What It Cost Thee...

Oh, teach me what it meaneth -

That cross uplifted high,

With One - the Man of Sorrows -

Condemned to bleed and die!

Oh teach me what it cost Thee

To make a sinner whole;

And teach me, Savior, teach me

The value of a soul!

- Lucy Bennett

Leonard Ravenhill once said, "God does not answer many prayers - they are too locked up in self-pity or aimed at personal benefit. He does answer desperate prayer." And until we get desperate for souls, our prayers for them may remain unanswered. For just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem, so should we weep over our lost loved ones if we really want to see them saved.

It was seven years before Carey baptized his first convert in India; it was seven years before Judson won his first disciple in Burmah; Morrison toiled seven years before the first Chinaman was brought to Christ; Moffat declares that he waited seven years to see the evident moving of the Holy Spirit upon the Bechuanas of Africa; Henry Richards wrought seven years in the Congo before his first convert was gained at Benza Mantaka. (A. J. Gordon, The Holy Spirit in Missions)

The most incredible case of persistence is found in the life of George Muller. Because he had much success early in his ministry in seeing the immediate conversion of many for whom he had just prayed, he got the impression that it would always be that way. But listen to his testimony concerning this, "If I say that during the fifty-four years and nine months that I have been a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ I have had thirty thousand answers to prayer, either in the same hour or the same day that the requests were made, I should not go a particle too far... But one or the other might suppose all my prayers have been thus promptly answered. No, not all of them. Sometimes I have had to wait weeks, months, or years; sometimes many years....

In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without one single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land or on the sea. and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day I continued to pray for them, and six more years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remain unconverted. The man to whom the riches of His grace has been given tens of thousands of answers to prayer, in the self-same hour or day on which they have been offered, has been praying day by day for nearly thirty-six years for the conversion of these two individuals, and yet they remain unconverted." (George Muller: Delighted in God by Roger Steer)

But this is not the end of the story. He kept on praying day after day, year after year and then he said, "The great point is never to give up till the answer comes. I have been praying sixty-three years and eight months for one man's conversion. He not saved yet but he will be. How can it be otherwise...I am praying."

The day came when Muller's friend received Christ. It did not come until Muller's casket was lowered into the ground. There, near an open grave, this friend gave his heart to God. Prayers of perserverance had won another battle. Muller's success may be summarized in four powerful words: "He did not quit." (No Easy Road, by Dick Eastman)

-- Taken from a little booklet our church as been going through during our Thursday night prayer meetings: Praying Effectively for the Lost, by Lee E. Thomas

I've been convicted and re-inspired to keep praying fervently for certain lost souls who have burdened my heart for a long time. I may never see the results, but I am called to be faithful and to interceed on their behalf. I hope you will be re-inspired to keep praying for the lost people in your life, too!

Show Us the Golden Harvest There

The whole team spent some time scoping out some property for the family that plans to move over there in January and begin working with the natives.

There really were kids everywhere!

Finally! They have the Bibles, loaded the truck, and went off into the bush to find the schools. (The government doesn't know where most of their school are or who the teachers or students are... They asked the mission team to take pictures and give them a report of what they found!)

And at last, the children were each handed a Bible and book about knowing God. Twenty-two thousand were passed out before the team had to come home at the beginning of December. That's a lot of seed. The boys said it was encouraging to walk through an area where they had passed out Bibles a few days earlier and see people sitting on their doorsteps reading them!

Toward Jerusalem

O Father, help lest our poor love refuse
For our beloved the life that they would choose,
And in our fear of loss for them, or pain.
Forget eternal gain.

Show us the gain, the golden harvest there
For corn of wheat that they have buried there;
Lest human love defraud them, and betray,
Teach us, O God, to pray.

Teach us to pray remembering Calvary,
For as the Master must the servant be;
We see their face set toward Jerusalem,
Let us not hinder them.

Teach us to pray; O Thou that didst not spare
Thine Own Beloved, lead us on in prayer,
Purge from the earthly, give us love Divine,
Father, like Thine, like Thine.

- Amy Carmichael

Pray the Lord Of the Harvest That He Would Send Forth Laborers

The mission team that the boys went with to Guinea Bissau planned to spend most of their five weeks over there passing out Bibles in the schools.

Instead theu spent the first two weeks meeting with governmental officials, getting all kinds of legal documents written up that will (hopefully) ensure them a continued working relationship within the schools as well as give them an opportunity to begin a school for training teachers, etc.

Transportation in Africa is always fun!

Bible study under the tree in front of their hotel

The guys spent a lot of time having Bible studies amongst themselves. And they held services every night out front at the hotel where they were staying. They said that the hotel's main income is usually from the prostitution that occurs there every day. With the gospel meetings going on in the evening, though, the boys said that the usual customers mostly decided to go elsewhere.

'Zaiah down at the port... wishing there was a way to get into the Bibles.

And they spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get their shipping container of Bibles out of the port (the crane was broke, and when it got fixed the operator said he just didn't feel like moving the container, even if they paid him a lot of money!). God finally answered their prayers and they were able to get the container in an accessible location!

Camels and Needles on Election Day

This past month it seems that God has been trying to show me that He specializes in impossibilities....

It was Election Day. I was driving across town, praying for the souls of two men who I have come to care about deeply. This year they were running against each other for a top state government position. Their character left much to be desired. But in getting to know them, I had become more and more convicted of their need for a Savior -- far greater than my need for either one of them win or loose in the election. Sure, their election would affect my temporary, earthly life in some small way. But what about their never-dying souls?

They were both people in "high places" who I felt would be less likely to humble themselves before a Holy God than for "a camel to go through the eye of a needle." I prayed for it daily, but I really couldn't picture it happening.

This day their names were on every ballot across the state. I didn't even know anymore who should win that position. The whole situation was a confusing mess.

"God," I cried out, "They seem impossible to reach. Will they ever come to the end of themselves and cry out for mercy? Will they ever see what wretched souls they are before You? Will they ever see their desperate need for God?"

These men have flippantly joked about "Christian fanatics" and about people who get too serious about religion, the one making it especially clear that he thinks that religion and prayer and God are for grannies, not intelligent, educated, powerful men like him.

So, as my heart was heavy for him, I prayed, feeling useless and senseless and without any direction of what to even pray for him.

And then I got a text... from him. It said (among other things), "If you have any spare moments today, would you stop and pray for me?"

Pray for me?!

That was a weird statement, to be made by a man who doesn't believe in prayer. Why would he bother on the biggest day of his life to ask me to pray for him if he didn't think it would do some good?

Maybe he was starting to believe that God really does rule over the affairs of men. I remembered with gratefulness how this man had a few months earlier heard a powerful and moving testimony of an answer to prayer. I had thought that he couldn't have possibly forgot the story he heard, and I had prayed for months that God would use that story in his heart to remind him again and again of the greatness, justice, and holiness of God.

I replied that I was praying for him, and would continue to do so. But I didn't pray that he would win or loose the election. I prayed that God would use whatever it would take in his life and that of his opponent - winning or loosing (for both of them), to bring them both to an awareness of their need for a Saviour. It was hard not to tell God which one I wanted to win for my own comfort. Instead I asked God to use the election in the lives of these politicians to bring them to Himself. And then I left the results up to God.

The day after the election, the same man (who ended up winning) sent me another message. He sounded so different... humble... not like himself. "Thank you," it said, "For continuing to pray for me. I can't tell you what it means to me."

Wow. The man who didn't believe in prayer was now acknowledging his need for prayer. He has a lot of friends who are powerful and rich and pompous and clever . But he seemed to think that a little nobody like me might have a connection to the God he ought to know? I smiled. There was a glimmer of hope. Maybe a camel would go through the eye of a needle after all!

Once again, I was reminded that God is not limited by the limits of MY imagination or human possibilities.

I'm still praying for him, and asking God to continue bring the Truth of the Gospel before this man who lives in a world of the false pretense of politics. But his sincere requests for prayer have left me with a glimmer of hope that, yes, God can change the hearts of kings and rulers and He can bring them to their knees.

My only job is to be faithful to speak the truth and pray and let God work in their hearts. God can do what I can't imagine, and that is my prayer for both of these men.

Souls

Christian people, are you figuring round and round how to get a little property, yet neglecting souls? Beware lest you ruin souls that never can live again! Do you say - I thought they knew it all?
They reply to you, I did not suppose you believed a word of it yourselves. You did not act as if you did. Are you going to heaven? Well, I am going down to hell! There is no hope for me now. You will sometimes think of me then, as you shall see the smoke of my woe rising up darkly athwart the glorious heavens. After I have been there a long, long time, you will sometimes think that I, who once lived by your side, am there. O remember, you cannot pray for me then; but you will remember that once you might have warned and might have saved me.
Charles G. Finney

Today Christians spend more money on dog food than on missions.
Leonard Ravenhill

Many do not recognize the fact as they ought, that Satan has got men fast asleep in sin and that it is his great device to keep them so. He does not care what we do if he can do that. We may sing songs about the sweet by and by, preach sermons and say prayers until doomsday, and he will never concern himself about us, if we don't wake anybody up. But if we awake the sleeping sinner he will gnash on us with his teeth. This is our work - to wake people up.
Catherine Booth



At the day of judgment we shall all meet again.
George Whitefield

Have you ever stopped to think when you ignored the still, small voice that told you to say something or give a tract and instead, quickly turned away and hurried back to your car, you will meet that person again on judgment day? Have you thought of watching their sentencing for eternity on that day?

Am I more afraid of offending someone than I am of them going to hell?

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the the great day of His wrath is come; and who is able to stand? Rev. 6:15-17

And I saw the dead, great and small stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which was the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Rev. 20:12

Hope through me, God of Hope

Hope through me, God of Hope,
Or never can I know
Deep wells and living streams of Hope,
And pools of overflow.

Flood me with Hope today
For souls perverse, undone,
For sinful souls that turn away,
Blind sunflowers to their Sun.

O blessed Hope of God,
Flow through me patiently,
Until I hope for everyone
As thou hast hoped for me.

Amy Carmichael

Wasted Opportunity

As I spend time reviewing what I am doing with my life - my years, my months, days, hours, and minutes, I see so many places where I waste time. When I look at what I have invested my time into, I see much wood, hay, and stubble that someday will be nothing but ashes.

I was reminded while reading Genesis 1-4 that God DOES allow people to waste the richest opportunities in the world. The choice is up to foolish, sinful man. Man gets to choose if he will be wise with what God gives him or if he will foolishly make fleshly choices and throw it all away.

Adam and Eve had a life of unimaginable opportunities and joy in the garden of Eden - perfect harmony and love in relationships, God Himself walking with them every day. They had an opportunity never before or since enjoyed by man. Yet they threw it all away with one simple taste of forbidden pleasure and ruined their lives and that of every generation to come.

I have to wonder if Adam and Eve often looked at each other many times in the years that followed and shook their heads sadly - "How foolish we were! We lost all of that for one bite of this?"

Some days I fear that I will arrive at the end of my life and say, "I threw all of that away for this?!" As the old hymn asks us, "Will I stand before my Saviour and empty handed be?"

How many people do I pass by in a day without a thought for their eternal souls? How different would I live my life if I had spent one hour in hell, seeing the rich man lifting up his eyes in torment, begging for a drop of water? How many people does my life influence for eternity? Or do I simply drift through their lives, leaving no impression of their Creator, of their and my eternal destiny?

I must be more than a nice person. I must be more than kind. I must be more than good.
I must be a beacon of God's eternal truth, shining on their hearts. I must speak the truth in love - that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

I don't know of another person in the world more blessed than I - I have a Godly heritage, wise and kind parents, loving family and friends, a good mind, health and a strong body, vast opportunities to impact the Kingdom of God at my doorstep...

I tremble at times when I remember the words of my Lord, "To whom much has been given, much shall be required."

May I be found a faithful servant, who does her Lord's bidding in deep gratitude and humility. When He comes, may He find me "so doing."