Devotionals

Jesus said: follow me!' What happens next? It’s Not What You Think! By

by Henry Jaegers
07/02/20
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Jesus said: follow me!" What happens next? 

It’s Not What You Think! 

By Henry Jaegers 

And as they were in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the son of man hath nowhere to lay his head. (Luke 9:57, 58) 

Have you ever heard these names? Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, or Pete Fleming? 

Back in 1960, they were well known as missionaries killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador South America. It is hard to imagine the dedication that these men gave to the mission to reach these known killer Indian tribes which no one had ever been able to contact without themselves dying to do so. After many years of seeming no success, and after many hours of seeking to make contact, the day came when they were finally able to have a meeting with a few men of this tribe.

On that day, as Nate Sain hovered over the jungle area with his plane, he saw the natives headed toward their meeting spot and hear the last words recorded by Nate Saint before all this happened. “Looks like they'll be here for the early afternoon service. Pray for us. This is the day! Will contact you next at 430." 

Then there was silence, hours, days, and no word from them. Parties were sent into the jungle to try to find them and when they were finally found, their bodies were unrecognizable in the river which they were slain. 

When you read the story of these men and their thoughts before entering this mission, it puts us all to shame when we consider our present situation.

Today, no one knows who these five men were. But the good news is, after their death, even the men who killed them became part of the small group of believers who finally formed that church. The words: "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church" certainly was true of these men. We can truly say of them "of whom the world was not worthy". (Hebrews 11:38)

 The story of their lives is worth reading. The book is called "through gates of splendor" by Elizabeth Elliott. It is available as a Kindle book and if you have a Kindle for PC you can listen to it. 

Following Jesus, it's not what you think! Something to think about.