Drawing Near

Much has been written on the life and work of Adoniram Judson and rightly so.  It was just over 200 years ago that Adoniram Judson and his wife Ann set sail from Salem, MA in route to India (later arriving in Burma).  Many of those on the wharf that day no doubt thought that their departure was such a small deposit, with little hope of bearing anything substantial.

Judson was 24 years old and Ann was 23 when they left their native New England.  He would labor in Burma for 38 years until his death at age 61.  In that entire time he would only return home once, and that after 33 years of being away. From a human perspective their departure for the hardships of missionary life was a fool’s errand. (more…)

C. J. Mahaney has written a very helpful book entitled, Humility: True Greatness. In this work he tells the following story:

As I sat with my family at a local breakfast establishment, I noticed a finely dressed man at an adjacent table. His Armani suit and stiffly pressed shirt coordinated perfectly with a power tie. His wing-tip shoes sparkled from a recent shine, every hair was in place, including his perfectly groomed moustache. The man sat alone eating a bagel as he prepared for a meeting. As he reviewed the papers before him, he appeared nervous, glancing frequently at his Rolex watch. It was obvious he had an important meeting ahead.

The man stood up and I watched as he straightened his tie and prepared to leave.  Immediately I noticed a blob of cream cheese attached to his finely groomed moustache. He was about to go into the world, dressed in his finest, with cream cheese on his face. I thought of the business meeting he was about to attend. Who would tell him? Should I? What if no one did? (Attributed to Pastor James R. Needham in a 2004 illustration from www.preachingtoday.com) (more…)

With Dallas Willard’s death two weeks ago, I was reminded with gratitude of his classic text, The Spirit of the Disciplines. There was one sentence in that book that arrested me when I read it a number of years ago, and it has led to a strong commitment to promote Scripture memory in my pastoral ministry. In his chapter outlining spiritual disciplines, Willard wrote about the believer’s intake of Scripture:

“I would never undertake to pastor a church or guide a program of Christian education that did not involve a continuous program of memorization of the choicest passages of Scripture for people of all ages.” (more…)