What Price?

Today's picture from Israel is of a small boat on the Sea of Galilee. It reminds us of the many times in the Gospels that Jesus and the Apostles travelled on the Sea in small boats, including Matthew 14: 22-23; " Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone”.

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing  value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and county them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8)

Hey Gang:  Each time we return to Voice of Martyr’s to give of our time and energies, I gain a new appreciation for Paul’s words and find myself questioning how deep my love for the Lord really goes.  When I hear the stories of those who endure persecution for standing firm in their love for the Lord, I wonder, if someone held a gun to my head and gave me a choice – reject Jesus as Lord and accept Islam (or whatever other religion)  or die, what would I say?    

I am reading a book titled The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg , which addresses this question.  One his first statements kind of hit me between the eyes.  He wrote, “When I began to ask the question , ‘Am I willing, and how deep does my willingness go to serve my Lord no matter what the circumstances’, I found myself answering my question ‘I am disappointed in my lack of disappointment.”  The more I thought about that statement the more I found myself saying,“and so go I”.

What he is asking is – ‘Am I truly living the life that Christ designed for me even before time began?’  There was a man by the name of Frank Constintino who was one bad motor scooter.  He found himself in prison facing a life sentence when God visited him and said, “Frank you are leaving a ‘Hole In Time’. I have a very special mission for you. I have programmed you to reach people for my kingdom and you  have broken the chains of redemption by choosing to ‘go your own way’.”

We were privileged to hear the VOM International Representative to the Far East in Chapel and he shared some of beautiful stories of what is happening in North Korea, even though to be a Christian there is to have a bulls eye on your back.   We also heard the story of a Ugandan pastor who was attacked by several Muslims who threw acid in his face, arms that resulted in the lose of one eye; even in his suffering, he has not neglected his sheep.   We also learned of a church of more than a thousand in China that cannot find a building to worship in so they meet in God’s great outdoors.

Soooo, my young friends, that brings me back to my first statement, what price are you willing to pay?  A very common message here is get into the word and prepare for the persecution that will come to this country.   One has to have their head in the sand to not see that each day the Christian values of our nation are being taken away. 

Blessings,

Gramps