General Evangeline Booth — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

You might be aware of my connection and association with the Salvation Army now for a number of years, and there’s a marvellous story that’s shared by one of the international leaders of the Salvation Army going back quite a number of years, and I’m talking about General Evangeline Booth.

It began on a wet, dreary night in London, England. Nothing unusual about that, I guess, but Evangeline stood outside the courtyard of a prison.

And she was waiting for the prisoners to appear and among them came out was a woman with what she thought were wild eyes and had matted hair and very ragged looking clothing that was bloodstained, and she was screaming and resisting arrest, so it took apparently several policemen quite a bit of energy to restrain her. But feeling compelled to reach out to this woman who was quite disturbed with the love of Christ, General Evangeline Booth explained what happened.

What could I do? she said. What could I offer? Could I offer prayer? There wasn’t any time for that. Could I give her some money? She couldn’t take it. Could I sing to this woman? That would be absurd, she said. It was just the moment. There was a divine opportunity to do something. What was I going to do? So I stepped forward and kissed her, and in the instant that she did that, this wild woman pulled away from the grip of the policeman, and she put her hands to her face and cried, Who kissed me? No one has kissed me since my mother died, and as they escorted her away, she turned her head to try and get a look at the Salvation Army officer who had shown her such a great affection.

Now Evangeline Booth was unable to get this picture of the woman, the distraught, upset woman out of her mind. She thought about it at night, and the next day she went back to the prison to try and visit the woman. And as she arrived, the warden said to the general, to General Evangeline Booth – Well, look, we think the woman has lost her mind because the only thing she does is ask, Do you know who kissed me?

So Evangeline Booth entered the woman’s cell and sat with her and informed her that she was the person the previous day who had kissed her. Now the woman was overcome with emotion, and she told Evangeline Booth the story that she’d come from an impoverished family. She was orphaned at a young age. And when she was a child, her dying mother had taken her little face in her hands, kissed her and comforted her with some kind words. So what had happened was that General Booth’s kiss had triggered the memories.

Life, of course, was very tough for this person, but in that day behind the bars of a prison, General Booth introduced this woman to Jesus Christ, the one who would set her free from the spiritual bondage, bringing new hope. So the woman’s peace was restored. Her life was transformed, and do you know that later on she became instrumental in introducing others to Jesus.

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Now why I’m telling you that story is that there’s something very similar about another woman, Mary Magdalene, the woman who was also in big trouble.

She was a woman of high standing and comfortable circumstances, but she was considered by many to be demon possessed, or today we would say that she had some mental disorder. But her peace of mind and self-control were destroyed, and so she must have looked a probably a fairly frightening woman.

But when Jesus looked at the woman and as he saw this woman cringing, this Mary of Magdalene, he saw in her the ministering angel who would eventually bring a blessing to his own heart, and you can read about that in Luke chapter 8. So he demanded the tormenting demons to come out of this woman, and then suddenly she became quiet and calm, and Jesus had often calmed the troubled water at the Sea of Galilee, but here was this lady who was calm by Jesus’ gaze and speaking.

So her sanity was restored. She became the beautiful person that God intended her to be, and eventually Mary Magdalene would become one of the most devoted women, who became a disciple of Jesus. So here it is, Jesus bringing peace of mind to those who were bowed down in bondage. So I think the story of Evangeline Booth has a great story there.

Let’s Pray

Jesus, Prince of Peace, who can help you, we pray, Lord, that our faith will not fail today. Lord, when we come across some difficult situations, I pray that You’ll be our strength, help us to realise that we need to see what is important. Set our sights on you, Lord, because in you are lasting values, and you give us life and meaning. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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