A ROCKY FOUNDATION

  In her book “The Hiding Place”, Corrie Ten Boom describes her Tante (Aunt) Jans as a Christian who helped the poor and also wrote Christian tracts and pamphlets. When the doctor diagnosed her with diabetes it was quite a shock as there was no real treatment at that time. It meant that Jans had very little time left. Her response “and from then on she threw herself more forcefully than ever into writing, speaking, forming clubs and launching projects.” Corrie was trained by the doctor to carry out Jan’s blood tests and she did it weekly. One day the blood test came back black, she had three weeks at most. Corrie told her father about it.   As a family they considered how to tell Jan. Corrie’s father hoped that perhaps she would take heart from all she had accomplished. So they all went upstairs to her room. She was sitting at her round mahogany table, working on yet another project. As she saw the number of people entering the room, she laid down her pen. She looked ...

           In 1519, at the very last moment, the governor of Cuba revoked the charter of an expedition to Mexico after a fierce argument with its leader. But the defiant Cortés set sail with 11 ships and 300 men anyway. By July he had worked his way along the coast to Veracruz. There, eager to march inland to the capital, Cortés destroyed 10 of his 11 ships, cutting off his men’s only hope of retreat. He left them with no option but to head inland. The expedition ultimately destroyed the Aztec Empire and began the process of colonizing Mexico. Cortez understood the price of commitment and he was willing to pay it for a temporal, earthly treasure. Paul in contrast was willing to give up the earthly for the heavenly. On the Damascus road he had the unspeakable privilege of seeing the glory of the risen Christ (Acts 9:3). From that moment on all other glories seemed like nothing in comparison. Paul left his old life and burnt the bridges. He moved for...

                         In 1921 two young couples from Sweden answered Gods call to be missionaries to Belgian Congo in Africa.   When David and Svea flood and Joel and Bertha Erickson arrived at the mission station, they literary hacked their way with machetes into the interior. In the villages they were told “we can’t allow any white people here, our gods will be offended”. The weary families had no choice, they settled in the jungle and build mud huts. Because of diseases and loneliness, after six months, the Ericksons decided to return to the mission station. Svea could not travel because she was pregnant with her second child and had malaria.   For several months Svea endured raging fever. During that time, she witnessed to a little boy who came from a nearby village to sell chicken and fruits to the family. As Svea spoke to him, he simply smiled. She di...