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posted by James on 10/26/08

The early morning frost blanketed the silent landscape surrounding the Northwoods Conference Center. When the sun began to rise at 7:00, I stepped outside to take in the serenity. It was completely different than a normal Tuesday morning at work in Chicago.

Back in September, when I heard that the Life FOCUS group was going on a  Journey To The Heart in late October, I began to seek the Lord’s will about possibly joining them. The work at Headquarters had been increasingly hectic, and a week set apart to seek the Lord and be rejuvenated in Him seemed a worthwhile opportunity. Brother Michael, Joshua and Matthew Wilkes and several other guys I knew well were part of this FOCUS group and I knew the fellowship would be rich and meaningful. I would also have the opportunity to assist Chad Paine in guiding the Journey.

However, I soon had to die to this desire. I was needed more at Headquarters than I was in Life FOCUS. Getting the permission to go would be difficult, if not selfish. Therefore, I gave my desires to the Lord and waited.

A few days before the FOCUS guys arrived, I found that it would be fine with my Department to be gone for the next week. Apprehensively, I asked Mr. Gothard about it. Surprisingly, he said to plan on it! The next morning, I called the Director of FOCUS and, after telling him I had permission to go, said he could definitely use me. Praise the Lord!
 

I have now been enjoying a week of much needed sleep, study, quiet-time, prayer and recreation. It is refreshing to be with a group of people who willingly share struggles, victories, insights and exhortations. It is amazing to see many deepen their love and commitment to the Lord. I’ve also enjoyed preparing for and leading some of the team meetings which helps me understand more fully what we are studying.

It has been good to come apart into a wilderness place and rest a while and seek the Lord. I could spend the rest of my life just reading, seeking and sharing the character of God as described in His Word. But life must go on and there is much work to be accomplished. By God’s grace, I will continue the Journey and carry the application of abiding in Christ into the daily schedules of the future.

6 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

posted by Donald on 10/23/08

We all know that children have a lot to learn but do you often think of learning from children? The qualities of humility and faith that Jesus highlighted are qualities we must all learn before we can be a part of His kingdom.

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We’ve seen many many students in the past month and a half!
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At the English Village, we’ve established a weekly schedule that can service over 250 Elementary School students a week in addition to the Junior Highers from the host school. Last week was our first full week and it went well. (On Thursday afternoon some of us had energy left over to engage the teachers in a long game of volleyball!)

September 22nd marked our first classes for elementary school students. It was a thrill to stand at the door that day and welcome them in, knowing that we might well be the first foreigners they would ever talk to or see face to face.

2 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

posted by Donald on 10/17/08

Oh no! Another post without … pictures! Did you notice? Just a straight column of text! There are several reasons for that: 1) I wasn’t expecting to post about this subject and thus didn’t take any relevant pictures; 2) A rain storm took the power out at school, affecting the computer I was using to download the pictures I had for another post; and 3) A post with no pictures can be used to illustrate a point. Pictures and no pictures is the difference between Chinese and English. English is simple in that each “character” has a sound, you line up the sounds, pronounce them straight through and the resulting word brings to mind the desired picture. What isn’t so simple is that the English pronunciation doesn’t always line up with the English letters. Children learning to read lines and lines of English can be daunted by the task–especially on long paragraphs like this one. While it’s more tedious and takes patience both to learn and write, having pictures for words can be a lot more easy to remember, understand and use. To read Chinese, rather than going from pronunciation to a memorized picture, one goes from a picture to a memorized pronunciation. A couple times in the past few days people asked me if I thought Chinese was hard to learn and I found that my answer was ‘No’! Arguably, it’s the easiest language to master. Yesterday I had a memorable talk with one particular student and her teacher. This 8th grader had represented Nan Jung at a huge academic competition and among 20 participants from around the county she took third place. She had memorized five separate essays in English (thousands of words) and quoted from memory the one that the teacher chose at random. Since I’ve found memorizing in foreign languages to be helpful I asked them for some tips and the three of had a very fun discussion about the subject. Among the words of wisdom were: 1) Repeat, repeat, repeat . . ., narrow down on the vocabulary you don’t understand, and, thirdly, make associations with sounds or pictures that you are already familiar with. It will be worth it all if this blank-looking post can remind you of that last simple point. So anyway, remember that the next time you want to remember something! (I might remember this post for a long time.)

3 Comments » | posted in Tidbits

posted by Daniel on 10/14/08

Who likes books on theology? Long discourses on religious beliefs always seemed boring and needless to me. However, in Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis takes the ordinary Christian doctrines we are all familiar with and expounds on them in a fascinating and exciting new way. He offers rational explanations for why things are as they are, and proposes Christianity is the only valid answer to life’s questions. The books forces those who are undecided about Christianity to face the facts and either accept Christ or reject Him. But it is also excellent for those who already believe, because it helps them to understand more fully the basic principles of their faith and share them persuasively with others.

Mere Christianity challenged me to take my personal convictions seriously. What do I believe? Why? It also opened my eyes to the effectiveness of using analogies and illustrations to get points across and make them more interesting to others. I especially appreciate how C. S. Lewis used his literary expertise to explain magnificent truths so clearly.

“Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

Author: C. S. Lewis
Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Date: 1952
Genre: Theology

7 Comments » | posted in Book Reports

posted by James on 10/9/08

With so many different versions of the Bible in the world today it becomes very important to ask: which Bible can we trust? After all, the Bible is the written Word of God, every Word of God is true, and thus it is the key for understanding doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16). Last week, Robert and I had the opportunity to hear a message by Mr. Les Garrett from Australia. He is an authority on the subject, having studied Bible history for decades and spoken in many countries on almost every continent of the world. His passion for truth was contagious! Here are some points, some of which he covered in his message, that might help in a quest for knowing which Bible to trust.

1. Choose a Bible that is closest to the original Hebrew and Greek. Learning these languages would be the best way to read the Bible, but, obviously, that is not always possible.
2. The translations of today are based either on the “Textus Receptus” (Received Text) or the Revised Text. The Revised Text originated in the Catechetical School of Alexandria which held an “allegorical interpretation of Scripture” (to quote Wikipedia). In contrast, the Received Text was upheld by the School of Antioch who “held a more literal and … typological exegesis.” This was one of many differences between the two major centers of theological study of the ancient world, and a fact that the modern world has largely ignored.
3. Received Text versions include the Wycliffe, Tyndale, Geneva, and Authorized (or KJV) Bibles. Revised versions include the Vatican, Revised Standard Version, The Living Bible, New Living Translation, and New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witness) Bibles. Straddling the fence, or versions attracting less controversy, include the NIV, NAS, and NKJV.
4. The Revised Version of 1881, predecessor of most modern translations today, was published by F.J.A. Hort and B.F. Westcott. They departed from the Textus Receptus, basing their translation on the Alexandrian corruptions of the ancient Vatican and Sinaitic manuscripts. The views of the translators are clearly seen in their attempts to subtly obscure or omit the deity, pre-existence, virgin birth, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
5. Many important words and often whole verses are missing in Revised Text versions of today. The amount of departures between the 1611 KJV and the 1881 Revised Version was over thirty-six thousand! Close examination and study of the missing portions reveal an astonishing trend toward promoting unitarian, Arianistic, humanistic and nontrinitarian beliefs.

“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward” (II John 1:7-8).

5 Comments » | posted in Historical Glimpses, Ministry Reports