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Win the Mountains

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Before my own ministry in evangelism launched years ago, I met with Billy Graham at a pre-crusade breakfast. He discovered my ambition was to preach in evangelistic crusades. And he advised me to stay with the big cities.

“Paul (in the Bible) always went to the centers of population,” he told me. “And D.L. Moody used to say that the cities were the mountains; and if you won the mountains, the valleys took care of themselves.”

What was Mr. Graham trying to tell me? Simply that cities are important. According to urban missiologist Ray Bakke, the word “city” occurs 1,250 times in the Bible. Cities matter to God because people matter to God.

Do you live in a city? Do you live in a neighborhood? More than likely, the answer is “yes.” The point is, you have people all around you. The Lord Jesus has compassion on these individuals and wants to save them!

Psalm 116 in the Bible states, “The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.” Pray to God; ask Him to give you His compassion for others. He will begin to use you to reach your community, your city, and your world with His love!

Alluring Cities

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In 1960 I was on my way to America for graduate studies. At the airport in Buenos Aires, before the first flight of my life, my mother couldnt stop giving me advice. Her last words before I got on the plane were, “Dont go into the cities, dont travel alone, dont get shot and stuffed in a trunk, and remember Hebrews 13, verses 5 and 6!”

I confess to ignoring at least some of my moms admonition. Americas cities were alluring, and I couldnt wait for the day when I would preach the Gospel to tens of thousands in the nations stadiums!

Does your heart beat for your city? Do you feel compassion for lost souls? Wherever you may be listening from today, your city – your community – is full of hurting people. And YOU are called by Jesus Christ to share His love with them.

As you do, remember the Bible verses from Hebrews: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Let Jesus be your strength as you take the Good News to your city today.

So Many People

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When I ask you to picture a billion people, what do you see? A bunch of nameless, faceless people crammed together? Perhaps the number is just too big; you simply cannot comprehend it. But, there are literally billions of people right now who do not know Jesus Christ!

Statistics can be overwhelming. We can dismiss the “one billion” number because its just too big. It makes us feel helpless. But, pause for a moment. Perhaps you cant reach each of the billion of people who do not know the Lord, but what about the handful of people you do know? You dont know every single person who needs to know Jesus, but I bet you know some of them.

The Bible says that when Jesus saw the crowds, “He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” We need to ask God to move our hearts with the same compassion that moves His heart.

Thousands of people dont know Jesus Christ today. But your ONE neighbor, your ONE coworker, your one son or daughter – these are the people YOU can reach. You cant reach them all, but you can reach the ones God has put in your path.

What Really Matters

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A few winters ago my wife and I got a phone call from a ministry in our hometown. They were collecting used blankets and sleeping bags for the homeless. So we gathered up a bunch of sleeping bags to donate. Throughout our marriage we have always made it a priority to reach out to those less fortunate than us.

Reaching out and caring for peoples physical needs is good; Jesus often healed the sick! But He always shared the Good News. Whenever Jesus met a physical need, He also told people the Good News – meeting their spiritual need also. Our Lord knew that its vitally important for people to have a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ. Without a conversion experience, theres no hope for true, lasting change.

God tells us in Isaiah 40: “Surely the people are like grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

The Lord reminds us that the only enduring thing in the world is His Word — His Good News! As we reach out to help the helpless, lets never forget that without a relationship with Jesus Christ, nothing else matters. Reach out with compassion, reach out through community service, but never never forget to also share the Gospel.

Peace in the Storm

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The apostle Paul wrote in Romans that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God.”

Even the most severe pressures and struggles of daily life cant separate us from the tenderness and compassion of our Heavenly Father. On the contrary, when we feel as though our world is falling apart, Gods power and grace are magnified.

Paul is not saying that we wont face disappointment, suffering, or conflict in life. But he is saying that no Christian need ever despair. Why? Because we worship the God of all comfort–the God who is sufficient for every pressure of life.

As a missionary once said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict from life but the ability to cope with it.” The God of all comfort can provide that “copeability” in the midst of any crisis.

This peace in the midst of the storm is something that non-believers cant experience, because they dont have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They dont have the Holy Spirit strengthening them. Thats why it is such a powerful witness when you and I point people to the Savior of the world, who offers hope, healing, and forgiveness.