Wailing in the Night

[This article originally published in HeartCry Magazine, volume 65. The entire volume is available at www.hcmissions.org.]

The sound was not jolting, but as it sliced through the night it cut me to the core; eyes wide open, I dared not move. Instead, I lay perfectly motionless in my bed; straining my ears, I listened intently. It was pitch dark and nothing was moving outside my barred windows. What was that sound? A voice? Yes, but what was he saying? A song? What did the wailing mean? My mind raced as the hollow third floor of my lodging place amplified it like a megaphone. Then, as quickly as it began it started to fade. It was over and the city came to life as if it had just heard a wakeup call. Halfway around the world, in a very different culture, I had just heard the morning call to prayer broadcast from the village mosque.

Matt Glass, HeartCry’s Asian Coordinator, and I were in a remote village within sight of the Himalayans visiting with local Christian missionaries. Hopefully, we would have an opportunity to share our faith from God’s word in the coming days; both to our Christian friends and their lost friends.

As I prayed that morning for the events of the coming days, I also offered a confession for my fears and weak faith. Why had the strange wailing in the night bothered me? Why did I, even for a moment, lean on my own understanding and let my mind wander instead of fully trusting in the living God? I serve the true God; Creator of heaven and earth!

My payers were answered; fear abated and hope changed to joy as we arrived to find a crowd of people gathered into our meeting space that morning. One couple traveled over thirty kilometers (no small adventure in this region) by taxi in order to hear teaching from the bible, giving us all the more encouragement to be faithful in the proclamation of His word.

As the praise and worship progressed into the third hour of the second day, women held and rocked their children in the heat, bible pages rustled as we searched scripture, and, unbeknownst to us, the gatekeeper listened intently from below. When the services were over, he ran up the stairs as we prayed, pulled our missionary friend aside and announced that he wished to know more about Christianity. I can only pray that he was moved by the Spirit to repent.

As I write this, images of the Haitian earthquake are fresh on my mind. Thousands upon thousands died in that quake. How many perished without the gospel? Had the same earthquake hit the Asian village where we taught, the same carnage would lie in its aftermath. How many might perish without hearing the gospel?

I am reminded of the tower of Siloam where souls perished in the aftermath of its collapse. Jesus warns the crowd that calamity is at their door and that unless they repent, they will “likewise perish” (Luke 13:3) without the gospel; without saving faith.

Around the world, many souls are motionless in spiritual darkness and at the door of calamity. Many will perish without saving faith. Who will shake them out of their stupor? Who will bring the gospel within earshot? Who will explain to them the gospel; the good news of Jesus Christ? Faithful Christians. That is why indigenous missions is so important.

Independence Day

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” ESV Genesis 3:6

Adam and Eve experienced an Independence Day of their own, but it was not a day to be celebrated nor recalled with fondness for years to come. No, their independence came through disobedience and separated them from the Creator of heaven and earth.

God was wrapping up His work in creation when the unfortunate day arrived. He had created the world, formed it, shaped it, and populated it with plants and animals. He had given Adam special dominion over the animals, even allowing him to name them, and prepared a special piece of land (garden of Eden) for him to keep. The final touch would be the creation of a suitable helpmate for Adam and of course we know that’s when God created Eve. Creation was finished and it was good.

Now, God had not placed a lot of burdensome rules and restrictions on Adam. We’re told simply that Adam was to “keep” the Garden. As a matter of fact, it seems Adam was given great liberty and freedom to eat of any tree in the Garden, all of which were pleasing to the eye and fruit bearing, with one exception; “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God assured Adam that eating from the forbidden tree would surely bring death.

Why do you suppose God gave any restrictions to Adam? Scripture seems to be silent on the issue, but perhaps it was to allow Adam and Eve to freely demonstrate obedience to God. Regardless, Adam and Eve transgressed God’s command. They exercised their freedom, and “independence” if you will, by disobeying God and eating the fruit.

Of course, the inevitable came to pass. God, true to his word as always, caused Adam, Eve and all of mankind to experience death. Paul would later write to the Romans, “...just as sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..” (Romans 5:12).

Before you cast too many stones at Adam and Eve for their disobedience that had such far-reaching consequences perhaps a little introspection is in order. Jesus said all the commandments could be surmised: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all our mind’ and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matthew 22:37-39). How obedient are you to these simple commands?

Why don’t you exercise your dependence today? Honor God by honoring is straightforward commands.

Fleeting Beauty

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” ESV Proverbs 31:30

Think with me for a moment about the bridal section of the newspaper. Typically, there is an engagement announcement along with a picture of a happy, vibrant young couple in eager anticipation of marriage. Just a few days after the wedding, we get an announcement describing the event along with a picture of the bride (alone) in a gorgeous dress. And that’s about all we’ll see about them in the news until they have a 30^th or 50^th anniversary (both are rare). If they get that far, their love and affection for one another will have no doubt grown, but their youthful beauty will have long since faded. Beauty is vain.

Our society is obsessed with physical beauty. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with natural beauty. As a matter of fact, I think natural beauty is a wonderful thing, but it is only surface deep. So, why do we obsess over it? Why do we allow our children to exploit it? Why do we twist and pervert God-given beauty into sensual temptations? Be honest—our society manipulates and exploits beauty.

I heard a pastor exhort a group of people once regarding beauty. He told them that if they lived long enough, they would all eventually be ugly! Now, he wasn’t being uncharitable to elderly people. Instead, he was highlighting the fact that youthful beauty is vain. No matter how hard we try and hang on to youth, age is gaining ground.

How foolish for a young man or young woman to marry based on youthful beauty alone. How silly for young women to buy into society’s lie and wear revealing and/or too tight clothing that tempts heads to turn as she passes. How silly for a young man to fall for the temptation. Beauty is vain.

How much more profitable would it be for women to pursue the Lord? How much more profitable would it be for men to desire a bride who fears the Lord? How wonderful is it to find a beautiful, yet biblically modest, spouse who loves the Lord?!

There are so many temptations to fall into society’s mindset regarding beauty that I’d like to offer at least two resources that offer biblical insight for men and women. The first (women only) can be found at www.girltalkhome.com. This is a wonderful website full of good advice for young women. If you go there, search for a document called “modesty heart check;” it’s great. The other is www.cbmw.org, which is the website for The Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. While not as much “fun” as girltalk, this site offers serious advice to both men and women of all ages regarding biblical manhood and biblical womanhood.

Beauty is vain and fleeting, but fear of the Lord is praiseworthy and enduring. Which will you desire?