THE SANTA FE HILTON THE
BEAR
HEARING
GOD
TRUST
GOD'S GIVING
MONEY NO MORE
MONEY HILTON
HOTEL
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In the summer of 1985, Dee and I were on our way home to Oklahoma City from a conference we had attended in Denver. As we came close to Walsenburg, Colorado, it seemed to both of us that we should make an intermediate stop. After asking the Lord where we should go, we both felt like Santa Fe, NM, was the place. A major obstacle however, was money. We had less than $30 cash, no money in our checking account, a gas credit card and a Hilton Credit Card from years past that was still in date. After arriving in Santa Fe we checked the rates at the Hilton and they definitely were out of our range. Back in the car we talked about sleeping in the car. We could spend the night parked on the town square. The lighting would give us a measure of security in the car. Asking direction from the Holy Spirit, Dee randomly opened the Bible, and just began reading. It happened to be Judges 19:20 -- AND THE OLD MAN SAID, "PEACE TO YOU. ONLY LET ME TAKE CARE OF ALL YOUR NEEDS; HOWEVER, DO NOT SPEND THE NIGHT IN THE OPEN SQUARE." Dee's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. After moments of silently looking at one another, I said, "Let's go check in." The Spirit of God gave us confidence to spend the next two nights at the Hilton in Santa Fe. He had a plan for us! The next day we stayed alert; expecting God to use us. That afternoon we were just relaxing in the room on the second floor; I was reading my Bible. I was lying on the bed, Dee sat in a chair facing a small open patio door that overlooked the back parking area. Suddenly he startled me, as he jumped up and bounded to the patio door and proclaimed, "We need to talk to the person who just drove up in a white car." But the person had quickly moved toward the hotel and was already inside. We knew that God would make the connection if it was truly of Him. Fifteen minutes later a tall woman dressed in a white top and white slacks walked quickly toward her car. There was a small Christian symbol on the back bumper. Without hesitation Dee called out to her, " Hello, are you a Believer?" A smile was on her face when she turned around. Dee continued, "I believe God wants us to talk. Can we come down or do you want to come up here?" She replied, with a wide smile on her face, "I'll come up, what is your room number?" Cindy was a 22 year old correctional officer from Tucson, AZ.. She was visiting her sister in Santa Fe, seeking God's will during a difficult time in life. We visited in the room, then went to our car and drove around Santa Fe. Later we had a cup of coffee at a mall cafeteria. We spent about four hours together. We knew God had made this connection. She blessed us and I believe we blessed her too. She was planning to move to Santa Fe and possibly leave her husband. We talked about things of God. Looking back later, we could see how God used us to show His love to Cindy. We had not beat her up with scriptures about divorce. I believe she was convinced that God was there with us. And in His presence good things happen. Later God did provide the money to pay for the Hilton room. It came from three people who had never given gifts to the ministry, all within a week after we arrived home. About a month passed and Cindy wrote to tell us that she had decided to stay in Tucson and work things out with her husband. She explained how God had re-ordered her priorities, which had been God, Church Activities, Husband. Her husband was a rather nominal church person and that had bothered her. But now her priorities were God, Husband, then church activities. Oh how God cares for each one of us. Our faith in hearing God's voice increased and Cindy too was brought closer to Him. Practice...Practice...Practice… God wants to lead us by His Holy Spirit. I encourage you to listen, trust and obey. By Margaret Stribling
He has made us competent
as ministers of a new covenant-- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for
the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
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