When Demand for the Scriptures Outstrips Supply

Filed under "Aslan is on the Move"
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Here's an interesting report about the demand for Bibles....

The Bible Society has reported a growing demand for copies of the Bible in China where an estimated 500,000 people converted to Christianity in 2009 alone.

Although some four million Bibles were printed and distributed across China last year, the rapid growth of the church year on year means that demand for Bibles is now outstripping supply, according to the Bible Society.

Would that this were the case around the world, that the church was growing so fast that demand for Bibles was outstretching supply.  Alas, one day....

 I remember Richard Pratt at an RUF training event stating that he believed the next 'center' of Christianity was going to be China.  He may very well be right. 

[source]

Hamas has a new target....

Wow. Pray for this man.

WND reports "Son of top Hamas leader converts to Christianity."

The son of one of the most popular leaders in the Hamas terrorist organization has moved to the U.S. and converted to Christianity, it has emerged.

In an exclusive interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper, Masab Yousuf, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheik Hassan Yousef, slammed Hamas, praised Israel and said he hoped his terrorist father will open his eyes to Jesus and to Christianity.

"I know that I'm endangering my life and am even liable to lose my father, but I hope that he'll understand this and that God will give him and my family patience and willingness to open their eyes to Jesus and to Christianity. Maybe one day I'll be able to return to Palestine and to Ramallah with Jesus, in the Kingdom of God," Masab said.

[HT]

"I felt compelled to get on my knees and worship him...."

The Wall Street Journal has an article on Louisiana's governor entitled, "Rebel With a Cause: Bobby Jindal's Spiritual Journey." Jindal has been mentioned as a possible VP candidate for John McCain.

The article reports Jindal's journey from Hinduism to Christianity. A crucial defining point came for him while he was watching a black and white video about the Passion shown during the intermission of an Easter production on the campus of LSU.

"I don't know why I was struck so hard at that moment," said Mr. Jindal. "There was nothing fascinating about this particular video. . . . But watching this depiction of an actor playing Jesus on the cross, it just hit me, harder than I'd ever been hit before," he said. "If that was really the son of God, and he really died for me, then I felt compelled to get on my knees and worship him."

This is a great example of why we say that the Lord Jesus Christ is either of utmost importance or of no importance. What He can't be is of some importance.

[HT]

Give Me Something To Believe In

Filed under: "Didn't See That One Coming" and "Aslan is on the Move"
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Pete Wilson, senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee, is reporting on his blog that famed lead guitarist of Poison, C.C. DeVille, has become a Christian and is seeking ways to grow. Pete has been given access to DeVille and is giving him pastoral counsel, etc. (he now calls himself the unofficial pastor to Poison--I'm jealous.)

Check this out...


Guitar Hero from Pete Wilson on Vimeo.

This is pretty cool on a number of fronts. During my high school days, I worshipped rock groups, most notably folks like Def Leppard, Ratt, Motley Crew, Van Halen, etc.,--basically what are now known as 'the hair bands.' My family can verify that my room was basically a shrine. Poison wasn't among the groups that I worshiped, but I did like some of their music such as "Give Me Something To Believe In" and "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" (which I still quote almost weekly).

For a while after my conversion, I had to get away from all this music b/c it represented my rebellion from Christ. Now, I can go back and listen to some of it and actually, really, enjoy it. I know, for some of you that is just too much....

At any rate, pray for C.C. DeVille. This is a huge step he has taken in a very unforgiving arena. And pray for his pastor, too.

[HT]

Another Trophy of Grace

Filed Under: "Man is Like a Breath" and "Aslan is on the Move"
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Living in Peru sometimes has the effect on me in that I don't always hear the latest news, though I try to keep up with what's going on in the world through the internet. For example, I just found out that Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel died last November of natural causes at the age of 69. I think most people would have thought that the high-flying dare devil would have gone a long time ago through 'unnatural causes.'

I remember as a kid in the 70s being utterly fascinated (1) that someone could actually do the things he could do, and (2) that someone was daring-crazy enough to attempt the things he attempted to do. I have a very vivid memory of playing with my Evel Knievel Scrambal Van out in the driveway on a dark, rainy summer afternoon at my grandparents house in Oklahoma. From a kid's perspective, Evel Knievel was larger than life. Yep, I was a fan.

I read this morning an article in Christianity Today about 'the new day for apologetics' in light of the new challenges of popular atheistic pundits and how folks are being changed by Christians giving good, honest answers about the person and work of Jesus Christ. The article references Lee Stroebel, author of a number of books including, "The Case for Christ." Stroebel speaks of his experience in talking to people about Christ, and one of those people was Evel Knievel who says this book was instrumental in his conversion from atheism to Christianity. Listen to what Stroebel says...

"One of those people was Evel Knievel, the motorcycle daredevil who died in November 2007. Earlier that spring, Knievel called Strobel after a friend gave him a copy of The Case for Christ. Knievel said the book was instrumental in his conversion from atheism to Christianity. Strobel, a motorcycle fanatic since childhood, and Knievel became friends, speaking weekly over the telephone.

"He just transformed in amazing ways," Strobel says. "I know his last interview was with a macho men's magazine, and he broke down crying, talking about his newfound relationship with Christ. He was so grateful. He knew he had lived a very immoral life and regretted that. He told me many times how he wished he could live his life over for God, and yet God reached down in his last days and dragged him into the kingdom. He was so overwhelmed by God's grace. Here was this macho daredevil who became this humble, loving, and sincere follower of Jesus. It was an amazing thing to behold."

Cool story. I look forward to talking with him about his grace story one day and sharing mine with him: two trophies of God's grace.

For memories sake, here is a video of his famous Grand Canyon jump...

Glimpses of Heaven: The Way Things are Supossed to Be

This post is a revisit...

At times, the pain and evil and sadness and brokenness of this world are so evident and so acute that it seems overwhelming. Can we take news of another tragedy? Is there strength to support those loaded down with grief? Will this insanity ever end? Things are not the way they are supposed to be. And so we cry out, "Come Lord Jesus. Come quickly! Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven."

And for those with eyes to see, there are moments of beauty and heroism and sacrifice and intimacy and near perfection that leaves us breathless and longing for more. We see things that give us hope that sin and death do not have the last word. These are foretastes of the answer to our prayers and the longings of our hearts. These are glimpses of the coming day when Heaven and Earth will be one and the Lord Jesus will set everything to right.

I thought about these foretastes when I read this article of "The Lion Whisperer."


The Scriptures give us so many promises to sink our teeth into: The Prince of Peace will one day usher in His Kingdom of Peace in all its fullness. There will be no more harm or killing, no more tears and longing for something else. Only ever-deepening and ever-increasing joy as we live together on God's green earth exploring God's great universe and enjoying creation, each other, and our Creator just the way things are supposed to be.

Our hope is not to escape this world and live as detatched, disembodied entities. God's design is to spread His blessings wherever there is curse. As the hymnist has put it, Jesus has come to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found...

Reconiliation. Redemption. Renewal. Regeneration. Reinvigoration.

...far as the curse is found...

Restoration. Rescue. Recovery. Release. Rejuvenation.

...far as, far as the curse is found....

Replenishment. Rekindling. Repair. Replinishment. Rebirth.

And it all begins with the announcement of the Gospel of the Kingdom: the Lord of Creation took on flesh and lived the life that we should have lived, and died the death we brought upon this world, and He is now risen! Death could not hold Him!

When the Lord Jesus announced that the Kingdom was at hand at the beginning of His ministry, He was saying that "I have come to heal the world." Reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to every creature under heaven. The announcement of Good News is to be taken to every corner of this world. And this same Good News tells us that the Return of the King will usher in the full healing of this sin-cursed creation. The wine will flow fully, the healing of the nations will occur, and the increase of His reign and our joy will know no end.



Heaven and Earth will be one.
And that is the way things are supposed to be.

Addendum: Heather--ever the animal & especially the feline lover--says that she wants a white tiger in the New Heavens & Earth. "They're just big kitties," she insists. "And I want one to bury my face in its fur."