There is nothing worth living for unless it is worth dying for.

My grandmother lived a life devoted to Jesus, and today her talks have been made available in their original form.

So you too can be built up through the insights and mysteries God revealed to her throughout her ministry.

Now without further ado, here is Elizabeth Elliot.

This is what Sir Thomas Brown said in the 17th century when I survey the occurrences of my life and call into account the finger of God I can perceive nothing but an

abyss and mass of mercies. Those which others would term crosses, afflictions, judgments, misfortunes, to me who inquire

farther into them than their visible effects have ever proved the secret dissembled or hidden, disguised

favors of God's affection. I'm so glad to be old. People say, well, you know, she's really

getting old. No, I'm not getting old. I got there quite a while ago. And I think it's a tremendous privilege to be pretty close to 73 and to realize the secret

dissembled favors of God's affections, all the wonderful ways in which he has led me.

And I will just be able to give you a tiny glimpse this afternoon of what those ways have

been.

But I've entitled my talk, a personal encounter with the cross. A personal encounter

with the cross. I believe that every one of us, if we are honest before God, must accept an encounter with the cross, not just one, but probably very many, depending on how long you live and how long you have known the Lord Jesus himself. But we need to come to the foot of the cross where we can get our minds focused where they belong, realizing that it is the great symbol of the Christian

faith, isn't it? Why do we have crosses on our church steeples or crosses in the church or why do we wear little

gold crosses around our necks? Very often we probably forget all about the meaning and

yet it was because Christ himself was willing

to be captured by wicked men, flogged, slapped, slapped, and nailed to a cross that you and I are gathered here because we love him, because we want to be like him and to follow him faithfully.

And this personal encounter will help us to become followers of one who was crucified.

And the cross always entails loss.

No one who calls himself a Christian can evade this very obvious and

It's not by any means an easy thing to recognize in any given situation or any personal loss and opportunity that it affords for participation in Christ's own loss.

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