(Rest of Story)

 

We lived on the mountain for 7 years at the time and for 7 more years afterward.  I never saw a pigeon near our property before nor after that day.  The moral of this story is God’s Word says “For all the promises of God are yes, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” 2 Cor 1:20 KJV.  If God has ever made a promise to you and it seems like He has not yet answered, He will.  

"For God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus..” 

(Heb. 6:17-20) 

Bible Names that Capture the Character of God:

Many times, Biblical names were given to describe the character of the person or to indicate current events.  For each story, we've chosen a Bible Name we believe corresponds to the event that occurred in our lives.  In this case:

 

Jehosheba ---Jehovah Swore And Will Complete

3089. יְהוׄשֶׁבַע yehôšebaʼ, yeh-ho-sheh'-bah;  From 3068 and 7650; Jehovah-sworn; 7650. שָׁבַע šābaʼ, shaw-bah' A primitive root; properly to be complete, but used only as a denominative from 7651; to seven oneself, that is, swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times)

The Pigeon of Promise

On April 20, 2010 I (Ron) woke up around 5am in a panic.  I lay there for a few minutes concerned about the thoughts running through my mind.  Finally, I thought to myself, “enough of this!” I got up and went outside (at the time, we lived in the mountains in Yankee Hill, California on 9 ½ acres).  Walking to the parking area in front of our house, I saw a bird with a white belly hovering in an oval pattern over one side of our property.  Suddenly, it flew to the roof peak of our house, sat there for a few minutes and then floated down.  The bird (a pigeon) landed about 10 feet from me and began walking toward me in a semi-circle fashion, getting closer and closer until it was about 3 feet away.  I thought to myself, “ok little messenger of God, what are you trying to say?” I tried to spook the bird, but it wouldn’t fly away.  So, I went into the house to get my phone so I could take pictures of it.  When I came back out the pigeon was on the roof again.  Seeing me, it floated down, landed on the roof of our Jeep, and began to clean itself and walk around.  I thought maybe I could touch it.  But as I reached my hand towards the bird it scampered away.  This happened a number of times.  Then all of a sudden, it stood still and let me stroke its back (see video).  When I touched the pigeon, it lowered itself and allowed me to continue stroking it.  When I pulled my hand away, it immediately raised itself up.  I thought, “perhaps it will let me get closer to its neck.” As I reached towards the pigeon, it once again “humbled” itself, allowing me to stroke from its neck down its back. [Days later God reminded me of this scene and said, “if you want My touch on your life like you touched that bird, then the posture of your heart must be the same as the posture of the pigeon.”]  

Overwhelmed with the pigeon’s reaction, I went inside the house to search the Bible Concordance for the first mention of pigeon in God’s Word.  To my surprise, the initial time is in connection with the promises and covenant God made to Abram (Genesis 15).  As I pondered this the Holy Spirit said, “every time you tell this story remind My people that I am the God Who keeps His promise.”  I went back outside to see if the pigeon was still there and found it hovering in the same oval pattern, but over the other side of the property.  Immediately, the bird flew at top speed directly east.  Since we lived in the mountains I could see for miles as the pigeon grew smaller and smaller until it eventually disappeared from sight.  I returned to the house to bask in the Presence of the Holy Spirit, rejoicing at being reminded that Jehovah is a God Who keeps His promise.  A little while later I went outside again, looked up and discovered the bird was once again perched on the peak of the roof.  It lighted off the roof, floated directly toward me and landed on my right shoulder. 

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