Straight talk on Suicide

Recently the suicide of comedian Robin Williams has brought this difficult topic to the minds of many. I was pleased to read a cogent and insightful article on the topic of suicide from Kevin DeYoung. What he has to say is worth the few minutes it will take to read it. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/

Radio Personalities

Andrew and Christina will be "famous in Hungary" because their voices will be played for Hungarian students who are learning English. One of the guests is a Hungarian who teaches English and recorded their voices for her students. I am kidding them that they will be internationally known. Day four of the camp is now history and an eventful few days it has been. Most of the team is fighting through jet lag and I am so encouraged in the way they are each stepping up to the plate and doing their part. Teachers and students are bonding and we all shared the powerful story of Nicodemus today and drove home the need to be born again through belief in Christ during our reading time. How fitting that I read this morning in Jeremiah how God's word is hard like a rock that crushes--it is able to do a powerful work. Then in Acts 16 I read how God opened Lydia's heart to believe as He also worked in the Philippians jailer's family. What a good reminder to just stay faithful proclaiming the powerful truth of God's word that will penetrate hearts and trust God to open hard hearts. Many students are eager to learn and receptive to God's word but not yet surrendered to Christ. We have had good conversations with campers and I see the team trying to encourage believers and love on the seekers. Today in the city of Pecs one of our Hungarian team members fell and fractured a bone in her arm. She will hopefully mend quickly but please pray for her full recovery. In His Glad

Camp Day 1

The team met for a time of worship and considered 2Corinthians 4:1-7 along with 1Corinthians 4:7. We have this ministry as we have received mercy so we do not give up. God's mercy motivates us to serve. We are not adequate for these things but God is the one who works through us as He worked in us. After another lunch of hot soup and fried chicken we headed to the school to prepare for the arrival of the campers who began to arrive at about 3:45 pm local time. The next two and a half hours was filled with many conversations. Team members stepped out in faith to introduce themselves to frightened Students some of which know little English while others are very proficient. It was so good to see new faces and to reconnect with several familiar friends from past camps. We need grace and courage to go deeper now after these initial meetings. God continues to bring campers as we now have 100 registered for our time here. There is a reason why we have the largest team ever. God is good all the time. First Bible study is tomorrow. Jesus calms the storm and the difference between belief and true trust. The disciples knew Jesus was in the boat but failed to trust Him. We ask for wisdom to help campers know what it is to trust Christ.

Arrival in Mohacs

News of a record number of campers signed up for this year's English camp left us scrambling at the last minute to print more materials amidst last minute packing. It was a short night for most of the remaining members of the team who left from Iowa on July 23rd. The Albert City and Havelock contingent left home about 5:30 a.m. Arriving in good time in Des Moines to meet the two remaining members of the team still in Iowa. What a gorgeous morning it was as we greeted the sun rising in the east. As we began our eastward journey the "Windy City" was our first stop where we made it through to our gate without incident. There we met Carly. We boarded the massive Boeing 777 and departed at 2:20. Mission groups get priority seating...NOT. That is why most of us occupied the very last seats on this massive plane with 10 seats across (in economy class). Row 45 was the place to be. Actually the lavatory traffic was minimal and no small children so nobody behind us to bother and we were content to ride it out. I must say that the turbulence seems to be accentuated in the back of the plane. At times I felt myself rocking back and forth in my seat. But I love roller coasters so it was an adventure, although I have never tried to sleep on a roller coaster :). I'll spare your the rest of our travel detail sis, suffice it to say that sleep was scarce but every leg of the journey went smoothly. Upon arrival in Budapest we were greeted by our gracious hosts the Dans, my niece Natalie and her husband Brsdley who had arrived a couple of days early, and some friends from previous camps--Dani and Timi and their newborn baby boy. A three hour van ride found us in Mohacs. A quick shower and we were off to lunch. Traditional vegetable soup, fried cheese, and fries with ranch dressing. Actually quite yummy. Right now most of us who just arrived are still in a fog and are trying to nap. Sleep will be "fast and short" these next few days so we are trying to catch up. Praying for our hearts to engage in ministry while our minds and bodies make the adjustments. I read the feeding of the multitudes in Mark 6. Jesus asked the disciples to give what they had and trust Him with the "details". If you think about it the details were overwhelming. Right now The Lord is asking us to give what we have and trust Him with the details. Camp starts tomorrow.

Preparations for Hungary 2014

Proverbs 16:1 says, "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from The Lord. As the team prepares to leave it is a good reminder that we are not the center of what is happening. We may have our "plans" but what happens in and through us is up to The Lord. May we be very careful to invite The Lord to use us in His plans, to humbly ask that we might be sensitive to and cooperative in what He wants to done in that ministry. So it would be best to expect to be involved in whatever God has I store. I am praying for the team and for the campers. I hope you will join me in asking God to work and then for team members to trust Him to do His will. Thanks

Back to Hungary

What a privilege to see God work in raising up a team for this year to travel to Hungary to share our faith. Once again we will partner with our friends from Mohacs and Pecs to conduct an Evangelistic English Language camp. We just finished our weekend training and were challenged to think of success as what we are willing to attempt for God. I am excited to join 12 others who will be attempting to share Christ with the folks in Southern Hungary. Many details to finalize and much preparation before we go, but mostly we need keep advancing on our knees. As I was reminded this morning in Deuteronomy 7:21 "...The Lord your God...a great an awesome God". So we launch into the great unknown with confidence that God has a work to do in us and through us. Stay tuned and please keep us in your prayers.

Movie Goers Beware

2014 Must be vying for the title of "Biblical Movie Year" according to some. Well at least several movies have Biblical Themes or Topics in them. There is "Son of God" which starts in Genesis and quickly moves to the story of Jesus as recorded primarily in the Gospel of John. "God is Not Dead" is another popular box office hit depicting the defense of God by a gutsy college freshman enrolled in a Philosophy class taught by an staunch Atheist. Then there is NOAH which is an avowed atheist's rendition of the Biblical story of Noah. Of course there is "Heaven is For Real" giving the account of a young boy's Near Death Experience. I'm not sure why, but Hollywood seems to be playing to the religious crowd and particularly to Christians in 2014. Why? I can only speculate, but I know from those who have been close to people in the movie industry that even though Hollywood knows that the biggest box office hits are usually family friendly films. But because of their activist agenda most writers, producers, and film makers shy away from the most profitable genre. So I am a bit skeptical in saying that Hollywood must be hurting for some cash so they've tried to play to the family, the religious, the spiritual side of people. Regardless of why there are so many spiritually oriented movies, the fact remains that for Christians there is a need for serious Scriptural evaluation of what is being communicated in a particular movie. We should be cautious of going to a movie simply because the title indicates a Biblical theme or topic is being considered. I am assuming that, unlike a generation ago, most professing Christians do go to the movies.Movies are powerful tools to communicate and it is likely that once we've seen a movie our perspective on whatever Biblical story it depicts will be seriously impacted. For example, it is difficult for people of my generation who have seen Cecil B. DeMill's "The Ten Commandments" starring Charleton Heston to read the Exodus account without seeing the images and characters from the movie. More recently those who witnessed "The Passion of the Christ" can hardly read the Gospel accounts of the Passion without the gruesome and gut-wrenching scenes from the movie flashing through their minds. When we see a movie about a passage or event in Scripture we tend to believe that the movie version is what happened. Therefore, it behooves us to do our homework before ever going to a movie or at minimum think in Biblical terms in evaluating what is seen. Let me take a few examples from the list of 2014 Films to make my point and challenge us. NOAH is a movie that by it's title makes those familiar with the Bible think that they will be watching the familiar Bible story come to life on the Big Screen. NOT!! Consider that the producer is an atheist who does not believe in the God of the Bible and therefore does not accept the Scripture accounts as authoritative and accurate. His world-view profoundly impacts the telling of the story. I have not seen the movie, but those who have inform me that it takes the Biblical account and turns it upside down. In the Bible mankind is destroyed because of their sin against God, but in the movie God is saving the animals from the humans. Noah in the Bible was a righteous man who "walked with God", but in the movie he is anything but righteous. To subject ourselves to blatant heresy is dangerous and unwise. I am sure that many Christians will flock to and rave about "Heaven is for Real" and yet, the book itself and I would assume the movie depicts a concept of being raised back to life and of Heaven that we do NOT find anywhere in Scripture. There are numerous accounts of people raised from the dead or of people with a heavenly encounter. See Isaiah 6:1-7; 2Kings 4:29-37; Matthew 9:18-26; Luke 7:11-17;John 11:1-46; Revelation 4:5-11; 5:1-14. And then there is Paul's own record in 2Cor.12:1-6. In these and other stories of people raised from the dead or people encountering God in Heaven there is only Humility, Awareness of Sinfulness, Celebration of God's magnificence and praise. Among those raised from the dead, Paul is the only one to mention anything of His experience and it is marked by such shock and awe that He is unable to speak about it and is actually given a thorn in the flesh to keep Him humble. Now contrast the Biblical record with what is written in the book and portrayed in the movie, "Heaven is for Real." No doubt the boy's stories are heart-warming, and we can all appreciate that his young life was spared, but we should be cautious of letting the emotional appeal blind us to Biblical truth. It is dangerous to interpret Scripture in light of our experience. It is a much sounder practice to interpret experience in light of Scripture. All I am saying is that what we see in Scripture regarding Heaven and Near Death Experience differs drastically from what is portrayed in the book and movie. This should give every serious student of Scripture pause in going to such a movie, in reading the book, and in praising those works. For a more in depth look at the issue of Near Death Experiences as recorded in the Bible as they relate to our scrutiny of "Heaven is For Real" see the following link to an article by David Jones professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. http://www.scribd.com/doc/220085950/Near-Death-Experiences Movie Goers Beware of spiritual sounding films that contradict the Bible and undermine our faith.