"Christ alone can save the world, but Christ cannot save the world alone." 

  David Livingston

"God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him"

Hudson Taylor

"This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on the earth!"

Keith Green

The church that does not evangelize will fossilize." 

  Oswald J. Smith

The Cross - April, 2009

  The wondrous Cross of Jesus; the place of total sacrifice.  Jesus abandoned all of glory and assumed the agony and pain of Calvary so that whosoever may be saved (Romans 10:13).

  The cross is the fountain of redemption. All life flows from Calvary.  All of our Christian faith comes from the cross.  John 19:17, and bearing His cross, He went out to a place called, The Place of a Skull (which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha). Golgotha is an Aramaic word meaning place of the skull. Some scholars believe Adam was buried there. It was the site of many crucifixions and burials. Ironically, the place of the skull [death] has become the place of life and redemption for those who come to Jesus. Ephesians 1:7 teaches, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…”

  The Cross is the origin of regeneration. Our hearts and souls are made a new, regenerated through the work of Christ on the cross. In the act of regeneration a person receives a new nature; a Godly nature. To be in God’s kingdom, a person must have His nature. God’s purpose in the crucifixion of His Son was to change the inner man giving us a new nature. With this new nature comes a new person (II Corinthians 5:17) and a new way of thinking that produces righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4: 22-24). The blood of Jesus purges sin cleanses our heart and regenerates our soul.  

  The cross is the basis of restoration.  Through the cross, God is restoring the repentant believer to a position of inheritance and identification in Him.  The cross reconciles man to God; restoring the proper order God initiated in the Garden of Eden. The cross therefore, is the basis for God’s grace and mercy; forgiveness and love. Calvary was a battle for righteousness defeating Satan and providing the foundation for believers to live a victorious life. Power and authority are in the cross. Darkness has been conquered (Colossians 1:13, “For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”

  If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, come to the cross of Christ with a spirit of repentance and receive His salvation. 

Missions (something is missing) - March 2009

  I was enjoying lunch with a friend, Ross Paterson. We were in central China talking about a few things concerning missions. He made a statement that has been ringing in my mind and heart since. He said the word “missions” has been stolen from the church. I agree with him and I would like to expand upon that statement. A large part of the church today defines mission as anything done outside the walls of the church building. The word “missions” is attached to everything from taking a cake to Aunt Sally to inviting some un-churched people to a super bowl party. Missions is usually (there are some exceptions) considered to be an elective of the church.

  Missions is crossing ethnic and cultural barriers and leaving one’s comfort zone to enter Christ’s zone. Jesus said He “came to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10).” Missions is getting out of the house and into the field of people and souls who need the saving grace of God. Christ was a market-place missionary. He went to the people. We get so caught up in our own world of busi-ness. I didn’t misspell the word. The emphasis is on busy. People in ministry get busy with three “c s” – cash, culture and colleagues. Let me briefly explain. First, ministries spend so much of their time raising money to keep the lights on and new carpet in the sanctuary and so on. Secondly, people ignorant of the custom and culture of a country make the mistake of judging the inhabitants of that country in light of the American or western lifestyle they are accustomed to. Thirdly, many evangelists in the western world spend much of their time sharing pulpits with each other. It would help if the money spent on these crusades for the saved (and their wallets) would be used to reach an unreached people group or feed and educate orphans.

  Missions is not an elective; it is at the core of love and service to God.
Taking the cake to Aunt Sally is wonderful and we are definitely obligated to reach the un-churched in our communities. These things are ministries of the church. Reaching people who have never heard a message of hope and love and salvation is missions. Going into a place where the light of Christ has never shone is missions [I have some Chinese friends who left their family and village to share the gospel in an area hundreds of miles away. They took no money and had no itinerary; as they went from village to village, they would stay and share when received and leave when not]. Taking bibles and gospel literature is missions. Taking risks is missions. Hudson Taylor, one of my heroes, said this, “if there is no risk in your endeavors for God, you have no need of faith”.
I encourage you to research a country, put your faith in boot leather and take the gospel to the nations.