Afraid? Of What?

The poem, entitled “Afraid?” was written by Presbyterian missionary E.H. Hamilton following the recent martyrdom of one of his colleagues, J.W. Vinson, at the hands of rebel soldiers in northern China. A small Chinese girl who escaped from the bandits related the incident that provided the inspiration for Hamilton’s poem.

“Are you afraid?” the bandits asked Vinson as they menacingly waved a gun in front of him.

“No,” he replied with complete assurance. “If you shoot, I go straight to heaven.”

His decapitated body was found later.

Afraid? Of what?
To feel the spirit’s glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace,
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
Afraid to see the Saviour’s face,
To hear His welcome, and to trace,
The glory gleam from wounds of grace,
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
A flash - a crash - a pierced heart;
Brief darkness - Light - O Heaven’s art!
A wound of His a counterpart!
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
To enter into Heaven’s rest,
And yet to serve the Master blessed?
From service good to service best?
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
To do by death what life could not -
Baptize with blood a stony plot,
Till souls shall blossom from the spot?
Afraid? Of that?

* Thanks to Tim Challies for posting this.

Interesting Videos

At first this video was funny but then I realized that in the direction that Americanized Christianity is flowing this product may soon be seen on the best sellers shelf at your local Christian bookstore (LIfeWay included). Publishers are producing special Bibles for people with special interests (camo Bibles, a green Bible, social justice Bible...), and producing audio Bibles read by professional athletes, Hollywood stars, and Nascar drivers just so that people will by the product and listen to it. What a low view of the Word of God we have! It should not surprise us if "The Porpoise Driven Life" were to come out.




I thought this video was interesting to say the least. It may have given you a headache from the information overload but it point taken from it is worth it. The video shows the world/culture that we live in: constantly changing. In the midst of this exponential change, we find ourselves searching for something that can ground us so that we are not carried away by every new release of technology or the constant bombardment of pseudo-urgent news alerts from around the world. That constant that remains unchanged in the midst of our turmoil is God.

“For I the Lord do not change." - Malachi 3:6

"God is not man, that he should lie,or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?" - Numbers 23:19

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." - James 1:17

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8

In a world that is ever changing at speeds beyond comprehension, we have a God that is constant and faithful, we have His Word that is ever true and relevant and we have a salvation that is not dependent on our faithfulness but that rests on the accomplished work of Christ. Praise be to God!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

"Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise?" - Matthew 21:16

Today as my 4 1/2 year old daughter and I drove home from lunch she began to tell of the wonders of God. She was telling me what happens when she runs around in the church gym. She said that when she runs around her heart beats so hard that she can feel it with her hand but then she declared that the reason this is so is due to the fact that God created her that way. She continued by proclaiming that God created all of us that way and the only reason we can live is because he has made us. As she continued on she began to tell of how knowledgeable God is: He knows all the pieces of grass that are in the whole world, He knows the number of leaves in the world, He knows all the hairs that are on everyone's head, and He knows everything. This came in stark contrast to her evaluation of mankind, "No one knows anything like God does!" She finished by declaring that God loves everyone the best (better than mother or father, sister or brother, husband or wife). It was truly beautiful. Something that appears so simple to a little child has become such a stumbling block to those that consider themselves wise. Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will." (Matthew 11:25-26)

Lord make us to be like little children that trust their heavenly Father in all things!

The Gospel of Reconciliation

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (ESV)

This quote from John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied.

"This accomplished work of reconciliation is the message committed to the messengers of the gospel. It constitutes the content of the message. But the message is that which is declared to be a fact. Conversion, it ought to be remembered, is not the gospel. it is the demand of the gospel message and the proper response to it. Any transformation which occurs in us is the effect in us of that which is proclaimed to have been accomplished by God. The change our hearts and minds presupposes the reconciliation."

Thanks be to God, who accomplished reconciliation through the blood of Christ on our behalf. May we ever stand in awe of His grace and mercy towards undeserving sinners!