"Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness — without it no one will see the Lord." + Hebrews 12:14
Here are some recent highlights:
When we handed these books out to our congregation, this is part of the note we included inside each one:
This might seem at first
to be a peculiar Advent devotional.
But saints often are peculiar people
who stand out in a particular time and place.
In fact, the times when saints shine
the most are times of darkness.
They give glimpses of Jesus’ Light,
which darkness cannot overcome.
Advent begins in the dark.
And we, as part of Jesus’ Church,
are called to live as Advent people
who anticipate Jesus’ coming
into our darkness today to overcome it.
Ultimately, our hope rests in the God of Advent
who drew near to us in Jesus’ first coming
and will come again
to take away the darkness forever
and be our eternal Light. That hope is what saints have embodied
as our sisters and brothers across time,
ethnicities, Christian traditions,
nationalities, and more.
As we step into this next year,
our prayer is that we will shine
all the more with the holy light
of Christ in us and through us.
And we pray that we
“being rooted and firmly established in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the length and width,
height and depth of God’s love.”
After all, “the Father has enabled us
to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.
He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and
transferred us into the Kingdom
of the Son He loves.”
This post features an excerpt from Our Church Speaks so that you might also walk some of this journey with us with reflection, prayer, and anticipation for how the Light of the world might shine in your life during this season.
Sundar Singh Evangelist and Teacher of the Faith
Sundar Singh was a dedicated missionary who evangelized the East, living in simplicity as he shared the hope of the Gospel. He was born to a Sikh family in northern India. As a child, he studied with a Hindu sadhu (an Indian holy man) and was taught from the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism's religious texts. At the same time, Singh learned English at a local Christian school.
When Singh was fourteen, his mother died. In grief and anger, the young boy took a Bible and burned it page by page. He searched for meaning in religious devotion and theological questioning but was left in complete despair. On the brink of suicide, he offered up one final plea that the true God would reveal Himself. In a dream, Jesus appeared to Singh. This singular event transformed the young man.
When Singh announced that he would become a Christian, he suffered abuse from his family and community. He was poisoned many times and had dangerous snakes thrown through his window. Nevertheless, he survived and was baptized at age sixteen.
" ... been lying a long time in the water, but the water had not penetrated the stone. It is just like that with the "Christian" people of the West. They have for centuries been surrounded by Christianity, entirely steeped in its blessings, but the Master's truth has not penetrated them. Christianity is not at fault; the reason lies rather in the hardness of their hearts.
Singh undertook missionary journeys across India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, dressed up in simple robe and turban of an Indian sadhu and wandering without possessions. Barefoot wherever he went, he was called the Apostle with Bloody Feet. His message was the simple Gospel of Jesus.
"There is a deep and natural craving in the human heart that can be satisfied nowhere except in God.
Most of us, suppressing our deepest longings and disdaining God, seek satisfaction from this world. Such a path can only lead to despair. ... Surely we shall find peace not be eliminating desire, but by finding its fulfillment and satisfaction in the One who created it."
Singh was beaten up and punished often for his teaching. His teaching and conduct remained peaceful, no matter how much abuse he received.
"The true Christian's life is like sandalwood, which imparts its fragrance to the ax which cuts it without doing it any harm."
During a final missionary visit to Tibet, Singh disappeared while ascending a mountain in the Himalayas. His body was never recovered, and his disappearance and death remain a mystery.
Scripture
"Having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe." + Acts 14:19b-20
Meditation: All Grit, No Quit
What is your pain point when it comes to faith? How difficult would life have to be for you to walk away from Jesus?
When Sadhu Sundar Singh encountered Jesus, the transcendent beauty of Christ was something he could never quit.
We practice this kind of gritty resilience in small moments of testing, where the path of least resistance leads away from Jesus. What small moments of testing are coming your way this week? How might you practice "no quit"?
Prayer
pgs. 110-112
Additional Advent Resources:
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Many blessings of peace and presence,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
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