"If the Lord sets you to guard a lonely post
in perfect stillness from all active work,
you ought to be just as content
as to be in the midst of the active warfare.
It is no virtue to love the Master's work
better than the Master's will."
Hannah Whitall Smith
Counting the Cost:
To every man
and unto every nation
will come the moment(s) to decide
upon the strife of truth and falsehood
for the side of righteousness or ungodliness
.
Some years ago a Christian brother
was invited to go to southern India
by a Indian Christian leader named Yesu.
He joined a team of American Christians
and ventured out to the mission field,
determined to assist in reaching
the Hindus, Muslims and unchurched peoples of India.
Each of the team members
had experienced the call of God to go;
but had little understanding of what to expect.
When they arrived Yesu met them
and invited them to his home
so that he could tell them of his ministry in India.
His father had started the mission years earlier
in a Hindu-dominated area.
One day a Hindu leader came to Yesu’s home
and asked Yesu’s father for prayer.
His father eager for the opportunity to pray for the man,
hoping that he might lead him to Christ,
invited the man into his home.
He took him to a private room in the house
and after listening to his needs,
they knelt together on the floor together,
eyes closed to pray.
While he was praying the Hindu leader
reached into his robe and took out a concealed knife
and stabbed him repeatedly.
Yesu, hearing his fathers screams, ran to help him.
He cradled his father in his arms
as his blood poured on to the dirt floor of the hut.
Three days later, his father died.
On his deathbed he said to his son,
“Please go and tell that man that he is forgiven.
Care for your mother and carry on the ministry.
Do whatever it takes to win the lost for Christ.
Such accounts make me feel ashamed
of the times I have complained
of frustrations or injustices
I have faced over the years;
thinking I was “suffering” for Christ.
Many have gone before us,
and many are today still being martyred for Christ.
May the Lord continue to provide His Grace
that we too may keep the faith.
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind:
for he that hath suffered in the flesh
hath ceased from sin;
That he no longer should live the rest of his time
in the flesh to the lusts of men,
but to the Will of God.”
I Peter 4:1,2
in perfect stillness from all active work,
you ought to be just as content
as to be in the midst of the active warfare.
It is no virtue to love the Master's work
better than the Master's will."
Hannah Whitall Smith
Counting the Cost:
To every man
and unto every nation
will come the moment(s) to decide
upon the strife of truth and falsehood
for the side of righteousness or ungodliness
.
Some years ago a Christian brother
was invited to go to southern India
by a Indian Christian leader named Yesu.
He joined a team of American Christians
and ventured out to the mission field,
determined to assist in reaching
the Hindus, Muslims and unchurched peoples of India.
Each of the team members
had experienced the call of God to go;
but had little understanding of what to expect.
When they arrived Yesu met them
and invited them to his home
so that he could tell them of his ministry in India.
His father had started the mission years earlier
in a Hindu-dominated area.
One day a Hindu leader came to Yesu’s home
and asked Yesu’s father for prayer.
His father eager for the opportunity to pray for the man,
hoping that he might lead him to Christ,
invited the man into his home.
He took him to a private room in the house
and after listening to his needs,
they knelt together on the floor together,
eyes closed to pray.
While he was praying the Hindu leader
reached into his robe and took out a concealed knife
and stabbed him repeatedly.
Yesu, hearing his fathers screams, ran to help him.
He cradled his father in his arms
as his blood poured on to the dirt floor of the hut.
Three days later, his father died.
On his deathbed he said to his son,
“Please go and tell that man that he is forgiven.
Care for your mother and carry on the ministry.
Do whatever it takes to win the lost for Christ.
Such accounts make me feel ashamed
of the times I have complained
of frustrations or injustices
I have faced over the years;
thinking I was “suffering” for Christ.
Many have gone before us,
and many are today still being martyred for Christ.
May the Lord continue to provide His Grace
that we too may keep the faith.
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind:
for he that hath suffered in the flesh
hath ceased from sin;
That he no longer should live the rest of his time
in the flesh to the lusts of men,
but to the Will of God.”
I Peter 4:1,2
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