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Author: John Piper

Quote: The physical force of gravity pulls everything to the center of the earth. In order to break free from earth-centered life, thousands and thousands of pounds of energy have to push the space shuttle away from the center. There is also a psychological force of gravity that constantly pulls our thoughts and affections and physical actions inward toward the center of our own selves and our own homes. Therefore the most natural thing in the world is to neglect hospitality. It is the path of least resistance. All we have to do is yield to the natural gravity of our self-centered life, and the result will be a life so full of self that there is no room for hospitality. We will forget about it. And we will neglect it. So the Bible bluntly says. Stop that! Build a launching pad. Fill up your boosters. And blast out of your self-oriented routine. Stop neglecting hospitality. Practice hospitality.

Webpage: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=47001&page=2

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Quote: When Wycliffe Bible translator Doug Meland and his wife moved into a village of Brazil's Fulnio Indians, the Indians referred to him simply as "the white man." That reference was not complimentary since other "white men" had exploited them, burned their homes, and robbed them of their lands. But after the Melands learned the Fulnio language and began to help the people with medicine and in other ways, they began calling Doug "the respectable white man." When the Melands began adapting to some of the customs of the people that did not compromise their faith, the Fulnio gave them greater acceptance and spoke of Doug as "the white Indian." Then one day, as Doug was washing the dirty, blood-caked foot of an injured Fulnio boy, he overheard one of the Indians watching what was happening say, "Whoever heard of a white man washing an Indian’s foot before? Certainly this man is from God" From that day one, whenever Doug would go into an Indian home, it would be announced, "Here come the man God sent us."

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Author: Stephen Sizer

Quote: In his letter to a predominantly Gentile church in Ephesus Paul applies the promise of the inheritance of the land specifically to Gentile children of Christian believers who are obedient. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honour your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Ephesians 6:1-3 The fifth commandment promised that obedient children would live long on the land the Lord God was giving them. Now Paul applies the same promise to the children of Christian parents living 700-800 miles from the land of the Bible. These children of Gentile and Jewish Christians who submit willingly to the authority of their parents will, Paul promises, enjoy long life on the ea

Webpage: http://www.cc-vw.org/articles/dispen4.html

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Author: Stephen Sizer

Quote: Teaching about the Land is conspicuous by its absence in the teaching of Jesus. There are four or five explicit references to the Land in the Gospels and these are indirect. The strongest is found in the Beatitudes. In Matthew 5:5 Jesus quotes from Psalm 37:11. The blessing of the meek and the inheritance of the land as described in the Psalms is echoed by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Yet it is not the Land but the earth that they will inherit. The Greek term for earth here is the same word used in the Septuagint for land yet the context of Jesus Beatitudes requires that the perspective be stretched beyond mere possession of Palestine. Either that or all Christians who live by the Sermon on the Mount possess the land of the Bible by their meekness. Since the Land was such a fundamental part of Judaism at the time of Christ, his silence can only have been deliberate. Jesus of Nazareth, who proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord only to die accursed on a cross and so pollute the land, and by that act and its consequences to shatter the geographic dimension of the religion of his fathers. Like everything else, the Land also in the New testament drives us to ponder the mystery of Jesus, the Christ, who by his cross and resurrection broke not only the bonds of death for early Christians but also the bonds of the land. (W.D. Davies)

Webpage: http://www.cc-vw.org/articles/dispen4.html

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Author: John Piper

Quote: Let me close with an illustration of a man who lived and died in successful warfare against the unbelief of impatience. His name was Charles Simeon. He was a pastor in the Church of England from 1782 to 1836 at Trinity Church in Cambridge. He was appointed to his church by a bishop against the will of the people. They opposed him not because he was a bad preacher but because he was an evangelical—he believed the Bible and called for conversion and holiness and world missions. For 12 years the people refused to let him give the afternoon Sunday sermon. And during that time they boycotted the Sunday morning service and locked their pews so that no one could sit in them. He preached to people in the aisles for 12 years! How did he last? In this state of things I saw no remedy but faith and patience. [Note the linking of faith and patience!] The passage of Scripture which subdued and controlled my mind was this, "The servant of the Lord must not strive." [Note: The weapon in the fight for faith and patience was the Word!] It was painful indeed to see the church, with the exception of the aisles, almost forsaken; but I thought that if God would only give a double blessing to the congregation that did attend, there would on the whole be as much good done as if the congregation were doubled and the blessing limited to only half the amount. This comforted me many, many times, when without such a reflection, I should have sunk under my burthen. (Charles Simeon, by H.C.G. Moule, p. 39)

Webpage: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/5/659_Battling_the_Unbelief_of_Impatience/

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Quote: Many people who read the Bible for the first time are struck by the fact that Jesus had some very irreligious friends! When they threw a party, he was often in the middle of everything! Today, in contrast, believers in the Western world are often isolated in a restricted subculture and have almost no genuine interaction and impact on the wider society around them. But often this is coupled with an uncomfortable sense that we’re meant for more; we’re meant to be in the middle of everything! There is a wonderful scene in the HBO film series “Band of Brothers” by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg that illustrates the believer’s calling to be “in the world but not of the world”, as Jesus put it. The drama documents the progress of a unit of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II. After the successful landing in Normandy at D-Day, the Allied forces moved swiftly eastward. But there was a sudden and devastating counter-attack that became known as “The Battle of the Bulge”. After being informed that they were probably going to be completely cut off, the Captain of the company said to the officer from another company who had told him the news, “Lieutenant, we’re paratroopers. We’re supposed to be surrounded!” That’s exactly where Jesus said his followers should be: in the middle of everything. As he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane during his last night on earth he said to his heavenly Father: “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18) Jesus’ followers are supposed to be surrounded! This means working face to face with those seldom touched by the message of Jesus, becoming their friends and sharing our life and the Gospel with them on their “turf”.

Webpage: http://www.philosophia.org/commentary/surrounded.htm

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Author: Rick Warren

Quote: Then at the proper time when you're talking with someone who wants a purpose for living and the hope of Heaven – but hasn’t a clue how to get either one – you can ask, "Have you ever established a spiritual base for your life? These are the four things you need to do to get into Heaven." B - Believe You must believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and showed he was God by coming back to life. Do you believe that? If yes, then you're one fourth of the way there already. A George Gallup poll said that 87 percent of Americans believe this. That's why Christians celebrate Easter. Do you believe? Then say, "I believe Jesus was who he said he was - God - and he proved it by coming back to life." A - Accept You need to accept God's free forgiveness for your sin. Would you like to accept that? I don't know anyone who'd reject it. Why would you? If you've got this one, you're half way there. Do you agree, "I have sinned, and I need to accept God's free forgiveness for my sin"? S - Switch Switch to God's plan for your life. That means you're going to say, "I'm no longer going to do what I want to do. I'm going to live the plan God made me for. I want to know God's purpose for life and from now on God's going to call the shots, not me." When you become a Christian, you put a sign on your life that says, "Under New Management!" Now you're doing God's plan for your life. After all, your plan hasn’t worked out too well. If you're willing to do this, you're three quarters of the way there. E - Express Express your desire for Christ to be the director of your life – the manager. The word in the Bible is Lord. Are you ready to express that? After explaining the four steps, ask the person if he or she is willing to take them. If he or she is, and if he or she has never invited Christ into his or her life, lead in this simple prayer: "Dear God, I believe you sent your Son, Jesus, to die for my sins so I could be forgiven. I'm sorry for my sins, and I want to live the rest of my life the way you want me to. Please put your Spirit in my life to direct me. Amen."

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Book: "God Came Near" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: Max Lucado

Quote: Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS), the flying department of Wycliffe Bible Translators--had flown thousands of hours over a 25 year span without one fatal accident before April 7, 1972. On that day, a Piper Aztec lost its right engine and crashed in Papua New Guinea, killing all seven persons aboard. The Aztec had just rolled out of the Wycliffe maintenance hangar the day before following a 100 hour inspection. The chief mechanic was stunned when he heard the news of the crash. Reviewing in his mind each step he had performed in inspecting that right engine, he suddenly recoiled in horror. He remembered that he had been interrupted while tightening a fuel line and had never returned to finish the job! That faulty connection had allowed raw fuel to spray out and catch fire while the Aztec was in flight. The mechanic's guilt at being responsible for the deaths of his companions crushed him. For days he did not know what to do. The other mechanics tried to help him, as did his own family. But when the family of Doug Hunt, the pilot who was killed in the accident, was preparing to return to their home in New Zealand, the mechanic knew he had to see them, talk with them and beg their forgiveness. He could barely get out the words as he sobbed in their presence. "That hand there," he said, looking at his right hand, "took Doug's life." Glennis Hunt, Doug's widow, embraced him. "Glennis sat by me and held the hand that took her husband's life," he later wrote, "and another JAARS pilot sat on my other side with a demonstration of love, comfort, and forgiveness. That was the most significant first step in the healing process."

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Quote: Roy Robertson is one of the founders of "The Navigators," and has been instrumental in the follow-up ministry for Billy Graham’s Hong Kong crusade. Robertson shared this revealing insight from his own past: "My ship, the West Virginia, docked at Pearl Harbor on the evening of December 6, 1941. A couple of the fellows and I left the ship that night and attended a Bible study. About fifteen sailors sat in a circle on the floor. The leader asked us to each recite our favorite scripture verse. In turn each sailor shared a verse and briefly commented on it. I sat there in terror. I couldn't recall a single verse. I grew up in a Christian home, went to church three times a week, but I sat there terrified. I couldn't recall a single verse. Finally, I remembered one verse -- John 3.16. I silently rehearsed it in my mind. The spotlight of attention grew closer as each sailor took his turn. It was up to the fellow next to me. He recited John 3.16. He took my verse! As he commented on it I sat there in stunned humiliation. In a few moments everyone would know that I could not recall from memory even a single verse. Later that night I went to bed thinking, 'Robertson, you're a fake.' At 7:55 the next morning I was awakened by the ship alarm ordering us to battle stations. 360 planes of the Japanese Imperial Fleet were attacking our ship and the other military installations. My crew and I raced to our machine gun emplacement, but all we had was practice ammunition. So for the first fifteen minutes of the two hour battle,we only fired blanks, hoping to scare the Japanese airplanes. As I stood there firing fake ammunition I thought, 'Robertson, this is how your whole life has been -- firing blanks for Christ.' I made up my mind as Japanese bullets slammed into our ship, 'If I escape with my life, I will get serious about following Jesus.'"

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