Devotional Blog - Monday, January 16th

Daily Devotional for Monday, January 16th

Simon the Sorcerer

“We sat at the table across from him. He was dressed in black, very sharp and his company seemed more attentive to him than what would have been common, as though he was an important leader. As was our custom, when dinner was delivered to the table, we held hands and quietly prayed, however in the course of our simple prayer a commotion was heard. The smartly dressed young man collapsed on the floor, falling from his chair in an apparent seizure. Obviously, the occurrence created great alarm in the dining hall.”—Memoirs of a Missionary, Glen Knight

A local radio station acclaimed him “The Modern Messiah.” He apparently had something of a following in our city at the time, having come for a prophetic conference among his cult devotees. This Chinese evangelist whose name I never could pronounce or even remember, was the same young man with whom our paths had crossed the night before. Following his evacuation by the emergency medical personnel, I made my way to the hospital to check on him, having no idea of his notoriety. As he lay on the bed in the ER, his disheveled appearance was altogether different. I spoke with him of Jesus. He turned away toward the wall, silent. Offering to pray with him, he only waved me off. So, at that, I turned to go out when he finally spoke saying, “I will see you again.” My reply, “Perhaps.” But we never saw each other again. He left the city and his meeting fell through.