CHAPTER 11
A knock came at the front door. It was Mike. “Is Gene home?”
“Sure. Come in, Mike.” Gene came running from his bedroom when he heard Mike’s voice. Gene and Mike were the same age and they loved to discover all sorts of different things to get into. They put their arms around each other and out the back door they went.
“What do you want to do, Mike?”
“I don’t know, do you have any good ideas, Gene?”
“Nope, I’d just like to find a shade tree and sleep like Rip Van Winkle.”
“Well, let’s go over to old man Bishop’s house and see if we can find any hidden treasure,” suggested Mike.
“That sounds like a great idea, but you know what will happen if he catches us!” Gene exclaimed.
“Have we ever been caught before? I don’t think we are going to get caught this time either.”
On the way to old man Bishop’s house, Gene and Mike started to talk about the house and about old man Bishop. “Old man Bishop’s house is so old, it’s probably older than he is,” Mike offered.
“I don’t like it. It’s always dark and gloomy. People say that he doesn’t even care if he dies ‘because his family was killed in a fire at his in-law’s house.”
“Maybe that’s why everyone says the house is haunted.”
“When we get there, we can’t make a sound. Who knows, maybe old man Bishop has caught other kids and has killed them or ate them!” Gene suggested.
Mike looked at Gene and said, “That’s enough, I don’t want to hear anymore.” Talk like that always did get Mike scared.
Once they made it through the fence, they went straight to the house. They made their way in the house, through the secret passage they had found one day, up the stairs and into the first room they had found previously. Mike told Gene to put some rags next to the door so he could turn on the light. “I’m ready,” Gene said. At that time, Mike turned on the light.
“This must have been some kind of reading room or something like that,” Mike replied. “Look at these magazines! They are old.”
As the boys looked for hidden treasure, the only treasure to be found were in the books. One pile after another was in the room. Walking over to look in one pile, Mike bumped into another pile and knocked it over. One magazine flopped open and Mike looked down to see a man with a Bible in his hand. He picked the magazine up and on the front cover was a picture of Billy Sunday.
“Look, Gene, a picture of Billy Sunday.”
"Who?”
“Billy Sunday. He was probably one of the greatest preachers that ever lived, so my dad says.”
“I’ve never heard of him,” was Gene’s reply.
With both boys sitting side by side, the door bolted open and there stood old man Bishop. He had long hair like it had not been cut for years. His clothes were so old, they were almost rags, and his smell would make a maggot gag. People in the community say no one has seen him for years and there was even a rumor that he had died in the house.
“What are you boys doing in here? Give me an answer right now. Don’t hesitate. I want an answer.” Both boys were totally scared to death. They were speechless. “I said, give me an answer or I will.” He paused slightly to let the boys conger all sorts of possibilities in their own minds.
Mike and Gene looked at each other. They both were thinking about what had been said earlier that old man Bishop probably had killed other kids he had caught. With both boys’ tongues tied, Mike looked down at the magazine and stuttered the words, “Billy Sunday.” The word Billy Sunday seemed to melt old man Bishop, right where he stood.
“Billy Sunday was a very good friend of mine.”
“He was?”
“Yes, he was.”
“I heard that Billy Sunday was one of the greatest preachers in the whole world,” Mike offered.
Old man Bishop replied, “Billy Sunday was one of the best. I was almost as good as he was, once.”
“You mean you were a preacher?”
“Yes, I was, but when my family was killed in that fire, I lost all my will to live,” he stated, with a far-away look in his eyes. Old man Bishop looked at both boys and asked if they would like to read about Billy Sunday.
“No, we don’t want to read about Billy Sunday,” was Mike’s reply, “but if you want to read to us, we’ll sit and listen.”
Old man Bishop smiled and all three sat down so they would be more comfortable. As old man Bishop read, Mike and Gene both seemed to be spell bound by the things they heard about Billy Sunday. After reading eight pages, old man Bishop turned to another section of the book that told about the different meetings that Billy would go to, and it told all about the people that were saved through his preaching. As he continued to read, Gene interrupted so he could ask a question.
“I have a question, Mr. Bishop.”
“Well, don’t just sit there, boy, ask me the question.”
“You used a word I’ve never heard before. Can you tell me what it means?”
“Sure. Oh, I’m sorry, we were so busy talking, I forgot to ask you boys what your names are?”
Gene spoke up and said, “This is Mike, and I’m Gene.
“My name is Mr. Bishop, but you both already knew that, I am sure.”
“Oh, yes, Mr. Bishop, everyone in town knows who you are.”
“Now, Gene, what is the word that you have never heard before?”
“You said a person was born again. What does that mean?”
“Gene, do you know what being saved means?”
“No, I don’t.”
Mike spoke up. “I know what it means. I am saved and born again.”
“Gene, let me explain what the word born again means and what saved means. When a person was born, he was born a sinner because of what our first father, Adam, did back in the Garden of Eden. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin and for my sin. Even though Jesus did not have any sin of His own, He was willing to take your sin and place it on Himself. Since He took your sin with Him on the cross, all that He asks is that you accept him as your personal Savior. The only thing that you have to do is to pray a little prayer, and he will come into your heart to live. You know all about Christmas, don’t you, Gene?”
“Yes, I do. I think.”
“At Christmas, you receive a lot of gifts, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes. Last year I got just what I wanted; an electric train.”
“What did you have to do for that electric train, Gene?”
“I didn’t have to do anything for that train. My dad said it was a gift, so it was free.”
“That is exactly what Christ offers you. He is wanting to give you a gift, a free gift. That gift is salvation. With that little prayer, you can receive that gift and when you receive that gift, you are born again. Once you are born again, that means you are saved. It is really simple if you think about it. Everything will cost something, except salvation; it is always free.”
“You mean, I all I have to do is to pray that little prayer and I will be born again?”
“That’s all you have to do. It’s that easy. Gene, would you like for me to pray that little prayer and you repeat the words after me so you can get saved?”
“Yes, Mr. Bishop, I want to be born again.”
“Just follow me and when you have finished, Christ will come into your life and be with you forever. Repeat after me: Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I want you to come into my heart and live forever. I want to be born again. Please accept me into your family and I promise I will follow You for the rest of my life. Amen.”
Gene repeated all the words that Mr. Bishop said and in a matter of seconds, Gene was a born again person. Jesus did come into the heart of Gene and He, the Holy Spirit, started to guide and direct him in anything and everything that he would do for the rest of his life.
Mike asked Mr. Bishop a simple question, “Why have you been co
oped up here for all of these years, when you could have been out there preaching and seeing people get saved?”
For the first time in years, old man Bishop was face to face with the realty that he had done nothing for the Body of Christ for all of those years. The truth was as plain as the nose on his face. Continuing like this, old man Bishop was useless to the Body of Christ.
“Young man, you have asked a question that I will never forget. I have wasted all these years doing nothing and feeling sorry for myself. This is the last day I will let that happen. Tomorrow, I am going to church and from now on, I promise I will start again to tell people about Christ. I also promise I will return to preaching the Word of God. I don’t know if I will become a preacher or an evangelist, but the demon world is going to know all about me before I die.”
“Mr. Bishop, would you like to go to church with us tomorrow morning, if we come by and pick you up?”
“Your parents won’t mind letting me ride will they?”
“No, my parents won’t mind. I give you my word.”
“Gene, are you going to go to church with them, also?”
“I don’t know.”
“When you accepted Christ, you said that you wanted Christ to direct you and guide you. If you meant what you said, then He wants you to go to church, so you can learn about Him and also about His Book, the Bible.”
“Mike, can I go to church with you tomorrow, if Mom and Dad say I can?”
Sure! You can go, too.”
“GENE, WHEN YOU BECAME A CHRISTIAN, THAT WAS THE RIGHT MOVE AND IT STARTED TO CHANGE PEOPLE’S LIVES. THE FIRST LIFE IT CHANGED WAS MR. BISHOP’S. FOR YEARS, HE HAD FELT SORRY FOR HIMSELF AND HE WOULD NOT EVEN GO OUTSIDE AND ASSOCIATE WITH OTHERS. WHEN HE LED YOU IN A PRAYER OF SALVATION, HE KNEW THAT HE HAD BEEN SINNING FOR ALL OF THOSE YEARS. HE DECIDED HE WOULD CHANGE, AND CHANGE HE DID. YOU WILL SEE EXACTLY HOW HE CHANGED AND HOW MANY SOULS HE LED TO ME. HIS LIFE CHANGED BECAUSE OF YOU. BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU WILL SEE A MULTITUDE OF OTHERS THAT WILL ACCEPT AND BE CHANGED.”
When the boys walked into the house, Mike’s mom asked if they were hungry.
“We could eat a bear,” Mike stated. “Mom, you’ll never guess what happened, but I’m not going to tell you ‘til Dad gets home!”
“I’ll fix you boys a sandwich and there are some chips over there, someplace.”
After the boys ate, it was back outside for more fun and games. All day long, Gene was so excited about being a Christian; he couldn’t stop thinking about it. “I’ll be glad when my dad gets home,” Gene said, “He will not believe what I am going to tell him.”
For the rest of the day, the boys did what other boys do in the summer, they just had fun. They ran into three of their pals from school and Gene told them he was saved and if he dies he knows that he is going to go to heaven. The other boys seemed bewildered with everything Gene had said and they thought that he had a few marbles loose.
Once back at the house, Mike took his shower and was excited about his dad getting home from work. At 5:30, Bobby pulled into the drive and in less than a minute, he was in the house washing his hands and getting ready to eat supper. While they were eating, Mike told his dad all about the day and how everything seemed to work out. At the end of his story, he told dad and his mom about Gene accepting Christ as his personal Savior.
“That is great, Mike! We’ve been praying for him for a long time. That just goes to show that the Lord does answer a person’s prayers.”
“I know, Dad. I have been praying so hard I think I was turning blue in the face. Every time I thought about being in heaven without Gene, I prayed even harder.”
“Now, Mike, tell me what you said and how you led Gene to the Lord?”
“It wasn’t me, Dad. It was old man Bishop.”
“Old man Bishop! I think you are mistaken son. No one has seen old man Bishop for years.”
“I know, but we were in one of his rooms looking at magazines, when he opened the door so fast it scared us both to death. He wanted to know what we were doing in his house. We were so scared; the only thing I could think to say was that we were looking at the picture of the man on the magazine, Billy Sunday. When I said Billy Sunday, it seemed to settle him down. He said that Billy Sunday was one of his friends and that even he used to be a preacher.”
“Mr. Bishop used to be a preacher?” asked Bonnie.
“That’s what he said. He then started to read about Billy Sunday and all of the people that Billy Sunday had led to the Lord and he said that thousands of people were born again. Gene asked what it meant to be born again. At that time, old man Bishop explained what it meant and what being saved meant, also. He asked Gene if he would like to accept and Gene said, “YES!!!” Old man Bishop led Gene in a prayer and Gene asked Christ to come into his heart!”
“That is wonderful, but what were you two doing in old man Bishop’s house?” Bobby asked.
“We were looking for a secret treasure.”
“Did you find a secret treasure?”
“No, but in a way I guess we did. All of those magazines are worth a lot of money. Also, old man Bishop said there was a lot of information in those magazines. When old man Bishop started to read those magazines, it seemed as if they came alive. Oh, I almost forgot. Gene and old man Bishop would like a ride to church with us tomorrow, if it’s okay with you?”
“You know we don’t have a lot of room in the car, but I think we can squeeze everyone in, if all of you kids can sit on each other’s laps.”
When Darrell walked through the front door, Gene was so excited about accepting Christ; he could hardly wait to tell his dad. “Dad, you will never guess what I did today!”
“I give up, what did you do today?”
“I was over at old man Bishop’s and he led me to Christ.”
“Are you sure it was old man Bishop? No one has seen him in years.”
“Yes, it was old man Bishop. He is, also, going to church with me and the Fishers tomorrow.”
“So, you are going to go to church with the Fishers?”
“Yep, old man Bishop said that when you accept, you must let the Lord guide and direct you, and that He wants us in church, so we can learn about Him and His Word, the Bible. Is it okay with you?”
“You know I don’t believe in all of that religious stuff and I also believe that when you die, you cease to exist. But if you want to go to church, I won’t stop you.”
While Gene was telling his dad about becoming a Christian, Thelma could not believe what she was hearing. The only person in the family that was saved was Thelma, and now Gene said that he had just accepted. Thelma wondered how she could suggest that the whole family go to church without making Darrell mad. After Gene finished with his story, Darrell told Gene he ought to ask his mom if she would like to go to church with him. Gene looked at his mother and, in a shy type of voice, he asked if she would go to church with him the next day.
“Sure, I’ll go, Gene, and I think we need to ask the rest of the kids if they would like to go, also.”
The rest of the kids looked at each other and they all nodded with an affirmative gesture. The whole family was going to church, with the exception of Darrell. It may take a miracle to get him through the door of any church.
“Mom, will you drive tomorrow?”
“No, she will not drive tomorrow was Darrell’s reply. I will drive and I will go to church just so we can say the whole family went together. Gene, why don’t you go and tell Mike that we will drive and ask him what time it starts.”
Gene was out the front door like a bullet. All the way over to Mike’s house, he could not believe that his whole family was going to church. Once at the door, Gene knocked twice. Mike came to the door and Gene told him everything that had just happened and he needed to know when the services started. Mike said that Sunday School would start at 9:45 and the church service would start at 11:00. “Please, Gene, don’t miss either one. Y
ou would be in my Sunday School class.”
“I’ll see what my dad and mom say. I can’t promise anything. You know that.”
Back home, Gene didn’t say anything about the church services. He just said that they had to be there at 9:45 sharp. “If we get there late, we will miss some real good stuff,” he informed them.
After supper, Gene and Mike were back outside running and playing soldiers just like they did every night. But this night was a special night for both boys. This was the first night that Gene was a Christian and this would be the first night in years that Mike would not pray for his best friend’s salvation.
After playing hard, they sat down to rest. When they started talking, it was about heaven and hell. “Gene, what you need to do is to mark this day on your calendar and remember this day for the rest of your life.”
Gene had no idea why he should write this day down on his calendar and always remember it. “Why should I remember this day?” asked Gene.
“Every year, you have a birthday to celebrate the day you were born, right?”
“That’s right, but I still don’t know why I have to write this day down.”
“Did you forget the question you asked old man Bishop?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten. I asked him what born again meant.” At that time a light came on in Gene’s mind. “I have a birthday to celebrate! Me being born into this world and, if I write down today’s date, it will be the day that I was born again.”
Mike looked at Gene and smiled. “Now you know why I said to mark this day so you will never forget it.”
“When I get home, I’m going to put a great big circle around today’s date so no one in my family will ever forget the day that I accepted Christ. Let me ask you a question, Mike. Old man Bishop said that I should pray to God as often as I can, so should I pray before I go to bed every night? Do you pray before you go to bed every night?”
“Yes, every night I pray to Jesus and sometimes I pray three or four times during the day.”
“Do you shut your eyes all those times?”
“Sometimes, I keep them open and sometimes, I will shut them. It all depends.”
“Mike, what do I pray about?”
“I guess you can pray about anything you want to pray about. What I pray about is for the Lord to keep me safe and, if he does take me in death, to make it painless. Also, I pray for my dad and mom and all of my brothers and sisters and other relatives. During school, I pray for good grades and for all of the teachers and for all of the kids to get saved. But the most important thing about praying is that it is just you and the Lord. I can talk and tell the Lord everything that is on my mind. I think it’s really something to have someone that will listen to my problems, even though they are just from a kid. I know when I get older, they will be grown up problems, but for now, it is just kid problems. Something else that I pray about is for my friends to get saved.”
“Have you been praying for me, Mike?”
“Gene, I have been praying for you and your family for so long, I don’t even remember when I first started. And now the Lord has answered my prayer about you getting saved and who knows, maybe the rest of your family will get saved, also.”
“Mike, tonight I will start to pray about different things that I want to happen. I think I will try and spend fifteen minutes at night just talking to the Lord. I know that sooner or later God will answer my prayers. Would you do something for me Mike?”
“You know I’ll do anything for you, Gene. All you have to do is ask.”
“You said you prayed every night for me and my family. Will you keep praying for them? Maybe, if both of us are praying for their salvation, they will get saved.”
“I will keep praying, Gene, and I know that God is going to answer all of our prayers.”
With the stars up and the night lights turned on, it meant that it was about time for them to go inside and get ready for bed. Once Gene and Mike finished with their showers, they were ready to hit the sack. However, they both knew there was one important thing they had to do and that was to pray to the Lord Jesus Christ about all of the things that were on their minds.
Praying to Jesus was something new for Gene, but his prayers started to come just like he had been a prayer warrior for years. He told the Lord everything that was on his mind and he also just talked without asking for anything. He considered it a time just for them to be alone. When he had finished, he closed his eyes, and for the first time in his short life, he had a feeling of contentment and a peace that goes beyond any understanding.