Month: December 2015

Adoniram Judson Part — 3

Prayer Answered

“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days…In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good”
(Ecclesiastes 11:1,6).

When Judson lay dying he heard from the lips of his wife, as she read the newspaper, that some Jews in Turkey had been converted through the published account of his sufferings for the gospel in Burma. “This awes me! This alarms me!” he said.

“Why?” asked his wife. “This is good news!”

He replied, “When I was a young man I prayed for the Jews and tried to go to Jerusalem as a missionary. But God sent me here to preach in Burma and to suffer in Burmese prisons. Now, by this means, God has brought Jews to repentance in Turkey. What awes me is this, that I never prayed earnestly for anything but it came, sooner or later, perhaps in the last way I could have imagined; but it came.”

Adoniram Judson Part — 2

His Motivation

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead”
(2 Corinthians 5:14).
“Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me”
(Acts 20:1).

Like the Apostle Paul, the two mighty motivations which sustained Mr. Judson in his sufferings for Christ and thrust him out in a ceaseless quest for souls were:

1. The desperate need of a perishing people.

2. The love of Christ.

In a letter pleading for missionary reinforcements, he speaks of “the sin of turning a deaf ear to the plaintive cry of tens of millions of immortal beings, who by their darkness and misery, cry day and night, ‘Come to our rescue, ye bright sons and daughters of America. Come and save us, for we are sinking into hell.’ ”

Adoniram Judson — Part 1

Fearing His Scars

“But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places” (Philippians 1:12-13).

Adoniram Judson, the renowned pioneer missionary to Burma, endured untold and countless hardships trying to reach the lost for Christ. For seven heartbreaking years he suffered hunger and privation. During this time he was thrown into prison, and for seventeen months was subjected to almost incredible treatment. As a result, for the rest of his life he carried the ugly marks made by the chains and iron shackles which had cruelly bound him.

Undaunted, upon his release he asked for permission to enter another province of the country where he might resume preaching the good news of the gospel. The godless ruler indignantly denied his request, saying, “My people are not fools enough to listen to anything a missionary might SAY, but I fear they might be impressed by your SCARS and turn to your religion.”

On Track

Soon after William Herschel discovered Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, on March 13, 1781, some astronomers studying the new discovery observed that whenever Uranus came to a certain point in its path around the sun, it behaved in a peculiar way. Instead of continuing evenly in its orbit it turned aside in a manner that baffled the astronomers. At last it struck them that there must be some other body near enough to Uranus to act upon it, and pull it out of its course. By certain calculations they fixed upon the exact spot in the sky where the suspected body ought to be. On turning their powerful telescopes to that spot they saw for the first time the planet Neptune.

Like Uranus there are many influences on us in this world, trying to pull us off course from following the Lord. Thankfully there is a power that is greater than any worldly influence and temptation, and that is the power that Paul spoke of when he said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). This force is “the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe” (Ephesians 1:19). We don’t have to be pulled off track from the path of faith. He is “able to keep” (Jude 24).

Dear Young Christian:

My wife and I recently attended a wedding. It was a happy occasion with the Lord Jesus being honored, and we rejoiced with the bride and groom in their new found love and joy.

There is another marriage just ahead, and it will take place in heaven, not on earth. It is referred to as the “Marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). It will be the time when the bride of Christ is married to Himself. He will be the Heavenly Bridegroom rejoicing in the fact that those He loves and died for are finally with Him forever in the Father’s House. The proclamation will be sounded, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). What a wedding that will be, and how close at hand too. In the meantime we should live as those who expect to be called to that wedding at any moment, just as a bride lives in anticipation of her wedding day, and make careful preparation in view of it.

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to jhyland@primus.ca

Sacrifices

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins…But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
(Hebrews 10:4,12,14).

In an art gallery in Amsterdam there hang two paintings side by side. The first is a picture of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, with the priest officiating. The animal sacrifice is on the altar and under it a burning fire; but the remarkable thing is that the smoke is not rising, but falling to the ground. In this way the artist is indicating that God does not at this time accept such sacrifice. Why not?

The second painting gives the answer. It shows Christ on the cross. The Old Testament sacrifices only pointed ahead to that great Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. “The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). At best they were but pale reflections and feeble foreshadows of that mighty work accomplished to the satisfaction of God at Calvary.

The Danger of Riches

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul” (Mark 8:36-37)?

As ridiculous as it may seem, the following account is true. Some years ago a fire broke out in a building in the state of New Jersey, in which a man and his wife occupied an apartment. They initially made their escape to the street below, but then the man missed his wife. At first he was not too concerned until he remembered that they had $350 in a drawer up there, and thought she might have gone back for it. He went to see, but was driven back by the flames and smoke, but not until he had seen her lying helpless on the stairs. The next day her charred body was recovered and the burned fragments of the money tightly grasped in her hand.

We shake our heads at a story like that, but how many there are who are headed for the eternal fire of judgment because they are holding on to the temporal things of this world. “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). What are you trusting in?

Persecution — Part 2

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him”
(James 1:12).

“Perhaps we are fortunate,” another says. “We suffered so much and have so little, that Christianity is the most attractive option we see in life. If we were secure and well supplied, as we hear of Christians in other places, we might be much less sincere in our discipleship.”

“You must remember something,” says one elderly believer, who languished for more than ten years in a labor camp. “Christian faith is most precious when we experience it under testing. I have know many dark days, but I have also experienced how bright God’s light can be in times of uncertainty and fear. I am sure the Lord is more precious to me because of my experience. Who could ask for more?”

“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

Persecution — Part 1

“Thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you”
(Revelation 2:13).

Most of us don’t know much about real physical persecution. But many are really suffering, even in the twenty-first century, for their faith in Christ and their testimony in the gospel. They certainly need our prayers, and we are told, “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them” (Hebrews 13:3).

Across China many believers have become symbols of commitment at whatever price. It is a land with many Christian heroes. The combined years of imprisonment would strike awe into the ears of most.

One persecuted believers states: “We have all suffered much, and survived only by the grace of God. There continues to be persecution in these days, no one can predict the future, but it is now summertime compared to the winter we once endured. Our concern now is to apply what we have learned, to be obedient always to our wonderful Lord, and to serve Him truly and faithfully.”

Stress

Only one witness was present when Joseph Asscher buried his heavy knife in an incision in his target and raised his hammer to strike the knife. He was the grandson of the founder of the most famous diamond cutting company on earth. For three months he and his brother had studied the great Cullinan diamond intensively. A famous physicist in England had examined it using polarized light and detected a small flaw deep inside generating tremendous stress. Joseph took aim at the flaw and brought his hammer down with one precise blow.

Perhaps it feels like stress is building up. But the Master Jeweler is paying attention to His gem. “Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer” (Psalm 4:1). Joseph’s blow was perfect. It gave birth to the Star of Africa diamond that graces the English Royal Sceptre and also to the centerpiece of the English Imperial Crown. The rough, stressed stone was replaced with gorgeous polished gems for the glory of the sovereign. May the blows in our lives produce eternal glory for the “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).