Advent 2021: What Is His Name?
For all time the incarnation stands as the defining line in the history of men. God became man. You can only cover your eyes and shudder before it, before this: “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God… who for us and for our salvation,” as the Nicene Creed puts it, “came down from heaven.”
Men and women throughout history have struggled to find the words to describe this mystery at the very heart of the Christian faith. We cannot fully appreciate the drama of the enunciation to Mary without touching the longing and anticipation in the hearts of the Patriarchs and Prophets…
Advent 2021: Wait On The Lord
We are commanded over forty times in the Scriptures to “wait on the Lord.” (See the list at the bottom.) This is a great distinction of the Living God from every other God; He acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. (Is 64:4)
We would save ourselves much time and heartache if we simply waited on the Lord, and obeyed His word. As King Jehoshaphat declared, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Advent 2021: Slow Down and Breathe
Advent can be understood as the church in waiting for the coming of the Lord. Advent has been observed by the global Church as early as the late 300’s AD…
We must choose to slow down this Advent season and let our souls breathe and adore the Lord Jesus. We are standing amidst the rushing currents of the hurry of the Christmas season. All this hurry is the enemy of love. You can’t hastily adore something.
Heading in the Wrong Direction
We are heading in the wrong direction.
When I started working in the Middle East about a decade ago, I was astonished to discover that over 40% of the earth’s ethno-linguistic people groups were considered unreached, that is, without a witness of the gospel. I remember the exact number because it was emblazoned on my heart: 6,943. That was the number that our small team brought before the Lord of the Harvest, prayed into, wept over. I determined back then that if there was anything worth giving my life to, it would be to see that number decrease…
Finding Your Voice
For us to find our voice, we must first be found by the voice of the One who designed us. The voice of God apprehends the human heart and aligns us with who we are and whose we are. Everything is under subjection to God’s voice.
In the Garden of Eden, it is God’s voice that called Adam back to his identity. As God shouted, “where are you?!” He hadn’t lost Adam. Adam had lost truth and needed to recognize he was lost. It took the searching sound of God’s voice to recalibrate Adam to who he was created to be. The word used in Genesis to describe God’s voice calling out to Adam and Eve is the same word used for singing, thundering, and the sound of an instrument.
THERE IS A GAP: The First of Many
George Liele is the first of many African American missionaries who will go to a nation not their own to those who know nothing of the Son of God. They will go because, like George, they too “hold to live nigh the scriptures as much as (they) can.”
Truly, the life of George Liele embodies that of a pioneer. He paved a path for others to follow behind him and, like most pioneers, faced the challenges of going first. He was born around 1750 into slavery…
the ANTIOCH BLUEPRINT
by r.a. martinez
Available on Amazon
the Joseph Journey by r.a. martinez
“Over the past decade I have studied the life of Joseph and have come to believe it is profoundly prototypical of the path that God uses to form pioneers. My prayer is that this book will help you gain clarity and confidence about the journey you are on now, find strength in knowing that whatever season you are in, the Lord is preparing you for divine assignments.” - R.A. Martinez Joseph Journey