Unto the Hills [antikvár]

Foreword Our family has lived for many years in a comfortable log home in the mountains of North Carolina, 3,200 feet above sea level. There is something serene about living in the mountains or on a hill. When Jesus appointed the twelve apostles, He called them unto the hills and they came to Him (Mark 3:13). Our Lord frequently retreated to the hills or mountains for moments of solitude when the crowds became too great. But as English devotional writer Oswald Chambers has noted, we were not made for mountaintop experiences alone. We are made for the valley of life. God will sometimes allow us a view from the hills, but only so that we might be refreshed enough to return to the valley—where the action is—that we might be of service to Him. Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys. As much as my wife, Ruth, and I enjoy our home in the hills of North Carolina, we spend very little time there because God has called us into the valley of life where the lost people are. If we spent all of our time in the hills and on mountaintops, how would we effectively serve God? I have compiled some thoughts from more than forty years as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ in hopes of better equipping you as you live for Christ in the valley. Some of you will read this book as you search for answers to the problems in the valley of life. You have tried everything else and have not found satisfaction. It is you that I am particularly interested in reaching. Others of you who are already believers still need assurance that, as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God has not forgotten you and is, in feet, still with you. I hope this book will be a help to you, as well.