American Missionary Fellowship

There is no twelve-hour block of time each year that I enjoy more than Christmas Eve. It’s our time as a family, and I truly appreciate it.

Recently, I’ve had a number of discussions with people who are very passionate about certain things. The common theme through all these discussions is passion. People are passionate about things, and when they are passionate about things they have strong opinions, and those strong opinions are valuable because they are driven by a person’s passion – not bias, but a passion from their hearts about what they believe God has called us to do.

A few nights ago I had dinner with Jeff DeVault. I want to tell you, my time with Jeff was amazing. We had several common experiences, but I was overwhelmed with his sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

A few years ago I spent quite a bit of time in the West African country of Liberia. Liberia is a war-torn country. The land, the people, and the culture have been scarred by going through years of civil war. But one thing seems to remain untouched: Christmas.

. . . At the end of my lecture, I played a Steven Curtis Chapman song called “Be Still and Know,” and what took place was amazing.  The response was silence. Seventy-six students and several staff people just sat there. We wanted to be in God’s presence. There was no movement or verbal response; it was just a response of the heart. No one moved. Silence. . . .