William Whiting Borden was born on November 1, 1887. Born into a millionaire’s family, his life was not that of a typical American boy. Both the Borden’s and the Whiting’s (his mother’s family) were wealthy and influential. His father made a fortune by investing in silver mining in Colorado. It was his mother, however, who gave him a spiritual foundation, for she had a heart for the Lord. While her family may have had money, she valued the things of God more. She was a very active member of the Chicago Avenue Church, now called, “Moody Memorial Church.”
In 1894, Dr. R.A. Torrey spoke on world missions at the Moody Church. At the end, he called for people to surrender their lives to missions. Of those who stood in response was 7 year old William Borden! He wore a little sailor’s outfit, but that day, he surrendered his young heart to the Lord to become a missionary.
He carried the desire for missions within him all the way up to graduation. He completed high school ranked 4th in his class of 48 boys. What was more remarkable is that he was only 16 years old. His family enrolled him into Yale University, but he was too young to attend. So, as a graduation gift, his parents sent him on a sailing trip around the world. Oh how God would use this in William’s life!
He left San Francisco on September 20, 1904. Aboard the S.S. Korea, were several missionary couples heading to Asia. These missionaries fueled the flame for the Gospel in William’s heart. Yet, there wouldn’t be anything like seeing it first-hand. He was devastated by the poverty he saw in China and India. He wrote to his parents, “I pray every day for my dear family, I also pray that God would take my life into His hands and use it for the furtherance of His kingdom as He sees best. I have so much of everything in this life, and there are so many millions who have nothing and live in darkness.”
Most didn’t understand his desire for missions. When he got home, a friend told him he was, “wasting his life becoming a missionary”. Rather than defending himself, he simply replied, “You have never seen heathenism.”His father expected William to become a business man in the families company. “I am glad that you have told father about my desire to become a missionary. I am thinking about it all the time and looking forward to it with a good deal of anticipation.” After reading Robert Speer’s book on missions, he wrote, “I knelt right down and prayed more earnestly than I have for some time for the mission work and for God’s plan for my life…pray that I may be guided in everything small and great.”
Throughout his college years, he engaged in all types of ministry. He established the Yale Hope Mission, a homeless shelter. He taught Sunday School in an African Methodist Episcopal Church and he donated an incredible $70,000.00 to different mission organizations.
On December 17, 1912, he set sail for Cairo, Egypt. He was going to study Arabic as well as the Muslim culture under Dr. Zwemer. He began feeling bad just before the Easter Season of 1913. He had cerebral meningitis. He died April 9, 1913 at age 26.
Dr. Zwemer said at William’s memorial service, “By some the victory has to be won over poverty…but Borden won the victory over an environment of wealth. He felt that life consisted not in, ‘in the abundance of things a man possesseth,’ but in the abundance of things which possess a man…Apart from faith in Christ, there is no explanation for such a life.”
In 2006 I led a team of 21 to Cairo. One of my goals was to show them the reality of Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
So we hired a tour guide to take us to the Cairo Museum, a fascinating place I could spend days in. We went through the King Tut exhibit, there I saw more gold, jewels and treasures my eyes have ever seen. After leaving the museum, we drove to the Old City district to a graveyard that simply read, “American Missionary Cemetery.”
I assure you, our tour guide was none too happy taking us to Old Cairo to search for a missionaries grave! But I just had to see it for myself! Finally, we found it. A huge concrete memorial over 6ft. covers his resting place with concrete railings on each side. An elderly lady who cared for the graves offered to wash it for us. A teenager on the team took some flowers and laid them on his grave.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a Scripture come to life like I did that day. To go from King Tut’s extravagant exhibit with all the wealth that young man possessed…to William Borden, a 26 year old missionary who died and left all his fortune to global missions. What’s the difference? You can go to Cairo and see all of King Tut’s wealth. You will have to wait for Heaven to see William’s treasure! Oh that you and I would live such a life that eternity will be our reward!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The Mighty Prayers of John Knox
John Knox was a trumpet in the hands of God. “One man with God is the majority” he would often say. Queen Bloody Mary said of him, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.” Even at his funeral, someone said, “Here is one who never feared the face of man.” The aim of this article is that you would gain a tremendous appreciation in the way God raised up a man named John Knox in which his impact is still felt to this day.
It’s difficult to understand the life and ministry of John Knox without realizing the world around him. Controversy and questions can surround the Reformers, but unless you take time to look into the times in which they lived, you will miss the weightiness of God’s call on these men as well as the significance of their legacy to the Church.
Knox was growing up in one of the most exciting periods of Church history, the Protestant Reformation. God had used Luther in Germany, Zwingli in Switzerland and Calvin in France, and while the Reformation was sweeping through mainland Europe, Scotland was yet to be awakened. However, God was about to raise up men as trumpets in Scotland that would proclaim the Gospel far and wide.
A young reformer named Patrick Hamilton (1504-1528) was touching Scotland with the doctrines of the Reformation. The Catholic Church burned him at the stake for it. Knox was only 15 years old and was impacted by this event. John Foxe tells the story of Patrick in his Acts and Monuments.
There isn’t much recorded about the early life of John Knox. What we do know is that he was ordained a Catholic Priest sometime between 1530-1540. Shortly after becoming a priest, he was converted to Protestantism by the friendship and preaching of George Wishart, probably the most influential Reformer in Scotland prior to Knox. Wishart also did the important work of translating the first Helvetic Confession for the English speaking world. George Wishart would pay a tremendous price for the Gospel to be preached. He was executed by being burned at the stake on March 1, 1546. Wishart was the single greatest influence in Knox’s life
In our day, to not be Catholic or Protestant can be a matter of preference. In the day in which Knox lived, it meant you would lose your life to not be Catholic, or at least to speak out openly and oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church. In saying this, maybe you will understand why this particular article mentions Catholicism so much.
The Catholic Church was more interested in preserving tradition above Scripture. Therefore, normal everyday people weren’t allowed to have Bibles. Only priest could read Bibles. Men like John Knox thought differently and risked their lives to see it changed. The Catholic Church taught Mass, Purgatory and making prayers to dead saints. They sold indulgences, literally “Salvation Certificates” for money. The Pope had the authority to release anyone from Purgatory, but would charge money to do so. For a better understanding of the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church in this period of history, see Martin Luther’s 95 thesis.
In 1547, Knox went to live with Protestants in the St. Andrew’s Castle. There were about 150 altogether. He would soon become their pastor. The Castle was attacked and overcome by French Catholics. Knox and his parishioners were taken hostage.
The French held Knox captive for 19 months living in horrendous conditions. His health was never the same after his arrest. Christians in England negotiated his release. The next phase of Knox’s life would be going to England rather than his beloved Scotland. He was used greatly by God to spread the Reformation in Engalnd.
His ministry in England was short lived when Queen Mary Tutor took the throne in 1553, it forced Knox to flee and take exile in Geneva, Switzerland. This was now the home city of John Calvin. The city of Geneva was a refuge for Protestants in Europe at this time. Many fled to Geneva as Queen Mary earned her infamous title, “Queen Bloody Mary” executing hundreds of Protestant Christians in the name of the Roman Catholic Church.
When God opened the door for Knox to visit with Queen Mary, he took the opportunity to boldly preach the Gospel to her. He spoke to the most powerful woman in the world about repentance and he did it with a Godly resolve. As I said earlier, Queen Mary is quoted as saying, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.”
It astounds me when I think of his courage. Could you imagine walking into the Queen’s court…the queen who is responsible for hundreds of murders and to preach repentance to her? Amazing! I believe he was a man who could say with the Apostle Paul, “…thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel” (Romans 15:20).
What about you? Is your Christian life marked by boldness? Are you courageous for Christ? For some of us, it’s hard to talk to our friends about salvation, let alone a blood-thirsty monarch. Will it one day be said of you, “Here is one who never feared the face of man?” I hope so! “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.” Romans 1:16
It’s difficult to understand the life and ministry of John Knox without realizing the world around him. Controversy and questions can surround the Reformers, but unless you take time to look into the times in which they lived, you will miss the weightiness of God’s call on these men as well as the significance of their legacy to the Church.
Knox was growing up in one of the most exciting periods of Church history, the Protestant Reformation. God had used Luther in Germany, Zwingli in Switzerland and Calvin in France, and while the Reformation was sweeping through mainland Europe, Scotland was yet to be awakened. However, God was about to raise up men as trumpets in Scotland that would proclaim the Gospel far and wide.
A young reformer named Patrick Hamilton (1504-1528) was touching Scotland with the doctrines of the Reformation. The Catholic Church burned him at the stake for it. Knox was only 15 years old and was impacted by this event. John Foxe tells the story of Patrick in his Acts and Monuments.
There isn’t much recorded about the early life of John Knox. What we do know is that he was ordained a Catholic Priest sometime between 1530-1540. Shortly after becoming a priest, he was converted to Protestantism by the friendship and preaching of George Wishart, probably the most influential Reformer in Scotland prior to Knox. Wishart also did the important work of translating the first Helvetic Confession for the English speaking world. George Wishart would pay a tremendous price for the Gospel to be preached. He was executed by being burned at the stake on March 1, 1546. Wishart was the single greatest influence in Knox’s life
In our day, to not be Catholic or Protestant can be a matter of preference. In the day in which Knox lived, it meant you would lose your life to not be Catholic, or at least to speak out openly and oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church. In saying this, maybe you will understand why this particular article mentions Catholicism so much.
The Catholic Church was more interested in preserving tradition above Scripture. Therefore, normal everyday people weren’t allowed to have Bibles. Only priest could read Bibles. Men like John Knox thought differently and risked their lives to see it changed. The Catholic Church taught Mass, Purgatory and making prayers to dead saints. They sold indulgences, literally “Salvation Certificates” for money. The Pope had the authority to release anyone from Purgatory, but would charge money to do so. For a better understanding of the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church in this period of history, see Martin Luther’s 95 thesis.
In 1547, Knox went to live with Protestants in the St. Andrew’s Castle. There were about 150 altogether. He would soon become their pastor. The Castle was attacked and overcome by French Catholics. Knox and his parishioners were taken hostage.
The French held Knox captive for 19 months living in horrendous conditions. His health was never the same after his arrest. Christians in England negotiated his release. The next phase of Knox’s life would be going to England rather than his beloved Scotland. He was used greatly by God to spread the Reformation in Engalnd.
His ministry in England was short lived when Queen Mary Tutor took the throne in 1553, it forced Knox to flee and take exile in Geneva, Switzerland. This was now the home city of John Calvin. The city of Geneva was a refuge for Protestants in Europe at this time. Many fled to Geneva as Queen Mary earned her infamous title, “Queen Bloody Mary” executing hundreds of Protestant Christians in the name of the Roman Catholic Church.
When God opened the door for Knox to visit with Queen Mary, he took the opportunity to boldly preach the Gospel to her. He spoke to the most powerful woman in the world about repentance and he did it with a Godly resolve. As I said earlier, Queen Mary is quoted as saying, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.”
It astounds me when I think of his courage. Could you imagine walking into the Queen’s court…the queen who is responsible for hundreds of murders and to preach repentance to her? Amazing! I believe he was a man who could say with the Apostle Paul, “…thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel” (Romans 15:20).
What about you? Is your Christian life marked by boldness? Are you courageous for Christ? For some of us, it’s hard to talk to our friends about salvation, let alone a blood-thirsty monarch. Will it one day be said of you, “Here is one who never feared the face of man?” I hope so! “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.” Romans 1:16
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Queen Bloody Mary & The Sovereignty of God
Mary I, Queen of England is known today as, “Queen Bloody Mary.” She single handedly murdered hundreds of Christians and ravaged the Church of England. You might wonder why we would take this column that is dedicated to men and women who glorified God with their lives…only to write about a wicked woman?
The answer is Isaiah 46:10. If you believe this Scripture, it will help interpret the way history unfolds. Think about this, had Mary been born a male…or even if a son had been born to King Henry VIII and Catherine to ascend to the throne then England’s history would have been completely different. So why does God allow certain events? Why was Queen Mary allowed to usurp the throne and execute such a bloody reign?
The answer is Isaiah 46:10! Now if you are a Deists who believes God is neither involved nor interested in the affairs of men then you won’t believe this Scripture. If you believe open theism thinking God Himself does not know the future…that God has left the future “open” to man’s choices to shape his destiny…well, then you probably won’t believe this Scripture either. For me, Isaiah 46:10 and others like it, shapes my thinking and feeling about God’s absolute sovereignty, His ultimate plans and the outcome of historic events.
So what does Isaiah 46:10 say? God is, “declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” Do you really believe this? Now, what does all this have to do with Queen Mary?
Her story begins with King Henry VIII falling in love with his brother’s wife, Catherine of Aragon. He cleverly devices a way to gain permission from the Pope to annual their marriage, allowing the King and Catherine to wed. Mary was the only child from this union to survive childhood. As time passed, King Henry began to doubt the validity of his marriage because it had failed to produce a male heir. So, through Cardinal Wosley, the trusted Catholic advisor to the King and Lord Chancellor of England, they requested for the marriage to Catherine of Aragon be annulled.
This was a huge problem for Rome. To say the marriage could be annulled would be admitting the first annulment was a mistake and that was a prideful assumption the Pope would not make. Infuriated, the King Henry arrested Cardinal Wosley and replaced him with Thomas Cramner, the author of The Book of Common Prayer.
This was a turning point in history, for it was Thomas Cramner and Thomas Cromwell (influenced by the ideas of that young German shaking the foundations of Europe, Martin Luther) who convinced King Henry to break England from the Roman Catholic Church.
King Henry did just that. He broke from Rome. He established the Church of England, in which he was the head of the Church. He granted himself the annulment and married Anne Boleyn. When this happened, Mary the Princess was now an “illegitimate child.” She lost her title of Princess and simply was “Lady Mary.”
Devastated by her father’s rejection, she remained devoutly Catholic as she watched England change. Now at this time, Protestantism was growing stronger and the Reformation throughout Europe was in full swing. Mary’s young heart burned with anger, and Satan was poised to use her as a weapon against the Church.
Due to Henry’s only son dying as a teenager, Mary worked circumstances to her favor to where she could take the throne of England and restore Catholicism as the nation’s religion. Yet it would not come without a great price for God’s people.
She restored England to Rome and instituted many Catholic practices. She tried to weaken the Protestant Church with 4 years of persecution. The wealthy within the church was able to flee to mainland Europe (around 800). Those remaining were left to endure the hardships of her 5 year reign. In all, she executed 247 Protestants by burning them at the stake.
So how does God’s purpose stand in the life of Queen Bloody Mary? If Isaiah 46:10 is a declaration of God’s sovereignty, then where do we see it in her reign? Acts 8:1 sheds a great deal of light on our subject. Persecution had come to the early church and Scripture says, “They were scattered” from Jerusalem into other regions. The word picture for scattered is a sower spreading seed. When God scattered His Church out of Jerusalem, the Church grew and advanced throughout the world.
A similar scattering happened in the persecution of Queen Mary, known as the Marian Persecutions. Men like John Foxe, who authored, Foxes Book of Martyrs forged the Church ahead in this time period. John Knox of Scotland fled to Geneva where the Lord connected him to John Calvin. Returning to Scotland, Knox brought back with him a wealth of knowledge and the spirit of the Reformation.
England would never be the same as Mary’s half sister, Queen Elizabeth would soon ascend to the throne. A strong Protestant, and as the Reformation swept the nation, England would go on to produce some of the greatest thinkers, preachers and missionaries the world has ever known. So the point of this month’s article is simply this…rather it be a ruthless Queen Mary or a hardened Pharaoh’s heart, God will get His glory (Romans 9:17).
The answer is Isaiah 46:10. If you believe this Scripture, it will help interpret the way history unfolds. Think about this, had Mary been born a male…or even if a son had been born to King Henry VIII and Catherine to ascend to the throne then England’s history would have been completely different. So why does God allow certain events? Why was Queen Mary allowed to usurp the throne and execute such a bloody reign?
The answer is Isaiah 46:10! Now if you are a Deists who believes God is neither involved nor interested in the affairs of men then you won’t believe this Scripture. If you believe open theism thinking God Himself does not know the future…that God has left the future “open” to man’s choices to shape his destiny…well, then you probably won’t believe this Scripture either. For me, Isaiah 46:10 and others like it, shapes my thinking and feeling about God’s absolute sovereignty, His ultimate plans and the outcome of historic events.
So what does Isaiah 46:10 say? God is, “declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” Do you really believe this? Now, what does all this have to do with Queen Mary?
Her story begins with King Henry VIII falling in love with his brother’s wife, Catherine of Aragon. He cleverly devices a way to gain permission from the Pope to annual their marriage, allowing the King and Catherine to wed. Mary was the only child from this union to survive childhood. As time passed, King Henry began to doubt the validity of his marriage because it had failed to produce a male heir. So, through Cardinal Wosley, the trusted Catholic advisor to the King and Lord Chancellor of England, they requested for the marriage to Catherine of Aragon be annulled.
This was a huge problem for Rome. To say the marriage could be annulled would be admitting the first annulment was a mistake and that was a prideful assumption the Pope would not make. Infuriated, the King Henry arrested Cardinal Wosley and replaced him with Thomas Cramner, the author of The Book of Common Prayer.
This was a turning point in history, for it was Thomas Cramner and Thomas Cromwell (influenced by the ideas of that young German shaking the foundations of Europe, Martin Luther) who convinced King Henry to break England from the Roman Catholic Church.
King Henry did just that. He broke from Rome. He established the Church of England, in which he was the head of the Church. He granted himself the annulment and married Anne Boleyn. When this happened, Mary the Princess was now an “illegitimate child.” She lost her title of Princess and simply was “Lady Mary.”
Devastated by her father’s rejection, she remained devoutly Catholic as she watched England change. Now at this time, Protestantism was growing stronger and the Reformation throughout Europe was in full swing. Mary’s young heart burned with anger, and Satan was poised to use her as a weapon against the Church.
Due to Henry’s only son dying as a teenager, Mary worked circumstances to her favor to where she could take the throne of England and restore Catholicism as the nation’s religion. Yet it would not come without a great price for God’s people.
She restored England to Rome and instituted many Catholic practices. She tried to weaken the Protestant Church with 4 years of persecution. The wealthy within the church was able to flee to mainland Europe (around 800). Those remaining were left to endure the hardships of her 5 year reign. In all, she executed 247 Protestants by burning them at the stake.
So how does God’s purpose stand in the life of Queen Bloody Mary? If Isaiah 46:10 is a declaration of God’s sovereignty, then where do we see it in her reign? Acts 8:1 sheds a great deal of light on our subject. Persecution had come to the early church and Scripture says, “They were scattered” from Jerusalem into other regions. The word picture for scattered is a sower spreading seed. When God scattered His Church out of Jerusalem, the Church grew and advanced throughout the world.
A similar scattering happened in the persecution of Queen Mary, known as the Marian Persecutions. Men like John Foxe, who authored, Foxes Book of Martyrs forged the Church ahead in this time period. John Knox of Scotland fled to Geneva where the Lord connected him to John Calvin. Returning to Scotland, Knox brought back with him a wealth of knowledge and the spirit of the Reformation.
England would never be the same as Mary’s half sister, Queen Elizabeth would soon ascend to the throne. A strong Protestant, and as the Reformation swept the nation, England would go on to produce some of the greatest thinkers, preachers and missionaries the world has ever known. So the point of this month’s article is simply this…rather it be a ruthless Queen Mary or a hardened Pharaoh’s heart, God will get His glory (Romans 9:17).
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Amy Carmichael
This month, my wife, Sadie, and I found out we are having a baby girl. Lord willing, Piper Kate Roberts will be born December 25th. If there is anyone in Church history I hope she admires, it is the life of Amy Carmichael. She had a singular focus in life and it was Jesus. She once wrote, “The saddest thing one meets is a nominal Christian”, meaning, a Christian in name only, rather than in heart and lifestyle. Read carefully her prayer to be used by God, “Give me the Love that leads the way, the Faith that nothing can dismay, the Hope no disappointments tire, the Passion that’ll burn like fire. Let me not sink to be a clod. Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.”
She would not allow herself to be attached in this world. Her commitment to follow Christ was fierce. She wrote, “I wish Thy way. And when in me myself should rise, and long for something otherwise, then Lord, take sword and spear and slay.” Have you ever prayed a prayer like that? Can we like that…Is our love for God so focused, so committed, so deep as this?
She once said, “We profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could…”
She arrived in India in 1895. However, her work began long before that. Search for whom God has called in the Scriptures and you will find they were busy when God called them. God does not use lazy people. He uses those who are already about His work…even if they don’t have the full knowing or understanding of where they are going to end up. I often counsel with people who “want” to do something for the Lord but they are not doing anything. There is no excuse for this. There is always something to do to honor and serve God…always.
Amy’s work didn’t begin in India…it began at home in Northern Ireland. Her father owned a mill but passed away when she was 18. She recognized a need among the working girls of the factory. They couldn’t afford expensive hats to wear to Church. The women of the Church would look down upon the girls who couldn’t “dress right” for the “Lord’s house.” Know any churches like that today?
Amy had a heart for such ladies. So, she began a Bible class for the girls working at the factory. It grew so large that she had to find a separate building that could hold 300 plus women!
On January 13, 1892, she felt she heard the Lord say, “Go Ye.” Those are beautiful words to a missionary’s heart! Most of the people in Amy’s life thought she was crazy. She wasn’t healthy enough to be a missionary, especially an overseas missionary. Earlier she had been diagnosed with neuralgia, a disease that wreaks havoc on your nervous system and weakens the entire body, often putting Amy in bed for weeks at a time. Not to mention, she wasn’t married either. She was actually rejected from CIM as a missionary because of her “frailty.” But God chooses what He wants to use, not friends, family, boards or committees.
Her missionary work in India began to change in 1899. She took her first child refugee in and this would lead to her eventually beginning a mission, which would develop into an orphanage and later the Dohnavur Fellowship. In March 1901 she began rescuing orphan children from the Hindu Temples. These abandoned, helpless children were forced to become prostitutes earning money for the wicked priest.
It’s interesting to note that Amy’s mother taught her how to pray at a young age. Well, as a little Irish girl, Amy wanted blue eyes, but God had given her brown eyes. She never understood why. One night, when she was little, she prayed that God would give her blue eyes. She awoke the next morning and ran to look in the mirror just knowing God had answered her prayer. To her sadness, her eyes were still brown.
Now, in 1901, she understood clearly why God had given her brown eyes. With the right head covering, she could disguise herself as a Hindu woman going to the temple. If God had given her blue eyes, she would have never had this ministry of rescuing children. He really does do all things well!
Amy would continue rescuing countless children from sex trafficking within these temples. Only once did she face serious charges for “kidnapping.” She rescued a 5 year old girl named Kohila. Her “guardians” demanded her back. Amy wasn’t about to send this defenseless girl back in harm’s way, so she arranged for the girl to “disappear.” Amy was charged with kidnapping and faced 7 years imprisonment. Suddenly, after much prayer, her case was declared, “dismissed” without any explanation on February 7, 1914. She saw God’s sovereign hand working in her favor!
Amy Carmichael left a lasting legacy in global missions. She left everything to follow Christ and often at great risk to her life. She died, at age 84, on January 18, 1951 in Dohnavur, India and was buried there, yet her impact on India and the Church remains to this day.
She would not allow herself to be attached in this world. Her commitment to follow Christ was fierce. She wrote, “I wish Thy way. And when in me myself should rise, and long for something otherwise, then Lord, take sword and spear and slay.” Have you ever prayed a prayer like that? Can we like that…Is our love for God so focused, so committed, so deep as this?
She once said, “We profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could…”
She arrived in India in 1895. However, her work began long before that. Search for whom God has called in the Scriptures and you will find they were busy when God called them. God does not use lazy people. He uses those who are already about His work…even if they don’t have the full knowing or understanding of where they are going to end up. I often counsel with people who “want” to do something for the Lord but they are not doing anything. There is no excuse for this. There is always something to do to honor and serve God…always.
Amy’s work didn’t begin in India…it began at home in Northern Ireland. Her father owned a mill but passed away when she was 18. She recognized a need among the working girls of the factory. They couldn’t afford expensive hats to wear to Church. The women of the Church would look down upon the girls who couldn’t “dress right” for the “Lord’s house.” Know any churches like that today?
Amy had a heart for such ladies. So, she began a Bible class for the girls working at the factory. It grew so large that she had to find a separate building that could hold 300 plus women!
On January 13, 1892, she felt she heard the Lord say, “Go Ye.” Those are beautiful words to a missionary’s heart! Most of the people in Amy’s life thought she was crazy. She wasn’t healthy enough to be a missionary, especially an overseas missionary. Earlier she had been diagnosed with neuralgia, a disease that wreaks havoc on your nervous system and weakens the entire body, often putting Amy in bed for weeks at a time. Not to mention, she wasn’t married either. She was actually rejected from CIM as a missionary because of her “frailty.” But God chooses what He wants to use, not friends, family, boards or committees.
Her missionary work in India began to change in 1899. She took her first child refugee in and this would lead to her eventually beginning a mission, which would develop into an orphanage and later the Dohnavur Fellowship. In March 1901 she began rescuing orphan children from the Hindu Temples. These abandoned, helpless children were forced to become prostitutes earning money for the wicked priest.
It’s interesting to note that Amy’s mother taught her how to pray at a young age. Well, as a little Irish girl, Amy wanted blue eyes, but God had given her brown eyes. She never understood why. One night, when she was little, she prayed that God would give her blue eyes. She awoke the next morning and ran to look in the mirror just knowing God had answered her prayer. To her sadness, her eyes were still brown.
Now, in 1901, she understood clearly why God had given her brown eyes. With the right head covering, she could disguise herself as a Hindu woman going to the temple. If God had given her blue eyes, she would have never had this ministry of rescuing children. He really does do all things well!
Amy would continue rescuing countless children from sex trafficking within these temples. Only once did she face serious charges for “kidnapping.” She rescued a 5 year old girl named Kohila. Her “guardians” demanded her back. Amy wasn’t about to send this defenseless girl back in harm’s way, so she arranged for the girl to “disappear.” Amy was charged with kidnapping and faced 7 years imprisonment. Suddenly, after much prayer, her case was declared, “dismissed” without any explanation on February 7, 1914. She saw God’s sovereign hand working in her favor!
Amy Carmichael left a lasting legacy in global missions. She left everything to follow Christ and often at great risk to her life. She died, at age 84, on January 18, 1951 in Dohnavur, India and was buried there, yet her impact on India and the Church remains to this day.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Mary Slessor - A Single Woman's Impact on Africa
I am by no means a speed reader. I prefer to take my time and savor the books I read. Yet the biography of Mary Slessor was different. It was one book I couldn’t put down. I completed it in one day and I still smile when I think of her life.
Mary was a fiery red head born in Aberdeen, Scotland December 2, 1848. She grew up in a difficult home. Her father was an alcoholic and was often abusive. Her mother, however, was a godly woman and committed to raising her children in the fear of the Lord. She was a member of the Belmont Street United Presbyterian Church. Mary said of her mother, “I had my missions enthusiasm from her.” Her mother got Mary involved in local missions at an early age teaching Sunday School classes to the poor.
There were 7 children in the Slessor home. Her father was a shoemaker but couldn’t make enough money in Aberdeen. So in 1859, he moved the entire family to Dundee hoping to find better work. His plan did not work very well and so he drank more and more and spent the family’s money. Her home life was hard. Sadly, only 4 of her siblings survived childhood. In addition to that sorrow, all the children but Mary died before age 30. Mary worked in the cotton mills of Dundee, Scotland until she was 27 years old to help support the family.
One thing I find so amazing in Mary’s life is that in her childhood, she read stories of David Livingstone’s missions activity in Africa. She dreamed of serving the Lord like that herself and reading Livingstone’s adventures fanned the flame.
May I take a moment to say something to parents of small children? Hey mom or dad…do you teach your children about missions and missionaries? Do you instill a love and passion in them for spreading the gospel and supporting missionaries? I can remember the way my mom talked about missionaries. I remember hearing her stories about Africa. My imagination ran wild as a kid and when missionaries came to my church, they were heroes in my eyes because of what my mom taught me about missions. You know what? Missionaries are still my heroes! The life of a missionary is filled with adventure, joy, sacrifice, hope and danger all at the same time. Teach your children to admire this and to look up too it!
So, at age 28, Mary quit the cotton mills. Her hero, David Livingstone, had fought the fight and finished his course and was now buried in Westminster Abby in London. Who would take his place? Who would sail to the “Dark Continent” filled with danger and uncertainty…yet filled with souls desperately needing the hope of the Gospel of Christ? Mary would…and Mary did!
As a single woman, she boarded a ship to sail the Atlantic toward Calabar (Nigeria). She became very sick multiple times on that hard voyage over the ocean, but she endured as a good missionary. As she settled into the life of a missionary, it became clear to her that she had to push inland just as Livingstone had done years ago. She lived with other missionaries for 3 years before stepping out on her own to push inland. It was dangerous for Livingstone…it was nearly suicide for a pale skinned, blue eyed, red hair single female.
In all of her enthusiasm for pushing inland, Malaria struck her body stopping her dead in her tracks. This sickness would delay her work by a year and half. I can’t imagine how discouraging this was to Mary. But God is sovereign! He knew why things needed to be delayed. Oh that we would trust His wisdom and sovereignty!
Once she recovered, she moved to Old Town, Calabar and immediately began her mission. Because life was not valued, babies were brought to her and in God’s love; she could not turn one away. As more babies came, she began to train the young girls of the village how to care for the infants and they began serving with her.
Witch doctors taught that if twins were born, it was a curse on the entire village so twin babies were murdered immediately. Mary heard of twins being born and she set out to rescue them. It was a boy and girl…she took both to her home to raise. Sadly, the boy was kidnapped and killed, but the girl survived. Heartbroken, Mary adopted the girl and named her Janie.
Mary spent a total of 39 years in Calabar. She stood 5 ft. tall but always stood her ground with witch doctors, chiefs, warriors and murderers. She rescued 100’s of babies, prisoners, slaves and wives from being murdered or mistreated.
She died at age 67 on January 13, 1915 of jungle disease. Janie and other of her “children” were by her side. She replaced David Livingstone in carrying the burden for Africa and in 1998; she replaced David one last time. She was commemorated on Clydesdale Bank notes replacing Dr. David Livingstone on the £10 notes.
Mary was a fiery red head born in Aberdeen, Scotland December 2, 1848. She grew up in a difficult home. Her father was an alcoholic and was often abusive. Her mother, however, was a godly woman and committed to raising her children in the fear of the Lord. She was a member of the Belmont Street United Presbyterian Church. Mary said of her mother, “I had my missions enthusiasm from her.” Her mother got Mary involved in local missions at an early age teaching Sunday School classes to the poor.
There were 7 children in the Slessor home. Her father was a shoemaker but couldn’t make enough money in Aberdeen. So in 1859, he moved the entire family to Dundee hoping to find better work. His plan did not work very well and so he drank more and more and spent the family’s money. Her home life was hard. Sadly, only 4 of her siblings survived childhood. In addition to that sorrow, all the children but Mary died before age 30. Mary worked in the cotton mills of Dundee, Scotland until she was 27 years old to help support the family.
One thing I find so amazing in Mary’s life is that in her childhood, she read stories of David Livingstone’s missions activity in Africa. She dreamed of serving the Lord like that herself and reading Livingstone’s adventures fanned the flame.
May I take a moment to say something to parents of small children? Hey mom or dad…do you teach your children about missions and missionaries? Do you instill a love and passion in them for spreading the gospel and supporting missionaries? I can remember the way my mom talked about missionaries. I remember hearing her stories about Africa. My imagination ran wild as a kid and when missionaries came to my church, they were heroes in my eyes because of what my mom taught me about missions. You know what? Missionaries are still my heroes! The life of a missionary is filled with adventure, joy, sacrifice, hope and danger all at the same time. Teach your children to admire this and to look up too it!
So, at age 28, Mary quit the cotton mills. Her hero, David Livingstone, had fought the fight and finished his course and was now buried in Westminster Abby in London. Who would take his place? Who would sail to the “Dark Continent” filled with danger and uncertainty…yet filled with souls desperately needing the hope of the Gospel of Christ? Mary would…and Mary did!
As a single woman, she boarded a ship to sail the Atlantic toward Calabar (Nigeria). She became very sick multiple times on that hard voyage over the ocean, but she endured as a good missionary. As she settled into the life of a missionary, it became clear to her that she had to push inland just as Livingstone had done years ago. She lived with other missionaries for 3 years before stepping out on her own to push inland. It was dangerous for Livingstone…it was nearly suicide for a pale skinned, blue eyed, red hair single female.
In all of her enthusiasm for pushing inland, Malaria struck her body stopping her dead in her tracks. This sickness would delay her work by a year and half. I can’t imagine how discouraging this was to Mary. But God is sovereign! He knew why things needed to be delayed. Oh that we would trust His wisdom and sovereignty!
Once she recovered, she moved to Old Town, Calabar and immediately began her mission. Because life was not valued, babies were brought to her and in God’s love; she could not turn one away. As more babies came, she began to train the young girls of the village how to care for the infants and they began serving with her.
Witch doctors taught that if twins were born, it was a curse on the entire village so twin babies were murdered immediately. Mary heard of twins being born and she set out to rescue them. It was a boy and girl…she took both to her home to raise. Sadly, the boy was kidnapped and killed, but the girl survived. Heartbroken, Mary adopted the girl and named her Janie.
Mary spent a total of 39 years in Calabar. She stood 5 ft. tall but always stood her ground with witch doctors, chiefs, warriors and murderers. She rescued 100’s of babies, prisoners, slaves and wives from being murdered or mistreated.
She died at age 67 on January 13, 1915 of jungle disease. Janie and other of her “children” were by her side. She replaced David Livingstone in carrying the burden for Africa and in 1998; she replaced David one last time. She was commemorated on Clydesdale Bank notes replacing Dr. David Livingstone on the £10 notes.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a remarkable missionary and explorer who sacrificially gave himself for the people of Africa. I have marveled at his life since I was a kid. However, when I went to Malawi, Africa in 2003, I realized just how important this great man was. I was walking from village to village sharing Christ with about 20 other African church leaders when the pastor of the church asked me if I had ever heard of David Livingstone. I smiled really big and said, “Yes, I have!” He continued, “You know, Mr. Livingstone is the reason my people are free.” I knew exactly what he meant. David Livingstone abhorred the slave trade and fought against it his entire life, drawing world-wide attention to its evils.
He was born into a poor family in Blantyre, Scotland March 19, 1813. His father sold tea and as he would make his distribution to customers, he always passed along the Gospel through Christian books and literature. Because his family was not wealthy, David began working in the cotton mills in 1823 at the age of 10. It didn’t take long to discover how brilliant of a mind God had given him. By age 22 he had studied Greek, Theology and Medicine at Anderson College and Glasgow University. By 1838, David knew his calling in life was to be a missionary.
He applied to the London Missionary Society and was accepted. At first, he set his heart on China. However, the Opium War of 1838 in China closed the door. Besides, God had other plans for China and those plans came through a young Englishman named James Hudson Taylor.
In 1839, everything changed for Livingstone. He was invited to hear Robert Moffat speak, the great missionary to South Africa. David was burdened by what he heard about Africa that night. Most notably, Moffat said, “I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages – villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world.”
When David heard those words, the course for his life was set! At age 26, he left his home and everything familiar to him to sail the Atlantic Ocean for Africa. He would never be the same, nor would Africa!
He arrived in South Africa on July 31, 1841. He was appointed to the Kuruman Mission which was founded and operated by Robert Moffat, who inspired him to come to Africa. David never forgot those “1,000 villages” who had never heard of Christ. He consistently pushed north to find tribes to share the Gospel with. Once, he traveled as far as 700 miles north.
In 1843, he received permission from the London Missionary Society to establish his own mission. He chose the area of Mabotsa. People were receptive to the Gospel but one big problem is that it was infested with lions. David had heard that if a lion is killed in an area, the entire pack will move on. One day, he and an African instructor, Melbalwe, approached a lion to kill it. David shot it with his gun but the bullet didn’t kill the lion. While he tried to re-load, the lion pounced on him crushing his entire left shoulder. The lion mauled his left arm and bit Melbalwe through his thigh. Finally, the lion collapsed and died from the gunshot wound but not before it permanently ruined David’s left arm, he never regained use of it.
Even in this tragedy, we can see how God uses all things to work together for our good! Because of the wound he had to return to Kuruman to have his shoulder and arm tended too by no other than Mary Moffat, the young daughter of Robert Moffat. They found themselves attracted to each other and soon, David proposed to her. He left Kuruman after his shoulder had healed to go back to Mabotsa to build him and his future wife a suitable home. Mary and David were married in March 1844 with Robert Moffat performing the ceremony.
They remained in Mobatso for one year before they began traveling to explore more of Africa. In the spring of 1850 came one crushing blow. Their baby daughter died of malaria in Kologeng. Life as a missionary was hard and no one understood this more than Mary but it still didn’t ease the pain.
His family desperately needed a furlough, so he took Mary and their children to Cape Town, and sent them home to England for a rest on April 23, 1852. He was unable to accompany them but had planned to meet with them in England in a couple of years.
It was in November 1853 that Livingstone took his most famous journey. He and 27 Makololo men traveled 1,500 miles of jungle to find the West coast of Africa. This journey was treacherous as they battled terrible weather conditions, hunger, hostile tribesmen, crocodiles, snakes and other wild animals, not to mention sickness, dysentery and other fevers. Once they arrived to the coast, David met some ship captains who offered him a ride home to England. The 27 Makololo men were scared because they didn’t know how to get back home, David was their navigator! Livingstone turned down what seemed to be an offer of a life-time in order to lead the Makololo men back home. It meant so much to these African men that he would choose to travel those harsh conditions with them rather than go home to England. They were not used to such kindness and friendship. By the way, the ship that was to take David home to England sank in the middle of the Atlantic! Thank God that Livingstone didn’t take that ship!
Before leaving for England, he was determined to open up a passage to the Eastern coast of Africa just as he had done in the West coast. Sekeletu gave him 120 tribesmen to accompany him on this journey and what a journey it was! Only 50 miles into the expedition, he discovered a set of mighty waterfalls, which he named, “Victoria Falls.” He finally arrived in Quilimane and was ready to take his first furlough home. By this time, he was the first white man to ever travel the interior of Africa and to go coast to coast!
Livingstone had a mixture of emotions arriving in London. This was his first time home in 16 years. Many things had changed. First of all, his father had passed away while he was in Africa. He also learned that the London Missionary Society (LMS) had wanted to part ways with him as a missionary. In their opinion, he had abandoned the work of a missionary because it seemed he was focusing more on expeditions than mission stations. This really hurt David. He felt he was doing exactly what God had called him to do.
While the LMS has a great reputation and did tremendous work, it’s important to note here that people are not always going to agree with what God has called you to do. It is far more important to please God rather than man. Time proved that David was making the right decisions. While he lost his status with the LMS, he didn’t know the London Royal Geographical Society was interested in him. They presented to him their gold metal, their highest honor. He continued to receive honors on his first furlough home. Oxford University, Cambridge University and Glasgow University all awarded him honorary degrees. He was named by the British Empire as Britain’s Consul for the East coast of Africa, which meant a government salary, government backed funding and new equipment to work with in Africa. He was encouraged to write a book, so he wrote Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa which had great success. Don’t think for a moment that all this success went to his head. David was not comfortable speaking or writing. He was a missionary to African tribes and that was the only place he was comfortable!
At age 45, David, his wife and their youngest son returned to Africa in March of 1858. This would prove to be the hardest stage of David’s life. His wife’s health began to fail as soon as they landed. She and their youngest son remained with her father and mother at the Kuruman Mission Station while David and his team pushed further inland. On this expedition, there were multiple problems. For example, his team was no longer the tribesmen he used to travel with. Rather, they were white Englishmen who seemed to be more of a hindrance than a help. The boat given to them by the government was always slow and hard to maintain. David’s younger brother traveled with him and he didn’t have what it took to be a missionary nor an explorer. This led to a strained relationship for the next 6 years. Not to mention, Mary delivered a baby girl born November 16, 1858, which David didn’t even know he had until she was 1 year old. Life was very, very difficult as a missionary in Africa.
In January 1862, Mary had finally rejoined her husband deep in the continent of Africa. She herself had been quite busy. Once her health regained, she left Kuruman and took their youngest son and new born daughter back to England to stay with the rest of her children. She made her way back to South Africa and met her husband in Zambezi. You can imagine the joy of their reunion after a four year separation from one another. However, their joy only lasted 3 months as Mary became very ill in April. Sadly, she passed from this life on April 27, 1862. It was the hardest season of David’s life. At 49 years old, he was a widower. David buried her under a massive baobab tree at Shupange. 18 years David and Mary were husband and wife, of that 18 years, they were together only half of the time.
In all of this discouragement, there were many, many successes in David’s ministry. At last, in the 1860’s he was able to establish a mission station in the interior of Africa. This was one of David’s dreams. He also discovered Lake Nyasa, the Shire River and Lake Shirwa during this time period.
While still trying to cope with the death of his beloved wife, tensions were beginning to grow as slave trade was increasing and the Portuguese of the East coast were trying to destroy David’s ministry, even lying to local African’s that they were children of Mr. Livingstone and then trapping them as slaves. He decided to return home to England to spend much needed time with his children. One of the saddest lessons David’s life teaches us is that he didn’t spend enough time with his family. That was his one regret in life and one that I hope we all will consider. What will eternity be if we win the world to Christ but lose our own families?
When David came back to England, he found out that his mother had also passed away and that one of his sons, Robert, had gone to America to fight against slavery in the American Civil War. He died in battle and is buried at Gettysburg Cemetery.
While David’s life had changed dramatically over the last few years suffering much loss in his family, he knew he had one more expedition in him. So, the London Royal Geographical Society planned and sponsored one last expedition that would last from 1866-1873.
He didn’t have much contact with the outside world through these years. It had even been rumored that he had been killed in Africa. While he wasn’t dead, he did come close. At one time, an African Tribesmen threw a spear at him missing his head by an inch; the spear did cut the back of his neck. An enormous tree fell and missed him by only a few feet. He suffered malaria, dysentery, sores, loss of blood, and hunger. At one point, Arab slave traders destroyed all his mail and plundered all his supplies. At this point, David was at his lowest point.
But on October 26, 1871, an Englishman came bursting through the African bush. It was none other than Henry Stanley! Out of his mouth came the now famous line, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Although it was J.B. Bennet of the New York Herald that sent Mr. Stanley to find David at all cost to confirm if he was dead or alive, we know it was the Lord that sent Mr. Stanley to Dr. Livingstone! Henry stayed the entire winter with David and later said, “I was converted by him, although he had not tried to do it.”
Henry promised to send David fresh supplies along with a new team of men from Zanzibar Island. They arrived in March of 1872. The new party began to move toward Lake Tanganyika and Lake Bangweolo. This would be David’s last trek through Africa. They reached the South side of Lake Tanganyika and mapped all the way to the day before his death.
They made camp that night and by this time, Dr. Livingstone was so weak he couldn’t walk. He was suffering from dysentery and malaria. At 4am on May 1, 1873 they heard a strange noise. His team found him dead on his knees inside his hut.
The African’s carefully prepared his body. They removed his heart and buried it under a beautiful mulva tree in Zambia, knowing that David’s heart belonged in the soil of the continent he fiercely loved. They carved a wooden monument for him. To preserve his body, they filled it with salt and laid it to rest in the sun for 14 days. At the end of those two weeks, they carefully wrapped his body in cloth, enclosed it in the bark of a Myonge tree and sewed it all into a thick sail cloth. They attached it to a large pole and the African men carried his body, along with his journals, for 9 months across 1,000 miles of African soil to the Island of Zanzibar to deliver him to the British government.
I had the privilege of visiting our brothers and sisters in Zanzibar in September of 2009. I went to host a pastor’s conference for 200 pastors and to meet with the persecuted church leaders on this Islamic island. They took me to St. Mary’s Church in Stonetown. There, they have displayed the monuments to slave trade and a wooden cross made from the Mulva tree where David’s heart is buried. Once again, opening my eyes to the impact he made on Africa.
His body was shipped to London in February 1874. It arrived April 15, 1874 and he was buried in Westminster Abbey along with the Kings and great men and women of Britain on April 18, 1874. At his funeral were his children, Mr. Henry Stanley, many of his close friends in Africa and Robert Moffat, who began it all with is speech in London when David was a mere 25 years old!
Listen to how David summed up his life by his own words, “God had only one Son, and he made that Son a missionary. If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice.”
He was born into a poor family in Blantyre, Scotland March 19, 1813. His father sold tea and as he would make his distribution to customers, he always passed along the Gospel through Christian books and literature. Because his family was not wealthy, David began working in the cotton mills in 1823 at the age of 10. It didn’t take long to discover how brilliant of a mind God had given him. By age 22 he had studied Greek, Theology and Medicine at Anderson College and Glasgow University. By 1838, David knew his calling in life was to be a missionary.
He applied to the London Missionary Society and was accepted. At first, he set his heart on China. However, the Opium War of 1838 in China closed the door. Besides, God had other plans for China and those plans came through a young Englishman named James Hudson Taylor.
In 1839, everything changed for Livingstone. He was invited to hear Robert Moffat speak, the great missionary to South Africa. David was burdened by what he heard about Africa that night. Most notably, Moffat said, “I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages – villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world.”
When David heard those words, the course for his life was set! At age 26, he left his home and everything familiar to him to sail the Atlantic Ocean for Africa. He would never be the same, nor would Africa!
He arrived in South Africa on July 31, 1841. He was appointed to the Kuruman Mission which was founded and operated by Robert Moffat, who inspired him to come to Africa. David never forgot those “1,000 villages” who had never heard of Christ. He consistently pushed north to find tribes to share the Gospel with. Once, he traveled as far as 700 miles north.
In 1843, he received permission from the London Missionary Society to establish his own mission. He chose the area of Mabotsa. People were receptive to the Gospel but one big problem is that it was infested with lions. David had heard that if a lion is killed in an area, the entire pack will move on. One day, he and an African instructor, Melbalwe, approached a lion to kill it. David shot it with his gun but the bullet didn’t kill the lion. While he tried to re-load, the lion pounced on him crushing his entire left shoulder. The lion mauled his left arm and bit Melbalwe through his thigh. Finally, the lion collapsed and died from the gunshot wound but not before it permanently ruined David’s left arm, he never regained use of it.
Even in this tragedy, we can see how God uses all things to work together for our good! Because of the wound he had to return to Kuruman to have his shoulder and arm tended too by no other than Mary Moffat, the young daughter of Robert Moffat. They found themselves attracted to each other and soon, David proposed to her. He left Kuruman after his shoulder had healed to go back to Mabotsa to build him and his future wife a suitable home. Mary and David were married in March 1844 with Robert Moffat performing the ceremony.
They remained in Mobatso for one year before they began traveling to explore more of Africa. In the spring of 1850 came one crushing blow. Their baby daughter died of malaria in Kologeng. Life as a missionary was hard and no one understood this more than Mary but it still didn’t ease the pain.
His family desperately needed a furlough, so he took Mary and their children to Cape Town, and sent them home to England for a rest on April 23, 1852. He was unable to accompany them but had planned to meet with them in England in a couple of years.
It was in November 1853 that Livingstone took his most famous journey. He and 27 Makololo men traveled 1,500 miles of jungle to find the West coast of Africa. This journey was treacherous as they battled terrible weather conditions, hunger, hostile tribesmen, crocodiles, snakes and other wild animals, not to mention sickness, dysentery and other fevers. Once they arrived to the coast, David met some ship captains who offered him a ride home to England. The 27 Makololo men were scared because they didn’t know how to get back home, David was their navigator! Livingstone turned down what seemed to be an offer of a life-time in order to lead the Makololo men back home. It meant so much to these African men that he would choose to travel those harsh conditions with them rather than go home to England. They were not used to such kindness and friendship. By the way, the ship that was to take David home to England sank in the middle of the Atlantic! Thank God that Livingstone didn’t take that ship!
Before leaving for England, he was determined to open up a passage to the Eastern coast of Africa just as he had done in the West coast. Sekeletu gave him 120 tribesmen to accompany him on this journey and what a journey it was! Only 50 miles into the expedition, he discovered a set of mighty waterfalls, which he named, “Victoria Falls.” He finally arrived in Quilimane and was ready to take his first furlough home. By this time, he was the first white man to ever travel the interior of Africa and to go coast to coast!
Livingstone had a mixture of emotions arriving in London. This was his first time home in 16 years. Many things had changed. First of all, his father had passed away while he was in Africa. He also learned that the London Missionary Society (LMS) had wanted to part ways with him as a missionary. In their opinion, he had abandoned the work of a missionary because it seemed he was focusing more on expeditions than mission stations. This really hurt David. He felt he was doing exactly what God had called him to do.
While the LMS has a great reputation and did tremendous work, it’s important to note here that people are not always going to agree with what God has called you to do. It is far more important to please God rather than man. Time proved that David was making the right decisions. While he lost his status with the LMS, he didn’t know the London Royal Geographical Society was interested in him. They presented to him their gold metal, their highest honor. He continued to receive honors on his first furlough home. Oxford University, Cambridge University and Glasgow University all awarded him honorary degrees. He was named by the British Empire as Britain’s Consul for the East coast of Africa, which meant a government salary, government backed funding and new equipment to work with in Africa. He was encouraged to write a book, so he wrote Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa which had great success. Don’t think for a moment that all this success went to his head. David was not comfortable speaking or writing. He was a missionary to African tribes and that was the only place he was comfortable!
At age 45, David, his wife and their youngest son returned to Africa in March of 1858. This would prove to be the hardest stage of David’s life. His wife’s health began to fail as soon as they landed. She and their youngest son remained with her father and mother at the Kuruman Mission Station while David and his team pushed further inland. On this expedition, there were multiple problems. For example, his team was no longer the tribesmen he used to travel with. Rather, they were white Englishmen who seemed to be more of a hindrance than a help. The boat given to them by the government was always slow and hard to maintain. David’s younger brother traveled with him and he didn’t have what it took to be a missionary nor an explorer. This led to a strained relationship for the next 6 years. Not to mention, Mary delivered a baby girl born November 16, 1858, which David didn’t even know he had until she was 1 year old. Life was very, very difficult as a missionary in Africa.
In January 1862, Mary had finally rejoined her husband deep in the continent of Africa. She herself had been quite busy. Once her health regained, she left Kuruman and took their youngest son and new born daughter back to England to stay with the rest of her children. She made her way back to South Africa and met her husband in Zambezi. You can imagine the joy of their reunion after a four year separation from one another. However, their joy only lasted 3 months as Mary became very ill in April. Sadly, she passed from this life on April 27, 1862. It was the hardest season of David’s life. At 49 years old, he was a widower. David buried her under a massive baobab tree at Shupange. 18 years David and Mary were husband and wife, of that 18 years, they were together only half of the time.
In all of this discouragement, there were many, many successes in David’s ministry. At last, in the 1860’s he was able to establish a mission station in the interior of Africa. This was one of David’s dreams. He also discovered Lake Nyasa, the Shire River and Lake Shirwa during this time period.
While still trying to cope with the death of his beloved wife, tensions were beginning to grow as slave trade was increasing and the Portuguese of the East coast were trying to destroy David’s ministry, even lying to local African’s that they were children of Mr. Livingstone and then trapping them as slaves. He decided to return home to England to spend much needed time with his children. One of the saddest lessons David’s life teaches us is that he didn’t spend enough time with his family. That was his one regret in life and one that I hope we all will consider. What will eternity be if we win the world to Christ but lose our own families?
When David came back to England, he found out that his mother had also passed away and that one of his sons, Robert, had gone to America to fight against slavery in the American Civil War. He died in battle and is buried at Gettysburg Cemetery.
While David’s life had changed dramatically over the last few years suffering much loss in his family, he knew he had one more expedition in him. So, the London Royal Geographical Society planned and sponsored one last expedition that would last from 1866-1873.
He didn’t have much contact with the outside world through these years. It had even been rumored that he had been killed in Africa. While he wasn’t dead, he did come close. At one time, an African Tribesmen threw a spear at him missing his head by an inch; the spear did cut the back of his neck. An enormous tree fell and missed him by only a few feet. He suffered malaria, dysentery, sores, loss of blood, and hunger. At one point, Arab slave traders destroyed all his mail and plundered all his supplies. At this point, David was at his lowest point.
But on October 26, 1871, an Englishman came bursting through the African bush. It was none other than Henry Stanley! Out of his mouth came the now famous line, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Although it was J.B. Bennet of the New York Herald that sent Mr. Stanley to find David at all cost to confirm if he was dead or alive, we know it was the Lord that sent Mr. Stanley to Dr. Livingstone! Henry stayed the entire winter with David and later said, “I was converted by him, although he had not tried to do it.”
Henry promised to send David fresh supplies along with a new team of men from Zanzibar Island. They arrived in March of 1872. The new party began to move toward Lake Tanganyika and Lake Bangweolo. This would be David’s last trek through Africa. They reached the South side of Lake Tanganyika and mapped all the way to the day before his death.
They made camp that night and by this time, Dr. Livingstone was so weak he couldn’t walk. He was suffering from dysentery and malaria. At 4am on May 1, 1873 they heard a strange noise. His team found him dead on his knees inside his hut.
The African’s carefully prepared his body. They removed his heart and buried it under a beautiful mulva tree in Zambia, knowing that David’s heart belonged in the soil of the continent he fiercely loved. They carved a wooden monument for him. To preserve his body, they filled it with salt and laid it to rest in the sun for 14 days. At the end of those two weeks, they carefully wrapped his body in cloth, enclosed it in the bark of a Myonge tree and sewed it all into a thick sail cloth. They attached it to a large pole and the African men carried his body, along with his journals, for 9 months across 1,000 miles of African soil to the Island of Zanzibar to deliver him to the British government.
I had the privilege of visiting our brothers and sisters in Zanzibar in September of 2009. I went to host a pastor’s conference for 200 pastors and to meet with the persecuted church leaders on this Islamic island. They took me to St. Mary’s Church in Stonetown. There, they have displayed the monuments to slave trade and a wooden cross made from the Mulva tree where David’s heart is buried. Once again, opening my eyes to the impact he made on Africa.
His body was shipped to London in February 1874. It arrived April 15, 1874 and he was buried in Westminster Abbey along with the Kings and great men and women of Britain on April 18, 1874. At his funeral were his children, Mr. Henry Stanley, many of his close friends in Africa and Robert Moffat, who began it all with is speech in London when David was a mere 25 years old!
Listen to how David summed up his life by his own words, “God had only one Son, and he made that Son a missionary. If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice.”
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Peter Cartwright - God's Plowman
You don’t have to travel far to realize how blessed our region is with the gospel. There are numerous gospel-spreading Churches. I went to preach in Kuwait in 2007 and I remember trying to wrap my mind around the fact that there existed only 2 evangelical Churches in all of Kuwait. In Yemen, there are not any known Churches. In Saudi Arabia, there are not any known Churches…yet we know God has a remnant! But could you imagine not being allowed to gather and worship in a church?
Well, there is a reason why our region is blessed with the gospel. The reason is because of the faithful ministry of men like Peter Cartwright (1785-1873). He was a circuit riding preacher shortly after the American Revolutionary War. Our good Methodist friends will appreciate this article because Peter was a strong Methodist and labored very hard for the denomination. What impresses me the most about Peter Cartwright was his stand against slavery. He grew up in Logan County KY, only one mile from the TN state line.
As slave trade grew more popular among the Church, he preached against it fiercely. He would preach that Scripture taught us to love our neighbor as our self. How could Christians own slaves and fulfill this Scripture? As a result, thousands of slaves obtained their freedom due to his preaching!
I often wonder if Preaching Christ Church existed in the days of slave trade, and if I were its pastor, would we have fought against this evil? I hope so. I hope, even if we were in the South, that we would have stood against slavery and preached strongly the Word of God.
As time went on, slavery became worse within the Church. He moved his family and ministry to Illinois because it was a free state. When the Methodist Church divided over slavery, he sided with the anti-slavery side. He and Abraham Lincoln entered politics together and became good friends.
For our purposes in this month’s article, I thought it would be best to share Peter’s conversion in his own words. This is taken from his autobiography, The Backwoods Preacher written in 1856.
Peter felt the conviction of his sin and toiled with the Lord to seek repentance. I hope you enjoy reading of his conversion. It is my prayer that God will send His Holy Spirit to bring conviction like this back to the Churches of our region!
Some days after this, I retired to a cave on my father’s farm to pray in secret. My soul was in agony; I wept; I prayed, and said, “Now, Lord, if there is mercy for me, let me find it.” And it really seemed to me that I could almost lay hold of the Saviour, and realize a reconciled God. All of a sudden, such a fear of the devil fell upon me that it really appeared to me that he was surely personally there, to seize and drag me down to hell, soul and body, and such a horror fell on me that I sprang to my feet and ran to my mother at the house. My mother told me this was a device of Satan to prevent me from finding the blessing then. Three months rolled away, and still I did not find the blessing of the pardon of my sins…
In the Spring of this year, Mr. M’Grady, a minister of the Presbyterian Church, who had a congregation and meeting-house, as we then called them, about three miles north of my father’s house, appointed a sacramental meeting in this congregation, and invited the Methodist preachers to attend with them, and especially John Page, who was a powerful Gospel minister, and was very popular among the Presbyterians. Accordingly he came, and preached with great power and success.
There were no camp-meetings in regular form at this time, but as there was a great waking up among the Churches, from the revival that had broken out at Cane Ridge…many flocked to those sacramental meetings. The church would not hold the tenth part of the congregation. Accordinly, the officers of the Church erected a stand in a contiguous shady grove, and prepared seats for a large congregation.
The people crowded to the meeting from far and near. They came in their large wagons, with victuals mostly prepared. The women slept in the wagons, and the men under them. Many stayed on the ground night and day for a number of nights and days together. Others were provided for among the neighbors around. The power of God was wonderfully displayed; scores of sinners fell under the preaching, like men slain in mighty battle; Christians shouted aloud for joy.
To this meeting I repaired, a guilty, wretched sinner. On the Saturday evening of said meeting, I went, with weeping multitudes, and bowed before the stand, and earnestly prayed for mercy. In the midst of a solemn struggle of soul, an impression was made on my mind, as though a voice said to me, “Thy sins are all forgiven thee.” Divine light flashed all around me, unspeakable joy sprung up in my soul. I rose to my feet, opened my eyes, and it really seemed as if I was in heaven; the trees, the leaves on them, and everything seemed, and I really thought were, praising God. My mother raised the shout, my Christian friends crowded around me and joined me in praising God; and though I have been since then, in many instances, unfaithful, yet I have never, for one moment, doubted that the Lord did, then and there, forgive my sins and give me religion…
“Lord, may You send this kind of revival that will soundly convert sinners into life-long Christ followers! Help us to not lead people to a decision…but to repentance through Your kindness. In Christ’s Name, Amen!” – Pastor Chad
Well, there is a reason why our region is blessed with the gospel. The reason is because of the faithful ministry of men like Peter Cartwright (1785-1873). He was a circuit riding preacher shortly after the American Revolutionary War. Our good Methodist friends will appreciate this article because Peter was a strong Methodist and labored very hard for the denomination. What impresses me the most about Peter Cartwright was his stand against slavery. He grew up in Logan County KY, only one mile from the TN state line.
As slave trade grew more popular among the Church, he preached against it fiercely. He would preach that Scripture taught us to love our neighbor as our self. How could Christians own slaves and fulfill this Scripture? As a result, thousands of slaves obtained their freedom due to his preaching!
I often wonder if Preaching Christ Church existed in the days of slave trade, and if I were its pastor, would we have fought against this evil? I hope so. I hope, even if we were in the South, that we would have stood against slavery and preached strongly the Word of God.
As time went on, slavery became worse within the Church. He moved his family and ministry to Illinois because it was a free state. When the Methodist Church divided over slavery, he sided with the anti-slavery side. He and Abraham Lincoln entered politics together and became good friends.
For our purposes in this month’s article, I thought it would be best to share Peter’s conversion in his own words. This is taken from his autobiography, The Backwoods Preacher written in 1856.
Peter felt the conviction of his sin and toiled with the Lord to seek repentance. I hope you enjoy reading of his conversion. It is my prayer that God will send His Holy Spirit to bring conviction like this back to the Churches of our region!
Some days after this, I retired to a cave on my father’s farm to pray in secret. My soul was in agony; I wept; I prayed, and said, “Now, Lord, if there is mercy for me, let me find it.” And it really seemed to me that I could almost lay hold of the Saviour, and realize a reconciled God. All of a sudden, such a fear of the devil fell upon me that it really appeared to me that he was surely personally there, to seize and drag me down to hell, soul and body, and such a horror fell on me that I sprang to my feet and ran to my mother at the house. My mother told me this was a device of Satan to prevent me from finding the blessing then. Three months rolled away, and still I did not find the blessing of the pardon of my sins…
In the Spring of this year, Mr. M’Grady, a minister of the Presbyterian Church, who had a congregation and meeting-house, as we then called them, about three miles north of my father’s house, appointed a sacramental meeting in this congregation, and invited the Methodist preachers to attend with them, and especially John Page, who was a powerful Gospel minister, and was very popular among the Presbyterians. Accordingly he came, and preached with great power and success.
There were no camp-meetings in regular form at this time, but as there was a great waking up among the Churches, from the revival that had broken out at Cane Ridge…many flocked to those sacramental meetings. The church would not hold the tenth part of the congregation. Accordinly, the officers of the Church erected a stand in a contiguous shady grove, and prepared seats for a large congregation.
The people crowded to the meeting from far and near. They came in their large wagons, with victuals mostly prepared. The women slept in the wagons, and the men under them. Many stayed on the ground night and day for a number of nights and days together. Others were provided for among the neighbors around. The power of God was wonderfully displayed; scores of sinners fell under the preaching, like men slain in mighty battle; Christians shouted aloud for joy.
To this meeting I repaired, a guilty, wretched sinner. On the Saturday evening of said meeting, I went, with weeping multitudes, and bowed before the stand, and earnestly prayed for mercy. In the midst of a solemn struggle of soul, an impression was made on my mind, as though a voice said to me, “Thy sins are all forgiven thee.” Divine light flashed all around me, unspeakable joy sprung up in my soul. I rose to my feet, opened my eyes, and it really seemed as if I was in heaven; the trees, the leaves on them, and everything seemed, and I really thought were, praising God. My mother raised the shout, my Christian friends crowded around me and joined me in praising God; and though I have been since then, in many instances, unfaithful, yet I have never, for one moment, doubted that the Lord did, then and there, forgive my sins and give me religion…
“Lord, may You send this kind of revival that will soundly convert sinners into life-long Christ followers! Help us to not lead people to a decision…but to repentance through Your kindness. In Christ’s Name, Amen!” – Pastor Chad
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - The Cost of Discipleship
“The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call.” (The Cost of Discipleship)
I can’t think of a better devotional than Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Easter! “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” We don’t say things like that in our churches, do we? Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a gift to the Body of Christ. He was unique because he understood the importance of suffering. This is one thing the Church has lost sight of.
This Easter season, we’ll see an increase in the attendance of our churches. As people pour into our sanctuaries most sermons will be something like this…“Accept Christ and your life will be better.” “Come to Christ and you won’t be disappointed.” “Invite Jesus into your heart and you will be happy!”
This is not what Bonhoeffer preached. I don’t think it’s what the true Gospel is. God used Dietrich Bonhoeffer to navigate His people through Germany’s darkest hour. From 1933-1945, Bonhoeffer helped organize a movement of evangelical Christians known as the Confessing Church. It opposed Nazism and the Nazi-based German Christian Church movement.
Dietrich was a young pastor, theologian and author who was active in seeing Germany free from the wicked grip of Nazism. He had opportunities to leave Germany. He had friends both in the United States and the United Kingdom who offered him exile. Yet he refused their offers in order to stay and strengthen the underground Confessing Church.
It was on April 6, 1943 that Bonhoeffer was arrested. While in custody at the Tegel Military Prison, he vigorously wrote to strengthen and encourage the Church. He awaited trial for two years. He was secretly transferred to Flossenburg Concentration Camp in February of 1945.
After his Sunday service for the prisoners of Flossenburg, he was led away to be tried. The Nazi regime condemned him to death. The sentencing was to be carried out the following day, April 9, 1945. They hung this thirty-nine year-old pastor with a thin wire meant for strangulation.
The doctor who witnessed the martyrdom wrote in his journal that evening, “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer ... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”
My question this Easter season is this, “Where are the Bonhoeffer’s who will challenge us to this kind of Christianity?” Read carefully what Bonhoeffer wrote to the Church, “to endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.”
Amos 6:1 is a strong warning to the Church. The Bible says, “Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion…” Are you comfortable this Easter? Are you taking any risk at all for the glory of God and the advancement of the Gospel? When I read the works of Bonhoeffer, it shakes me out of my laziness and apathy! The Church needs this kind of message…I need it!
Paul told us what our day would look like. He wrote to the young pastor, Timothy, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power. Avoid such people.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)
I’m sure you are aware that we are living in the very evil day described in 2 Timothy 3. What is needed is not a selling of the Gospel of Jesus Christ like an infomercial. We need a radical plea for people to respond to the rich grace of God provided through the repentance of sin. I hope you will gain the greatest appreciation for Bonhoeffer through this last quote. This statement is the reason you should go out and purchase a copy of the book, The Cost of Discipleship.
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” (The Cost of Discipleship)
I can’t think of a better devotional than Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Easter! “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” We don’t say things like that in our churches, do we? Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a gift to the Body of Christ. He was unique because he understood the importance of suffering. This is one thing the Church has lost sight of.
This Easter season, we’ll see an increase in the attendance of our churches. As people pour into our sanctuaries most sermons will be something like this…“Accept Christ and your life will be better.” “Come to Christ and you won’t be disappointed.” “Invite Jesus into your heart and you will be happy!”
This is not what Bonhoeffer preached. I don’t think it’s what the true Gospel is. God used Dietrich Bonhoeffer to navigate His people through Germany’s darkest hour. From 1933-1945, Bonhoeffer helped organize a movement of evangelical Christians known as the Confessing Church. It opposed Nazism and the Nazi-based German Christian Church movement.
Dietrich was a young pastor, theologian and author who was active in seeing Germany free from the wicked grip of Nazism. He had opportunities to leave Germany. He had friends both in the United States and the United Kingdom who offered him exile. Yet he refused their offers in order to stay and strengthen the underground Confessing Church.
It was on April 6, 1943 that Bonhoeffer was arrested. While in custody at the Tegel Military Prison, he vigorously wrote to strengthen and encourage the Church. He awaited trial for two years. He was secretly transferred to Flossenburg Concentration Camp in February of 1945.
After his Sunday service for the prisoners of Flossenburg, he was led away to be tried. The Nazi regime condemned him to death. The sentencing was to be carried out the following day, April 9, 1945. They hung this thirty-nine year-old pastor with a thin wire meant for strangulation.
The doctor who witnessed the martyrdom wrote in his journal that evening, “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer ... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”
My question this Easter season is this, “Where are the Bonhoeffer’s who will challenge us to this kind of Christianity?” Read carefully what Bonhoeffer wrote to the Church, “to endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.”
Amos 6:1 is a strong warning to the Church. The Bible says, “Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion…” Are you comfortable this Easter? Are you taking any risk at all for the glory of God and the advancement of the Gospel? When I read the works of Bonhoeffer, it shakes me out of my laziness and apathy! The Church needs this kind of message…I need it!
Paul told us what our day would look like. He wrote to the young pastor, Timothy, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power. Avoid such people.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)
I’m sure you are aware that we are living in the very evil day described in 2 Timothy 3. What is needed is not a selling of the Gospel of Jesus Christ like an infomercial. We need a radical plea for people to respond to the rich grace of God provided through the repentance of sin. I hope you will gain the greatest appreciation for Bonhoeffer through this last quote. This statement is the reason you should go out and purchase a copy of the book, The Cost of Discipleship.
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” (The Cost of Discipleship)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Richard Wurbrand - A Faith that Endures
Few instruments of God have taught the Western Church more about persecution than Richard Wurmbrand. He and his wife, Sabina, faithfully served the suffering church for decades. He was born March 24, 1909 to a Jewish family in Romania.
God formed a mighty union when Richard married Sabina Oster on October 26, 1936. They became Christians in 1938 and immediately began evangelizing the lost, particularly Jews. At this time, WW2 was taking place and Sabina lost nearly all her family to Nazi Concentration Camps. They were persecuted as they reached out to German troops and suffering Jews with Christ’s love.
Then, in 1945, one million Red Army Russian soldiers poured into Romania. On December 30, 1947, Romania became a Communist state. A conference organized by the government brought many religious leaders together where they shamelessly gave loyalty to Communism and spoke of what good it would do for the Romanian Church. Before it came time for Wurmbrand to speak, Sabina whispered to him, “Richard, stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ.” He whispered back, “If I do so, you’ll lose your husband.” In which she replied, “I do not wish to have a coward as a husband.”
Boldly, Richard approached the podium that was a live radio broadcast to the entire nation and declared the truth of the Gospel. So enraged where the Communists, they cut the chords to the microphones in the middle of his speech!
The Wurmbrand’s knew the price they would pay. He writes in Tortured for Christ, “When Christians in free countries win a soul for Christ; the new believer may become a member of a quietly living church. But when those in captive nations win someone, we know that he may have to go to prison and that his children may become orphans. The joy of having brought someone to Christ is always mixed with this feeling that there is a price that must be paid.”
While walking to his church on February 29, 1948, Communists kidnapped him and arrested him as, “Prisoner Number 1.” Richard would spend a total of 14 years in Romanian prisons. In Tortured for Christ, he goes into great detail about his persecutions. In 1950, Sabina would be imprisoned and forced to work in labor camps. Their son, Mihai who was 11, was left alone. Sabina was released 3 years later and immediately went back to work within the underground church.
Don’t think that Richard and Sabina ever regretted their stand for Christ. Again he writes, “If a poor man is a great lover of music, he gives his last dollar to listen to a concert. He is then without money, but he does not feel frustrated. He has heard beautiful things. I don’t feel frustrated to have lost many years in prison. I have seen many beautiful things. I myself have been among the weak and insignificant ones in prison, but have had the privilege to be in the same jail with great saints, heroes of faith who equaled the Christian of the first centuries. They went gladly to die for Christ.”
Later he writes, “The tortures and brutality continued without interruption. When I lost consciousness or became too dazed to give the tortures any further hopes of confession, I would be returned to my cell. There I would lie, untended and half dead; to regain a little strength so they could work on me again…They broke four vertebrae in my back, and many other bones. They carved me in a dozen places. They burned and cut eighteen holes in my body. When my family and I were ransomed out of Romania and brought to Norway, doctors in Oslo, seeing all this and the scars in my lungs from Tuberculosis, declared that my being alive today is a pure miracle. According to their medical books, I should have been dead for years. I believe God performed this wonder so that you could hear my voice crying out on behalf of the Underground Church in persecuted countries. He allowed one to come out alive and cry aloud the message of your suffering, faithful brethren.”
In 1964, The Norwegian Mission to the Jews and the Hebrew Christian Alliance ransomed him from the Communist Prison for $10,000. The secret police demanded he be silent concerning the persecutions of himself and other Christians. At the urging of the underground church, his family reluctantly moved to the United States to be a voice for them. He appeared before the US Senate’s Internal Security Subcommittee in Washington D.C. in May of 1966 to testify of the plight of Christians.
One year later, he formed the ministry, “Jesus to the Communist World” and now we know it as, “The Voice of the Martyrs.”
Pastor Richard and Sabina have taught the American Church what Christian love is. I hope you buy the book, Tortured for Christ. But let me leave you with one last statement from this great book, “A flower, if you bruise it under your feet, rewards you by giving you its perfume. Likewise Christians, tortured by the Communists, rewarded their torturers by love. We brought many of our jailors to Christ. And we are dominated by one desire: to give Communists who have made us suffer the best we have, the salvation that comes form our Lord Jesus Christ.”
To learn more about Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who passed away earlier this decade, visit the Voice of the Martyrs website, www.persecution.com or visit www.rw100.persecution.com.
God formed a mighty union when Richard married Sabina Oster on October 26, 1936. They became Christians in 1938 and immediately began evangelizing the lost, particularly Jews. At this time, WW2 was taking place and Sabina lost nearly all her family to Nazi Concentration Camps. They were persecuted as they reached out to German troops and suffering Jews with Christ’s love.
Then, in 1945, one million Red Army Russian soldiers poured into Romania. On December 30, 1947, Romania became a Communist state. A conference organized by the government brought many religious leaders together where they shamelessly gave loyalty to Communism and spoke of what good it would do for the Romanian Church. Before it came time for Wurmbrand to speak, Sabina whispered to him, “Richard, stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ.” He whispered back, “If I do so, you’ll lose your husband.” In which she replied, “I do not wish to have a coward as a husband.”
Boldly, Richard approached the podium that was a live radio broadcast to the entire nation and declared the truth of the Gospel. So enraged where the Communists, they cut the chords to the microphones in the middle of his speech!
The Wurmbrand’s knew the price they would pay. He writes in Tortured for Christ, “When Christians in free countries win a soul for Christ; the new believer may become a member of a quietly living church. But when those in captive nations win someone, we know that he may have to go to prison and that his children may become orphans. The joy of having brought someone to Christ is always mixed with this feeling that there is a price that must be paid.”
While walking to his church on February 29, 1948, Communists kidnapped him and arrested him as, “Prisoner Number 1.” Richard would spend a total of 14 years in Romanian prisons. In Tortured for Christ, he goes into great detail about his persecutions. In 1950, Sabina would be imprisoned and forced to work in labor camps. Their son, Mihai who was 11, was left alone. Sabina was released 3 years later and immediately went back to work within the underground church.
Don’t think that Richard and Sabina ever regretted their stand for Christ. Again he writes, “If a poor man is a great lover of music, he gives his last dollar to listen to a concert. He is then without money, but he does not feel frustrated. He has heard beautiful things. I don’t feel frustrated to have lost many years in prison. I have seen many beautiful things. I myself have been among the weak and insignificant ones in prison, but have had the privilege to be in the same jail with great saints, heroes of faith who equaled the Christian of the first centuries. They went gladly to die for Christ.”
Later he writes, “The tortures and brutality continued without interruption. When I lost consciousness or became too dazed to give the tortures any further hopes of confession, I would be returned to my cell. There I would lie, untended and half dead; to regain a little strength so they could work on me again…They broke four vertebrae in my back, and many other bones. They carved me in a dozen places. They burned and cut eighteen holes in my body. When my family and I were ransomed out of Romania and brought to Norway, doctors in Oslo, seeing all this and the scars in my lungs from Tuberculosis, declared that my being alive today is a pure miracle. According to their medical books, I should have been dead for years. I believe God performed this wonder so that you could hear my voice crying out on behalf of the Underground Church in persecuted countries. He allowed one to come out alive and cry aloud the message of your suffering, faithful brethren.”
In 1964, The Norwegian Mission to the Jews and the Hebrew Christian Alliance ransomed him from the Communist Prison for $10,000. The secret police demanded he be silent concerning the persecutions of himself and other Christians. At the urging of the underground church, his family reluctantly moved to the United States to be a voice for them. He appeared before the US Senate’s Internal Security Subcommittee in Washington D.C. in May of 1966 to testify of the plight of Christians.
One year later, he formed the ministry, “Jesus to the Communist World” and now we know it as, “The Voice of the Martyrs.”
Pastor Richard and Sabina have taught the American Church what Christian love is. I hope you buy the book, Tortured for Christ. But let me leave you with one last statement from this great book, “A flower, if you bruise it under your feet, rewards you by giving you its perfume. Likewise Christians, tortured by the Communists, rewarded their torturers by love. We brought many of our jailors to Christ. And we are dominated by one desire: to give Communists who have made us suffer the best we have, the salvation that comes form our Lord Jesus Christ.”
To learn more about Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who passed away earlier this decade, visit the Voice of the Martyrs website, www.persecution.com or visit www.rw100.persecution.com.
Monday, February 1, 2010
David Brainerd - Unspeakable Glory
Isn’t it incredible to think that a missionary who influenced countless people battled depression his entire life? That same man who inspired many to go to the mission field felt his own ministry was a failure. Although David Brainerd was strong spiritually, his body was frail and feeble from Tuberculosis causing him to die at the age of 29.
His desire was to be “a flame for God.” In his journal entry on April 26, 1742, “Oh, that I could spend every moment of my life to God’s glory!” He burned with passion on August 30, 1742 writing, “My soul longs with a vehement desire to live for God.” November 22, 1745 he entered, “I have received my all from God, oh that I could return my all to God.”
David was born into a Puritan family on April 20, 1718 and although he read the Bible through twice each year, he was never soundly converted. It wasn’t until he was 21 that he experienced salvation. Brainerd says, “As I was walking in a dark, thick grove, unspeakable glory seemed to open to the view and apprehension in my soul. It was a new inward apprehension or view that I had of God, such as I never had before, or anything that I had the least remembrance of, so that I stood still and wondered and admired. My soul was so captivated and delighted with the excellencies, the loveliness, and the greatness and the other perfections of God. I was swallowed up in Him. At least to that degree, that I had no thought, as I remember, first about my own salvation…and thus, the Lord, I trust, brought me to a hearty desire to exalt Him.” (The Lord’s Day, July 12, 1739)
Shortly after his conversion, he entered Yale. Brainerd’s experience in school was disappointing. In his first year, he was sent home due to illnesses. Added to that, the student body was carnal and unspiritual. When he did return his second year, everything was different, primarily because of a revival George Whitefield held! Most of the school’s faculty considered the revival emotionalism. One of Brainerd’s professors was critical about the Revival; David’s comment toward the issue caused him to be removed from Yale.
Unsure of the direction in his life, Brainerd shepherded a small congregation in Woodbury, Connecticut. It wasn’t long until David knew the calling God had on his life. In August of 1742, he was asked to preach to the Indians. The next March, he resigned his pastorate and became a full time missionary.
Through miraculous events, the Indians gained trust in David’s ministry. They believed the “paleface” was sent by the spirits. Brainerd took every opportunity to teach Scripture. Although the work began slowly, he later saw results. “I have now baptized, in all, 47 persons of the Indians. 23 adults and 24 children…through rich grace, none of them as yet have been left to disgrace their profession of Christianity by any scandalous or unbelieving behavior” David wrote in his journal.
“After public worship was over, I went to my house, proposing to preach again after a short season of intermission. But they soon came in one after another; with tears in their eyes, to know, ‘what they should do to be saved...’ It was an amazing season of power among them, and seemed as if God had ‘bowed the heavens and come down...’ and that God was about to convert the whole world.”
Brainerd’s ministry did not come without the continuous sacrifice of prayer and fasting. In July 1744, David wrote, "This morning about nine I withdrew to the woods for prayer. I was in such anguish that when I rose from my knees I felt extremely weak and overcome, and the sweat ran down my face and body ... I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ. I continued in this frame all the evening and night." Again, he records, "About six at night I lost my way in the wilderness, and wandered over rocks and mountains, through swamps and most dreadful places. I was pinched with cold and distressed with an extreme pain in my head and stomach so that much blood came from me. But God preserved me, and blessed be His name, such fatigues and hardships as these seem to wean me more from the earth and I trust will make heaven the sweeter."
Tuberculosis came again as his body began to give out. He wrote, “Farewell friends, and earthly comforts…I will spend my life to my latest moments in caves and dens of the earth, if the kingdom of Christ may thereby be advanced.”
“It is my fervent longing to be a flame of fire, continually glowing in the divine service, till my latest, my dying moment.” That moment came in the home of Jonathan Edwards on October 9, 1746. At the age of 29, on his deathbed, he whispered, “I was made for eternity. How I long to be with God and to bow in His presence. Oh that the Redeemer may see of the travail of this soul and be satisfied. Oh come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!” With that said, he passed from his earthly body into his heavenly body free of depression, thoughts of failure and free of pain.
His desire was to be “a flame for God.” In his journal entry on April 26, 1742, “Oh, that I could spend every moment of my life to God’s glory!” He burned with passion on August 30, 1742 writing, “My soul longs with a vehement desire to live for God.” November 22, 1745 he entered, “I have received my all from God, oh that I could return my all to God.”
David was born into a Puritan family on April 20, 1718 and although he read the Bible through twice each year, he was never soundly converted. It wasn’t until he was 21 that he experienced salvation. Brainerd says, “As I was walking in a dark, thick grove, unspeakable glory seemed to open to the view and apprehension in my soul. It was a new inward apprehension or view that I had of God, such as I never had before, or anything that I had the least remembrance of, so that I stood still and wondered and admired. My soul was so captivated and delighted with the excellencies, the loveliness, and the greatness and the other perfections of God. I was swallowed up in Him. At least to that degree, that I had no thought, as I remember, first about my own salvation…and thus, the Lord, I trust, brought me to a hearty desire to exalt Him.” (The Lord’s Day, July 12, 1739)
Shortly after his conversion, he entered Yale. Brainerd’s experience in school was disappointing. In his first year, he was sent home due to illnesses. Added to that, the student body was carnal and unspiritual. When he did return his second year, everything was different, primarily because of a revival George Whitefield held! Most of the school’s faculty considered the revival emotionalism. One of Brainerd’s professors was critical about the Revival; David’s comment toward the issue caused him to be removed from Yale.
Unsure of the direction in his life, Brainerd shepherded a small congregation in Woodbury, Connecticut. It wasn’t long until David knew the calling God had on his life. In August of 1742, he was asked to preach to the Indians. The next March, he resigned his pastorate and became a full time missionary.
Through miraculous events, the Indians gained trust in David’s ministry. They believed the “paleface” was sent by the spirits. Brainerd took every opportunity to teach Scripture. Although the work began slowly, he later saw results. “I have now baptized, in all, 47 persons of the Indians. 23 adults and 24 children…through rich grace, none of them as yet have been left to disgrace their profession of Christianity by any scandalous or unbelieving behavior” David wrote in his journal.
“After public worship was over, I went to my house, proposing to preach again after a short season of intermission. But they soon came in one after another; with tears in their eyes, to know, ‘what they should do to be saved...’ It was an amazing season of power among them, and seemed as if God had ‘bowed the heavens and come down...’ and that God was about to convert the whole world.”
Brainerd’s ministry did not come without the continuous sacrifice of prayer and fasting. In July 1744, David wrote, "This morning about nine I withdrew to the woods for prayer. I was in such anguish that when I rose from my knees I felt extremely weak and overcome, and the sweat ran down my face and body ... I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ. I continued in this frame all the evening and night." Again, he records, "About six at night I lost my way in the wilderness, and wandered over rocks and mountains, through swamps and most dreadful places. I was pinched with cold and distressed with an extreme pain in my head and stomach so that much blood came from me. But God preserved me, and blessed be His name, such fatigues and hardships as these seem to wean me more from the earth and I trust will make heaven the sweeter."
Tuberculosis came again as his body began to give out. He wrote, “Farewell friends, and earthly comforts…I will spend my life to my latest moments in caves and dens of the earth, if the kingdom of Christ may thereby be advanced.”
“It is my fervent longing to be a flame of fire, continually glowing in the divine service, till my latest, my dying moment.” That moment came in the home of Jonathan Edwards on October 9, 1746. At the age of 29, on his deathbed, he whispered, “I was made for eternity. How I long to be with God and to bow in His presence. Oh that the Redeemer may see of the travail of this soul and be satisfied. Oh come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!” With that said, he passed from his earthly body into his heavenly body free of depression, thoughts of failure and free of pain.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Brother Andrew - God's Smuggler
In September 2007, I was sitting in the President Hotel in Cairo, Egypt praying if I should travel on to Lebanon. I had already canceled my flight to Beirut two weeks prior because of the political turmoil Hezbollah had brought to the country. Israel and the Syria backed army of Hezbollah had been at war with the Lebanese people caught in the middle, particularly the Christians of Lebanon. I had been invited to Beirut, but Hezbollah had shut down the airport and thousands of soldiers camped out at the University Center in downtown Beirut.
Once the airport had re-opened, I was asked to re-book my flight. Most people advised me not to go on this trip as unstable as the country was. However, I felt the Church needed encouragement then, not when things were okay. So I prayed and had only a window of an hour or so to make a decision as to if I should travel on to Beirut from Cairo. I didn’t want to travel there out of a sense of adventure or anything like it. Yet, I didn’t want to just stay in my safety zone and not bring what encouragement I could to the believers in a difficult hour. I needed assurance from the Scripture as to whether I should go ahead and travel or stay out of Lebanon. Either way would be fine as long as I had 100% confidence from Scripture.
I asked the Lord to lead me and I turned to the book of Acts. In the brand new Bible I was using, I noticed four words on the bottom of the right hand page. It said in Acts 18:9, “And the Lord said…” I knew this would be the confirmation from Scripture I needed. If it said to go on to Lebanon, then I would go. If it gave me the impression to wait, then I would. I just knew I needed the surety of Scripture behind whatever decision I made.
Acts 18:9-10 went on to say, “And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.’” I couldn’t believe what I had just read! I don’t think God could have spoken to me any clearer than He did that afternoon! So I booked the flights immediately and left to meet some believers in Beirut!
Well, not only did I have the help of the Holy Spirit and the surety of the Scriptures…I had another great influence that afternoon. As I was making those difficult decisions that day, I was listening to a sermon by Brother Andrew! He said in that sermon, “There is no country closed to the Gospel. Anyone can get in…not everyone gets out…but anyone, willing, can get in.”
If you are not familiar with this 81 year old missionary, then you need to do some heavy reading on him. A small article could never give you the appreciation for such a life. I would encourage you to read his classic, “God’s Smuggler” along with, “The Narrow Road”, “Light Force”, “Operation Desert Light”, “Secret Believers” and “The Calling.”
Allow me to give you just a brief introduction to the man who God chose to carry the Gospel through seemingly impossible circumstances. Andrew van der Bijl was born May 11, 1928 in Holland. As a young boy, Hitler’s Nazi army took control of Holland and occupied the town Andrew grew up in. He spent most of his days sneaking around the Nazi’s and causing them a great deal of trouble. Little did he know God was preparing him to be a Bible smuggler!
He went on to missionary school in Glasgow, Scotland in the mid 1950’s. Upon graduation, the president of the school told Andrew that he could never be a missionary due to his serious back problems. The president kindly explained that a frail body, such as Andrews, would never hold up under the pressures of a missionary’s life.
Discouraged…but still determined, he went to a youth convention in Communist-controlled Poland in 1955. It was then that he realized the enormous need for Bibles behind the “Iron Curtain.” So with very little money and an old Volkswagen Beetle he traveled all over Europe distributing Bibles and bringing encouragement to the persecuted Church.
Many times he would drive up to a Communist border crawling with police who would search his car. Well, because he had such a small car, there wouldn’t be anywhere to hide the boxes of Bibles. So he would pile the back seat, the trunk and the floor boards with boxes of Bibles. As he drove up to the border, he would pray what he coined as the “Smuggler’s Prayer.” It goes like this, “Dear Lord, when you walked the earth, you made blind eyes open. Now I’m asking you to make open eyes blind.” Time after time, the guards would search his vehicle to find no Bibles…when in fact, there were hundreds!
One last story about Brother Andrew, who is now 81 and still impacting the globe with the Gospel. On the night of June 18, 1981, Brother Andrew’s ministry, Open Doors, smuggled 1 million Bibles into China! He has lived an extraordinary life dedicated to strengthening the suffering Church. Go to your local bookstore, buy the books on Brother Andrew and I promise you won’t be disappointed! He is a model of the passion ordinary Christians can have for an extraordinary call to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Once the airport had re-opened, I was asked to re-book my flight. Most people advised me not to go on this trip as unstable as the country was. However, I felt the Church needed encouragement then, not when things were okay. So I prayed and had only a window of an hour or so to make a decision as to if I should travel on to Beirut from Cairo. I didn’t want to travel there out of a sense of adventure or anything like it. Yet, I didn’t want to just stay in my safety zone and not bring what encouragement I could to the believers in a difficult hour. I needed assurance from the Scripture as to whether I should go ahead and travel or stay out of Lebanon. Either way would be fine as long as I had 100% confidence from Scripture.
I asked the Lord to lead me and I turned to the book of Acts. In the brand new Bible I was using, I noticed four words on the bottom of the right hand page. It said in Acts 18:9, “And the Lord said…” I knew this would be the confirmation from Scripture I needed. If it said to go on to Lebanon, then I would go. If it gave me the impression to wait, then I would. I just knew I needed the surety of Scripture behind whatever decision I made.
Acts 18:9-10 went on to say, “And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.’” I couldn’t believe what I had just read! I don’t think God could have spoken to me any clearer than He did that afternoon! So I booked the flights immediately and left to meet some believers in Beirut!
Well, not only did I have the help of the Holy Spirit and the surety of the Scriptures…I had another great influence that afternoon. As I was making those difficult decisions that day, I was listening to a sermon by Brother Andrew! He said in that sermon, “There is no country closed to the Gospel. Anyone can get in…not everyone gets out…but anyone, willing, can get in.”
If you are not familiar with this 81 year old missionary, then you need to do some heavy reading on him. A small article could never give you the appreciation for such a life. I would encourage you to read his classic, “God’s Smuggler” along with, “The Narrow Road”, “Light Force”, “Operation Desert Light”, “Secret Believers” and “The Calling.”
Allow me to give you just a brief introduction to the man who God chose to carry the Gospel through seemingly impossible circumstances. Andrew van der Bijl was born May 11, 1928 in Holland. As a young boy, Hitler’s Nazi army took control of Holland and occupied the town Andrew grew up in. He spent most of his days sneaking around the Nazi’s and causing them a great deal of trouble. Little did he know God was preparing him to be a Bible smuggler!
He went on to missionary school in Glasgow, Scotland in the mid 1950’s. Upon graduation, the president of the school told Andrew that he could never be a missionary due to his serious back problems. The president kindly explained that a frail body, such as Andrews, would never hold up under the pressures of a missionary’s life.
Discouraged…but still determined, he went to a youth convention in Communist-controlled Poland in 1955. It was then that he realized the enormous need for Bibles behind the “Iron Curtain.” So with very little money and an old Volkswagen Beetle he traveled all over Europe distributing Bibles and bringing encouragement to the persecuted Church.
Many times he would drive up to a Communist border crawling with police who would search his car. Well, because he had such a small car, there wouldn’t be anywhere to hide the boxes of Bibles. So he would pile the back seat, the trunk and the floor boards with boxes of Bibles. As he drove up to the border, he would pray what he coined as the “Smuggler’s Prayer.” It goes like this, “Dear Lord, when you walked the earth, you made blind eyes open. Now I’m asking you to make open eyes blind.” Time after time, the guards would search his vehicle to find no Bibles…when in fact, there were hundreds!
One last story about Brother Andrew, who is now 81 and still impacting the globe with the Gospel. On the night of June 18, 1981, Brother Andrew’s ministry, Open Doors, smuggled 1 million Bibles into China! He has lived an extraordinary life dedicated to strengthening the suffering Church. Go to your local bookstore, buy the books on Brother Andrew and I promise you won’t be disappointed! He is a model of the passion ordinary Christians can have for an extraordinary call to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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