The following is a poem from "Smiling Bill" McChesney, an American missionary that left for the Congo in the early sixties. At that time, the Congo was a VERY dangerous place for a non-local to be. He died at the hands of an angry mob in 1964.
This is "My Choice"
I want my breakfast served at eight, with ham and eggs upon the plate;
A well-broiled steak I'll eat at one, and dine again when day is done.
I want an ultramodern home and in each room a telephone;
Soft carpets, too, upon the floors, and pretty drapes to grace the doors.
A cozy place of lovely things, like easy chairs with inner springs,
And then I'll get a small TV- of course, "I'm careful what I see."
I want my wardrobe, too, to be of neatest, finest quality,
With latest style in suit and vest: Why should not Christians have the best?
But then the Master I can hear in no uncertain voice, so clear:
"I bid you come and follow Me, the lowly Man of Galilee."
"Birds of the air have made their nest, and foxes in their holes find rest,
But I can offer you no bed; no place have I to lay My head."
In shame I hung my head and cried. How could I spurn the Crucified?
Could I forget the way He went, the sleepless nights in prayer He spent?
For forty days without a bite, alone He fasted day and night;
Despised, rejected- on He went, and did not stop till veil He rent.
A man of sorrows and of grief, no earthly friend to bring relief;
"Smitten of God," the prophet said- Mocked, beaten, bruised, His blood ran red.
If He be God, and died for me, no sacrifice too great can be
For me, a mortal man, to make; I'll do it all for Jesus' sake.
Yes, I will tread the path He trod, no other way will please my God;
So, henceforth, this my choice shall be, my choice for all eternity.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Hero- 1 John 2:1-2
I have selective hearing. I think every child and married man does. I somehow miss he hard things my wife asks me to do, but I can hear that it's dinner time from 3 1/2 miles away!
It's funny how we tend to hear things from a perspective that benefits us. We hear what we want to hear. God tells us to obediently give our tithe, and what we hear is that we will get a blessing. We hear the Bible say that if we resist the Devil, he will flee, but we somehow miss how it also says that this will only happen when we are living in submission to God.
I had some serious selective hearing about a year ago. A minister that I truly respect was praying for me, and he kept repeating a phrase as he prayed. He kept saying, "The world needs a hero Andy. The world needs a hero!" I honestly believe that God was speaking to me through this man's prayer... the only question is, what was God trying to tell me.
This is what I heard: "Andy, you are a hero, and the world needs you!" We hear things like this a lot in the Christian world. It seems like there is always someone telling you that you need to go change the world. We hear things, and tell others things like, "Be extraordinary! Be a hero! Be the difference for someone!" So, it's not too crazy to understand why I would have "heard" God say what I thought He said.
After this man prayed for me, I set out to be a hero. I set out to be the best... to be holy... to be righteous... to be the world's hero. I let my head inflate to the extent that I became convinced that without me, there was no hope for people to find Jesus. In my head, I kinda became the world's Obi Wan Kenobi... I was their only hope.
But then, a few months ago, through some personal trials that I went through, my perspective changed. The air was let out of my BIG head. And I began to see me and Jesus in the proper perspective. I saw how incredible and powerful He is, and how weak and ordinary I am. I saw how loving and generous He is, and how self-serving, and conceited I am.
I was trying to be the perfect one. I was trying to be holy. I was trying to be the hero. And in doing that, I was trying to be God. I was trying to be Jesus. He is perfect. He is holy. He is pure. He is the hero. I am not.
When it comes right down to it, I am flawed and imperfect. I am not worthy to be anyone's hero. I don't have what it takes. When that man was telling me that the world needed a hero, I believe that God was telling me to point the world to Jesus... the Hero. But in my selective hearing, I heard what benefited me...
So now I read 1 John 2:1-2, and I see my Hero! When I couldn't make my sin right, He stood in my place. He did it for me. He is my Hero!!
"My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins- and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." 1 John 2:1-2
It's funny how we tend to hear things from a perspective that benefits us. We hear what we want to hear. God tells us to obediently give our tithe, and what we hear is that we will get a blessing. We hear the Bible say that if we resist the Devil, he will flee, but we somehow miss how it also says that this will only happen when we are living in submission to God.
I had some serious selective hearing about a year ago. A minister that I truly respect was praying for me, and he kept repeating a phrase as he prayed. He kept saying, "The world needs a hero Andy. The world needs a hero!" I honestly believe that God was speaking to me through this man's prayer... the only question is, what was God trying to tell me.
This is what I heard: "Andy, you are a hero, and the world needs you!" We hear things like this a lot in the Christian world. It seems like there is always someone telling you that you need to go change the world. We hear things, and tell others things like, "Be extraordinary! Be a hero! Be the difference for someone!" So, it's not too crazy to understand why I would have "heard" God say what I thought He said.
After this man prayed for me, I set out to be a hero. I set out to be the best... to be holy... to be righteous... to be the world's hero. I let my head inflate to the extent that I became convinced that without me, there was no hope for people to find Jesus. In my head, I kinda became the world's Obi Wan Kenobi... I was their only hope.
But then, a few months ago, through some personal trials that I went through, my perspective changed. The air was let out of my BIG head. And I began to see me and Jesus in the proper perspective. I saw how incredible and powerful He is, and how weak and ordinary I am. I saw how loving and generous He is, and how self-serving, and conceited I am.
I was trying to be the perfect one. I was trying to be holy. I was trying to be the hero. And in doing that, I was trying to be God. I was trying to be Jesus. He is perfect. He is holy. He is pure. He is the hero. I am not.
When it comes right down to it, I am flawed and imperfect. I am not worthy to be anyone's hero. I don't have what it takes. When that man was telling me that the world needed a hero, I believe that God was telling me to point the world to Jesus... the Hero. But in my selective hearing, I heard what benefited me...
So now I read 1 John 2:1-2, and I see my Hero! When I couldn't make my sin right, He stood in my place. He did it for me. He is my Hero!!
"My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins- and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." 1 John 2:1-2
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