Imitators of Those

“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Hebrews 6:11-12

Tag: Mission

  • Fat and Forgetful

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    Dónal
    in ,

    Yesterday a friend back home in Ireland shared with me about the heaviness of heart that accompanies opportunities to share the Gospel. He described how friends, neighbours and co-workers could sit, happy to attend a Christian event, and yet remain completely unmoved by the Gospel call. He wondered if it was fair to compare the…

  • 3 Months In

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    Dónal
    in

    Yesterday marked the 3-month mark in our new land. On any given day, 3 months is just a few days, or a quarter of a year. While it has always felt incredibly, blessedly, normal to be here, occasionally it hits home that now we live here. After all the years of praying, dreaming, planning, praying,…

  • The Master of the Nets

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    Dónal
    in ,

    On a lakeshore in Northern Israel stood two men; two experts in their respective fields. One, a fisherman who could mend a net with his eyes shut, who could stand in his vessel on choppy waters without losing balance, who knew the feeding times of the many shoals hidden beneath the surface, whose calloused hands…

  • A Smog-Filled City and a Murky Pond

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    Dee Ceall
    in

    This is (finally) the first guest post from my insightful wife, Dee. Hopefully lots more to come! – Dónal I sit on a swing in the park, as I do every morning, gently rocking back and forth. I look out through the grey haze and through the tree branches, towards the murky green lake in…

  • A Call for the Long, Hard & Slow Work

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    Dónal
    in

    I recently attended a conference for workers in our area of the world. There was some really wonderful teaching, encouraging reports, and thought-provoking break-out sessions. Overall, it was a blessing. However, one session in particular gave me a new way of framing my own story; and not in a positive way. In the early 1970s…

  • A Voice in the Wilderness

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    Dónal
    in

    As daytime eased into nighttime, the animals began to sing their song. In this oasis of greenery, situated outside the capital city with all its clamour of horns honking, sellers shouting, power-tools working… there was peace. During the day, we had walked around the beautiful gardens of the retreat centre, our kids insisting on swimming…

  • The First 24 Hours

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    Dónal
    in

    The golden glow out the window disappeared as the plane descended into the eventide shadows. Delayed, but not excessively, we hauled from the aircraft our heavy bags, (over-the-limit hand luggage, making use of as much space as possible), as well as our heavy eyelids, which surely had bags beneath. The dry, filtered air of the…

  • A Prayer for the Families of Missionaries

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    Dónal
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    God our Father, You have brought us into your family by adoption, through your everlasting love. Christ our brother, You are not ashamed to call us your siblings, despite our constant shameful behaviour. Holy Spirit, our guarantor, You remind us of our position in the family of God, and of the inheritance that belongs to…

  • A Better Inheritance than Stability

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    Dónal
    in ,

    As I write, the warm glow of the fire fills the room. Through a crack between the curtains I can see the dark outside. As is to be heard on the lips of many an Irishman at this time of year (amidst other colloquialisms regarding the general discontentment with whatever weather patterns exist on a…

  • Visa Delays and Kingdom Readiness

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    Dónal
    in ,

    It was surprisingly mild for a September night at 2am as I walked down the country roads in the eerie, yet serene, silence of the “wee hours”. Darkness, our old friend, does have a sound of silence. It has a way of simultaneously stilling us with its abrupt ending to our vision, focusing our attention…

  • A Call for a Holy Imagination

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    Dónal
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    Imagination. For some, this can be a touchy word in Christian circles. Not all appreciate the tales of Lewis and Tolkien that bring Christian truth to bear on our lives through use of imaginary stories. Others are wary of an imagination that runs wild in the things of Scripture, putting forward more conjecture than fact.…

  • The Sacrifice of Sending

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    Dónal
    in

    Sacrifice is a foolish thing. To the uninitiated it appears to be a frivolous expenditure of the best, with nothing to show for it. From humble shopping to high-end business transactions, a deal may be good or bad depending on the return on investment. But even the most clueless investor would laugh at the idea…