I’ve never been a history buff. But here I am immersed in writing historical articles, and yes, even a book about the early history of NTM. And you know what? I find myself intrigued and challenged by it.
Five Men. Five Martyrs.
One of these early stories is about the Ayoré people of Bolivia.
Little was known about the Ayorés, and what was known should have had the missionaries running in the opposite direction.
But they didn’t run — not even when warned: “You won’t come back alive!”
They went anyway.
Five men went out. Five men became martyrs at the hands of the Ayorés.
You could say it was a bad decision. You could say they were foolish. But God had a plan. He had a purpose. And He used this early contact to open the hearts of the Ayorés to the missionaries.
Ultimately, an Ayoré church was born.
(Read more about this in the upcoming issue of NTM@work!)
Another Birth
Back before the foundation of the earth, God had another plan. He had a plan to reconcile wayward man to Himself. And it involved His Son and sacrifice.
As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, let’s not forget what He gave up.
He gave up the glory of heaven to be born in a stable. (Think smelly.)
He gave up the glory of heaven to live an impoverished life. (There was no mansion here for Him!)
And He gave up the glory of heaven to face rejection, death, and for the first time, separation from God as He bore the penalty of our sins.
And He did it for us. Doesn’t that make you sit back in amazement? It does me.
Merry Christmas!