God intends the source of healing for our nation’s wounds to be the same source that will heal the whole world. And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:15

God intended the death of His only Son to cause people from every nation, race and tongue and religion to no longer live for themselves, but for Christ. Even as we reel in shock at mass murders, especially of our public servants, and as we mourn our dead of every race and repent of our own national sins, the death of Christ urges us to remember how needy are the nations that have rarely tasted justice and healing.

One of the greatest privileges I have as I travel and preach in churches in the USA (I have now preached and shared the ministry in over 100, counting Canada) is to let American believers know that we have a lot to be thankful to God for and that we are not as bad off as many American Christians think we are.    

I would like to continue my ministry to this beloved country today by sharing with you what specifically my living 25 years abroad has made me thankful for. 

The autobiography of John Paton, in my last blog, was a depiction of the impact of the Gospel in an isolated culture, but my second pick for "Great Books on Missions" is From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions, by Ruth A. Tucker, a tour de force showing the breadth of the missions movement since Pentecost. If you are just beginning to read missions and church history, this book is a must.

The fascinating autobiography of John Paton wins hands down as one of my favorite mission books.  His ministry to the New Hebrides (the present-day island group, Vanuatu) in the mid 19th century grips and enthralls as he faces cannibals, disease, the death of his wife and baby and angry supporters back home.