Here's an interesting thought that I read on the back of a book I just received called 'Lilies Amongst Thorns', it says, "Our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ understand that there is no crown of glory without a cross of suffering." I know this goes against pretty much all of our western theology, but it forces you to look at the statistics for church growth worldwide. These Chinese Christians are daily giving their lives for something they deem is worthy enough for. We here in the west are hard pressed to give our brother a dollar or two for a bite to eat. We here in the west dread the upcoming(?) tribulation and persecution, but those in China and like places have thought the great tribulation has been going on for 20 years!!! Security breeds complacency; I can't stress it enough. We worry about things that are absolutely minimal in eternal perspective. All the problems and horrors in the world are but questions that we, as Christians, have the answer to. Yet, does the world come to us for those answers? Hardly. Why would they? What do they see when they look at us? What do we see when we truly examine ourselves? We pray for more blessing, more prosperity, more material possessions. We have literally no idea that those prayers have been answered already. 1/3 of the world has not eaten today. Have you? If you have, you are blessed, and that in just a physical way. I pray that the Lord would wreck our hearts for the things that wreck His. God does not want whats not ours, but He does want what is ours.......all of it. He doesn't want it to keep things from us, He wants it so that we can totally devote and dedicate ourselves to Him, free of idols. Do we think He's worth it? Actions speak louder than words.