Take My Pine.

The big tent was full, and the audience listened with eager attention to the fiery young evangelist, Glenn Coon. So convincing was his presentation that the local village priest in this Caribbean island, was afraid he would lose some of his members to the young evangelist. What was he to do? Finally he came up with a bright idea. The next Sunday morning he announced to his congregation, "There is a young man in town who is preaching heresy. As the members of my flock, you deserve all the help that I can give you. Therefore, each evening when it is time for his meeting to begin, I will have our church bell rung as a reminder for you to STAY HOME!"This marvelous idea should have solved his problem. However, it merely COMPOUNDED it! For each evening when the bell rang, his members would turn to one another and ask," What does this mean? Oh, yes, our good priest is reminding us about the tent meetings held by the young evangelist. Let us get ready, and go to the meeting!"So the story went around that the priest had become the sexton for the young evangelist. What was he to do now?

Now What?

He thought and he thought. Finally he came up with an idea. There was a superstition on this island that if anyone ate a pineapple and a lime at the same time, that it would kill them. The young evangelist seemed not to go along with local superstition, so why not dare the young man to challenge that idea? Perhaps the priest could kill him by this method.So he next announced to his congregation,"This young evangelist is challenging our ancient beliefs. In fact, he makes such a mockery of them, that he told me next Sunday night he plans to publicly demonstrate their falsity. He is going to eat a pineapple and a lime. Right there in front of the entire congregation! "The people gasped. But each one determined that he would attend that meeting. On the appointed night to a standing-room-only crowd, the young evangelist announced, "Superstition nothing more than that. We need to base, our beliefs on scripture instead. So, in order to prove the power of God”, he said, “I will now eat a pineapple and a lime at same time.”Just then, the priest burst in from the entry of the tent, crying, “Take MY pine Take MY pine!"

Unknown to anyone else he had laced the. pineapple with arsenic sufficient to kill SEVERAL people.The young evangelist did not know how to respond. But into his mind flashed the promise from Mark 16: 18. " They shall drink any deadly thing, and it shall not hurt them." Trusting that this referred also to things that were EATEN, the young man accepted the pineapple from the priest. Then in the presence of the entire audience, he ate the poisoned pineapple and the lime both at the same time. Then he calmly proceed to present the evening sermon.At the close of that series meetings, there were several hundred baptisms as a witness to the power of God!