SPIRITUALITY AND FAITH
THE DAY THAT CHANGED THE WORLD!
Article by Pastor Philip Nissley,
New Hope Assembly of God, Taylor, MI
Pastor Philip Nissley has been the Senior Pastor of New Hope Assembly for 24+ years. He has a passion for the Downriver community and Detroit to be changed by the power of God.
The purpose of Christmas--the Amazing Birth of Jesus, was to bring change to our world. This became real to a stubborn farmer who declared to his wife “I don’t believe in the birth of Jesus coming to earth”, and refused to go with her to the Christmas service.
As his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. Later as he sat down to read in his fireside chair, he could see snow building outside. Minutes later he heard a repeated thudding sound. At first he thought someone was throwing snowballs at his living room window. When he went to the door to investigate, he found a flock of migrating birds caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter, trying to fly through his large window. His concern that these birds not freeze to death led him to think of his warm barn where his children stabled their pony.
In an attempt to direct the birds to the barn, he quickly put on his coat and boots and stomped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors and turned on a light, but the
birds didn’t come in. He figured food would entice them, so he hurried to the house for bread crumbs and sprinkled them on the snow to make a trail to the barn. To his dismay the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flap helplessly in the snow.
Fearing their safety, he circled behind the flock, flapping his arms to chase them into the barn. But afraid of him, the birds scattered in every direction except to the warm, lighted barn. Out of breath, the farmer dropped to his knees in the snow as the thought hit him--“I’m a strange and terrifying creature to these birds. If only I could think of a way to let them know they can trust me, that I’m not trying to hurt them, but seeking to help them. If I could be a bird, mingle with them and speak their language, I could tell them not to be afraid…that I want to save their lives by leading them to the safe, warm barn". Then the church bell