No reserves – No retreats – No regrets.

From time to time I have come across parts of the story of William Borden. Yes, he was from "that" Borden family, he was heir to the Borden Dairy estate. Yes, his family was very rich, and yes, he was a millionaire right out of high school. He was born in 1887 and graduated from Yale. He didn’t live the typical life of a boy growing up in wealth.
William Borden was a dedicated Christian and felt the call of missions in his life. He gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars. His call to missions caused a friend to say that he was throwing himself away as a missionary. I guess that was because he was so rich and could have and do anything. But, William didn’t think missions was a waste. Because of his response to God’s call in his life, his influence stretches into eternity.
During his time as a student at Yale, he was so dedicated to reaching students for the Lord that he started a prayer meeting. That meeting was replicated in other meetings and he influenced hundreds of students for Christ.
One of the entries in his journal said "Say ‘no’ to self and ‘yes’ to Jesus every time." That’s just one example of his commitment to Jesus.
Borden was called to be a missionary to the Muslim Kansu people in China. He never wavered from God’s call in his life.
He sailed for China to fulfill the call of God. His first stop was in Egypt to study Arabic. It was there that he contracted spinal meningitis. Within four months, William Borden was dead at age 25.
Some would look at his short life and say it was a waste. He would disagree. He was obedient to God’s plan for his life. He had written some words in his Bible that expressed his approach to life. He wrote:
No reserves – No retreats – No regrets.
His epitaph on the grave talks of his love and sacrifices for God and his love for Muslim people. Here’s how it ends. "Apart from faith in Christ, there is no explanation for such a life."
There is so much we can learn from his dedication to Jesus and how he lived his life. We could write volumes on those six words No reserves – No retreats – No regrets. I want to challenge you to think on them and how you can apply these principles to your life. Holding nothing back, with no quit in you, you will never have to regret your life and choices.
And, it is so true what was written on his grave, "Apart from faith in Christ, there is no explanation for such a life." It is only the power of Jesus in a life that will cause such a sacrifice based on love.
There are many lives we can learn from. Let this be one of them.

Tempus Fugit

Way back in the dark ages when I was in high school, I took two years of Latin. I’m not sure why, but I did it. My friend, Bob, sat behind me. He used to sit there saying the conjugation of the verb "to be". I’m sure we must have learned many valuable things in that class.
One of the few things I remember from Latin class is the phrase tempus fugit. It means time flies. And, that is one of the most accurate things I learned in school. Time is flying faster every year. I just got an e mail notifying me that someone from the school where I studied Latin is beginning to organize a 40th reunion next year. Yes, that’s 40 years. Wow. Some people think that being 40 years old is old, and this is a 40th from high school.
When we graduated, if someone talked about the 40th reunion, we would have said that was so far away we couldn’t even imagine it. That would have sounded sooooooooooo oooooolllllllllllllllddddddd (that’s so old). Now, we are there, or almost.
I remember when we were hearing about a think called Y2K. Remember that? That was when they were predicting that at the turning of the year 2000 computers would crash and banks and public records will all crash. The sky was going to fall in. Well, we survived that event. And that was almost nine years ago. We are almost through the first decade of the new millennium.
What should we learn from this thought of time flying? First of all, that it does. And then we learn that we need to use the time we have wisely. I used to hear a saying all the time – Only one life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last. We must invest our lives in ways that accomplish something that will last and be worth something. Eternity is real and we must plan for it.
Think of the highlights in life and how quickly they pass. I remember thinking that I would NEVER graduate from high school, and then it was my turn.
Then, it seemed like I waited so long to get married.
Then I longed to graduate from college.
Then as children came along it seemed like so many events in their life were far off.
Now, all my children have flown the nest. Two of them are married. Time is flying.
There are many reminders of the mortality of the life we live. I would like to challenge you to think of what you are doing now that will leave the kind of legacy you want to leave. What are you doing that is impacting eternity? What are you doing that will matter a hundred or a million years from now? Now is the time to think and do something about it before all the tempus fugits.

Two New Studies

One of the fun parts of writing a blog is that you have to keep remembering to write something. It’s amazing how quickly days go by as soon as I write something. So, what’s on my mind today?
I’m thinking of two series I am just starting. I’ve been working on them for a long time. I have always tried to have practical topics when I teach or preach, and I believe these two are very practical. On Wednesday night I started a study on the topic of the family. That’s a major topic and I know we can’t cover every part of it, but we are going to give it a try. People are working hard to change the definition of a family and bring confusion. We don’t have to be confused. In our study, we will look at issues that make for a strong family, as well as family structure and roles. We had a great start this week with lots of good input and discussion. It is every Wednesday at 6:30 P.M. Come and participate.
The other series starts on Sunday evening at 6:00 P.M. This topic is The Battleground Is The Mind. Every person alive deals with temptation and struggles to do right. The Bible is filled with teachings on the mind, the battle of the mind, what we put in our minds, etc. We will dig in to what the Bible says about the battle and how we can have victory. Yes, we really can have victory in our lives. Again, come and participate.
The format for these studies is teaching and discussion. We ask questions and seek answers. The Bible really does have answers for us these days in confusing and scary times. We need to be reading, studying and learning how to apply what it says. Come and learn as we study together.

A Great Missions Convention
Let me take a few quick minutes and review our time last week here at Cornerstone giving emphasis to missions.
One powerful teaching point was to hear our Wednesday night guests tell about their journey in their walk of faith in Jesus. After telling of some powerful testing times and learning to really trust Jesus through it, they gave a great teaching point. God is concerned about us, but He is especially concerned about our journey with Him. The things we learn in the process of life, the lessons learned through daily life make us strong spiritually.
Faith is like a muscle. When it doesn’t get used it becomes flabby and weak. When it is used it becomes stronger. How often we wish that God would simply wave His hand and make everything perfect. Some day we will live in His perfection, but it is not His plan for us to live there at this time. He is teaching us to trust Him.
Our missions time also showed us the amazing need that is still out there in the world for people to have the opportunity to hear the message of the love of Jesus. There are still billions who have not heard yet. The message must get out.
Just a few short thoughts today. Think about your journey and walk of faith in Jesus. Think of what He is teaching you. I trust you are learning the lessons in God’s lesson plan for your life.

Missions Emphasis

Tonight, Wednesday, starts our Missions Convention. This is one of the most important events of the year. Why do I make that statement? Because it’s true.
Why is it true?
God’s heart is towards the souls of every person in the world. He loves them. Jesus died on the cross so that everyone could be forgiven of their sins. Missions is an important part of that process. We are privileged to be a part of a fellowship that gives strong emphasis to missions. Missions includes the whole world; our home country and across the seas.
Missions Conventions are important because they give us an opportunity to express faith in God’s provision. We make faith promises during a missions convention trusting God to help us invest in supporting missions around the world. God blesses a generous heart. We must not panic with current economic conditions causing us to turn inward on ourselves. God says that the generous person will be blessed. This is not some get rich scheme, but the promise of God to honor a generous spirit.
Another reason why missions conventions are important is that our missionaries are making an impact around the world. In the last 94 years our fellowship has grown from several thousand to over 50 million people. It may be more but I can’t locate the current statistics. In the founding meeting of our national fellowship the people there made a commitment to the greatest evangelism the world has ever known. I’m not worried if they have accomplished that, but the impact worldwide has been amazing. On my recent overseas trip I met a person who was a FORMER drug addict and prostitute. Only Jesus can take a person bound in all kinds of sin and turn them around to say that those things are truly now a part of the PAST. Jesus sets people free.
Still, after all the accomplishments, the need is overwhelming. With all that have come to know Jesus, there are still countless that have not heard. That’s why the missions need continues.
I’m looking forward to the great things that God is going to do as a result of our missions emphasis this year. Come and be a part.

Back in the U.S.A.

Good Morning. I’m back here in Wisconsin. I got back on Wednesday evening. I didn’t do much more than go right to sleep. Now, I’m in the midst of that fun experience of getting adjusted back to this time zone. I just had a quick Internet Message chat with George. He saw me on line and said I must have gotten up early. Yes, I did. That’s one of the "hazzards" of readjusting the time difference. That’s ok, for mornings are a productive time. This is being written early.
It was great to get back and start the adjustments of returning to normal. Andrea is here as well. She is going to have a challenge recovering from her surgery. We are still figuring out how things have to work for the time being. The pain is still quite real for her. We do appreciate the cards received and offers of help. Yes, we will be glad to receive it as needs arise.
The trip back was uneventful. That is a great description for any time you are on a plane. You want it to be routine, smooth landing and all. There was a bit of a mixup and mess in getting my luggage, but nothing major. So, all of that is good.
The eternal fruit of the trip will be hard to track while we are here on earth. With God’s help I was able to reach the goals of teaching about using the study Bible as a study and teaching tool. There was much excitement from those who participated. One of the last things I said in the seminar was that they need to go home and review the things learned so they can begin to apply them. As their effectiveness in study is improved, their effectiveness in ministry will improve as well. Preaching and teaching is fun (most of the time). Being adequately prepared is a vital ingredient in the fun and blessing of preaching.
For all who have had a part in praying for and assisting in this trip, you have a part in the harvest. Thank you for all your help and support. The Bible talks about planting seed in the harvest. This has been a seed-planting time. That Bible also says that when one plants and another waters, God gives the increase.
Let me leave you with a few pictures of some things I found interesting.
Picture of eggs. In the weekly market in town, you can buy about anything. Many trays of eggs sit out waiting for purchase.
The large metal box you see up in the air is for garbage disposal. The residents where George lives take their garbage to these huge dumpsters what are buried in the ground on the edge of the sidewalk. A truck comes by with a lift and pulls them up, and the garbage falls out the bottom in to the truck.
Look at the white board going up a steep angle in the middle of the picture. That is the steps between the 2nd and 3rd floors in their row house. Thirteen steeps steps separate each floor, all four of them. Lots of good exercise.
Thanks for reading. I’m not sure if I will be writing more about the trip, but I plan to keep on writing on this blog. Again, I will strive to be consistent in writing and not let large amounts of time come in between. Remember, our missions convention is coming right up. Don’t miss out on that.