5/21/2025
Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10
It's not often that I sit and watch television, because I simply don't have the time or desire to do so, but today, being cold and rainy, I put on the old series, Highway to Heaven, starring Michael Landon. I remember when he was diagnosed with cancer, and I had been praying for him. God had laid him on my heart, so I wrote him a letter to tell him about Jesus. When learned that he had passed away, I wondered if he had gotten my letter. I thought maybe when People Magazine came out, perhaps an article may be included about his life, but I never saw anything. Not long after that I received a phone call from a woman, who said that someone had given her my name and number. She was asking about women's ministries, and Women's AGLOW had given her my name as a contact in New Mexico. She said she had just moved to town, and she told me the name of her relative in town. I told her that I hadn't lived in New Mexico that long, and that I really hadn't been involved with AGLOW since I lived in Virginia. I thought it strange that the ministry would know my name, because I wasn't really known or in leadership, I only attended Bible studies and meetings. We chatted a while, and somehow the conversation turned to prayer for Michael Landon. I told her my story about my burden to pray for him even before he had cancer, about the letter and how I wondered if he'd received Jesus as his Savior. Then she told me that she had been listening to a Christian talk show, and a friend of Michael's had been on the show talking about their friendship. Gavin MacLeod, the actor who played the Captain on the show The Love Boat, was his friend, and he told the talk show host that he had visited Michael before he died, and he had accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. I was ecstatic, and I couldn't believe how good God was to send this lady to me. We finished talking, and I went my day rejoicing. At some point shortly thereafter, I tried to reach this lady again. She had disappeared, and the relative did not exist. I've always thought she was an angel that God had sent especially to me to deliver the message I so desperately needed to hear.
Although I've always loved movies and used to watch regularly, I have never been a movie star groupie, as many young girls are. I admire talent and character, someone who consistently plays parts that are clean, wholesome, and movies that are moral with life changing story lines. I've only felt the Lord's leading to pray for two actors, one is Michael Landon, and the other I won't say, although over the years his life has changed drastically, so I pray that one day he may meet Jesus. As I was reading back over this story, Holy Spirit reminded me that both men are of Jewish heritage. I'm not Jewish, although I wish I had the honor, but I do have the same privilege that any born-again believer in Christ has, because we share the same heritage as our Jewish brethren. In Romans 11, as well as other places in scripture, Old Testament included, Paul, who is a Jew of all Jews, he says, explains how we have been grafted into the Vine, into the olive tree, a wild olive shoot! I've written about this so many times, and it still excites me today as much as when I read the words and understood fully what I was reading. It's like that for me, and so many have testified of the same, the revelation power of Holy Spirit to shine His light on the truth of God's word. And yet, it is neglected in most churches and in theological seminaries. Why? The Old and New Testament are the same story, just with a mere 400 years in between the two when God is silent. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
In this series, Highway to Heaven, Michael Landon plays an angel who is on assignment on the earth to help people mend their lives. His sidekick is played by Victor French, who was Michael Landon's close friend. He played with him in the Little House on the Prairie series for many years, and then joined him in the next endeavor, both God-inspired, I feel. I know that the pasts of actors is often sullied and sordid, but God is in the business of redeeming us. Sometimes people are touched by God for His service at a very early life, as I was, but over the course of a lifetime, we go through so many troubles, and we often do not have the encouragement we need. As wonderful as both my parents and grandparents were while walking this life, they were not ready for a child like me. I know that now. I also know that God, in His mercy and grace, placed so many people in my path who influenced my life, both those who serve the Lord and those who had not yet decided to follow my amazing Jesus. But God is faithful, even when we are not, and He places opportunities before us. But just as the character Jonathan Smith, the angel in the series played by Michael Landon, was used by God in different situations, this series has had an effect on so many people who choose to see through eyes of grace. The series has covered racism, prejudice for those who are different whether culturally or who have a disability or who are disfigured in some way, a slow learner, those who are unwanted, abandoned, neglected, the elderly, religious persecution by the self-righteous pastors and lay people, plus a vast array of issues of life. Ugly, ugly issues of life. If only, we could truly know God, then we could serve Him better.
In taking some time away from actively praying or studying the word just to escape the war in the Middle East, Africa, and other locations, or the attacks I am personally experiencing in my life, as well as in the lives of my children, grandchildren, and great-granchildren and friends, I am intentional about how I spend my time. I needed to separate myself from the effects of the ongoing war in my life, so I could relax and hear from the Lord. I have felt like the little ball used in a game of ping-pong that is continuously being batted back and forth and out of bounds, landing in muck and mire, hastily drenched in a flood of water to clean the slop off of it to continue the game. But, it seems that regardless of what I see or listen to, or the people God places in my life in the most mundane times and places, He always has a message He wants me to share. And it is a warning that we as His called can never remain silent. This is the message I am trying to proclaim to the church, but for the most part, the message is being drowned out or deliberately ignored, because it doesn't fit the agenda or the message of the day. I don't understand how we all have a different message, when God is the same today, yesterday, and forever. He is about His Kingdom, not ours; His agenda, not ours; and His glory, not our own. We must hear the battle cry, before it hits home. Sadly, it already is hitting home in churches in the way of early deaths, tragedies, and multiple sicknesses. Some churches have called for prayer, some prayer with fasting, but not for the purpose of seeking God's voice, but for reasons of their own. All good things, but if we want revival and reformation, we must seek God's face.
How often in this television series I have heard the words "touch the face of God." Perhaps the series was prophetic in its own way, or maybe the actor wanted to atone for sins of his own. We often rally to causes that hit close to home, the problems we have overcome, or even still battle. But whatever the initial intention, the important thing is that the message is received and changes are made. The reason I felt called to pray for Michael Landon in the first place was the depth of the love, loss, and pain I could see in his eyes, portrayed in the characters he played or those of the other actors who played their part in the stories he wrote. What happened during his lifetime, I believe that God's hand was upon him, and his purpose in life was fulfilled. God calls us to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, strength and to love our neighbor as ourself. This is also our purpose. Let's touch the face of God today, every day, seeking His will and direction, being purposeful in every breath we take, every step we make. Selah.
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