Bittersweet Farm

There was a slope of hay field toward the back of my grandpa’s wonderful little farm in Ohio. In the evening it was shaded by a woods. In the afternoon it was warm and bright with sunlight. It was on top of the hill, well out of sight of the house. From that spot there were no houses or man-made structures in view. It was a pleasant, beautiful place.

One afternoon I was with my grandfather while he was working the field and he said; “Why don’t you go over there against the woods and see what you see in the grass.” As was so often the case, I didn’t see anything. As was usually the case he told me to look again. I did. Still I didn’t see anything.

Finally he shut down the equipment and climbed to the ground. He walked over and pointed down. I looked. It looked like weeds to me. He bent over and picked up something that was between white and pale pink. He handed it to me.

“Try this and tell me what you think.”

I put it in my mouth. “Strawberry. It’s good,” I said.

“They’re wild strawberries. They grow here every year.”

I would go there alone sometimes, lay on my stomach, and eat the little strawberries in the afternoon. It is a happy boyhood memory.

A few years later I was singing “We’re Marching to Zion,” and when we sand the second verse my mind went back to that happy simple memory of a summer afternoon with my grandfather.

The hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets
Or walk the golden streets

The Christian life is not intended to be a life of stoic self-denial and self-inflicted suffering. As beautiful as eternity will be God daily loads us with benefits while we are still right here on earth. One of the joys of life is to discover the delightful things that God has poured bountifully out on the earth.

For those whose faith is in Jesus our destination will be unspeakably beautiful and God has arranged a delightful trip for us too.

Once, many years ago we were traveling home late on a clear summer night. When we finally turned into our driveway we all were eager to tumble into our beds. We counted the children and came up one short. We discovered it was Chuk who was missing. I went back to the car to see if I had left him sleeping in the car. I thought I would find him asleep in the back seat.

The car was empty. I turned to go in the house and caught a little shadow in the darkened yard out of the corner of my eye. There was Chuk all of three feet tall, standing in the damp grass in the middle of the yard unmoving. His face was turned almost directly upward. When I walked up to him I was silent. We stood there together for a moment and then he let out a breathy WOW at the wonder of the distant suns burning in the night sky overhead.

I scooped him up, carried him to his bed and tucked his quilt under his chin with a prayer that he would never lose is child-like wonder at the creative wonders of God. How long has it been since you worshipped God in the simplicity of a face upturned at the night stars.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament shows his handiwork.” “O Lord, our Lord how majestic in your name in all the earth who has set your glory about the heavens – ” “When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you would visit him?” (Psalm 8 and 19)

Ken Pierpont
Brook Place
Hinsdale, Illinois
March 12, 2007

Pennsylvania

In April of 2006 I was preaching a series of meetings for some churches in central Pennsylvania. It was a lovely little town and our accommodations were in a delightful bed and breakfast. The girls traveled with me to sing and do children’s work. During the week we visited the Pennsylvania Amish Country, which delighted the girls. On a beautiful spring afternoon we visited Gettysburg, which they politely tolerated. In the evening services we sang and I preached and I asked the girls each to give a personal testimony one of the nights of the meeting. Holly was eager to do so, Hannah was willing, but Heidi was resistant, even to tears.

I persisted. I said, “Heidi, you don’t have to preach, just let people know that you love Jesus. No one expects you to be a public speaker. Just share what Jesus did for you when you were saved.” She agreed, but only because I coerced her.

Mexico

The next month we traveled to Mexico. Lake Chapala about an hour south of Guadalajara is nearly a mile high. The climate there is the most beautiful climate I have ever enjoyed. On the north side of the Lake is a beautiful hacienda with a clay tile roof, marble staircases, a sweeping lawn, and a kidney-shaped pool set in the middle of the stairs approaching the front of the house. The lawns sweep away toward the lake under palm trees. The stately home is our Latin American Center for the Institute in Basic Life Principles.

Our family stayed at the Center during May of 2006. In the evenings we would visit people on the public plazas in surrounding towns, juggle or do animal balloons, hand our watermelon or do skits, or sing to draw a crowd and make conversations with people to nudge them toward Jesus. During our presentations young people gave testimonies of the work of God in their lives.

Heidi was eager to keep out of the spotlight. She was afraid that she would be called on to speak publicly. She is a beautiful girl with waist-length blonde hair. In Mexico she drew a lot of attention. Everywhere we went people wanted to have their picture taken with her. She was kind to people but she was not interested in speaking publicly. If you pressed her about it she could be a little cross. She would tell me, “Dad, I’m not Holly. She doesn’t mind speaking to groups, but I just can’t. Don’t make me.” On the trip she lived in fear that Mr. Gothard would call on her to give a testimony.

I told Heidi, “Heidi, everyone who is saved has at least one testimony of the work of God in their life. They have a testimony of repentance.” She was unconvinced.

One afternoon I sat on the veranda of the house enjoying a cold fruity Mexican drink and talked to Bill Gothard. The temperature was perfect with low humidity and a gentle breeze blew off the lake. I said, “I know you would like all the young people to be prepared to share a testimony, but don’t you think that some people are especially gifted with speaking gifts and others are just not that verbal?”

He looked down and shook his head from side to side. “Yes but when God really does something in their lives they will talk about it, even if it is not their major gift,” He said. I thought about that for a while. I have noticed that even quiet people usually do talk about what they really love and what they are interested in. Maybe he had a point. Heidi survived the trip without public embarrassment.

An Early Morning Message

On the morning of November 17, 2006 my son Chuk and I were ending a three-day fast. I was looking forward to breaking the fast that morning. Maybe that was one of the reasons I woke up at 2:30 in the morning. I got up to read my Bible. I was reading through the book of Acts. From 2:30 to 6:00 a.m. I sat at the table and read my Bible, reading all the way through the book of Acts. I decided that I would enjoy some food at 6:00.

While I was reading I had an experience I love to have. I came to the prophecy from Joel referred to in Acts 2:16-18.

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

I noticed something that I had never given a great deal of thought to before. It was as if the phrase – ” – and your daughters will prophecy – and female servants – ” leaped off the page into my heart. I had a powerful sense that these verses would come true in my own family. I wondered in my heart to God as I highlighted the verses in my Bible; “Lord, do you mean to tell me that you are going to pour out your Spirit on all my daughters and that all of them are going to testify of a powerful working of God in their lives?” I held the thought in my heart and continued to read.

When I reached Acts 21 I read there of Philip the evangelist and my heart was stirred when I read there, ” – he had four unmarried daughters who prophesied – ” When I read that phrase my heart was stirred again. “God are you going to do a deeper work in my daughters?” I had a strong sense in my heart that the Lord was communicating to my spirit that morning a very precious message, that all my daughters would have a powerful work of God in their lives and that they would talk about it for His glory. It reminded me of a morning many years ago when I was spending a day with the Lord alone in a park overlooking a dam in Ohio when the Spirit of God led me to a the passage in Isaiah 54:13; “All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.”

Sometimes I have a sense that God has pointed out a specific passage to me as a promise. I try to write these times down with some detail so I can look back and track the promises of God in my life. I want to learn to discern the voice of the Father in my life. I made this note in my journal early that morning:

– Rose at 2:30 and spent the early morning reading the book of Acts with greater clarity than ever before. Thank you Lord. At about 6:00 I broke a three-day fast and found riches in the book of Acts.

God moved upon my heart to pray that my sons and daughters will prophesy – and have the power of the Holy Spirit upon them. Oh, God that the Spirit of God would fall upon my sons AND all four daughters that they would speak forth the work of God, the supernatural work of God upon their lives. I knelt and prayed for each of my children and Lois.

It reminded me of one of my favorite family-promises of the Bible in Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

That morning on the way to work I told Heidi what I sensed the Lord was telling me. She was tolerant but not enthused.

Journey to the Heart

In late January Holly and I led our first Journey to the Heart. The best way to describe the Journey to the Heart is to say it is a ten-day intense retreat to seek the Lord. It was a powerful experience. Heidi and Hannah were interested in going but they were not invited on the first one. In February each of us were asked to lead the Journey’s again. Holly the women’s and I the men’s, of course. Heidi and Hannah were invited.

It was a beautiful week in the Northwoods. The Conference Center is nearly 3000 acres. In the middle of the property is beautiful Wolf Lake. On the north end of the lake on an elevation is the split level home used for the women’s Journey to the Heart. Across the lake on a picturesque peninsula called Duck Point is the house where the men live during their Journey. One morning I was there enjoying a Cliff Bar and a cup of coffee when I heard Holly’s voice at the door. It was very early and I was surprised and happy to see her.

“Dad you have to come out to the van. Something wonderful happened last night. The girls are here. They can’t wait to talk to you.”

I got my coat and went out to the van. It was Friday morning. On Thursday the girls had been examining their hearts for over four days. Holly scheduled a time for each of the girls to take an hour and a half walk around the lake and spend time with the Lord. Hannah had a special sense of the nearness of the Lord on her walk. She wept when she spoke of it.

The girls had been up most of the night. The Spirit had come down on the little house across the lake. At bedtime Heidi went to bed. Holly and Hannah stayed up talking about the day they began to pray together confessing sin and talking openly with one another about past hurts.

While they were praying together and confessing sin Heidi woke up. She didn’t move for the long time. She just listened to her sister’s honest confessions and humble, eager prayers. There was a sense of the presence of God in the room. Heidi joined the conversation and began to open her heart to her sisters. She began to confess sins and hurts of her past that she had kept to herself. She admitted that on her walk around the lake she struggled with strong doubts about her salvation. She had prayed a childhood prayer but it was not with a consciousness of her sin or the assurance that she had been forgiven.

Holly asked her if she wanted to trust Christ and she rolled out of bed onto her knees and poured her heart out to the Lord. She sincerely confessed her sins including a lack of love for others. In the van that morning she told me that because of secret sins and secret hurts that she had kept from me there was a wall between us. The wall came down when she was saved and she had a deeper warmth in her spirit. She had a love for others that wasn’t there before. She had a desire to pray and a hunger for the Bible, clearly a burst of affection for God. She talked to each of the members of the family and sought their forgiveness for past wrongs.

The Fulfillment of the Promise

Word spread about what happened to Heidi. When we returned to Headquarters Mr. Gothard was eager to hear a report about what happened on the Journey. He called on Holly and she gave a testimony. When she was done he called on Heidi. She willingly walked to the platform and openly and clearly shared what God had done in her life. It was a very special moment for me.

That was Monday. On Thursday night our family was scheduled to preach and sing and testify at the Pacific Garden Mission in downtown Chicago. Holly introduced one of the songs with a testimony. During my message I called on Heidi. She shared a meaningful testimony of the work of God in her life. There were 300 men there. They listened to her carefully. At another point in my message I called on Hannah to testify. Her testimony of the Lord’s work was sweet. It was a beautiful, happy night. On the way home our hearts were filled with joy.

Sunday morning in Momence at First Baptist Church I called on the girls again and they willingly came to the pulpit and told with great effectiveness what God was doing in their lives. The thing the Spirit prompted me to claim early in the morning on November 17 he did.

I am enjoying a deep fellowship with my daughters every day and I feel like we are a ministry team. I know one day the Lord will do the same work in little Hope’s heart. Then I will have something in common with Philip the Evangelist.

I wonder how many of our children are conforming to the behavior we expect and parroting the answers we expect, but they have not had an encounter with the Living God. Deep brokenness, humble confession, and genuine salvation solve a multitude of confusing and difficult problems. My Dad used to say, “There’s nothing wrong with him a good dose of salvation wouldn’t cure.”

Glory and praise forever to our merciful God!

I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:1-3)

Ken Pierpont
Brook Place
Hinsdale, Illinois
March 7, 2007

In April of 2003 I was a few months into a new ministry which was stretching me beyond anything I had ever experienced and calling for things from me that I thought were not there and never would be there.

On the fourteenth I took our oldest daughter Holly out for coffee. That morning a list of pressing duties was running in my mind, but I knew I wanted to give my daughter all my attention and all my heart. It was her birthday.

We drove to the coffee shop. I parked the car and walked around to get Holly’s door, thinking about the things I had to do and the decisions I had to make. It was a warm early-spring day. In the wonderfully unpredictable North where we live you may have flowers and sunshine in mid-April or you may have a late snowfall. As we walked toward the shop Holly said; “One of the things I love about my birthday is that the birds are always back and they are singing.”

For the first time that day I realized the birds were back and they were filling the morning with song. They had been gone for months and they had gone to the trouble of traveling all the way back and arranging an early morning serenade and I had not even bothered to stop and listen to the concert. I had not yet once stopped and thanked the Creator for the return of the birds. I was as dull as a rock that morning to joy. The world was alive to me but I was dead to the world.

When Holly made her little off-hand comment I stood still to listen and my eyes filled with tears. I taught my daughter to be alive to wonder and now she was reminding me of the lesson I had forgotten. If you train your children to be joyful they will remind you when you are missing the music of the birdsongs in spring.

It’s early in March and where we live we are bracing for winter to throw its last few punches. We my be a little premature but we are already longing for the warm sunshine and colorful flowers of spring. We are looking forward to long walks on sunny evenings and bird songs in the morning.

Ken Pierpont
Brook Place
Hinsdale, Illinois
March 5, 2007