He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

Proverbs 13:3

Talk about a formidable discipline

I heard of Zion I with the recent release of his CD, The Take Over. Now I’m going back to the beginning. Sweet song.

And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage that you can bring…
And love is not the easy thing…
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can’t leave behind

“Walk On,” U2

We often assume the answer to romantic love must be “yes;” we are in such need. But what of this possibility: we may need to deepen our knowledge of God’s love for a time.

We must be rooted to be fruitful.

Elected Silence, sing to me
And beat upon my whorled ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear.

–Gerard Manley Hopkins

The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes behold, his eyelids try
the children of men.

Psalm 11:4

This is such an encouraging book about what God is doing in the house churches of China. It reads like the book of Acts—God is certainly moving! Toward the end of the book, Yun reflects on the churches in the West. He focuses on the need for genuine repentance:

You see, we are all called to run a race for Jesus, and repentance is the starting line of that race. It’s futile to try to run the race if you never made it to the starting line to begin with! This is the problem with many believers today. They are trying to follow the Lord, but they have never truly repented and surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. The result of the false gospel so prevalent today can be seen in churches full of halfhearted Christians whose lives are still centered on selfishness and the principles of the world.

Tough words! But let us listen and see how we can partner with our Chinese brethren. Yun has a website that details his current ministry at www.backtojerusalem.com

He told me of a river bright
That flows from Him to me,
That I might be, for His delight,
A fair and fruitful tree.

–Tersteegen

More Than Dreams is a wonderful DVD that documents individuals in the Muslim world who have experienced direct dreams and visions of Christ–unto salvation! Compelling and encouraging! I hope you enjoy it.

Pigeon John is the man!

Hudson Taylor is a giant of the faith who served the Lord mightily in China. But we must not forget that he was a real Christian, with real struggles. In Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, we are given peeks into his difficult internal world. The following is an excerpt of a letter to his mother:

I cannot tell you how I am buffeted sometimes by temptation. I never knew how bad a heart I have. Yet I do know that I love God and love His work, and desire to serve Him only and in all things. And I value above all else that precious Saviour in whom alone I can be accepted. Often I am tempted to think that one so full of sin cannot be a child of God at all. But I try to throw it back, and rejoice all the more in the preciousness of Jesus and in the riches of the grace that has made us “accepted in the beloved.” Beloved He is of God; beloved He ought to be of us. But oh, how short I fall here again! May God help me to love Him more and serve Him better. Do pray for me. Pray that the Lord will keep me from sin, will sanctify me wholly, will use me more largely in His service.

This is such a beautiful picture of how a buffeted, tired, tempted saint can once again be endeared to the Father. Amen!