Have You Struck your Colours?

Who was the greatest naval hero from the Revolutionary War?  I propose that it would be Captain John Paul Jones.  

He was instrumental in establishing the traditions of courage and tenacity that were followed by many American seamen for generations.  This indomitable figure on the waters of war was born in a gardener's cottage in Scotland. While still a youth, he went to sea, and by the age of 21, was a merchant ship master.  Years later he was residing in Virginia, and took up the patriot's cause.

Volunteering early to serve in his adopted country's virgin navy in the War for Independence, it was his hands that raised the Continental colors on board the flagship of the first fleet of the American Navy.

This Naval officer is remembered for his determination and unwillingness to consider surrender when the slightest glimmer of hope for victory still burned.  Though taking the battle to an overwhelming foe, outmanned and outgunned, he was not one to shun danger or risk, as is demonstrated by this declaration of his: "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I fully intend to go into harm's way."

Jones commanded a number of vessels in his time of service, including PROVIDENCE, ALFRED, RANGER, ARIEL, ALLIANCE and most famously, BONHOMME RICHARD.

In fact, it was on this date, the 23rd of September, back in 1778, that John Paul Jones had his most renowned sea battle.  He was embroiled in conflict against the British warship H.M.S. SERAPIS.  After the BONHOMME RICHARD began to take on water, and fires broke out on board, the British commander asked Jones if he had struck his colours.  Jones replied with a shout, "I have not yet begun to fight!"  

Three hours later, it was the British commander who surrendered to HIM.

September 23rd is also my birthdate, 

There is a statement that has become very dear to my soul in the warfare in which we are engaged.  I desire to embody its truth through the grace of my Redeemer and Lord of Hosts, Jesus Christ.  

I also yearn that my Christian brethren would take heart and be of good courage in THIS generation, remembering why we are here.  That same statement hearkens back to the mindset of Captain Jones. 

It carries the same thrust and zeal as "I have not yet begun to fight!"

What is the statement?
"There is still time to win a battle before the sun goes down."

Have you struck your colours?  Is your courage and commitment flagging?  Look to the Captain of our Salvation, and renew your strength in Him!

ABORTION MUST BE ABOLISHED.

Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist

Today marks two hundred and one years since the birth of Frederick Douglass, a runaway slave, who became an abolitionist, orator, author, editor, statesman, and preacher of the Gospel (as well as becoming the most photographed American of the 19th century).  This bold Christian man became renowned as the "Lion of Abolition."

The following are some quotes of his, which I believe may be beneficial to those seeking to abolish the evil of child sacrifice in our day.  Every age has its evils.  Every age has its abolitionists.  Let us reflect on his words.  

On Prayer & Action - “I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”

On the REAL Problem, or Question - “There is no negro problem.  The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough to live up to their own Constitution.”

On Free Speech  - “To suppress free speech is a double wrong.  It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”

On the effect upon his life after his Salvation - “I loved all mankind, slaveholders included, though I hated slavery more than ever.”

On true Christianity - “I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women whipping, cradle plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.”

On Being a Nation's True Friend - “I am one of those who think the best friend of a nation is he who most faithfully rebukes her for her sins – and he, her worst enemy, who, under the specious and popular garb of patriotism seeks to excuse, palliate, and defend them.” April 15, 1846

On Reactions to Shining Light on Wrong  - “Men do not love those who remind them of their sins.”

On National Security - “The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.”

On Justice and Peace in Society - "Where there is no justice, there is no peace."

On Demanding Justice - “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.  Power concedes nothing without a demand.  It never did and it never will.  Without a struggle, there can be no progress.  It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder.  We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”

On Agitation - “Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.”

On the Fear of Man - “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”

On Tolerance and Tyranny - “Find out what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.”

On Standing Alone - “One and God make a majority.”

On his One Political Idea - "I have one great political idea...That idea is an old one.  It is widely and generally assented to; nevertheless, it is very generally trampled upon and disregarded.  The best expression of it, I have found in the Bible.  It is in substance, 'Righteousness exalteth a nation; sin is a reproach to any people' [Proverbs 14:34]...This constitutes my politics -- the negative and positive of my politics, and the whole of my politics...I feel it my duty to do all in my power to infuse this idea into the public mind, that it may speedily be recognized and practiced upon by our people."

O, FOR CHRISTIANS TO AWAKEN TO RIGHTEOUSNESS, FIRED WITH ZEAL FROM FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, AND CONSTRAINED BY THE LOVE OF CHRIST!

O, FOR HEROES TO RISE TODAY, AND SPEAK WITH THE FACES OF LIONS!

Abortion must be abolished.

Do The Math

I don't know how often I have heard it said in various ways by fellow believers:

"Unfortunately, at this time the church does not have the people, the power, nor the funds, to make an impact on the evil of abortion in this country." 

"We cannot really do anything but vote, give to pro-life groups and crisis pregnancy centers, pray, and hope for the best.  There is nothing else we can do that will make a difference."

I for one, want to counter this sentiment with truth.  Let's take into consideration a very practical use of numbers.  

There has been a campaign across this nation for Christians to gather and pray at their state capitols.  Franklin Graham has spearheaded it, and thousands of churches, families, and individuals have turned out to hear exhortation and pray together in public squares.  Pastors and Christian leaders have encouraged these gatherings, and they have been well attended.

In Nashville, Tennessee, it was reported that about 9,000 gathered to pray in that state's capitol city on May 3rd of this year.  Let me repeat that.  That is NINE THOUSAND believers who intentionally took time out of their busy lives that specific day!  They organized, and went and stood in a multitude to pray.

Incidentally, just one mile from where those 9,000 gathered to pray about the sins and needs of this country, stands a building where the murder of innocent and helpless babies is committed.  That is an altar of human sacrifice to the god of Self.  Babies are butchered there six days a week.  Just eight miles away from that prayer gathering in another direction  is another murder mill, where four abortionists murder babies on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.  

And yet on most days there is NO ONE standing regularly, or even occasionally, to bring the Gospel into conflict with those who are committing the gross sin of homicide (in the worst degree, on the most vulnerable victim)!  NO ONE standing to declare God's truth and mercy to those who are shedding innocent blood.  

There is a problem with this.

Especially since there are over 600,000 people living in the city of Nashville, and nearly 1,000 churches in the Nashville area!  

Those few Christians who do make it a point to go to those specific Tennessee abortion mills are abolitionists who drive 45 minutes to several hours to stand for Christ and those made in His image. 

Again, there is a problem with that.  

I well remember the morning in Pensacola in 2006, out in front of a baby butcher shop, when a police officer looked at me and my friend, and said "This must not be a real issue for the church, since you two are the only ones here."  In the middle of a conservative Christian "stronghold", surrounded by hundreds of churches, and only two Christians were standing as emissaries for Christ at the Gates of Death.  What message is the church sending the world by our silence and absence from the field? 

The watchword of the Decision America Tour campaign has been "Pray.  Vote.  Engage."

I would like to put some focus on the word "Engage."  What effect would it have if we did?

Since 9,000 individuals were able to schedule several hours out of their very busy lives to gather and pray (and I am sure that abortion was possibly one of the prayer targets), let's just take that number and play with it for a while.  Consider the impact if 9,000 Christians chose to love their neighbors by showing up when they were scheduled to be killed.

Taking one mill into consideration: If just 24 of the 9,000 went to that abortuary on one day, and then a different 24 went the next day, and then another 24 went the next day, and on, and on...you would have 24 Christians at the mill EVERY SINGLE DAY of the YEAR without ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL having been there twice. 

Imagine, 24 Christians, exercising various roles at the Gates of Death—

• Preaching the Gospel. 
• Pleading for the lives of little image-bearers. 
• Praying fervently on site for God to work in hearts.
• Providing help, information, and resources at the entry.
• Provoking with signs, etc.

What if they chose to take on both mills?  If each person in the multitude of 9,000 committed to stand, representing Christ and pleading the cause of the poor and needy (as Scripture commands) outside the Gates of Death one day a month, that would mean that each of those two abortion mills would have 145 Christians outside it EVERY DAY with each person only giving one day a month to plead for the lives of the innocent and provide truth to all who enter (and that is if every month had 31 days; 5 months have fewer).

This by itself would have a HUGE impact on the business that sheds innocent blood.  This would clearly showcase the Gospel to the lost deliver numerous babies from slaughter, and shut down both mills!

For sake of clarity, I must state that I am not at all against Christians gathering in small or huge numbers, privately or publicly to earnestly and fervently pray for revival and a turn in this nation.  I am merely using that example to show what can happen when national Christian leaders and local area pastors encourage the church to "show up!"  They show up!

Why is there not a greater cry for action?  A greater plea to engage?  

Why is the plight of the unborn and the Christian biblical response not campaigned for every Sunday from behind the pulpits of our churches?

The reality of this post is that thousands are gathering for an event to pray about the sins and needs of this country, and yet one mile away from that crowded site, almost no one is gathering to regularly or even occasionally "engage" those who are committing this crime against God, their own children, and their own conscience.  Oh, that after everyone bowed in prayer at that Nashville rally to beseech the Almighty God, those 9,000 had then been directed to march down to Planned Parenthood and actively love their neighbors who were being murdered that very day—some to preach, some to pray, some to plead, some to provide help, and all to provoke as God's word commands, calling to repentance, and seeking the abolition of abortion.

Francis Schaeffer said that every abortion mill should have a sign out front that says, "Open by permission of the church." Please let that quote hit hard!

I saw a billboard in Arkansas that said, 
"When 1% of the church shows up to stand at the abortion mill, Abortion will cease in Arkansas."  That would be true in any state of the union.  Darkness cannot stand the presence of Light.  

God has commanded us to "love our neighbour as ourselves", "visit the fatherless in their affliction", to "open our mouths" and "plead the cause of the poor and needy", to do "justice and equity".

But even though God has made Himself clear, and has given us all we need to make a huge impact simply by assembling as His ambassadors at the Gates of Death (not to mention all the other ways to effect abolition of this evil), it is not enough, nor honest, neither is it "Christian" for us to say, "All we can do is pray."

Prayer is never meant to be a substitute for obedience.  Imagine if Isaiah said in prayer, "Here am I; send someone else!" (Isaiah 6).

I would that the thousands upon thousands of believers in every city would learn about, get involved, and then engage for their pre-born neighbors being slaughtered!  I would that they would take God's command to "Open thy mouth for the dumb in the case of all such are as appointed to destruction" (Proverbs 31:8) at His word.  I fear that it is far easier to go to an event then it is to do the inconvenient thing.  

"Some want to live within sound of church and chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell."  C.T. Studd

[Note: the 9,000 number used as an example in this post is simply taken from the number of attendees at that one city event.  If we took instead the real number of Christians and Bible believing assemblies in Nashville, or another major city (like the Kansas City region), the number of Christians activated could easily be larger, and have even more impact.]

[Note also: Going to the abortion mills is ONLY ONE way that Christians can engage justly on behalf of our preborn neighbors.  There are many areas in which we are to seek to be active in doing justly, as God requires.  Seeding the culture with literature, declaring truth and destroying misinformation, exposing the holocaust to the public in various forums, social media interaction, starting the conversation, exhorting the brethren, utilizing your car as a vehicle of agitation, putting the symbol and message of abolition out to be seen on clothing, products, etc.  Right at the top must also be prodding our elected leaders to abolish the murder of abortion instead of simply regulating it!]  Imagine if 9,000 Christians in the Greater City Area chose to do all those things as well!

The church MUST take right ground, and engage.

Abortion must be abolished.

The Meaning of a Name - The Ed Word (Edward)

Today is my son Edward's birthday.  He is now 1 year of age.  Though Tirzah and the rest of us often call him "Bubber", Edward's full name is much longer and filled with meaning for us.  

The name of our little guy is Edward Borden Benjamin Myers

Edward comes from the Old English ead meaning "blessed, rich" and weard, meaning "guardian, watcher".  

In Hebrew, Ed is a proper name meaning "witness".  It is the name given to a great altar built by the two and a half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh) on the east side of Jordan, as a testimony to future generations that the LORD IS GOD (Numbers 22).  We desire for our son to become a bold witness for Christ, whose life will so given for Christ that it will alter the course of history as those who come after see what God has done!

I also appreciate that in the heart of the name is the word WAR.  We are in a great conflict of spiritual warfare.  I call him my little warrior, and desire him to grow to "be strong in the LORD" (Ephesians 6:10), and "turn the battle to the gate" (Isaiah 28:6).  We love having both our children join us each week at we minister at the abortion mill!  And my prayer for my son/warrior is that he will gain a great desire to defend those who are weak, be a hero for the fatherless and widow, win souls to Christ, do battle in the heavenlies, and that the Lord will mightily use him to "brake the jaws of the wicked, and pluck the spoil out of his teeth" (Job 29:17)!

Edward is the middle name of my father's father, Harold Edward Myers.  His birthday was March 27th, only 5 days earlier than Edward's (in fact, the 27th was one of the possible due dates we were given for Edward'a arrival).  Grandpa Myers taught me so much about life and family, God's creation, hard work, and integrity, and is now in Heaven with his blessed Redeemer.  Grandpa Myers was the one to lead my father to salvation in Jesus, and my father led me.  And I pray daily for Edward to come to saving faith in Christ alone!

Edward is a name that carries a royal weight.

King Alfred the Great's eldest son was named Edward.  In the last hours of Alfred's life, he called for Edward, to give him a last charge as king:

"Thou my dear son, set thee now beside me, and I will deliver thee true instructions.  I feel that my hour is coming.  My strength is gone; my countenance is wasted and pale.  My days are almost ended.  We must now part. I go to another world, and thou art to be left alone in the possession of all that I have thus far held.  I pray thee, my dear child, to be a father to thy people.  Be the children's father and the widow's friend.  Comfort the poor, protect and shelter the weak, and, with all thy might, right that which is wrong.  And, my son, govern thyself by law.  Then shall the Lord love thee, and God Himself shall be thy reward.  Call thou upon Him to advise thee in all thy need, and He shall help thee to compass all thy desires."

History tells us that this son, who succeeded Alfred, became a good and just ruler, and gained such renown, that the name Edward remained in popular use even after the Norman conquest, when Norman names replaced English ones.  In fact, eight other monarchs of England were given the name of Edward in honour of that son of Alfred.

One of those "Edward kings" (and my favorite), was Edward VI, by some called "the British Josiah", whose short life of fifteen years and brief reign of only six years, nevertheless burned brightly for the Scriptures and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and altered the course of England's history.  When preparations for his coronation were being made, it is said that three swords were brought out to be carried in the procession, as emblematic of his three kingdoms.  The young Edward said, "There was one yet wanting."  The nobles inquired what it was and he answered, 

"The Bible.  That book is the sword of the Spirit, and to be preferred before these swords.  That ought in right to govern us, who use them for the people's safety by God's appointment.  Without that sword we are nothing, we can do nothing, we have not power.  From the Bible we are what we are this day.  From it we receive whatsoever it is that we at present do assume.  He that rules without it is not to be called God's minister or king.  Under the Bible, the word of God, we ought to live, to fight, to govern the people and to perform all our affairs.  From it alone we obtain all power, virtue, grace, salvation and whatsoever we have of divine strength."  O, that our son Edward would treasure that Sword, and wield it faithfully!

Edward Ruthledge was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  Though he was cautious to come to the decision to separate from Britain, Ruthledge, at age 26, became the youngest of the 56 signers, to pledged his life, fortune, and sacred honour to see his fledgling nation free from the tyranny of George III.

Borden means "from the boar valley".  This is interesting, since my dear wife Deana's name means "from the valley".  We desire for our son to take on the challenges and dangers of life with an incorrigible trust in the living God, no matter his outward circumstance.

The father of the Borden family came to England circa the Norman conquest, following King William the Conqueror, and was granted land and named a Baron in recognition of his assistance in the Battle of Hastings. 

We named our son after the stalwart young millionaire, William Whiting Borden (1887-1913), who forsook the world and followed Jesus Christ to the mission field.  Though he died at age 25 in Cairo before ever reaching his beloved China, the incredible life of dogged love for souls and daring givenness of William Borden has caused multitudes of Christians since to be moved to the mission field.  We desire for our son to be ready for God's call to missions, and to "Say No to Self, Yes to Jesus every time."  

It is special to us that in Borden, our son Edward is named after a William, since we lost his older brother, William Livingstone Samuel, before birth.  Each and every child is a blessing to be cherished, welcomed, and valued as the "heritage of the LORD" (Psalm 127:3).

Benjamin is Hebrew, meaning "son of the right hand".  Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob, and Joseph's brother, whose family became a tribe.  A few of the heroes that came from the tribe of Benjamin are Ehud, Jonathan, Mordecai, and the apostle Paul.  "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of  man whom thou madest strong for thyself" (Psalm 80:17).  

My mother's father is named Benjamin Russell Markley, Jr.  He too, has taught me an incredible amount about diligence, character, heritage, and service for the Lord.  At 91, he is still with us, and we plan to visit him this weekend.  Both I and my son Edward have the middle name of Benjamin.   

There were three signers of the Declaration of Independence named Benjamin:
Benjamin Franklin - Pennsylvania  
Benjamin Rush - Pennsylvania
Benjamin Harrison - Virginia

   Of these three signers, my favorite is Benjamin Rush, who was a staunch Christian, a passionate patriot, and being an early Abolitionist, he founded the first abolitionist society in America.  Even while King George outlawed such groups.  Rush was also a scientist and dedicated physician, who risked his own life to stay and care for hundreds of patients during an epidemic in Philadelphia, even as many other doctors were fleeing for their own safety. Dr. Rush wrote a powerful defense of the use of the Bible in public schools, which later became a widespread tract.  He served under three U.S. Presidents of different parties.  Benjamin would find a man who followed Biblical principles, and would stand with him.  He said once "People have alternately called me an Aristocract and a Democrat.  I am neither.  I am a Christocrat."

We are humbled and grateful for the honour of receiving and raising this son, and do seek God's wisdom and direction as we train our children to know, fear, love, and serve God with all their hearts!  

Happy Birthday, Edward!  Love you, Bubber!

Abortion must be abolished.

Words of a Living Stone

From a child, I have been drawn to the life of David Livingstone, pioneer missionary explorer to his beloved continent of Africa.  His was the first missionary biography I read, and it fired my zeal to glorify Christ by going into dark places and shining the light of the glorious Gospel to those who need to hear it.  He plunged into the heart of danger, faced impossible hazards, and declared the truth of God his King.  This man went forward in faith, and for 30 years, took on the task of opening interior Africa for the Gospel.  And he could say with Paul, 

"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." (2 Timothy 4:16)

He stood out in his generation for the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). He did what no one else dared.  And history was not the same for it.  How my heart yearns to have a double portion of that which stirred Mr. Livingstone!   

My wife and I have named our children after missionaries (their middle names) that we have greatly been challenged by and learned much from.  We were excited to name our second child and first boy William Livingstone Samuel, in honour of my hero.  But our little man died in the womb and passed to glory ahead of us.  We held his little body, mourned our loss greatly, and gave him his powerful name before we buried him.  I miss my son every day.  

What would David Livingstone say to this generation?  To answer this question, let's look at what he said in his own time? As it is said of Abel, "he being dead yet speaketh" (Hebrews 11:4).

Young David lived in Scotland.  He spent many hours as a boy working in the mill, and additional hours in school.  But he loved exploring the wilds of his home, in which he would gather plant specimens.  On one of those excursions, David visited an old castle ruins.  Many other sightseers and picnickers had climbed the walls of the ruins to write their names.  David climbed high up in order put his name higher than any others.  Scaling the stone wall, the lad cut in his name with a penknife.  The stones of the castle were treacherous, especially as it began to rain, and the footholds became slippery.  He lost his footing once, and barely kept from falling to his death.  But he finished and climbed back down.  That next Lord's day, David was sitting in church.  The minister was preaching.

 "Why do people write their names on trees, fences, or walls?"  David pictured in his mind the castle wall.  The preacher answered the question.  "We all want to glorify ourselves.  We want a name that is above every name.  We want our name to be higher than all.  Why?  Why?  Why?  Because we want to glorify ourselves."  David's face turned red, and shame filled his heart.  The pastor continued, "The reason for living is to glorify God, not ourselves.  The name of Jesus is high and lifted up.  At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow."  Sitting in the pew, David resolved, "I'll live for Jesus.  I will glorify God, not myself.  Indeed I will."

David spoke and wrote much of this kind of devotion to His God:

"May God so imbue my mind with the spirit of Christianity that in all circumstances I may show my Christian character."

"All that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine Book."

"Do not think me mad.  It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live.  The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give."

"I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time and eternity."

"Be manly Christians, and never do a mean thing."

The following was David's explanation of his calling, and indeed God's call to all Christians concerning the Great Commission: "GO ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature!" (Mark: 16:15)

"'Go!—as a trailblazer, a pathfinder, a pioneer!  Evangelize!  Do the work of a missionary!  And lo, I am with you!—hence you will never be alone and you will have nothing to fear!'  'That is a promise I can rely upon,' said Livingstone, 'for it is the word of a Gentleman of honour.'"

"God had an only Son, and He was a was missionary and a physician."

When in missionary school, David was asked what he would do if everything were to go wrong on the mission field and you were the only one left to carry on  the work.  David swallowed and replied.  "Though everyone else be dead and I myself sick, I would still go on, and if I failed, I would at least die in the field."

"I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward.  I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose."

"I shall open up a path to the interior or perish."

"Does not the King's business require haste?"

"If we wait till we run no risk, the gospel will never be introduced into the interior."

"Without Christ, not one step; with Him, anywhere!"

His own writings and those things reported by others regarding his personal life and ministry in Africa have had powerful influence on my own life.  I desire to live as whole-heartedly as this hero of the Cross.  

It was said that the country around Kolobeng was full of wild beasts.  Standing at the front door of his own house, Livingstone shot a rhinoceros and a buffalo.  He taught the people the value of irrigation and helped them in many ways, but what he enjoyed most, he says, was "to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, for it always warms my own heart and is the great means which God employs for the regeneration of our ruined world."

Whenever he had opportunity, David Livingstone would call for others to join in the mission work, to reach the lost with Christ. 

"If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them.  I want men who will come if there is no road at all."

"I am immortal till my work is accomplished, and although I see few results, future missionaries will see conversions every sermon.  May they not forget the pioneers who worked in the thick gloom with few rays to cheer, except such as flow from faith in the precious promises of God's word."

"Fear God and work hard."

"Sympathy is no substitute for action."

A biographer said of one of Livingstone's journeys: "They had many harrowing adventures, but finally, after journeying for more than six months by canoe, ox-back, and on foot, through forests and flooded rivers, in perils from wild beasts and savage men for 1500 miles of jungles which no white man had ever traversed before, Livingstone and his men came to Loanda on the west coast.  He had suffered thirty-one attacks of intermittent fever, had been assailed by huge swarms of fierce mosquitoes, and was reduced to 'a bag of bones.'  Yet he staggered on.  'Cannot the love of Christ,' he asked, 'carry the missionary where the slave trade carries the trader?'  He was not a missionary part of the time and something else the rest of the time.  He was a missionary all the time, whatever the means he was using, whether healing, teaching, or exploring.  'The end of the geographical feat is only the beginning of the missionary enterprise,' is an oft quoted saying of his.  His ultimate objective was always to honour his Lord.  'I am a missionary, heart and soul,' he insisted. 'God had an only Son and He was a missionary.  I am a poor imitation, but in this service I hope to live and in it I wish to die.'  His soul was mastered by the logic of love.  'God loved a lost world and gave His only Son to be a missionary.  I love a lost world and I am a missionary heart and soul.  In this service I hope to live and in it I wish to die.'"

"If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honour, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"

"For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office.  People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a debt owing to our God, which we can never repay?  Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter?  Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought!  It is emphatically no sacrifice...Say rather it is a privilege.  Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink, but let this only be for a moment.  All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in, and for, us.  I never made a sacrifice.  Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which HE made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us."

Near the end of David's life he wrote:

"Nothing earthly will make me give up my work in despair.  I encourage myself in the Lord, my God, and go forward.  I'll not swerve one hair's breadth from my work while life is spared."

David abhorred slavery and fought to see the slave trade abolished.  He stood against the evil of his day.  On his tombstone is inscribed:

"May Heaven's richest blessings come down on every one, American, English, or Turk, who will help to heal this open sore of the world."

A brief telling of the life and ministry of this hero of the faith can be read on the link below.
http://www.gfamissions.org/missionary-biographies/livingstone-david-1813-1873.html

May we go and preach the Gospel, and do the hard ministry in this society, even if no one else is doing it.  There is still time to win a battle before the sun goes down.

It is the Same Sword

From a child, I have loved the stories of history.  What joy to read of noble men and women!  To hear rousing accounts of clashing battles!  To learn of significant points (both high and low) in the history of mankind and gain instruction from the past!  These have ever thrilled and challenged my adventurous heart.  O how I have longed to be where great things happened!  To walk and stand where heroes trod!  Even to view and touch articles that were used by those who went before me.

   

You can then understand my feelings as a child, when blessed at times to go and see places that I had read about.  I am so grateful that my parents took our family to places to see for ourselves.  What learning times I had! I recommend such trips for every family.  You don't always have to travel far.  Here are just a few of the places I was able to experience.

In Diamond, Missouri, at the George Washington Carver National Monument, I stood and saw the site of the cabin where he was born.  My brother, sister, cousin, and I walked, nay, ran down the trail to the spring (still flowing) where George fetched water as a boy.  I remember looking up at the life-size statue of the young "plant doctor," and wondered, "If I had lived back then, would he have wanted to be my friend?"

In St. Joseph, Missouri, my family and I went to see where Johnny Frye, the first Pony Express rider, set out west towards San Francisco.  Think of it—ten days to traverse plain, mountains, and desert!  Through weather, outlaws, and Indian attack those young wiry lads brought the mail with speed and devotion.  As a young boy, I stood at the Pony Express Stable museum and trembled deliciously to think, "It happened here."  Years later, as a man, I was in Wyoming and went out on some friends' ranch and saw where a Pony Express station once stood.  There I experienced the same shiver.  "How exciting to think, I got to see this!"  

I hiked the hill of the Little Bighorn region in Montana, and saw the place where General George Armstrong Custer and his men had their last stand.  I'd look at each marker, and wonder what each man thought as he tried to hold his ground.  And I'd try to picture Crazy Horse and his warriors, as they gained victory thinking about these mighty men on both sides, wishing I could have been able to sit with each and learn why they were fighting and that I would have had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them.

We toured Daniel Boone's last home in Defiance, Missouri.  How incredible to see the narrow windows crafted for defense, amazing furniture the great woodsman had fashioned with his own skillful hands, and even the threaded door hinges he designed to keep the wooden floors from getting scratched.  It was there I saw Ticklicker, Daniel's famous rifle, and I would have touched it too, but it was on the other side of the glass. 

I got to walk through Squire Boone's Caverns, and remembered how God had saved the life of Daniel's kid brother by having him fall into the cave while he was pursued by hostile natives.  The escapades of this Revolutionary War hero and the first Baptist preacher in Kentucky filled me with fervor.  God's providence and care was made very evident to me as I looked at the spot where he was delivered.  The words he carved on the stones of his mill nearby, still ring in my ears: "My God my life hath much befriended; I'll praise Him till my days are ended."

Whenever I see an historical marker, I want to stop and see what it says.  Even just this spring, My wife, daughter, and I stopped several times while driving through Kansas to see an old train station, stone arch bridge, church, and a one room schoolhouse from 1896.  The stone schoolhouse stood alone on one end of a pasture.  We pulled over, piled out, and looked in wonder.  You could see the bell still in the tower, two stone outhouses (presumably one for boys and one for girls), and the pump for the schoolyard well.  We imagined children walking up the lane to school, and wondered what became of them. Who taught in this place?  Who were the students?  Did a courageous student stand up to a bully in that yard?  What was accomplished in history because of truths taught?  What has been lost in education in the generations following?  How I wished to venture closer, to explore, to peek in the windows.  I would have paid for a tour, but alas, it was desolate, the only signs of life in the area a herd of cattle grazing a hundred yards off.  So we drove on.

For years I have picked up various items for my collection: 

—a Civil War bullet that was found on a battlefield (perhaps the Battle of Wilson's Creek)
—stone arrowheads and chippings left by native Americans in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Wyoming

—a couple tin cans (used and discarded by pioneers) that I found along the Oregon Trail

—various articles, including instruments from a ship, salvaged on an historic beach in Two Harbors, Minnesota
—ancient pottery I dug out of the earth with my own hands in Israel

These and other objects are great tools for teaching lessons from the past, giving inspiration for the mind in our present day, and can stir up motivation to take up a challenge for the future.  Being able to see and even hold pieces of history can make events become more "real", assist us in understanding what others went through, and encourage us to live uprightly in our generation.

Our daughter, Tirzah Carmichael is named in honor of Amy Carmichael, the Irish missionary to India, who served faithfully for 55 years.  Amy's life, ministry, and writings have been a blessing to multitudes and a testimony to the grace and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Let's consider her words in one instance...

"Someone gave me a bit of brick and a little slab of marble from Rome.  It was wonderful to touch one of them and think, Perhaps the apostle Paul or one of the martyrs touched this as they passed.  But how much more wonderful is it to think that we have, for our own use, the very same Sword our Lord used when the devil attacked Him...We have the same Book that He had, and we can do as He did.  So let us learn [His words] that they may be ready in our minds; ready for use at the moment of need - our Sword which never grows dull and rusty, but is always keen and bright.  So once more I say, let us not expect defeat, but victory.  Let us take fast hold and keep fast hold of our Sword, and we shall win in any assault of the enemy."

What delight we should take in the Scriptures!  Think of it—God inspired men to write His words down, and has preserved those words for us even today.  The very same "sword of the Spirit"!  The "quick and powerful"!  The trusty two-edged weapon!  The Book that declares "the end from the beginning"!  That reveals the truth of the God of the universe!  That can make a sinner "wise unto salvation", and can grow a believer to be "throughly furnished unto all good works"!  The same Book which was wielded by Jesus Christ, the apostles, the martyrs, missionaries such as Livingstone, Hudson, and Carmichael, and so many others, has been laid in your hand. 

Let us NOT lightly esteem it!
Let us NOT neglect the use of it!
Let us NOT despise the treasure which our Lord has entrusted with us!

"Let us take fast hold and keep fast hold of our Sword, and we shall win in any assault of the enemy."

There is still time to win a battle before the sun goes down.