“How shall they preach, except they be sent?”
A warrior stole through the field and into the woods. Slung across his shoulders was a quiver filled with the finest arrows. The arrows had been made by his own hand and fitted with the best feathers. Great care had been taken to ensure that every arrow was straight. The tips had been carefully set and honed to a razor-sharp edge. He put his hand up to the quiver and felt the fine, feathered tips. He felt good about the quality of arrows that he had. He remembered the many hours and even days he had spent on preparing his arrows. He even felt somewhat secure with so many top-quality arrows in his quiver.
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A large part of Moravian history took place in 1727 when the original Moravian Church received a visitation of God’s Spirit. The Moravian Church today is very different than the one I found in the history books. Most of them have lost what they had in their beginning. Oh, the challenge this is to us, lest we also go the same way and lose the testimony of our sanctified name. God encourages us in Psalm 48 to keep looking at Zion, the church. “Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof” (v.12). That word tell means, “get a good long look at them.” “Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces.” Why? “That ye may tell it to the generation following” (v.13). Why? “For this God is our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide even unto death” (v.14). As I understand God’s heart in these verses, God is telling us that we should be looking back to see what Zion was like, to remember what God did in days gone by. As we bring that before our children, we recognize that the God of the Moravians is also our God today. We then can spur the next generation on to grow up dreaming dreams and seeing visions of beautiful things that God can do
And there were certain Greeks among them, that came up to worship at the feast: The same came to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. (John 12:20-22)
Greetings, dear brothers and sisters, in the name of Jesus, our Jesus. He is the one, and the only one who WILLINGLY gave up everything he had, because of his UNWILLINGNESS for one thing. He was not willing that any should perish! His position, rights, comforts, and very life were subservient to and were forfeited because of His desire that all would come to repentance. It is true that not every person alive then or now has been eager to accept Christ’s offer to repent and be saved. We must know, though, that when Jesus gave his life, he gave it so that ALL would have the opportunity to repent and believe in Him, thus grasping hold of eternal life! It is true that God’s foreknowledge comes into play here, and we respect the limits of our fallen humanity, but that in no way limits the fact that Christ died for all. It doesn’t take away from the fact that when Jesus hung on the cross He looked down through the ages with a heart that encompassed all of humanity both present and future, and that heart was unwilling that any should perish. Oh, how He loved us! May we love Him more, and as we come closer to His heart may we pick up His heartbeat and make it our own—NOT WILLING, NOT WILLING, NOT WILLING that any should perish! May we join Him in His passion by abandoning everything that would hinder us and by pouring our lives out in the pursuit of what He died to achieve; an open path to God for all of mankind. Oh, God, give me a holy stubbornness and a total unwillingness to see humanity rushing on toward hell when You gave Your life and by that gift totally purchased their redemption! I must do something, for my heart and conscience compel me. Only show me what to do and I will obey!
Years ago when Robert Moffat was in Africa, he traveled far into the interior. One day he came to a tree upon which a board was fixed, saying that a Christian school was to be found in a village not far away.
Greetings to all of you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ from our little house in Bunbonayili. Trust that all is well with you in heart and soul and that you have entered the new year with a heart full, not of New Year’s resolutions, but of the Holy Spirit! If we would be more resolute about maintaining our walk in grace, I think most of our resolutions would be unnecessary. I do not have any major new determinations for this year, but I am setting myself and yielding my heart afresh to walk with Jesus on a daily basis. Maybe one of the reasons so many are disappointed in their ability to fulfill their New Year’s promises is that they are made too far into the future. God’s commands are almost always given for us to obey in the present time, and as we obey what is set before us now, we are blessed now! 
No words can better describe the land of Afghanistan. Since 500 BC, men have fought, bled, and died in the land of Afghanistan. The terrors of war have continued unabated for 2500 years. The results of these prolonged conflicts: a barren, impoverished land filled with disease and heartache. The area has seen numerous international invaders—Persian, Mongolian, and Indian. It has endured the armies of Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Domestic strife and civil war have filled the years between foreign conflicts.