Pray for the Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics start on August 8, and for just over two weeks, the world's attention will be on China, this year's host. And that is a call for prayer!

It is no secret that the Chinese government has been using it's tremendous power to create a much better impression of their society than reality warrants. Never a government for respecting individual rights, they have been particularly overbearing in the months leading up to the opening ceremony. From restricting traffic to help ease the thick pollution problem to navigating the Olympic Torch Relay to avoid as many protests as possible to clamping down on Tibetan protesters, they have tried to manage every aspect of life to give the appearance that all is well in China.

Worse than the social facade they are creating, their well-documented escalation of persecuting Christians is a losing effort to give the conflicting impressions that China is both tolerant of all religions and that there are very few Christians in China. Both statements are false, and the government has taken on the futile task of trying to make us believe both are true. The more evangelistic Chinese pastors have been harassed and arrested like never before. Literature distribution around Olympic venues is strictly forbidden. Evangelism will most likely be met with swift rebukes.

So ... pray! It is precisely in times like this that people discover the Gospel cannot be stopped. Pray as the Lord would direct your heart. Consider the following prayer needs every day of the Olympics:

• The persecution of Christians in China.
• The Chinese believers who are committed to sharing the Gospel with as many Olympic visitors as possible.
• Missionaries and other foreign workers who are gathering in China to share the Gospel.
• Believing athletes to keep their testimony and to use their unique access as another avenue of sharing the Gospel.
• For the oppression of the government to be broken by God's power.
• For the church in China (the largest in the world, by the way!) to prosper and flourish no matter what the government does.
  

The Olympics are games. Persecution is no game. The Gospel is no game. We can be the strongest competitors of the Olympics if we commit to pray. I invite you to remind each other to pray during those two weeks. Every time you hear the Olympic theme, see the 5 Ring emblem, see a medal count, or see an event, be reminded to pray. Be more enthusiastic about the Church winning than the U.S. winning.

P.S. You can order a free "Pray for China" wristband from Voice of the Martyrs at: http://etools.780net.com/a/vomso/bg_vomso_CTI-China-Prayer-Bands_317.html .

How Do I "Stand in the Breach"?

Last Sunday, we discussed Psa 106:19-25 and how Moses "stood in the breach." He is the "covenant head" of Israel, the covenant people had violated the covenant in the most grotesque of ways (considering their golden calf party likely included pagan sexual behavior), thus opening up a large breach in "walls" of the covenant, but Moses acted as the covenant head should and stood in the breach on behalf of the people. He knew exactly where he should stand - between God's wrath and God's people.

The encouragement for Christian men is to stand in the breaches of the walls of our own homes. Men should serve as covenant head in the same way as Moses - standing between danger and their families, especially the spiritual dangers that threaten us. But, the question is "How?" If I agree that as a husband I should be standing in the breach, that doesn't mean I know exactly how to do that. I know some of you have asked this question, and I know I have, too. Perhaps the sermon should have provided more help in this direction.

However, a simple "How To Stand in the Breach" or "Standing in the Breach for Dummies" would not be an easy book to write. Every breach is different. Every breach is unique to the family it affects. There is no way to be able to develop "Three Steps to Effective Breach-Standing" or "The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Breach-Standers."

The first step is to commit to stand. To be bold enough to look for the breaches, to be honest enough to identify them, and then to be courageous enough to stand smack dab in the middle of them. If we can convince the men of the church to do that much, the "how to's" will come. First, we must determine to stand. If we've firmly committed to that, then by definition we've also committed to find how to stand there.

There are easy examples. If unaccountable Internet access is a breach, then stand in the breach - make access accountable and take the heat for it. If financial habits are a breach, then stand in the breach - find the tools, classes, and counselors to rein in the habits and deal with the harsh realities of change. If your hair-trigger anger is a breach, then stand in the breach - remove the danger by necessary means, which may mean that you have to be man enough to admit weakness and character flaws. And so on - standing in the breach means making the tough, right decisions to close the breaches and to take the heat and responsibility for them.

It's the tough examples that the men will have to commit to figure out. Sometimes, the breach has been open for so many years that repairing the wall will take months or years. Stand in the breach. Commit yourself to the months and years it takes. Do not let excuses be stronger than your resolve to fix the breaches. And then stand in the gaps while the repairs are going on.

That's what covenant heads do. They commit to make it right for the family, even if they don't know "how to." Do you think Moses had a "Leading the Exiles Through the Dessert for Dummies" book handy? Not a chance. What he had was the resolve to stand in the gap and then figure out how to repair the damage.

May the Lord steel the resolve of our men to stand. May the Lord give wisdom and grace to our women to help the men stand with success.

More Great Online Resources

In the past, I've told you about some great online resources for studying the Bible and theology. For example, The NET Bible (http://bible.org) is one of my favorite sites (see also http://net.bible.org). On this site, you can study various translations, get help with the original languages, sign up for self-paced lessons in theology, and read blogs by excellent theologians. This site is primarily related to the NET translation, but it also shows parallel translations. It is an excellent site for word studies and original language parsing. But there are a few more that I've been using that you might be interested in.

(Click on any of the images to see more detail.)


Crosswalk has a fairly good set of Bible Study Tools (http://beta.biblestudytools.com). There are many translations, original language helps, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, lexicons, devotionals, Bible-in-a-year reading plan, and so on. It's similar to net.bible.org in many ways, but you can choose which translation is your primary.

However, it doesn't have the theology program that the NET site does. One of best features of Crosswalk's site is that it allows you to highlight text and save personal notes for individual verses. The support for original languages is not bad, but for some reason, they are not offered in the parallel translations view.


Another similar site is the eBible (http://ebible.com). It is not as feature-rich as the other two sites, but I like the fact that the footnotes and cross-references are visible as "flyovers" - just put the mouse cursor over the footnote marker, and the footnote pops right up in a little, non-instrusive box. Most of the other sites require you to click on the footnote, and you are navigated away from the verse you were reading. This site also has a helpful tool for memorizing Scripture.


Biola University has a well-respected site called the Unbound Bible (http://unbound.biola.edu). It has a powerful search engine and a fantastic selection of translations in many languages. A minor downside of this site is that it is not quite as user-friendly and attractive as the others.


Study Light (http://studylight.org) also does multiple translations and original language helps. The user interface is a bit constricted, but they have a unique offering of articles and other resources. They also offer more commentaries than most others, and they are easily accessible.


The Bible Gateway (http://biblegateway.com) offers plenty of punch, too, which a good selection of translations in many languages. The interface is simple, clean, and attractive, and it offers a nice set of tools and helps.


Also worth noting is the website offered by the publishers of the ESV translation (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv). They have a few devotions, an easy-to-use search engine, a daily reading plan, and some footnotes. This is a good site if the ESV is your translation of choice, but the ESV is also available on some of these other websites with all the tools (such as eBible, Bible Gateway, Study Light

Almost all of the sites offer a similar library of dictionaries and maps, although each site has something unique in its library. Many offer audio versions of the passage you're reading - just click and you hear the passage read. The major difference will be a matter of taste - try them all and see which you like best. Some sites do not offer key translations, such as the NASB, the NET, and the ESV. If you want to do any study related to the original languages, some of these sites offer something, but few offer something excellent.


There is, however, one notable exception. It is very good for Greek (no Hebrew), but it doesn't offer all of the other bells and whistles. And I love the name - The Resurgence Greek Project (http://www.zhubert.com). It does parallel translations and has excellent flyover analysis of Greek words, including parsing the grammar. This is a Bible nerd's haven! There are some Hebrew sites, but they still have a lot to be desired on presentation.


One more fun site - it's not for Bibles, but for background and general Bible study, called the OpenBible.info (http://openbible.info). It has a great set of maps and photos (using Google Earth!) - you can find exactly what you want very easily. You can download Google Earth kmz files and have on your desktop all the identifiable biblical sites - this is very, very cool! It has a topical Bible "mashup" - a strong search engine on words and topics, a very cool Bible book browser, and some interesting tools that make visual images based on words of the Bible. This site uses the ESV exclusively.

If you have another website you like to use for Bible study and theology, I want to know. I'm always looking for a site that offers something new and unique!

Also note that there are several very good programs that you install on your computer (Libronix, e-Sword, WordSearch, and so on). They cost money, but the features can't be beat and the available selection of books far exceed the free online tools.

The Kid in the Candy Store

Thanks again for your well-wishes and prayers for my semi-annual trip to Dallas for coursework. As always, the class has been excellent. We are learning how to most effectively conduct our research projects to prepare for our individual dissertations. Most importantly, I have learned how to effectively conduct a great deal of that research from the comforts of Dublin, which is crucial considering that the nearest library with theological volumes is in Macon, and the nearest library with rigorous theological scholastic volumes is in Atlanta.

I have also passed three major milestones this week in doing research - my topic has been informally approved, I have secured my advisor for the research, and I have secured my "second reader." The second reader is a good friend and mentor with whom I was on staff in California, Dr. Dave Talley. I am thrilled and surprised that he is finding the time to help me with my project.

I am like the kid in the candy store - theologians everywhere, and all of them have something to teach me.

Foreclosure

A couple of weeks ago, Lynne and I got a letter in the mail from an attorney's office. The letter said that had defaulted on our house loan and owed an amount which was at about 75% more than what the house is worth. The attorney's office was demanding some resolution or they would take action. Our house loan has always been in good standing, so we were quite surprised at this, especially since we've never heard anything about any problem with our loan.

There was some relief to notice that even though the letter was addressed to our address, it was not addressed to our names. They were not names we recognized, and they weren't the names of the previous owners.

So I called the attorney and explained the situation. From the start, the woman helping me was suspicious of my claims that we are the owners of the property. She said that they've never had a situation like this, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. Then the told me that because the loan was in default, that the property would go up for public sale on August 6! She then consulted with a lawyer while I was on hold for about 20 minutes. When she returned, she said that the lawyer has never had to deal with a claim like this. They asked me to fax in some form of proof of my (apparently-suspicious) claim that we were in fact the owners of the property.

Then I called the attorney who helped us close on the property 4 1/2 years ago. He said that he would take care of it. Soon afterwards, he called me back and said that the address was off by one digit, and he could show that the names on the letter were the borrowers for this other address.

We're still waiting to confirm that the attorneys are off our backs and that they are not going to try to sell our property.

But the collage of emotions that I went through (confusion, insecurity, fear, frustration, a wee bit of anger, tension, relief) served as an interesting life lesson.

In effect, our house is owned by someone else. Of course, we want to say that our house is owned by God, and in very many ways, it is. But in another sense, our house is owned by Satan. Not in a demonic, possessed, evil-worshiping kind of way, but just in the sense that this collection of wood beams, electrical wiring, and carpet are elements of this world, and Satan is the prince of this world (John 16:11). These are not things that will be a part of Christ's Kingdom when He returns.

Furthermore, the "owner" of this material has defaulted on his loan. Satan owes an enormous debt to God - so large that not even the Chief of Demons has enough resource to repay it. Therefore, even though we're the ones who live at that address, when Satan's debt comes due, our house is going to be "sold" as partial payment for the debt. We are going to be evicted (to a bigger, better place called a mansion!) and Satan is going to debtors' prison.

Now, I reflect on my range of emotions again. Of all those emotions I felt, some of them were just about the situation and the hassle. But until we were sure that there was no real threat on our property, some of my emotions included a certain dread about losing the property. Not the hassle, mind you, but losing the thing itself - the object.

And yet, that's exactly what's going to happen when Jesus returns - we're going to "lose" this property because the name on the note has defaulted on his loan.

I learned through experiencing some of those emotions that I'm more tied to some things than I thought I was. I dreaded the prospect of not having a particular "something" when faced with the possibility that it could be rapidly taken away from me. I'm not wildly ecstatic about our particular house, but I'm really fond of having a house.

Everything you own will one day be "sold" out from under you because of a defaulted loan. It will be sold as part of gargantuan effort to repay a debt that cannot be paid. Keep your stuff with this knowledge. Use this knowledge to rid yourself of stuff that's merely cluttering your life. Understand this every time you're attracted to the glitter of something knew. See a letter in your mind's eye that has your address on it, informing you that the loan on your property has defaulted. Find your joy, satisfaction, and significance in the things that will survive the final public auction of Satan's things.

Showing That God Exists Without Using the Bible

The Youth have been studying the book of Acts on Wednesday nights, seeing over and over again how much believers can accomplish when they just have confidence that God's Word is true and that the Holy Spirit will actively build the Church. This week, we were in the second part of chapter 17, where Paul is in Athens (the other Athens) engaging the philosophers on Mars Hill (also called the "Areopagus"). Paul knew that his normal message of how Jesus is the Messiah anticipated in the Old Testament would not work on these philosophers who knew little to nothing about the Old Testament. Instead, Paul preaches the same Gospel, but in a completely different way - in a way that did not refer to the Old Testament at all.

Discussing this passage, the students thought about ways to present the Gospel today without referring to the Bible specifically - which we need to know how to do in an age when the Bible is not universally regarded. There have been volumes written on how to do this - there are even writings from before Christ on how to demonstrate that God exists without using the Scriptures as proof.

Below is a quick summary of one such argument. Space does not allow a full explanation of this approach, but a summary will still give you a good idea of how the argument goes. Just like Paul's approach in Athens 2000 years ago, the approach starts with statements that the audience will readily agree with. Each step, however, should be discussed in much more detail when sharing this with others.

1. Everything that has a beginning has a cause.
2. The universe has a beginning.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.
4. At the beginning of the universe, matter, energy and time also began.
5. Therefore, the cause of the universe cannot be comprised of matter or energy, and cannot be bound within time.
6. The universe bears evidence of design (this statement needs a lot of explanation for skeptics)
7. Therefore, the cause of the universe must be intelligent.
8. The existence of the universe is not necessary (it could have been the case that the universe never came into existence).
9. Therefore, the cause of the universe must have a will.
10. The universe exhibits beauty (ahthough beauty is subjective and could be accidental).
11. Therefore, it is likely that the cause of the universe appreciates beauty.
12. Since the cause of the universe has intelligence, a will, and likely emotions, the cause of the universe is a Being with personhood.
13. Also from evidence of the universe, we can discern that this Being is very powerful (or even omnipotent), very large (or even omnipresent), and very intelligent (or even omniscient).

So far, we have established that a Being (whom we can call "God") exists. We haven't proven it beyond all possible doubt, but at least we have shown that believe in the existence of God is rational. We have not shown, however, anything about Jesus or His Gospel.

1. The universe is finely tuned to allow life to exist (there is a lot of evidence to support this, which may be necessary to reference).
2. Therefore, God demonstrates care and concern for living creatures.
3. The basic human condition includes struggles with the existence of evil and the reality of death.
4. The nature of the universe suggests that God would be aware of man's basic condition, and furthermore, would have care and concern for it.
5. Question: Based on what we can tell about God from the universe, would you think that He would be the kind of God who would do nothing about man's basic condition, or would He be the kind of God who would do something? (If they say "nothing", then you may have to continue on the assumption that He would do something.)
6. Explore the major world religions with the one you're talking to and openly discuss which of these most effectively deals with man's basic condition. (Christianity is the only religion that offers a complete solution that fits with all we've discussed so far.)

If you can successfully walk someone through to this point, then the next step is crucial. People won't likely believe in Christ because they feel worked into a philosophical corner. So, we don't want to badger them into trying to make a decision. Simply tell them, "All we've done so far is to show that belief in Jesus is rational. So, let's conduct a spiritual experiment. Live life for the next month on the assumption that this is all true - just as an experiment. Do everything under the assumption that Jesus is who the Bible claims - follow the ways of righteousness, pray (even if you're praying to a God you don't fully believe in, yet), confess and repent, and so on. Experimentally live as you would if you knew for sure all this was true - and then after a month, assess whether or not you want to seriously explore the claims of Christ."

This is a lot fo information, and I don't expect you to absorb all of it at once. Rather, save this article and become familiar with the basic points, and when you find opportunities, explore one or two items with someone in conversation. When you become more and more familiar with the concepts, you'll find that you can talk with people about the God who exists without being preachy or pushy.

(Thanks to Dr. Doug Geivett for the idea of the "spiritual experiment".)

How to Respond to California's Decision

You have to be intentionally avoiding the news if you are unaware that the court system in California has recently "legislated from the bench" to legalize same-sex marriages. When I read of such things, I have a mixed bag of reactions:

• Anger: My reasons for anger are many. Rulings such as this are clearly against God's written Word, and therefore clearly against God's will. Although I strongly abhor any form of discrimination or hateful responses to individuals, a homosexual lifestyle is a choice to violate God's express will. It is a defiant act against the perfect and holy God. Some dear loved ones of ours have made these choices - we are not angry with them, but we are angry about those choices. Furthermore, these choices are harmful to those who make them, and harmful to our society. A society that embraces a God-defying lifestyle harms itself thereby. When I see people choosing ways to harm our society, I get angry.
  

• Sadness: I also experience feelings of sadness. By openly defying God's will, people are missing out on a tight relationship with Him, as well as missing out on His greatest blessings. Not only are they hurting themselves, but they are cutting themselves off from a relationship with Christ where He abides with us because we obey His Word from a heart of love (John 14:21-24). We've known several who claim Christ and yet still choose a homosexual lifestyle - they talk very warmly about Christ. However, they are missing out on the deepest relationship Him possible because they deny the clear meaning of certain parts of the Bible. That makes me sad.

• Political ire: I also want to go all activist and help change the laws. And I believe we should be actively involved in the political process to defend the definition of marriage given to us by God.

• A sense of fulfilled expectations: And yet, I also feel a sense of no surprise whatsoever. These are the types of things Scripture tells us to anticipate as we approach the End Times. These developments are inevitable for a society that works so hard to relegate God to tiny corners of our lives. Nations that do not submit to God's most basic edicts invariably end up with this kind of moral degradation of its social norms. The more this nation says it doesn't want God's involvement, the more we will see the gravitational effect of fleshly desires to draw us ever downward morally.

• Confidence: I usually end up, though, with a sense of confidence. Marriage is something God defined, and it doesn't matter what a government says about it (even if it's the judicial branch performing a ventriloquist act to sound like the legislative branch). God is the one who determines what marriage is. He is the one who determines who is married and who is not married. A legal status, even if it uses the word "marriage", has no bearing on God's definition or God's declaration of marriage. The state cannot (CANNOT!) pose any threat at all to what God has established. The state can muddy the waters and make it hard for us to see clearly, but it cannot (CANNOT!) redefine biblical marriage. People are either married per the Bible or they are not, and no government can affect that standing. There is nothing (NOTHING!) they can do to stop us from practicing God's definition. The state could declare that people can get married to trees or their lawn furniture, but that doesn't mean that Christian marriage has changed in any way. God is not threatened by this. He is saddened, perhaps even angered, but not threatened.

In my opinion, we should fight the political fights for the good of our society. We should practice the biblical definitions of marriage no matter what the state says. We should not hate anyone on the other side of this debate. We should not feel threatened by decisions such as these. We should teach our children and our society that God has His own, unchanging definition of "marriage."

But the best thing we should do is to throw our greatest energy into having strong, healthy, Christ-honoring marriages. If we simply defend "marriage" as between one man and one woman, we are not defending the biblical definition of marriage. The biblical definition is far greater than getting the right number of each gender into the definition. The best way we can defend marriage is by husbands loving their wives as Christ loves the Church, and by wives serving Christ through the way they respond to their husbands' God-given responsibilities. We can defend God's definition of marriage by raising our children to know and love Christ from the heart. We defend marriage by modeling good ones more than by arguing semantics.

In just a few weeks, we'll be starting a sermon series on biblical manhood and womanhood. Naturally, a biblical definition of marriage will be a big part of this series. I'm learning a lot as I prepare for this series, and I'm looking forward to walking through these lessons with you.