Oct
3
2011
When you crack a new book for the first time, as you leaf through the first two or three pages, you will usually notice a page with just a sentence or two nestled right into the center of it. On it, you will find someone’s name. It will not be the author’s name, but it will be someone who, in the author’s mind, is more significant. It is the dedication page.
I never read those.
But today I made an exception. It is an old book, one written before the advent of the printing press, so the dedication is written right into the body of the book. As a matter of fact, it is the first paragraph of the work. It is a book I have read before and one I am sure I will read many more times, but this time, I was struck by this dedication. Usually, I will just read through parts like this to get to the real “meat,” but this was no ordinary book.
It was the gospel of Luke.
In truth, the dedication at the beginning of this book is not part of Luke’s outline. When Luke was sitting down to pen his gospel, the dedication that he included at the beginning had no real bearing on the story. It was not part of the story at all. Yet, in God’s superintendence of Luke’s writing, he included a word for us in this small, but important piece of the work. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from the Word, Uncategorized
Jun
13
2011
This post comes with an assignment. Before you go any further, you need to read Acts 5:12- 42. This post will make a lot more sense if you do.
The word of God is powerful.
As a matter of fact, the best words I can use to describe it are the ones it uses to describe itself. Hebrews informs us that, “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
This is no mere book. A well-written book can inspire people to great (or awful) things. Books have inspired conquest and war. Manifestos have started political movements that took the world by storm. They have changed public opinion and directed the course of societies. But at most, a book can enlighten or inform. It can convince or persuade. However, even the most impressive book cannot know its reader’s thoughts. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, from the Word, Uncategorized
Dec
26
2010
About six months ago, I was given a turtle. It was a regular, garden variety turtle. This turtle had no special talents or abilities. It had no value, except that it was a gift.
It was given to me by a man with whom I have developed a significant friendship this past year. Let us pretend his name is Paco. A couple of months after moving here, I met Paco in one of the villages out in the bush where I was doing my language study. Early on, we would meet to study scripture and eventually he became a part of our fellowship.
On one of his visits to our town for discipleship, Paco showed up at my house with this turtle. He had found it in the bush, and instead of leaving it for his kids to play with, he thought I would enjoy it. So, he chose to bring it to me. Continue reading
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| posted in Discipleship, from Africa, Uncategorized
Feb
23
2010
“What you live is what you really believe, everything else is just religious talk.”
~Vance Havner
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