COINSIDENCE OR GOD'S "STAMP" OF APPROVAL?

Church of the Nazarene in Greencastle, Indiana

As she gathered stuff together in preparation for the departure for a new assignment, the young pastor's wife came across a container marked "Children's Ministry".  She sifted though things untouched for perhaps six or seven years and on the bottom of everything found an untouched page of postcard stamps.  As she held them in her hand, she remembered a recent local newspaper story about some rare stamps thought to have been circulated in the Greencastle, Indiana area.

As she looked more closely at the stamps in her hand she realized that the page of 100 stamps were a part of that batch printed in 1998 in anticipation of a price increase that never happened.  They had been immediately pulled from the market but some were never found.  Now she held them in her hand.  Stamps purchased by a Nazarene laymen, who sold them to the church to be used for sending out postcards.  Stamps that somehow were never used, never handled, never soiled; perfect rare stamps.

To make a long story short, this honest pastor's wife, turned the stamps over to the church officials who eventually sold them for over $300,000!  The monies were invested in gold....gold prices soared....and before you knew it the church was worshiping in a brand new Worship Center that had only been a dream for so long.

But think about it for a moment.  A church had been praying about how they could afford to finish a building program started in 1979.  A misstep by the federal government in 1998.  A Nazarene laymen buying discount stamps and giving them to the church.  Stamps being forgotten and untouched for all those years until 2006.  A newspaper story about the possible existence of the stamps.  A pastor's wife happening to see the story just days before uncovering the stamps.  Does anyone else see the hand of God or is it just me?


Today the Greencastle Church of the Nazarene worships in a beautiful new sanctuary that they fully believe God provided.  It took some time, but their prayers were answered.  God's timing is always perfect.  Let us always trust in His wisdom and keep our eyes open for the miraculous!  To God  be the glory, great things He has done.

To God be the glory, great things He "is" doing.  To God be the glory, great things He has yet to do.