Missions can be risky business. Perhaps not so much in the West, yet. In many places in our world, you could be tossed in jail, beaten or killed for speaking about Jesus. (For current news on persecution fo Christians, go to Voice of the Martyrs.) This is not a new development. In our reading for … More It is right to risk for the cause of God.
If you were a missionary in a remote tribal jungle, where previous missionaries had been eaten by cannibals, and you had been praying and sharing the good news for years and yet few believed…how would you respond? Would you be discouraged? How about if your wife and newborn baby died, leaving you alone? Such was the … More Discouragement in missions?
Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless … More First missionary command?
Acts 2:39, 47 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Repentance, salvation, the gift of the Holy Spirit…all this is promised … More Day by day, God Saves…great missions promise!
I volunteer with a small missions agency, Vernacular Video Mission International, which focuses on bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to people using their “vernacular” language. According to Wikipedia, “A Vernacular, mother tongue or mother language, and less frequently one sense of idiom[1] and dialect,[2] is the native language of a population located in … More God ordained vernacular languages!
As I read through the Bible this year, I am focusing on finding missions-related texts. While Psalm 3 is really all about David fleeing from his enemy, his son Absalom, it is a beautiful prayer to remember while on a missions trip. Especially when you are in hostile territory. Let me explain. In March of 2005, my … More Missions Promises from Psalm 3?
In Acts 1 we have an unusual situation. The apostles have met and are deciding who should replace Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. Clearly, Jesus was the One who had chosen the 12. How should they choose a successor? They do two things: they pray and they cast lots. Hmm. In Proverbs 16:11 we read, … More Dice, prayer and missions
Matthew opens with a promise of salvation through Jesus, Immanuel, God With Us: Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his … More God With Us and Missions
In Acts 1, Luke tells us that, ” In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.” What commands did Jesus give right … More Commands, Power and Missions
In the summer of 2007, I had an accident which required surgery to reattach the hamstring tendons. Following surgery, I was confined in a brace, limited to lying flat on my back orleft side. One mysterious message came in a card: “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel … More Weird and wonderful visions of the majesty and mystery of God in Ezekiel
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 