THINK ON THESE THINGS - SUNDAY

GENELLE GUZMAN-MCMILLAN
AT THE BROOKLYN TABERNACLE CHURCH

TWO TRUE MIRACLES:

GENELLE AND SIMEON

Consider this: You are the last person rescued from a collapsed building after you have been trapped for 27 hours, under concrete and steel under a stairwell. Then a hand reaches out and holds you for several minutes until three men show up to pull you out. This hand belongs to a man who was never at the scene of the rescue or a member of any staff!

Genelle Guzman-Mcmillan was coming down the stairs from the 64th floor of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 when the building collapsed around the 13th floor and 90 floors of concrete and steel fell on her, trapping her under that stairwell. Miraculously she was still breathing.


For 27 hours, no one knew she was there. Raised in a large family which went to mass on Sunday, yet a child of the clubs and party scene, she had put God on the top shelf - out of reach. Yet now, facing eternal loss and despair, Genelle knew enough of Where God was and His Power to save, to cry out to Him!


Rendered immobile and in unbelievable pain, Genelle prayed the following in order:
   Lord, let my body be found
   Lord, HELP ME
   Lord, send me a Miracle
   Lord, if you save me, I will get baptized and marry my boyfriend (with whom she was living in sin)!


At 12:30pm or so, on September 12, 2001, 27 hours after one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade center collapsed, Genelle felt this warm Hand grab her through the rubble and say "Genelle, I won't leave you"!!!!


Then the Voice told her to hold, because she will be alright as the rescuers were almost there to get her out! Not just that, but as the Hand held her, all the fear and pain from her body was gone...as she lay trapped under the dust, steel and concrete. The Voice said his name was Paul!


Minutes later, two New York firefighters with Canadian canine rescue specialist removed Genelle and rushed her through a gauntlet of applauding first responders to the ambulance. It was the most incredible scene as no one could believe there was a survivor in this unholy eerie scene!


All the firefighters and rescuers could be easily identifiable, but one person was foremost in Genelle's mind - PAUL! In this control rescue operation, not one person could be found with the Name of Paul! Years, later - the same story.


Genelle gave her life over to the Lord Jesus as Savior and then got baptized at the Brooklyn Tabernacle church (where the famous choir comes from). She has been telling the story of rescue and redemption, through the pain and surgeries and months of rehad ....and the annual pain on each successive 11th of September. Her story is not just of the Angel called "Paul" whom God sent to rescue her from the pit, but  of the God and His Christ, who is always there to never "Leave or Forsake you"!!!

That's His promise, my friends!


Consider this now: You are a very old man, faithful and true to the One Whose very Name is Faithful and True. Then one day, something happens which both stuns and confirms your faith, prayers and devotion to the One True God of Heaven.


This is the story we read every Christmas season of a wonderful old man named Simeon. He appears in the Bible for less than one chapter, but his prophetic words carry the impact and power of God and WHY He sent His Only Son - the Ancient of Days - as a baby to be born to this world.


Luke 2: 22-35 has the full account of this prayerful and faithful man of God, whom the Holy Spirit literally translated into the presence of Joseph and Mary as they brought the baby Jesus into the Temple in Jerusalem from Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary had walked the six miles from outside Bethlehem, just 8 days after Jesus was born so that the Law could be fulfilled and Jesus could be circumcized.

Simeon not only knew the Scriptures, but God knew His servant and wanted to both bless this man AND reveal the purpose of Christ, so that the Promise of Christ could be known to all generations and nations!


In essence, you will see in this amazing prophetic passage, God made the same promise to Simeon that the angel Paul made to Genelle, in the account above! Except this time, it was God the Father making the promise to Simeon that he (Simeon) would see the One Who will make that famous promise to all who believe in Him! This promise "I will never leave you nor forsake you" can be found throughout the bible. 


I recommend, as a bible study exercise, you start in Joshua 1:5 and see how many times...and where...God made this promise to His People.


As you read the following passage, which will be without comment, would you then search your own soul to see if YOU are really one of His people!


Search yourself to see if 'ye be in the faith'.  
Have you cried out to Him in the despair of your lost estate and confess and repent of your lifestyle so far, and then ask Him to save, help and rescue you? 
Are you prepared to follow through on any promises you make once He has sent Salvation to confirm your conversion, as Genelle did....(and she is now proclaiming Christ in books and on Christian TV).
Are you then prepared for an encounter with the Living God, if you life reflects this Conversion to Christ and to live and die as Simeon did?


If you are, you TRULY ARE walking in the Light of the Miracle of what occurred 2000 years ago, when a little Baby was born to a young girl, who has changed the world ever since!


Here is what Simeon said:

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

(Luke 2:29-35 ESV)

Bible used: English Standard Version, CROSSWAY Books (2001-2011)

Photo courtesy: www.whatreallyhappened.com