Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
A sentence in the diary of James Gilmore, pioneer missionary to Mongolia, has stayed with me since the day I first read it. After years of labouring long and hard for the cause of Christ in that desperate land, he wrote, “In the shape of converts I have seen no result. I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian.”
On that first journey Paul took with him just enough to live on, sufficient clothing to cover his nakedness, a heart full of hope in God’s truth, and a confidence in God that would keep him faithful. That’s what held him together. That’s what steeled him against the tightening jaws of mistreatment in the ministry.
Remarkably, though laying lifeless in a pool of his own blood, Paul got right back up and walked back into the city from which he had been dragged and left for dead. I mean, is this missionary determined or what? True grit.
When Paul was rejected, he didn’t quit. As my good friend and wise mentor, Howie Hendricks, often says, “Where there’s light, there are bugs!” The brighter Paul’s light, the more the bugs. And in that situation, those bugs had stingers filled with poison.
The lost need to hear how they can go from the island of debris, fill with misery and guilt, to the land of peace and forgiveness, flowing with mercy and grace. We build those bridges when we lovingly and patiently communicate the Gospel. You don’t have to have a seminary degree. You don’t have to know a lot of the religious vocabulary. In your own authentic, honest, and unguarded manner, share with people what Christ has done for you.
Paul and Barnabas arrived at Pisidian Antioch, weary and aching from their perilous march through the mountains. Still, they wasted no time in making their way to the synagogue early enough to find a good seat to listen to the reading of God's Word. They made their destination by the Sabbath.
Here’s an important observation: all the way through ministry, people leave. In every church there will be individuals who, for whatever reason, move on to other things. This includes those in leadership. They leave, but the church presses on.
This was no time for Paul to be tolerant or passive. We live in a culture that virtually deifies tolerance. One lady recently said to me with a broad grin, "I love everybody; I even love the Devil." I call that "tolerance gone to seed." Make no mistake, we're not to love the Devil, nor are we to love everything everybody does.
Only you and the Lord know the condition of your heart. Is it soft and pliable clay, ready to be moulded and shaped by the Master sculptor? Or has it hardened into brittle and fragile pottery from years of faithless living? You know exactly what God is asking you to do.
Honestly, there have been times in my younger life when I stumbled onto that slippery slide. I look back on those few occasions with only regret. Nothing good ever comes from a ministry devoted to pleasing people.
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