A True Story...

I have to tell you something...

 

My life changed and yours can too. Ready? Read on...

 

Beautiful wife, two young, healthy sons, a home in sunny south Florida, upward career path, family friends, a bit of money...this was it, right? This was what it was all about. Happiness, success, living the American dream. Then why was I totally empty and alone? What was I missing?

 

Does this resonate with you at all? Have you been there? When it all SHOULD be right, but it definitely is not.

 

A couple years earlier...I woke up that morning, same as many, followed the routine then off to a seminar. Life was blurry, but not bad, and that day was no different, until panic struck with a vengeance. Thought I was dying, right there on the spot. Rushed to the doctor's office, almost drove off the road, couldn't breathe, throat tightening, sweating, is this it?

 

But alas, no heart attack, no other tangible health problem, but panic indeed had struck, and so it went for almost two years. Two years, of misery, torment, wondering, agonizing, wondering...what is this all about?

 

Medicate it, drown it, sleep it away...nothing helped. Everything else in my life, from my wife and boys to my job and friends, faded into the background, and I found myself staring squarely at my own dark, lifeless soul.

 

Who was I? What was I? Why was I? Questions without answers. Did I love anything, or even care about anyone or anything? If my wife died or left, would I cry? The ache I felt not being able to say "YES" to those questions was more oppressive than any other experience, ever.

 

I don't remember much, but through it all I tried to hold it together. Life continued. I worked, we played, we attended church, I ran away and tried to escape from the agony. My wife and boys urged me forward and I clung to behind. Finally I gave up the farce and called it what it was...no kind of life I wanted!

 

Have you ever been at the end? I don't mean suicidal, because I was not, but in utter darkness and emptiness. Nothing really had any color, or purpose, or meaning. Do you know what I mean? Can you relate? What did you do?

 

For me, it was a Sunday, all alone, family at church, just me, tormented and at the end. I said "Okay 'God' (why I went to God instead of something else, I don't know, except that I DID grow up learning things about God and in a general Christian environment, as opposed to something other or nothing), Who are you? Where are you? What are you? Are you? Why should I turn this way, and not some other?" I knew OF God but did not know God. I continued "IF you are, here I am. IF you want me, for some reason, in some way, whatever that means, take me. I am done with myself. I would be better dead than to go on like this. Do with me what you will."

 

To describe the next moments, days, weeks and months with words fails immeasurably. A color palette...rich, splendid, vibrant, limitless...burst forth before my eyes. Emotion swirled and dwelt within me. Sounds blended with those colors and I literally felt my soul spring to life.

 

My life changed. Yours can too. Ready? This is what happened, this is what really happened. This is what can happen to you. Ready?

 

It was Jesus. I know, it is hard to believe. Hokey, gibberish, gunk, nonsense, fables fed by fantasy, religious junk. I know, but believe me, yes, it was Jesus. He saved me. He sent His Spirit. He gave me eyes to see. He gave me a heart to respond. He reached down to my soul in the utter depths and raised me up to new life. Jesus saved me. He wants to save you too. Are you ready?

 

Look, this is real. This is me, not some religious fanatic nut (well...), but this is ME! Some of you know me. Some of you KNEW me back then, when I did all that stuff. You knew me when God was not flattered by my tongue. This is a joke, right? Wrong. I was changed. I didn't change myself. I didn't learn a few new habits. I didn't turn over a new leaf. I was changed, changed, changed by a merciful God who is real and active and desiring to change you too. Are you ready?

 

I know, you don't believe it. You don't need it. Things are going just fine the way you are, right? You go to church, you believe in God, you are a pretty good person, basically, right? WRONG! I know. WRONG! You do need it, you need Him. Things are NOT just fine, it is not about church, it isn't about being good or doing the right things. You NEED to believe, and believe NOW before it is too late. You need HIM.

 

You see, as long as He gives you breath, as long as you live another day, you have a chance. But, you don't know when that final day will come. You don't know when the breath will escape you. And you don't know what lies beyond this life, BUT you can, and you must.

 

It is simply Jesus. He wants you. You want Him, I am sure of it. Go in your room, in private, somewhere by yourself and get over that pride thing. Just be real with yourself. Face it, you want something to matter. You want to matter, so do it.

 

Tell Him, tell Him, tell Jesus you want Him. Tell Him you need Him. Tell Him you love Him. Yes, it feels strange, but so what. Yes, it feels weak; it is not. Yes, it feels wrong; you will never do anything more right. Tell Jesus and then let Him change your life.

 

See?

 

I had to tell you...you're welcome! Now go tell someone else...

John

If this story has affected you, stirred something in you, even changed YOUR life as I know it can, let me know. Email me at jhbartuska@gmail.com to tell me how you have been changed. Then we can talk about what more it means and some important next steps.

I love you, Reader, and pray even now for you to come just as you are to Jesus who wants you to be saved.
 

Lesson 9 - 1 Peter 1:3-9, Problems, Proof & Praise

As I left the office that day, for the last time, I exclaimed out loud in my car "Oh no Lord, not another trial. This was to be THE answer, THE job, YOUR provision after a season of challenge and confusion. How can this be? What did I do wrong? Why are You punishing me?"

With that, my work life changed, again, with no real idea of what was next.

That is a tough place to be, and not to be made light of in the moment. But, and this is critical, there IS hope, and there WAS a purpose, a clear reason, a point to the madness. In fact, I see at least TWO great points, and 1 Peter 1:3-9 says it all far better than I am able:

^{3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.}

Point 1 - Problems prove our genuine faith. As we experience the vagaries of life, to varying degrees in different seasons, our faith is proven genuine again and again.

Now, make no mistake, if the faith that is tested is false, or superficial, it will be revealed through life's trials. You see it there in the middle of the verse - even gold refined by fire perishes. Faith, refined in the fire and found wanting, perishes. But, a faith that is real, substantial, of the Holy Spirit, that type of genuine faith is evidenced IN the trials, time and time again.

Point 2 - Proven genuine faith, tossed about and tested, results in Praise. This is the reason for all of it, and, in fact, all of our lives with and by God. Over and over throughout Scriptures God reminds us that He is working in us and through us FOR HIS GLORY and FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE. God, in His perfect wisdom and grace, brings about faith which is proven genuine in problems and then results in praise of His glorious Name!

In the midst of a trial yourself today? Rest in this truth and praise the Name of Him who is endlessly worthy to be praised!
  

Lesson 8 - Applying our Beliefs

Today I want to challenge you about beliefs.  Beliefs as followers of Jesus Christ.  Your beliefs, my beliefs, our beliefs.  Discussable yes, but yet non-negotiable points of our faith upon which we stand, and for which we stand and must be ready to die.

These beliefs are vitally important and applying them day to day in our lives makes us different from the rest of the world. Did you get that? The daily living out of our beliefs makes us DIFFERENT from the rest of all other people on earth! Let that sink in for a minute. We live by a faith that no one can see, yet, one of which we are absolutely certain. "Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." - 1 Corinthians 13:12

It is why the author of Hebrews writes in 1:13 "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth."

So, let's look at some of our primary beliefs; those things that make us uniquely different from the rest of the people on the earth. Among other things, we believe

• In the full humanity and deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, death on the cross for our sins, bodily resurrection and ascension, present ministry of intercession for believers, and his personal and visible return in power and glory – Jesus WILL COME BACK
• That the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God and as 2 Timothy says is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, so that the man of God will be equipped for service
• That salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, not by works, and that Jesus is THE way and THE truth and THE life and no one comes to the Father except through Him
• The Holy Spirit is a person and is God, and He illuminates so that we can see and know, and then He indwells us so that we can live holy lives
• The church is a body of believers, baptized in the name of the Father,
  Son and Holy Spirit, and gifted to do the work God has called each of us to do, going and telling, proclaiming His salvation and teaching until He comes again

Let me offer up this passage from 1 Thessalonians 4 and then comment a bit about these beliefs and why they are important.

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

VERSE 13

 

Have you ever been to the funeral of someone who staked everything they were and all that they had on things in this life? How about a funeral for someone who believed as surely as they lived that the best part of life was still to come? Did you notice any difference?

In the first instance, where there was no hope of things to come, sadness and even bitterness or anger prevail, with things heard like "oh how sad", "what a tragedy", "this is a great loss", and there is much weeping, wailing, blaming others or even God. There is lamenting, crying out, questions of why, or may be even just resignation. In other words, NO HOPE.

But, when someone dies with a certain hope of things to come it is much different. To be sure there is sadness, but the difference is palpable. Comments heard are often counter-intuitive, such as "now they stand before Jesus" and "oh what joy must they have now". There is mourning and tears and sadness, BUT also a related joy, fond memories, stories of faith and courage. In other words HOPE.

Romans 8 tells us – “it is in this hope that we were saved.  And this is not hope that is seen for who hopes for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience”

LESSON – we do not mourn as without hope.  We know that we will see them again on that day when the Lord takes us home too or returns in glory.  We rest in and believe and apply this truth in our own lives.

VERSE 14

Do you see it?  Paul states it for us, but if you or I do not believe what it says then the rest means nothing and is senseless – “since we believe that Jesus died and rose again” – so I have to ask right here, do you believe that?

If not, go in a quiet room, by yourself, and ask God to make it clear, to open your eyes, to illuminate your spirit, and then confess your unworthiness, repent of your ways and believe!

Once that is settled, now we know, Paul says, that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep, or died already.

LESSON – know what you believe and believe what you know, and LIVE IT!

VERSES 15 – 17

This word from Paul is even more specifically important because he says “this we declare to you by a word from the Lord” – now ALL of Paul’s written words to these churches and people are from the Lord, so if he goes out of his way to say it, this must be important, and in this case he DECLARES it!

Then we have the most long awaited event in all of Christianity – the announcing and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in victory.

By the way, in case anyone ever tries to tell you differently, or even that Jesus has returned but secretly as some will try to do, this second coming will not be some simple, regional or local announcement with a bit of a blast on the horn and then news will spread.  This will be SPECTACULAR and loud and visible and known world wide all at once without any mistake.  Jesus Himself affirms this when he says in Matthew 24 – “…as the lightening comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

And then at the end, a key for us – the dead IN CHRIST will rise first and those of us who are alive will be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and then always be with Him!!!!!!!!

LESSON - Let this glorious, amazing truth season every day as you face the ups and downs of life.

VERSE 18

Paul calls on us all, as I am doing right now tonight, to encourage each other with these especially privileged words. I leave you with these open ended questions -

Do you believe these things?
If so, what difference is it making?

Lesson 7 - Psalm 46, He Just Is

As I write this we are searching for employment. Agonizingly slow describes the process well. Long periods of waiting, hoping, expecting, followed by brief moments of intense emotions up and down, left, right and even directions not yet defined.

To be clear, God Himself is caring for us day by day by day. Using sweet, generous people in our lives and unexpected circumstances, he provides our daily bread. We have not “trouble” as it were, but yet there lies such a need for a refuge and strength.

46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.

GOD – It rightly starts with God and we should too. Not to be called upon for flashes of need, but steadily, faithfully trusted over time. This God, our God knows and our God cares. He is ABLE and He is WILLING.

IS – we have found Him to be these things, we are finding Him to be these things and we will find Him to be these things.  GOD IS our refuge and strength.

OUR – personal, approachable, relational, intimate.

REFUGE – a shelter, a place of safety, a place for weary travelers to rest and gain their footing again.

AND STRENGTH – that is not all, for when we are weak, when we have nothing left, GOD IS our refuge AND our STRENGTH.  In our weakness HIS strength is made perfect, and is already perfect, and is shown PERFECT.

A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE – right now, not later, right where you are, right where I am, not when all is good again, God is a very PRESENT help in troubles of all sorts.

2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

THEREFORE – all that precedes this word makes an impenetrable case, and all that comes after it matters not…WE WILL NOT FEAR.

Simply stated, take it to the bank; write it in stone; we will NOT fear BECAUSE GOD IS …

Lamentations 3:22-23

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Exactly because God Himself is our refuge and strength, and we have counted on Him before and He has never left us stranded, because of His great faithfulness and His unending mercies, we will not fear.  This is a deep seated rest from fear.

Figuratively or literally, when earth gives way, like in earthquakes all around the globe or with volcanoes where parts of the world explode with fury, when mountains fall into the sea like the coastlines in the Western US in the rainy season, there is calamity.  When the waters foam with power of Hurricanes or Tsunamis, there is chaos.  If you are trusting in the world and all it has to offer, you will be rightly shaken when these things occur.  If you are looking for peace or freedom and escape from disasters in this world, you will be filled with fear.

But, if your treasures are in Heaven, and not of this world, if you seek God and the peace that passes all understanding, then you join together with the Psalmist, and with believers all over the land, and when the world’s troubles come to you, you and all of us together trust and hope in the Lord AND do NOT fear … because GOD IS …

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.

God is in the midst of this royal, Holy city. This is a place of beauty, a place of joy, a place of rest, a place of Grace.  For as the world and all that is in it roars and foams and falls, God’s gentle, merciful streams and rivers of Grace flow over us and into us, giving strength and hope for the journey ahead.  In Revelation we see that there will be a new Jerusalem, a new city and God will be there, where we see His favor, goodness, life nourishing power, brightness, beauty, we see and are in the very presence of God.   This is what that passage says –

Revelation 22:1-2

¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

God is in the midst of her, central to the whole, providing all of the growth, nourishment and life needed so that she will not be moved.  Make no mistake, if God is in the midst of something or, better yet, someone like you or me, then that thing or that person is secure – period.

And God Himself will help when the morning dawns.  The morning, dawn, early, a critical time, the day starting out, a decision point – what will the day bring – and God is right there – “a very present help”

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.

One of my favorite verses of all. Uproar around the world – bombings beyond explanation, moral compasses askew, new types of war, terrorism, upheaval, revolution, all out anarchy. The rulers of these lands rant and rave over what they will do, what power they have, little realizing that were it not for our God they would have no power or ability at all. Whether boasting and manipulating in Iran, stubbornness and stupidity and ego over nuclear weapons in Korea, or the ongoing tragedy day by day in Afghanistan, and certainly even here in the US, uprising, rebellion, protest and upheaval – uncertainty about our future political leadership, the economy and uncertainty about our future.

The nations rage, kingdoms totter, yes, and they will even more so as the time for His return approaches.  But yet, even thought it all happens, we take heart, with hope and joy, knowing that in the same way that He created all things –

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Whether natural disaster or political, man made warring and tumult, when God utters His voice, the earth melts – HE IS IN CONTROL. 

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

A statement again that the Lord is with us, He is our fortress, our shield, our rock – a refuge from the storms and a stronghold that can not be overcome.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.

Come and see – an invitation!  He alone is sovereign.  Kingdoms are established and torn down, dynasties are built and uprooted, and authorities receive power and wither when stripped of that same power.

Hairs are all numbered, sparrows don’t even fall without Him knowing, all of our days are established before you were – all at the Holy Hand of God, and this God loves us and wants us to know Him

He loves us, in ultimate ways that we do not fully understand, ways which we do not deserve, merciful, tender, forgiving love. He showed us so clearly in Romans 5:8 –

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

There is the Gospel, right there in Romans 5. God the Father sent God the Son to save sinners like you and like me. If we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths we will be saved. You may have heard this before, and grown up with it simply assumed your whole life, but I am here to ask again today – do you BELIEVE IT?

And then the Psalm continues

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.

One of the most quoted, remembered, cherished verses in all of Christianity.

To those of us who BELIEVE, this is a call, a command, a hope, a promise, from the only One able to give such a promise – Be still – stop hurrying, stop worrying, stop thinking wrong, stop lamenting about hardships or concerns – be still and know, yes know, be certain, with hope, with faith, with joy, that He is God, that it matters, that it makes a difference, that you will be different!

I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”

Whether we acknowledge it or not God will be exalted – this is not wishy washy, this is not unsure, this is not a possibility – it is absolutely true.  It does occur, is occurring and will continue to occur for all of eternity. 

Make no mistake - every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of the Father!  God will be exalted!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The promise again stated for emphasis – He is with us, God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. 

Martin Luther, the great theologian and instigator of the Protestant movement when he pegged his 95 theses on the door at Wittenburg, said whenever he heard any discouraging news at all, he would say “come let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm”!

As I wrap up this lesson I know we all have moments of doubt and fear.  We wonder if God hears us, if He will answer, if we can trust Him. 

But, we are here to say YOU CAN TRUST HIM, He does hear, He does answer and GOD IS a very present help in trouble.

Lesson 6 - Hebrews 13:7, Encouragement From Those Gone Before Us

Thanks be to God for the many thousands of lives of flawed saints who have gone before us.

God intends for us to peer into the past at saints who lived before us to learn lessons, receive encouragement and be strengthened, through their imperfect lives and ministries.

Hebrews 13:7 tells us

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”

Whether through the great hymns and the stories behind them, writings about soldiers of the faith or most certainly through the Holy Scriptures, God is using what has been written to empower what is to be done.

Psalm 102:18 says

“Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD”

And further in Romans 15:4

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

People we hear and read about can inspire us in two ways – they were flawed like me, and like you, but those flaws give us great hope that God may just use someone like us in spite of who we think we are and what we have done.

And UNLIKE me, they were great, or better said, they did great things for the Lord.  And, perhaps, their greatness may encourage me and you, by His Spirit and for His Glory, to do greater things than we may ever think possible!

I know you read the Scriptures – do you ever meditate on what some of the flawed yet great characters were like?  It is fascinating – they were ordinary, ill prepared and often unwilling vessels until God really got hold of them - Abraham, Moses, David or Paul are all great examples of this. 

Or, do you ever read biographies of pillars of our faith, these saints from days of old, people like William Tyndale, Andrew Fuller, William Carey, John Newton or William Wilberforce?

Perhaps God is using this short lesson together to urge us, to encourage us, to CHALLENGE us to learn from and then grow through the life of a saint from days gone by, and in so doing, bring Himself glory and us great riches!

Take for example, this short excerpt from John Piper's "Life as a Vapor" on the life of David Brainerd who was a 

"Missionary to the American Indians in New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania. Born in Connecticut in 1718, he died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-nine in 1747. Jonathan Edwards preached the funeral sermon and published the diary which David had kept."

By almost every standard known to modern missionary boards, David Brainerd would have been rejected as a missionary candidate. He was tubercular — died of that disease at twenty-nine — and from his youth was frail and sickly. He never finished college, being expelled from Yale for criticizing a professor and for his interest and attendance in meetings of the "New Lights," a religious organization. He was prone to be melancholy and despondent. Yet this young man, who would have been considered a real risk by any present-day mission board, became a missionary to the American Indians and, in the most real sense, "the pioneer of modern missionary work." Brainerd began his ministry with the Indians in April, 1743, at Kannameek, New York, then ministered in Crossweeksung and Cranberry (near Newark), New Jersey. These were the areas of his greatest successes. Brainerd's first journey to the Forks of the Delaware to reach that ferocious tribe resulted in a miracle of God that preserved his life and revered him among the Indians as a "Prophet of God." Encamped at the outskirts of the Indian settlement, Brainerd planned to enter the Indian community the next morning to preach to them the Gospel of Christ. Unknown to him, his every move was being watched by warriors who had been sent out to kill him. F.W. Boreham recorded the incident: But when the braves drew closer to Brainerd's tent, they saw the paleface on his knees. And as he prayed, suddenly a rattlesnake slipped to his side, lifted up its ugly head to strike, flicked its forked tongue almost in his face, and then without any apparent reason, glided swiftly away into the brushwood. "The Great Spirit is with the paleface!" the Indians said; and thus they accorded him a prophet's welcome.

Now, once in awhile motivated, perhaps you do have aspirations of doing great things for God.  But, then doubt creeps in and you lose strength.  If that has happened to you, maybe you can relate to this - sometimes, when I dare to think or even dream of ways to serve my God – ways that are so big and great and awesome that it makes me tremble - that’s when practical thinking takes over – sometimes through a well intentioned brother or sister - a little voice of doubt telling me all the reasons why I can not do something significant for God.

Yet, if we will just submit to Him and not to our own strength, call on Him and not some wavering human courage, trust HIM and not ourselves, then just may be He will answer as He did to this great servant of the Lord.

John Paton felt this tug by God to step out of his comfort zone and do something great for Him.  By the Holy Spirit, he was given the yearning and the passion and the courage to go to un-reached tribes of the South Sea Islands in 1856.  For him, his “little voice” was in fact another Christian brother who tried to discourage him from going.  He found out important information about this people group and felt compelled to tell his friend.  And so with a sincere intention, he proceeded to inform John Paton that the people group to whom he was going were cannibals, and he said “you will be eaten by these cannibals!”

To this very sensible, practical warning, John Paton, filled by the Spirit, trusting in the Lord and not in himself, realizing his life was God’s life and not his own, responded by saying –

“Friend, your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms;  I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms;  and in the Great Day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.”

If stories of this type of holy abandon inspire you and you want to continue to see how God has worked in the lives of past saints, may I suggest checking out the internet (Amazon is a great source!) or a bookstore, or just search online under Christian Biographies. You can also find resources at www.desiringgod.org if you search on biographies.

And then, moved to action by the inspirational example of those who have gone before us, let us together pray to live dangerous lives – lives that will drastically change the landscape – lives that will do immeasurably more than we can even ask or imagine – so that our great God may receive glory for what He has done and what He is still yet to do in us!