composure is what we need when we are attacked, or when we are confronted by a storm.

Calmness is not a state of being numb either. We see in Haggi 1:14 "For the Lord stirred up the Spirit of Zarbable." God wants us to be enthusiastic and moving forward with our lives.

We are to be calm in the storm..
We are to be stirred in the calm.

May the Lord help us to recognize a storm and may we look to him for composure and calm when it comes.

It is my wish that this little talk be a blessing to you.

Bill Gibson

GMU 07/25/00