A ROCKY FOUNDATION

  Dr. Steve Andrews writes of a visit he made to Wittenberg. He wrote “several years ago I visited the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany where Martin Luther nailed the historic 95 theses to the church door. Inside the church, I was surprised to find two burial plots in the church floor. One tombstone was Luther's and the other grave was for Phillip Melancthon. I knew Luther; he was the hero of the Reformation. Luther was a fiery preacher and scholar who inspired a national revolt against the abuses of the Catholic Church. He was strong, tall and a powerful communicator. Who was this other man? Melancthon, I later learnt, was a powerful force of the Reformation. He served behind the scenes. Melancthon was a frail, short man and he stuttered when he spoke. He was Luther's closest friend. He provided tremendous scholarship and assistance for Luther's New Testament translation. When Luther died, Melancthon delivered the funeral message. A few years later, the soft-spo...

        Robert Moffat, Scottish missionary to South Africa, went back to recruit helpers in his homeland. One night he was very discouraged when there were only ladies in his meeting, as he had chosen as his text proverbs 8:4, “ To you, O men, I call”. In his consternation he almost failed to notice a small boy in the loft who had come to work the bellows of the organ. Dr. Moffat felt hopeless as he gave the message, realizing that few women could be expected to undergo the rigorous experiences they would face in the undeveloped jungles of the continent where he labored. But God works in mysterious ways to carry out His wise purposes.   Although no one volunteered, the young fellow was deeply challenged. Deciding he would follow in the footsteps of this pioneer missionary, he went on to school, obtained a degree in medicine and then spent the rest of his life ministering to the unreached tribes of Africa. His name was David Livingstone! ( Our ...

  In one of his features, international journalist Dan Wooding interviewed Joshua Saune, the leader of 200 Quechua churches scattered amongst the war-ravaged Andes Mountains. Joshua recalled the time when he was going to lead an army of his people to avenge the killings his two brothers, his grandfather and nine other relatives by the “Shining Path” guerrillas. He said “in 1992 I heard that my two dear brothers, Romulo and Ruben Saune, who were great leaders   had been murdered. They had traveled to the mountains of Ayacucho to take the gospel and to fellowship with the people there. The Quechua Christians were in despair, living in caves with no food, hiding from the guerrillas. My brothers knew that they had to do something for them. They decided to go and fellowship with those Christians, to show them that our great God really cared for them. When they were coming back home, an ambush was set up on the road.  My brothers and three of my nephews were shot b...