Skip to main content

A Milestone

At Tim Challies' blog today, he observed that today is the 60th anniversary of the martyrdom of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, and Pete Fleming.  These five young men were attempting to reach the Auca natives in order to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.  The wives of Elliot and Saint would return to the jungle and complete the work that their husbands began. 

A friend of mine has stood on the beach where these men were murdered.  The most startling thing about his story was that he stood there with one of the natives who helped commit those murders.  The murderer was now an elder in the local church, and my friend, a missionary, was there to help in a Bible Institute program that was being held among Aucas. 

It makes me wonder.  Would I be willing to lay down my life that others might come to know Jesus?  Would I be willing to be murdered so that my killer would come to serve the King of kings and Lord of lords?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Families' Fridays

Starting a Family Devotion Time by Michael Kelley I haven’t always been a family devotion guy. It’s not because I didn’t want or aspire to be, I honestly did. But we went a long time as a family before pulling the trigger and trying to integrate this practice into the regular rhythm of our family life.  We’ve been doing morning devotions together for about five years now – long enough to where our kids expect that we will. It’s a long road, as are most things with young children I’m finding out. Though revival doesn’t break out every morning over eggs and toast, our continued hope and prayer is that times like these build into the love and discipline our children will have in the future when it comes to God’s Word.  Through those five years, we’ve tried different things, failed at a bunch, and have learned some things along the way. So, as encouragement to those of you just starting out or maybe some affirmation for those of you already in ...

Oops!

I can be a real klutz.  I have very few manual skills and I never grew out of the "tripping over my own feet" stage of life.  I have fumbled and dropped more than my fair share of balls. In other words, "oops" has been a regular part of my vocabulary. It is not only in the physical world that I have fumbled things.  I have messed up relationships.  I have prejudged people before ever getting to know them.  I have used and abused those who love me most in this world.  I have failed and sinned my way into more than one tight corner and created untold disasters.  Oops is not even sufficient for the ways that I have blown it. Perhaps that is why something Paul, our worship leader last Sunday, said resonated so deeply with me this week.  He said "Oops is never said in heaven."  Our God never is clumsy.  He never makes mistakes. His plans never go belly-up.  He never fails.  He never ever has to say oops - and that comforts me.

The Incarnation

This Christmas I have been contemplating a passage that I have never heard preached at Christmas.  It is Hebrews 2:14-18. 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.   Although there is no baby in swaddling clothes in these verses, they powerfully describe the work of the incarnation - of God becoming man.  Christ came to share ou...