Actually, it might not be such a bad reminder to carry around.

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

HT: Gizmodo

1. We must build our missionary vision on the Word of God. “When we choose and send missionaries, let us send those who can preach and teach the truth about God with an understanding of central biblical doctrines. The apostles built their lives and missions on these great truths. So should we.”
2. World missions is God’s work through us. “We speak and we do. But in and through us God speaks and God does, or all is in vain. We rely on Him. Our job is to obey and be faithful and trust Him. Just as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:6–7: ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So then neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.’”
3. The aim of world missions is the worship of God. “The reason the universe exists is that creatures might have the joy of worshiping God. Therefore, missions exist where worship doesn’t. Missionaries are seeking to awaken worship for the true and living God through His Son, Jesus Christ.”
4. The way to do world missions is to go to unreached peoples. “The way to do world missions is not to settle down with the peoples that already have churches (even if they are across the ocean), but to keep going to the unreached peoples until all the peoples are reached and have their own Christ-worshiping churches.”
5. God calls some to be wardens of the mission who watch over it from home. “You have three possibilities in world missions. You can be a goer, a sender, or disobedient. The Bible does not assume that everyone goes. But it does assume that the ones who do not go care about goers and support goers and pray for goers and hold the rope of the goers. Paul was linked with many churches, and they sent support to him over and over again. So it should be with every church and its missionaries.”

These are all great points, but I especially appreciate the emphasis on the Word of God in missions and going to the unreached peoples. What are some key components of world missions for you?

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”
    - Gen. Eric Shinseki, former U.S. Army chief of staff

Here is a recording project our whole family worked on together over the Christmas vacation. Don’t let the piano intro fool you. The actual song kicks in after about 20 seconds. Enjoy!

Angels
[See post to listen to audio]

    - Recorded and produced by Sam Fowler
    - Arranged by Sam and Rose Fowler
    - Lead vocal by Rose Fowler
    - Guitars by Sam Fowler
    - Piano by Ramón Fowler
    - Percussion by Timothy Fowler
    - Background vocals by Rose and Ray Fowler

So, what did you do over your Christmas vacation?

Related posts:
    • A Very Merry Guitar Christmas from Sam Fowler
    • Guess the Famous Christmas Trees

In the meantime, if you are interested in starting a Bible reading plan for the New Year, here are some links I posted last year that you should find helpful.

• Free Bible Reading Plans for the New Year
• Books to Help You Read through the Bible
• Recommended Children’s Story Bibles

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)

Merry Christmas!

1. They would have stopped to ask for directions.
2. They would have been on time.
3. They would have prepared the stable.
4. They would have helped deliver the baby.
5. They would have made a casserole.
6. And they would have brought diapers as a gift rather than perfume.

HT: Pastor’s Weekly Briefing

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The whole life of Christ was a continual passion; others die martyrs, but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha (where he was crucified) even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for, to his tenderness then, the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after; and the manger as uneasy at first, as his cross at last. His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas Day and his Good Friday are but the evening and morning of one and the same day.” (John Donne, “Sermon Number 11. Preached at St. Pauls upon Christmas Day. 1626.” The Sermons of John Donne, edited by Evelyn M. Simpson and George R. Potter [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1962], Volume 7, p. 279.)

Note: I have noticed the following lines attached to this quote online and elsewhere:

“From the creche to the cross is an inseparable line. Christmas only points forward to Good Friday and Easter. It can have no meaning apart from that, where the Son of God displayed his glory by his death.”

These are good lines, but they should not be attributed to Donne. I cross-checked Donne’s sermon in both the Simpson/Potter work cited above, as well as in Alford. (The Works of John Donne; by John Donne, Henry Alford; pp. 57-58) The additional lines do not show up in either work.

As far as I can tell, the lines were first attached to the quote in Joseph Skip Ryan’s book, That You May Believe (p. 50). Ryan credits The Book of Uncommon Prayer, edited by Constance Pollock and Daniel Pollock. The quote from Donne appears in Pollock’s book under the title, Epiphany (p. 49), but it does not have the added lines.

More recently, Ryan’s chapter was picked up in Nancy Guthrie’s new advent book, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, where the full quote including the additional lines are reproduced (pp. 20-21). This is an excellent book which is getting a lot of well-deserved attention, and most of the quotes popping up online with the additional lines reference Guthrie’s book.

So, where did these mysterious lines come from, and how did they get attached to Donne’s quote? I am guessing the additional lines were probably written by Ryan and were meant to follow Donne’s quote as commentary, but were mistakenly included within the quotation marks instead. If anyone can shed further light on this, I would be interested to know.

Related post:  7 Great Books to Read at Christmas

I know, innocent until proven guilty. But this was too fun to pass up. Chicago politics — what are you going to do?

Click here for more Fun posts.
Related post: The New 5 Dollar Bill (Fun)

HT: Don Surber