The young woman looked up at him in surprise. When she saw Sam and realized he was the assistant pastor, her face flushed. “Sorry Sir, I was just praying.”
Sam looked at her. She had striking green eyes. Not the most common eye color in black women, but it gave her a mysterious look. Her long hair, with lots of strands densely packed together, hung in tight corkscrew curls down her face. She cast him a fresh, innocent smile.
“Are you always praying in here? This is the church library.”
The young woman got up. “It was quiet. There was nobody here, so I thought…Was I wrong to pray here?”
Sam smiled. “No, of course not, but it seems to me there are more private places where you can pray.”
She nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
“You come here often?”
“Every day,” she said with a grand smile. “There’s so much to study and read and it’s always so quiet here.”
Sam agreed. “Are you working here? I have never seen you before.”
“I have seen you,” she blushed. “I heard you the other day when you spoke about the need for holy living. It was a good sermon. But to answer your question, yes, I do work at the church. I am in charge of the choir.”
“The choir? So you can sing?”
“Singing is my passion, pastor.”
Sam smiled. She knew who he was and called him pastor. He liked her already. “What’s your name?”
“My name is Precious, Pastor.”
“Sing for me, Precious.”
“W-What here? In the library? What if somebody comes in?”
Sam shook his head. “We’re not doing anything sinful. Just sing me a hymn. I want to hear your voice.”
Precious swallowed and sat down on the chair. Then she closed her eyes and started to sing.
I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be. *
Sam’s jaw dropped. Her rich, melodious voice filled the library with a touch of heaven. As the beautiful music escaped her lips and entered the core of Sam’s being it felt as if he was transported to another world. Her singing was a true testimony of a better world, a world without pain and sin, a world of hope and for a short moment he realized again why he had wanted to become a pastor.
He looked at Precious, as she forced the last tones out of her lungs, her eyes still closed in adoration to the Savior. When she opened her eyes again her dark skin shone with vigor, and she gave him a faint smile.
“It’s my favorite hymn,” she just said.
“That was…beautiful,” Sam said. “How come I didn’t hear you in the service?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you just didn’t notice it. But I am glad you liked my singing.”
“Liked it? I loved it.” Sam said. “What else do you like to do besides singing?”
Precious bit her lips. “When I am not singing, I like to read books about God and I pray for people.”
“Pray?” Sam raised his eyebrows. “You mean you pray all the time, just like I found you here?”
Precious looked up. “I believe it is God’s work to make good people out of bad people. That can only be done through prayer and by prayer.”
Sam nodded. “Well, I guess you’re right.” It seemed a bit extreme to be praying all the time. Prayer was a good thing, especially for people who didn’t know much about God, but you shouldn’t join the ranks of the fanatics. But, he had to admit, this girl was special. She could sing like an angel and was stunningly beautiful.
As he looked at her, another thought struck him.
She would make a good wife.
He could easily love this girl and he needed a wife. After all, he wanted to become the pastor. It was worth a try.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?”
“Dinner?” She turned a little red. “But you are the assistant pastor.”
“So?” Sam answered and smiled. “Assistant pastors need to eat too. I would be honored to have your company.”
Precious smiled back, “All right then. It’s me who feels honored.”
“Great,” Sam said, “Tonight? I’ll pick you up by the church at seven.”
Precious nodded in agreement and Sam looked at his watch. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to study and prepare for my Wednesday night sermon.” He frowned and said, “It’s a tough subject. I am supposed to speak about guile and deception in the life of sinners; a serious problem that we need to deal with.”
Precious nodded. “I’ll be praying for you, Pastor. And I am looking forward to tonight.”
*
Sam Jackson was quite a good looking charmer with his stylish dreadlocks and muscled body and he had expected to sweep Precious off her feet with his dashing manners. He was certain she would be overjoyed when he presented her with the idea of marriage.
But she shook her head when he proposed and said she wanted to pray about it.
What? What’s there to pray about? Her words angered him. Didn’t she know what a great opportunity he was offering her?
“I like you, Sam,” she told him. “But marriage is not a step to be taken lightly and I want to know what God thinks about it. After all, we’ve only known each other a few months.”
Sam wanted to argue with her. Of course, God wanted them to marry. It would make him the pastor of the church and he needed a wife that could sing and bring heaven down in his meetings. But he swallowed his frustration and said, “Sure, Precious. That is a good thing to do.”
Chapter 3
Behind Every Great Man
BEHIND EVERY GREAT man there’s a great woman
“Sweet Jesus…please tell me what I am supposed to do.”
Precious was kneeling before her bed and poured out her heart before the Lord in prayer. “Am I supposed to marry assistant pastor Sam Jackson, Lord? What do You think?”
She liked Sam Jackson. He could preach like the best. He knew how to weave well-informed sermons together. Always ready with the right jokes in the right places and he spoke with vigor and eloquence. He was handsome too. His muscled body was, she had to admit, very attractive and she adored his long flowing dreadlocks.
“It was prophesied, that I should not cut my hair,” he had told her when she had asked him about it. “Kind of like Samson in the Bible. I am supposed to be a special instrument in the hands of God too, just like Samson.”
Precious had raised her eyebrows. It sounded a bit smug. But then again, who was she to question the ways of the Lord? And if they would marry he would become the Pastor of their church. In that way they could do a lot of good for this sin-sick world.
Still there was something about him that held her back. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about his demeanor was not clear. Maybe they should spend more time together and not marry so soon?
But Precious was a sensitive soul and her heart’s desire had always been ‘Not my will, but Thine be done,’ and she had learned long ago that the only solution to any problem was to bring it before the throne of Grace in genuine prayer and to listen quietly to hear if God would have something to say.
In order to properly approach the Heavenly Father she usually sang some hymns and today it had been no different. “It prepares the ground of my heart,” she told Sam. “I sing until I have the reassurance of God’s presence. Then I am ready to pour out my heart and I commune with the Father.”
Sam had nodded while he curved his lips. “Sure, honey. Sounds lovely.” He never sang. He didn’t need to. Besides, he could better spend his time preparing sermons and figure out ways to expand the church.
And so Precious poured out her heart before God. “Speak, dear Lord.
Help me to be like young Samuel, who said, Speak Lord, Thy servant is listening.
And as Precious became still and basked in the presence of God she had a vision. She saw a man. But who was that? She did not recognize him and it certainly wasn’t assistant pastor Sam. He was dressed like an old Israelite and he was preaching…
Then she knew who it was. It was the prophet, Hosea.
Hosea? Why would she receive a picture of a prophet of the Old Testament? Instantly a Bible passage came to mind.
Go and marry a promiscuous wife and have children of promiscuity, for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity by abandoning the LORD. *
What a strange verse. And not very positive either. Precious started to cry. “Lord what does that mean?” she sobbed. Go and marry the promiscuous wife? “I must not have heard you right, Lord. I just wanted to know if I should marry Sam Jackson.”
Another verse of scripture welled up in her heart. She knew that verse well, but it came to her slightly different than the way it was written in the scriptures. It was very clear.
Sam, Sam, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail. When you have come back, you must strengthen your brothers.*
What did that mean?
Precious pondered the scripture verses she had just received. After some time the mist started to clear. And then, in one flash of revelation, it all became clear and she understood what God said. She was stunned.
Could it be…? Had she heard right? But she felt the Lord so comfortingly close and she knew the Lord had spoken. The message was clear and Precious lifted her hands to the heavens and started to praise God. “God, how great you are. How wonderful it is to serve You.”
God had spoken and to Precious it was crystal clear that God wanted her to marry Sam. He was special and the prophecy that Sam was so fond of quoting had been a special prophecy. But he was not yet ready for the work God wanted him to do. His time for greatness had not yet come. He would first have to be greatly tested. He needed to be formed and be remade in the hands of the Potter and to ensure that that would happen she…she was to be his prayer warrior. She was to serve God with her prayers for this man. Satan desired to have Samson in order to hinder the great task that God wanted to place on his shoulders. She needed to hold this man up in prayer, no matter what the future would bring and help him to find his true calling.
It was clear to Precious that it was going to be tough. She would have to sacrifice, so that Satan would not gain the victory and God’s Kingdom would win in the end.
What a marvelous answer to her prayer and her heart filled with joy and thanksgiving. “God…here I am,” she whispered. “I am ready.”
*
When Precious told Sam the next day that she had prayed and that God had told her she was to marry him, he was pleased. “That’s a good decision,” he said with a smile. “Did God say anything in particular?”
Precious nodded. “He did.”
“What did He say?”
“He said you were a special instrument; just like it had been prophesied of you.” But the part about Satan trying to sift him as wheat and the part about Hosea, she kept to herself. He would not be able to receive it.
Another smile crossed over Sam’s face. “I knew it, Precious. I told you I am special. We’re gonna have a wonderful time together.”
He played with his dreadlocks and thought for a while. Then he said, “In that case, let’s make our engagement official, so we can marry right away.”
Precious sighed. Dear Lord…Help me to be faithful to you in this difficult job you have given me.
* From the hymn ‘Just A Closer Walk With Thee’
* Hosea 1:2
* Lukas 22:31-32
Chapter 4
Pride
PRIDE IS AT the bottom of all great mistakes.
“And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.”
Judges 14:1
From: Abraxas
To: Boghule
Boghule, the time for action has come.
Unleash the powers of hell. Use all the skills you have acquired over the ages to stumble this man. His own sins have sufficiently weakened him and he is now ready for a ride he will not easily forget. Work on his pride. Shower him with greed and deceive him with the deceitfulness of riches. Ridicule the plans of the ‘One whose name we dare not speak,’ and advance the cause of our great Master. Great shall be your reward in the Netherworld. We accept nothing but victory, but we believe you won’t have a very difficult time with this dunderhead. Make haste and play the devil with him.
In the name of our great Master.
Yours
Abraxas
Sam shifted his chair back to his desk and looked at the open finance book again. Finances were tight and that was a problem. How could he properly run this church if he didn’t have the means to do a good job? It was so frustrating.
The church had grown since he had been the pastor from a mere 300 members on Sunday to 700, but that was not nearly enough. After all, if he was truly a special instrument chosen by God, he should be running one of the biggest churches in the country.
He had often talked about it with Precious.
“We’re not growing enough,” he said. His dreadlocks bounced up and down as he paced through the room. “If we don’t grow, we don’t have the income and we won’t succeed. It’s just a vicious cycle.”
Precious had reminded him that numbers don’t mean quality. “Remember the story of Gideon,” she said. “He sent most of his men home when he was facing the enemy. He only kept the 300 faithful soldiers God could really trust. He was hopelessly outnumbered but still completely defeated the Midianites. One man with God is more than a majority.”
Sam shook his head. Precious always saw the positive, but she really didn’t understand the complexity of running a big church. Imagine he would keep only 300 men? What kind of pastor would he be? Of course, she also managed to remind him again of the need to spend more time in prayer.
Sam sighed.
Precious meant well but if he would spend all that much time in prayer there wouldn’t be any time left for the real work. Of course, she was a good influence on him. Her singing was gorgeous and always calmed down his ruffled nerves. But the honest truth was that she was too heavenly minded. She wanted children too, but he had stood his ground. “No kids, Precious. We are not ready. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.”
She had still managed to mumble something about that. “But, Samson…children are God’s Kingdom.” But he had just acted as if he hadn’t heard her. No children! They first needed a bigger church, better income and much more influence. Then kids could be considered.
He grinned when he was thinking again about the joke a fellow pastor had told him. “My wife,” he said, “is always up in the air about something and never has an earthly thing to wear.”
He had laughed heartily. That was Precious all right. Always talking about praying and seeking God for help. But when it came to doing something practical she never knew what to do.
Take the Worship services for example. In order to attract the youth, they needed a good Christian rock band with a famous name. Preferably even a different one every two weeks or so. That’s what Trinity Light Church had done. When they hired the famous band Roaming Cain the church had been packed and had become much more popular overnight. People had been flocking outside the church to watch the worship service on a big screen. And the collection had been fantastic. But when Precious heard about the name of the band she had looked doubtful. “Roaming who? Are these folks really the tools God needs?”
She just didn’t understand.
But even if he wanted to, he couldn’t hire such a band because they asked a phenomenal fee. Famous pastors were expensive too. Sam gnashed his teeth.
Money, money, money. Where can I get it? Money was the only way to get th
is church to be the church he wanted it to be. He lifted up his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. “God! I need money. Lots of it.”
The buzzer on his desk sounded and when he pushed the ‘on’ button, the voice of Annie, his secretary, came over the intercom.
“Pastor Jackson? Madeleine Stone is here. Shall I send her in?”
Madeleine Stone? The banker’s wife? He pushed the answer button. “Sure, Annie. Let her in.”
*
“Mrs.Stone,” Sam said as he got up out of his chair. “So nice to see you. Please sit down.”
As Madeleine Stone pulled out the leather visitor’s chair and lowered her slender body in the comfortable seat she looked up at Sam and smiled.
“Your sermon, Pastor, was excellent. Just excellent.” She readjusted her position and swung one leg over the other. Her reds lips curved into a smile as she cast an encouraging look at Sam with her lovely blue eyes.
Sam was pleased. It was always good to hear how his words had made an impact, although he couldn’t remember having seen either Madeleine or her husband.
“It was as if your words were chosen especially for me,” she went on. “I was impressed.” Her deep voice sounded like the soft flowing waters in a cave that needed to be explored and Sam concluded he was impressed as well.
She placed her leather handbag on the desk in front of her. “You’re an anointed man of God, Pastor.” She ran her hand through her long blond curls as she waited for Sam’s response.
Sam smiled. Madeleine and Bert Stone occasionally came to the worship service and Sam was always glad to see them. Bert was a banker and bankers needed to be treasured.
“I am glad the sermon was to your liking. But what can I do for you?”
Madeleine swallowed and lowered her eyes. For a while, she did not speak and Sam could clearly hear the ticking of his grand wall clock above the door.
“It’s Bert,” she whispered.
“Bert? What about him?”
Madeleine glanced up again. Her eyes were no longer smiling but held a deep sadness. “I suspect he is having an affair.”
Pastor Samson's Secret Sins: The Story Of A Strong Man of God With A Weakness For Women Page 2
