ESTHER was a famous fire walker among the Hindu Indians living in South Africa.
While still in her teens, she began to practice fortune telling and sorcery. She made such a good living at it that she continued her practices after she was married, going deeper and deeper into the mysteries of the occult.
She found that when possessed by demons she could do amazing things. At times, while standing bore a great crowd, when the evil spirits entered her body, she would begin to writhe furiously and four men could scarcely restrain her.
Then barefoot she would walk across a shallow pit filled with red hot coals. The amazing thing was there were no burns or signs of injury on her feet afterward.
Her next act was to step onto shoe soles or sandals into which nails had been driven. The nails pierced the bottoms of her feet but she walked along unharmed and unconcerned, leading the crowd to the Hindu Temple where they would worship and praise the unseen spirits.
This went on for years and then one day her fourteen-year-old son stopped outside a Christian mission hall. He liked the singing that came from inside and going in he heard the words, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
Convicted of his sin and convinced of the power of Jesus to cleanse and save him, he opened his heart to Him and was wonderfully saved. His heart filled with joy and peace he went home to tell his pants and his sister. The little group of Christians who attended the mission began to pray for this family and soon they were all coming to the gospel services. God worked mightily in their souls and one after another accepted Christ as their Saviour, and all were baptized.
But Esther’s conversion aroused the hatred and fury of the enemy. Her conversion made a greater impact than her fire walking. Some of the priests threatened to kill her, but she fearlessly clung to her faith in Christ.
Those who looked for thrills searched in vain at the heathen festivals for the sight of her amazing activities. Esther now worships the true God. Her face displays the tender love of Christ and she tirelessly witnesses of her Saviour by distributing gospel tracts. No longer filled with the evil spirits, her body is now the dwelling place of the Spirit of God.
ML-11/24/1974