WHEN 'MARANATHA' IS A MEMORY
“Increasingly, I find myself deliberately contemplating what kept Jesus on His own cross out of necessity for mine. Scripture says that as He stared down the barrel of His own death—not only a terrible way to die, but bearing the weight of wrath for many—it was “the joy set before Him” that kept Him from cowardice. Anything less than that same obsession will consign us to our own demise at the hands of the “pride of life,” “lust of the flesh,” and “the cares of this world.” So what is it on the other side of the “Maranatha!” cry, when “Maranatha” is a memory that can keep us going? These are the things we should meditate on constantly.
BECAUSE HE CARES
God’s love for us is quite literally unfathomable. And sometimes it can even seem unbelievable. When we take a long look at humanity, or even better, a long, honest look at ourselves, it seems comical that God could and does love humans. But He does. Of course we believe God loves us, on paper. But what about on our pillows? What anxieties keep us awake at night that come from a lack of believing, on a gut-level, that God loves us?
THE MOMENT: AN EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT FROM 'HAPPY TO DIE A FOOL'
The death of John Allen Chau hit the global news cycle and social media like a Category 5 hurricane: hard, and heavy. But it was like a slow Cat 5, the ones that just crawl over land and spin the wrath of their strength over your hometown. John’s name was on front pages and feeds for weeks after he died; even now, years after his death, major studios are working on feature films and documentaries based on his story.
But at the eye of the storm, at the center of the story, is not the tale of a misguided American man. It’s not ultimately about colonialism, or pathogenic concerns. The nations weren’t all of a sudden confronted with a guy named John; the nations were confronted with the Man Christ Jesus, and His claim on every single one of them, now and through eternity.
ALL OUR HEROES FALL
GOD'S PATIENCE WAITED IN THE DAYS OF HAMAS
ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH
ALLIES, ADVERSARIES, AND THE ADVOCATE
Missional landscapes can vary dramatically from place to place. We want to be prepared to bear witness to our marvelous God no matter where in the world we find ourselves. One of our mandates as an organization is to resource those who have the gospel and to reach those who don’t. It’s to that end that this predominately Middle East focused ministry is writing an article about the LGBT+ community in America.
THE SINGULAR GOSPEL
THE FOLLY OF SONG
Scripturally speaking, music is warfare. Music is a uniquely effective teaching device. Music is the wave worship rides on in the throne room. Most significantly, it is a strategic means of fellowshipping with the One who inhabits eternity. If that doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what will. Yet in light of all these things, we find that music is one of His methods of maturing us.
LONGING FOR THE INCOMPARABLE
The hope of the prophets of old and the redemptive work that was guaranteed at the cross will be fulfilled. The Lord is burning with desire for the day He gets to come back, and so should we. It is only when we come into alignment with the Lord's heart for the restoration of all things that our participation will be "of the Father's business.”
WHEN LOCUSTS GUARD YOUR SOUL
John’s decisions and commitments have long provoked us, and we believe the Body at large has an incredible opportunity in this era to leverage the internet and all our modern tech toys in the same way Martin Luther leveraged Gutenberg’s printing press to produce excellent messaging content and distribute it as widely as possible as efficiently as possible.
DAVID, TWO EXILES, AND THE GREAT COMMISSION COLLISION
I love the life of David. There is nothing like it. I have enjoyed decades of musings over the man after God’s own heart in books, music, and movies to ignite my holy imagination. Apart from Jesus, no one is featured more prominently in the Scriptures than David. Like so many, one of the reasons I value the life of David so much is because we discover how to be a person after God’s heart when we fall flat on our face in sin and failure.
RUINS OF THE RENAISSANCE (NEW BOOK)
UNBOUND IMAGE BEARERS
The Gospel without justice is empty. Justice without the Gospel is desolate. For all have sinned and fall short, all are needy of His righteous judgement and His scandalous grace. God invites us into the duality of this grand, epic, messy story in which He breaks down all our boxes. He is not bound by the limitations of this world’s rules, and so neither are we.
RESOURCING TO REACH
THE END OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
The pharmaceutical industry is a temporary institution. We only need healthcare for as long as we are stuck with fallible frames, and those days are numbered. This night of sickness, decay, and death in the Exile will soon be over. The greater Joshua will come, and resurrect His beloved ones. We will work with Him to restore the world to Eden again, but this time with more than just one man and just one woman. Jesus has an inheritance to fill the nations, the New Jerusalem, and the dinner table at the Wedding Feast. In the meantime, we get to help Him crowd it out as much as possible.
TEN YEARS [A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT]
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Written by Dalton Thomas in the months leading up to the birth of FAI in Dec. 2011, UNTO DEATH explores the implications of the resurrection, the imperatives of costly discipleship, and invites those who love and confess Jesus to invest their limited life in this age for an abundant life in the next—driven by the apostolic "blessed hope" befitting those who worship a crucified King & slain Lamb.
DECADES BEHIND, DECADES BEFORE (THE 20TH 9/11)
As we reflect on the last twenty years, and remember the 2,977 lives lost on American soil the day we learned even our skies are not altogether safe, and the some-6,800+ U.S. soldiers (in addition to the thousands of coalition partners, allies, and Peshmerga, etc) who’ve died in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war against ISIS ever since, let us do so with open hands. The Son of Man is truly coming on the clouds in power and glory, and He will end every war. He will rebuild and restore, and usher in the day tears cease to fall and bodies cease to die. He is our only surety. He is the joy set before us; let us not only look for and wait for Him—let us partner with Him in all He is doing to get us there.
THE HOPE
FAI will celebrate our 10-Year Anniversary on December 23, 2021. In this excerpt from 'The Ultimate Conquest,' Stephanie Quick examines Hudson Taylor’s journey from confusion related to the Millennial Reign into profound clarity and a concrete hope—one he called a “thoroughly practical one.” This shaped and steered his leadership over the China Inland Mission as they made disciples across the largest unreached people group in their day and time.