ReachAcross - USA

02/21/2026

Yes Lord, reach those not easily within reach of the Gospel by ordinary means.

Pray for God’s Word to reach Yemeni women who have so little access to the Gospel. Learn more at www.pray30days.org/21feb26

12/02/2025

Christmas Carols & Contemplations:

This coming Christmas day will be the 1,689th time Christians have celebrated the birth of Christ on the 25th of December. For three centuries, Christ's followers celebrated the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem on other dates -- one's more closely tied to the Jewish calendar of feasts. Christ was more likely born around the Festival of Tabernacles (which is fitting, for it celebrates when God came to dwell among men in the Tabernacle in the wilderness), so the Feast of Booths (which took place this year between October 6th and 13th) is more likely the actual birth date of Jesus.

But in 336 AD, the Pope thought it appropriate to declare the 25th of December the official date on which to celebrate Emmanuel -- God with us. And obviously, it worked. Here we are, nearly 1700 years later gearing up to celebrate Christmas, not only in Rome, or in the areas where Christianity is the predominant religion, but in most nations of the earth. Some sort of acknowledgement of the day is found even in many places where Christians must meet in secret.

All sorts of other elements have gotten tangled up in the holiday (Holy Day), like so many tangled strings of Christmas lights knotted up with satin bows, garland, and tinsel. It's quite a mishmash we have now, with Rudolph, Charlie Brown, 34th Street, the Grinch, and Grandma getting run over by a reindeer.

Believe it or not, however, we have a Christmas carol that survives pretty much intact in lyrics from those earliest of Christmas celebrations. A Spanish poet, Aurelius Prudentius, during the year 405 AD wrote the carol "Of the Father's Love Begotten". The tune we sing it to comes from the 12th to 15th centuries, and the English translation was done in 1852. It is one of my favorites, but I had no idea how old it is, nor how close to the earliest Christmas celebrations it originates:

1. Of the Father's love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore.

2. At his word the worlds were framèd;
He commanded, it was done:
Heav’n and earth and depths of ocean,
In their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun—
[Evermore and evermore.]

3. He was found in human fashion,
Death and sorrow here to know,
That the race of Adam’s children,
Doomed by law to endless woe,
May not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below—
[Evermore and evermore.]

4. O that birth forever blessèd,
When the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bore the Savior of our race,
And the babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed his sacred face—
[Evermore and evermore.]

5. This is he whom seers in old time
Chanted of with one accord,
Whom the voices of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word;
Now he shines, the long-expected;
Let creation praise its Lord—
[Evermore and evermore.]

6. O ye heights of Heav’n adore him!
Angel hosts his praises sing!
All dominions bow before him
And exalt our God and King.
Let no tongue on Earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring—
[Evermore and evermore.]

7. Christ! to thee with God the Father,
And O Holy Ghost, to thee,
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unwearied praises be,
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory—
[Evermore and evermore.]

Link to a lovely rendition of the carol.

Of the Father's love begotten, 'ere the worlds began to be.... An ethereal, ancient melody set to the backdrop of a perfect snowy, mid-winter sunset! Hope yo...

09/12/2025

Our latest blog posting:

"Those who research such things tell us that among Muslims who have come to faith in Christ, two common threads are found among the many testimonies that have been compiled: First, it takes time. To leave Islam and choose to follow Christ will likely take years from a Muslim first encountering a Christian to choosing to be baptized and persist in professing faith in Christ – I’ve heard that ten years is a safe estimate for an average time frame. Second, multiple relationships with faithful Christians that the former Muslim got to know well along the way in his or her faith journey are the norm for most who convert from Islam to following Christ. Of course, there will be exceptions, and the Lord can work in whatever ways He chooses, but if we want to be well prepared, patience, and remembering that one person, alone, is not the full witness that is needed, are two important matters to keep in mind if we are loving our Muslim friends well."

https://reachacross.us/2025/09/12/befriending-not-defending/

09/05/2025

Worth sharing again. From 5 years ago, but just as much our prayer today as it was then, as it has been for more than twenty centuries:

**Make sure to click on settings (bottom right-hand corner of the video) and TURN ON SUBTITLES in your language!**During these challenging times, nearly 90 p...

09/02/2025

Pray for Afghanistan, and for the many Afghans who are scattered across the world but deeply concerned for family and former neighbors who have been affected.

08/28/2025

Our latest blog:

If you haven’t read “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” by Nabeel Qureshi (published in 2014), I encourage you to do so. The author was raised a devout Muslim within the Ahmadiyya sect, so it cannot be seen as an example of how all Muslims might come to follow Jesus (no autobiography could be, of c...

08/15/2025

Rideshare Your Faith!

https://reachacross.us/2025/08/15/ride-share-your-faith/

08/14/2025

A timely reminder and encouragement to pray...and also "put feet to our prayers" (as a praying lady important in my own life once said).

Yesterday, we asked you what percentage of refugee children were out of school last year. Here’s the answer – nearly 50%, according to the UNHCR Education Report 2024.

For children and their families, displacement shifts the focus from thriving to surviving.

But you can help by walking alongside them. Learn how at the link: https://bit.ly/4mcxYzp

08/07/2025

The final phrase of this quote ("Only one life, twill soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last") hung on the wall of every house we lived in during my growing up years. It still hangs on my mother's wall in her retirement home. It's a good mindset to cultivate.

"Only what's done for Christ will last."

WEC founder, C.T. Studd, was spot on with this quote. We have only one life and what we do with it matters. What better way to live it than living it fully for Jesus!

08/06/2025

"Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." This is the conclusion reached by the author of the book of Ecclesiastes, and it is a matter about which both Christians and Muslims can agree.

07/31/2025

Proverbs 31:8-10
Common English Bible
8 Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,
and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.[a]
9 Speak out in order to judge with righteousness
and to defend the needy and the poor.

07/26/2025

Pray for these Afghans, and others, in danger of forced return to persecution.

Please stop and read this urgent plea from a group of Afghan Christians who are facing forced return to Afghanistan from Tajikistan.

In a message sent to SAT-7, the group’s leader described the threat as a return “to the very mouth of death”, and called on churches around the world to pray for them and “be our voice”.
He said he has not been able to sleep for 23 nights, his heart “overwhelmed with anguish, tears, and groaning”.

Read his full message here https://sat7.org/urgent-prayer-needed-for-afghan-christians-facing-forced-return/

Pray and share today!