Personal Mission Field/Christ to the Limits

I owe a great deal to God. He gave me this great boon: that through me many heathen should be reborn in God, and that afterwards they should be confirmed as Christians, so that clergy should be ordained for a population newly coming to the faith...

  - Patrick, Confession (British, 5th century)

While Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed...

  - Acts 10.44, 45

Probably most of us would be amazed to see some of the people in our Personal Mission Field come to faith in Jesus Christ. Like those Jewish believers who accompanied Peter, we would hardly believe it. We know these people, have known them for years. And we know they have no interest in spiritual things. And then, bang, suddenly they're believers.

Who'd a thunk it?

Well, not us, apparently. Patrick's vision for the Irish extended all the way through leading many of them to Christ, baptizing and confirming them in the faith, training and discipling them, and preparing at least some of them to become ministers, so that the Gospel could extend through them to even more heathen peoples. That vision spawned one of the greatest revivals of Church history, as the Celtic revival lasted for nearly four centuries and saw all the ancient Celtic lands converted to Christ and the moribund churches of Europe revived and renewed.

Meanwhile, we can't muster up the courage to talk to our neighbors or co-workers about the Lord. Well, who do you think is going to do this, if you don't? You think I'm going to come and tell the Good News to the people you consort and hobnob with week-in and week-out? You think your pastor's going to do it?

Or do you and I not, like Patrick, owe a great deal to God? Do we not owe to God at least enough in the way of faithfulness to initiate a conversation with the lost people in our lives, in the belief - even beyond amazement - that some of them might become new Christians?

There are people just waiting to come to Christ in our Personal Mission Fields, waiting because we don't have the vision of Patrick or the courage of Peter to go and talk with them. Well, shall we ask the Lord to give us boldness? Shall we plead with the Lord for open doors of opportunity to strike up a conversation? And then shall we open our mouths and be amazed as the Spirit of God begins speaking through us to others?

Why, that might just be the start of another whole "population coming to the faith."

Today at The Fellowship of Ailbe

President Obama is still a Christian. And ReVision is continuing to look for the evidence of such a profession in his public policies.

I promise you, The Ground for Christian Ethics is an easy, enjoyable read - that will leave you wondering why no one ever told you this before. I challenge you to get a copy today and read it through.

OK, we're ready to begin accepting some more pastors for mentoring in spiritual life, church leadership, preaching, or evangelism training. Visit the website and see what's available, then contact me if you have questions.

Thank you for sharing with us in this ministry. Please forward today's Crosfigell to a friend. And if you'll copy me in the heading, I'll follow-up with an email encouraging your friend to sign up. I mean, hey, name one other place where you get such a regular dose of Celtic Christian literature.

I thought so.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.