I May Have Encountered Two Angels in 1974

I May Have Encountered Two Angels in 1974

In April of 1974, I was hit with the light. Staying with friends in Vancouver, I went down the stairs, encountered Jesus and experienced the love of God. I came back upstairs and said, “Hey Guys, I just met Jesus.” I have recounted this story elsewhere.

Two weeks later, as a brand-new Jesus Freak, I began hitchhiking for St. Thomas, Ontario where my fundamentalist, evangelical, Baptist family were eagerly awaiting the return of their prodigal.

I remember I was wearing a white lab coat and a grey fedora with a gaily coloured band and a small feather. I was one cool looking dude or freak as we liked to call ourselves those days. I took a bus to the outskirts of Van and was hitching on an entry ramp to the highway. It wasn’t a very good place to hitch as the ramp was quite short. The clouds were heavy and it was threatening rain.

A young woman in a Volkswagen pulled over and I ran up and climbed in. It wasn’t unheard of for single women to pick up hitch hikers but it was a pleasant surprise to get such a ride. The first thing I noticed when I got into the vehicle was a big sticker on the glove box that said: I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL TO JESUS Oh wow! Here I got picked up by a Christian, someone who could understand this wonderful experience that had just changed my life and set me on a new course.

She said she was just going to Whistler, about 80 miles east. That was a great start on my cross-Canada hitch. We talked about Jesus and the Lord all the way to Whistler. When I got out, she said, “Do you need any money?” I said, “No, the Lord has given me enough to get me back to Ontario. But thanks a lot.” It meant a lot to me that she cared enough to ask. She drove off and I continued hitching.

(Now that I think about it, if I had realized she was an angel, I could have asked her for some real cool stuff!)

I don’t know whether she was a supernatural being sent to encourage me on my way. Doesn’t really matter whether she was earthly or heavenly in origin. She was sent by God to speed me on the road I was supposed to be on. I took the motto I learned from her, I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL TO JESUS, and made it my own. To this day, whenever I write my name in a book that I have purchased, I write: “Daniel Bennett -- I am eternally grateful to Jesus.”

Fast forward about three months, August, 1974. I am discouraged. I am living with my parents and younger brother and have a job working in the family business. I am attending a small Baptist Church where my dad is the lay pastor. I don’t wear ties to church and I don’t like shining my shoes. I think my hair is “fashionably longish,” but not the beautiful people golden locks I used to sport. My parents are trying to accommodate me and my ideas. They’re thrilled that I’m following the Lord but they really don’t get what I’m going through. I’m really feeling the pressure to be something that I despised in the past and am trying to come to grips with now. I am a confused mixture of Christian, Straight and Wild Man Hippie Revolutionary. I need help. God sends it.

The following photos from 1973 (preJesus encounter) and 1974 (postJesus encounter) illustrate my situation and my thinking.

The photos on the left, taken in 1973 illustrate the ideals of a man who wants to break free from every social norm including sanity. He is having the time of his life as he is on a journey to find truth and God, if he exists.

The photos on the right, taken in 1974 illustrate a man who is in the process of joining a Christian community that has a high value for conformity. He is trying to fit in but is feeling squeezed and pressured. Top photo, he is wearing his fedora but he has removed the bright green band and feather. Photo 2, he holds up a Bible, symbol of his new Christian life. The expression on his face is a little glum. Photo 3, he gives the One Way sign, a contemporary signal of new and youthful Christians. Photo 4, he flashes the hippie peace sign which he hopes and believes is compatible with Christianity. God help the poor bugger.

Back to August 1974. I have an argument with my mother. She’s objecting to a Jesus-people button that I am wearing. It says something like One Way Jesus. I get angry, pull the button off and throw it on the floor. Immediately my conscience is smitten and I retrieve the button and put it back on. I leave the room. Frustrated as h. I don’t use the hell word any more but I feel like it.

That weekend, I hitchhike to Toronto, looking for a group of people that I have heard about called Jesus People or Jesus Freaks. I have heard that there is a Jesus Commune living at Rochdale College and I make my way to the College in downtown Toronto. When I get there, however, I hear that the commune has just moved out that weekend. I am unable to find out where they have gone. Bummer.

I spend Saturday, hanging out in Toronto and spend the night at the hostel called Stop Over at the YMCA. I had stayed there many times when I passed through the city. In the morning I went to a church that I heard was a cool church. I think it was probably the famous Jesus People church called the Catacombs but I’m not sure. There were dancers helping to lead the worship. I didn’t really make any contact with people there and after the service, I headed out on the subway for the highway back home to St. Thomas. An unsuccessful journey to find Jesus Freaks. Seemed like I had wasted my time.

Out on the 401, a big Buick pulled over, a woman driving. Chatting, I told her I had been to Toronto to try and find Jesus Freaks and been unsuccessful. She said, “Well, I’m going to a meeting in London where there’s Jesus People. If you want you can come along.” She took me to the Jesus Rap at King Street United Church.

They were playing guitars and singing Christian folk songs. They were sitting on the floor. The girls were beautiful in long skirts and colourful clothing. Many of the guys had long hair. They were excited about Jesus. I was excited about finding them.

I began attending the Jesus Rap regularly on Sunday nights. It was about fifteen miles from my home in St. Thomas. My dad and brother came too. I had found my Jesus Freaks.

I never saw the woman who brought me there again. An angel?

The Jesus Rap lifted me out of my discouragement and helped me learn of worship, witness and service. I had my first Christian girlfriend there and survived my transition from Hippie to Church-going-Christian. I am still eternally grateful to Jesus. I still sing out of the Jesus Rap Songbook.

There they are: the Jesus People of 1974

Written Nov, 14,  2018

Some Thoughts on the Nature of the Kingdom

I saw an interesting post today. The photo was the landing craft beaching on D-Day. The caption was that you can enjoy your day on the beach because of their day on the beach.

We have life in the Kingdom because the King has come and given us His life in exchange for ours. He did that through His death on the cross. His death and resurrection was the total defeat of Satan's Kingdom. This is an accomplished fact. We appropriate this fact, bring it into our experience and circumstances by believing it and acting upon it. We believe this more than we believe our own experience and thinking. We believe it (not understand it) because God has declared it to be so.

Let's take a look at some Scriptures:

Thou hast made Him for a little while lower than the angels;
Thou hast crowned Him with glory and honor,
and hast appointed Him over the works of Thy hands;
Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet.
For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to Him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to Him.
Hebrews 2:7,8

We may not see it but we believe it because God says it.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.
Proverbs 3:5,6

I have spent a lot of time to get understanding. Some things I understand but more I don't. Now I seek to believe and to act on it and to trust it because He said it.

How blessed is the man who trusts in Thee.
Psalms 84:12

So we live the Kingdom life in a Kingdom in which "we do not yet see all things subjected to Him." Hebrews 2:8b. How do we understand this? Personally, I'm going forward with partial understanding or no understanding. Maybe even wrong understanding. But I'm going forward trusting that Jesus is Lord of all.

This week at the Global Prayer House here in Medicine Hat, we have had a teacher from the Nederlands, Bram Buitenhuis. He illustrated the Kingdom in this way:

In the last months of WW II, the Canadians liberated Holland from the German occupiers. Because of the force of arms the German High Command surrendered to the Allied forces. For Holland, the enemy was defeated and they were free. But in the outlying towns and villages, they didn't know about the German surrender. In these little places, word of the victory had not reached. The Germans had confiscated the radios. There might be 3 or 4 Germans occupying the police station along with some collaborators and the population didn't realize that they were liberated. Then someone would get the word, by telephone, or a hidden radio or a runner would come. Then the farmers would get together, grab their axes and pitchforks and attack the Germans. Some of them lost their lives in these final battles. When the Germans found out, they stole cars or bicycles, anything they could get and were fleeing to Germany. It was over. The enemy was totally defeated.

This is like us in the Kingdom of God. The enemy is defeated, on the run. The Kingdom of death, despair, depression, sickness, injustice and death has no power. Jesus Christ is Lord and we are engaged in mop up operations. Jesus said, "The gates of hell will not prevail over his church."

So praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. It is a good day to die.

Why I Will Be Blogging

I think that the most important fact in the Universe is that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Some other important things flow from that. For example:

God has set up a Kingdom here on earth in which Jesus already reigns. The Kingdom here consists of those who have entered through faith in Christ. My efforts in this blog will be to enlighten, encourage and educated my fellow citizens.

What are my qualifications? I have been studying the Bible for more than 40 years. I love the book. I have a Bachelor of Theology (4 years) and a Master of Divinity (3 years) which give me a bit of background in understanding regarding the Bible.

My major qualification in life is that I'm 67 years old and I've made just about every mistake in life that was possible. I've also done a few things right. I'd like to pass on what I've learned about following Jesus. As I said, the fact that He is Lord is the most important of all truths. That makes following Him the most important thing for me. And if that is so for you, you might find this blog helpful.

I welcome feedback and questions. Let's go.