Livingstone

WHERE’S YOUR FOCUS?

by

As the body of David Livingstone (1813-1873), great medical missionary to Africa, was being taken through the streets of London to its final resting place in Westminster Abbey, throngs of people lined the streets along the route.

One man was especially overcome with emotion. Asked by the person next to him if he knew the missionary, he said, “Yes, David and I were boyhood friends. Later we went to Africa together. David went for Africa’s souls, and I went for Africa’s gold. And today I realize I concentrated on the wrong world.”

This of course confronts us with the critical question: “Where’s our focus?”

If we need to readjust it, if we need to take care of some “business” with God, the apostle John presents this wonderful provision in I John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” I John 1:9.

A Prayer of Dedication

by

1 Kings 8:22-30 (ESV)
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”

A Theme to Remember:
As Solomon’s prayer models, for God to bless and affirm the work we dedicate to Him, we must affirm that He is in control, we must turn to Him regularly, and we must seek forgiveness for our shortcomings.

Words to Remember:
My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All; I again dedicate my whole self to Thee.
–David Livingston

Moffat, Robert

by

Robert Moffat (1795-1883) was a Scottish Congregationalist missionary to Africa. He was born to a poor family and spent his early years working as an estate gardener. In 1814 he sought a commission from the London Missionary Society and was sent within a year to South Africa. He settled in Cape Town and in 1819 married Mary Smith (1795-1870), the daughter of a former employer. In 1820 the couple left Cape Town and settled among the tribes west of the Vaal River. Here he translated the entire Bible and Pilgrim’s Progress into the native language. He was a great influence on his son-in-law, David Livingstone, and encouraged him in his desire to take the Gospel deeper into uncharted Africa. He retired to England after the death of his wife and spent the rest of his life writing and preaching. He laid the foundation for the success of subsequent mission work in southern and central Africa and persevered in his work despite many setbacks.

Livingstone, David

by

David Livingstone (1813-1873) was a renowned missionary and explorer. He grew up in Glasgow, Scotland in a poor family. He studied on his own and was able to enter the University of Glasgow in 1830 where he earned degrees in theology and medicine. His desire was to become a missionary to China; however, due to the dangerous conditions in that country at the time, the London Missionary Society sent him to Africa in 1840. He began at the missionary station of Robert Moffat in South Africa, whose daughter he later married, and began pushing steadily northward, building stations along the way. Believing that exploration and missions went hand in hand, he became a renowned explorer, discovering Lake N’gami in 1849 and Victoria Falls in 1853. He sent his family home to England and continued his trek deeper into uncharted territory, traveling nearly 1,400 miles on foot and by boat and preaching the Gospel along the way. He went to England in 1856 where he was hailed as a national hero. When he returned to Africa a year later he had resigned from the Mission Society and worked directly for the British government. His goals were national, ethical, and spiritual: to find the source of the Nile, to end the slave trade, and to share the message of Christ. He was lost for a time from the world, which led to a search in 1870 by journalist Henry Stanley, whose line upon discovering him “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” has become famous. He died three years later, found on his knees in the position of prayer by his native guides. He opened the African frontier to missions and his diligent efforts to end the slave trade were largely successful.