A Man On A Mission
Tomorrow, America celebrates 250 years of independence! As we have neared this momentous occasion, I’ve loved digging into the story of our independence and reading about heroes from that period of time. One of the men I revisited was Paul Revere, a silversmith who could not stay silent. On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere mounted his horse, and on a moonlit night, set out with a mission.
He had learned that British troops were amassing in Boston with a plan to move inland and possibly capture leaders, weapons and supplies. Revere mounted his horse and set out to warn the colonial militia in Charlestown and Lexington to prepare for the British advance. He slipped past patrols and was ferried past a British warship to warn the Sons of Libertyof the British plan to march into the countryside outside Boston. Revere would be surrounded at gunpoint, captured and later released the same night. What a whirlwind! The first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired the next morning. Revere’s warning had been timely and critical.
Revere was carrying information people desperately needed and it was a matter of life and death that they hear it! Every generation needs people willing to ride. People who carry truth with urgency. People willing to go and to sound the alarm.
The Apostle Paul asks, in the book of Romans 10:14,
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Our world is full of people who need hope. You and I carry the message that matters most. We have the Good News of Jesus power, forgiveness, acceptance, life and love inside us! Someone must go. Someone must carry the message to others.
I love the nations of the world. I have had the privilege of traveling to 21 countries with the hope of the Gospel and God’s great love. I still consider Zambia my second home. I also hope to travel to many more nations in the coming years. And at the same time, I am unashamedly proud to be an American. This is an incredibly unique nation with a Godly foundation and a leadership mandate on a global cale. Much has been entrusted to us and much is required. I feel deep gratitude for the freedoms I enjoy today, and have a deep awareness that those freedoms were purchased, defended, and protected by generations of men and women, willing to answer the call of their generation.
Likewise, the spread of the Gospel depends on ordinary people saying yes to God's call. Parents. Pastors. Missionaries. Teachers. Friends. Neighbors. Silversmiths. Soldiers. You, and I.
Lions, as we celebrate America's 250th birthday, thank God for the freedoms you've been given. Then ask Him where He wants you to ride next to share the greatest freedom of all – freedom from self, and sin, and death – freedom in Jesus!