for you who enjoy a good spy story...God's Smuggler

Sometimes we just have to be brave and follow what we are called to do - no matter the voices of "reason" and sometimes oppostion. Although it's a bit dangerous, I've been reading the stories of missionaries. I am very encouraged by their lives - even their "failures" are inspiring many times. I suppose much like the stories we read in the Scriptures - people of faith and failure. What I see though is that God accomplishes His purpose even when it appears that we are not up to the task.

We are not given a Spirit of fear and timidity! I tell that to the boys all of the time. I like to hear myself say it. I love Jesus, he was so full of subversive intentions! I love to learn of others who act just like him. There are a million reasons why what Brother Andrew did would not be acceptable to many in the church today. He had a family, he wasn't making any money, what about the church back home... He knew he could not afford to spend the only life he had safely.

Forty years ago, God spoke to a young Dutch missionary with the words, "Strengthen what remains and is on the point of death" (Revelation 3:2). From that very day in 1955, Brother Andrew believed that no doors could be closed. No borders, no barriers, no armies could withstand the power of prayer...and no power on earth could ever chain God's Word.

Often Brother Andrew's trips were miraculously guided and protected. As one ruthless border guard looked over the boxes of Bibles in his car, Andrew prayed, "Father, You have made blind eyes to see -- now I ask you to make seeing eyes blind." The guard then simply waved Andrew through the border crossing as if he had seen nothing!

"I'm not brave. I'm often scared stiff. I drive my car to the Iron Curtain border in the past and I have not the guts to go on. So I pull back ten miles, find a small hotel, I begin to pray and fast until I have the courage, or the liberty or the boldness to go in and that always works. But I would not go if my heart is beating with fear."

"I'm not a smuggler, I'm a missionary. I have chosen to be obedient and not turn away from danger. So when government says, 'No!', I said, 'wait a minute', God said, 'Go!', so I didn't listen to the 'No!'"

(Brother Andrew, The Calling)