W W W . S A I N T E R S E C T I O N . O R G
S E P T E M B E R 2 O 1 4
�
3
away from his money table, where something incredible
happened. Inside the house is Jesus, teaching a quickly-
growing crowd of listeners. The crowd amasses so
large that the number spills out onto the street,
and probably within touching distance of
Matthew and his money.
Then, within plain sight of Matthew, four
men are spotted carrying a stretcher upon
which a paralyzed man is helplessly laid.
They want to get into the house so Jesus
can heal their friend, but the crowd is too
great. Determined, the four men climb onto
the house's roof, clearing a hole through
which they can lower the paralytic.
Matthew had to have seen all that. His
"toll booth" was no more than a few yards
away, and certainly within earshot of all
that was being said. He could even hear
Jesus teaching inside, clear as day.
I can only imagine what was going on
in Matthew's mind when he heard Jesus
forgiving the paralytic--then healing him!
How his attention must have perked up as
he heard the words from Christ's lips he so
longed to hear: "Friend, your sins are
forgiven you." Jesus had just granted a forlorn quad-
riplegic the very thing Matthew's own soul craved--forgive-
ness, cleansing, and justifi cation.
Could this Healer be the Messiah?
It was certainly obvious to Matthew
that this carpenter-turned-preacher
had the authority to speak for God.
Clearly, Matthew was being drawn
to faith--because of the astounding
things he had seen--mere moments
before Jesus walked by, stopped in front
of Matthew's stall, and spoke two
words that transformed his life.
"Follow Me."
No wonder Matthew's response
was so immediate. No wonder he
could leave behind a life he came
to loathe; to follow a Savior he
came to love!
Disciple
Prayer is a vital component of family life for the Maynors. They relied
heavily on conversation with God during a time of extreme grief over the
miscarriage of the family's third child a few months ago.
"The morning of my checkup with my doctor, we had no idea that
anything was wrong," Captain Pamela said. "As usual, I asked Chayse to
pray for Mommy and the baby.
"Chayse thought a moment and then said to me, `The baby needs a
name before I can pray.' I reminded her that we didn't know the gender of
the baby yet, because we wanted to be surprised. She paused briefl y and
then said, `the baby's name is Emily. Her prayer was a simple one. `
Dear Jesus, help Emily to sleep well. And thank you for the name, Emily!'"
That afternoon the Maynor family
received the unthinkable news that
the baby's heart had stopped. A week later
they discovered that their baby was, indeed
a little girl. They named her Emily.
"We are fi nding great comfort in the
fact that Emily is asleep in Jesus and that
He's watching over her," Captain Keith says.
"And the four of us know we will see Emily
again one day!"
Married since January 2005, the Maynors
have made a conscious decision to follow the
Lord's will for their lives in every respect.
"I want our children to know God in all
His fullness. No greater honor...no greater
privilege, than to raise our children to know
God," Captain Pamela says.
Pamela and Keith need only look to the
example given to them by their own parents,
who both put a premium on raising their children
in a Christ-centered home. Pamela's parents are
Commissioners Trevor & Memory Tuck, retired
Salvation Army offi cers in South Africa. Keith is
the son of Lt. Colonels Kenneth & Cheryl Maynor,
who currently serve at the USA Eastern Territorial Headquarters.
Both Pamela and Keith accepted the Lord as Savior in childhood--but
Pamela's story is particularly touching.
When she was only four years old, her sister, Sharon, 10, was reading to
her about the crucifi xion of Jesus. Sharon began to cry during the story, and
Pamela, not understanding why her older sister was crying, asked her why.
"She said to me, `This is not just a story--Jesus really did do this, for you!'"
At that moment, little Pamela wanted Jesus to be her Savior, too.
Pamela unexpectedly enjoyed the same privilege of leading daughter
Chayse to a young knowledge of Jesus.
"We were reading about Jesus calming the storm, and I told her that with
Jesus in our hearts we don't have to be afraid," she says. "Chayse then told
me that she doesn't want to be afraid--ever--so she wanted to have Jesus
come into her heart!"
Captains Keith & Pamela are now on the staff at the USA National
Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. He serves in the Program Department
as National Consultant for the Young Adult Initiative, while she works in
Publications as the new editor of Young Salvationist magazine.
Acquiring parenting skills is still a work-in-progress for Keith and Pam,
but it is infi nitely attainable by the simple truth they convey to their girls
about dependence upon Jesus for all things.
eet,
quad-
n q
,
p
y
H
"
a
h
Lo
Hi
pr
Go
exa
wh
in a
Com
Salv
the s
Meet Captains
Keith & Pamela
Maynor
continued
iRony