Reflections...

I am nearing the end of my three months in Central Asia. I realized the other day that this part of the world is where I have lived the longest outside of my own continent. I have had the opportunity to play on the national level for basketball and receive second place in the whole country with my team. God has also given me the opportunity to officially teach English in a foreign country and to help launch two business enterprises while I've been here. These opportunities have allowed me to build relationships to share the Gospel with people that have never heard the simple Gospel before. That hit me hard the other day. I have shared the Gospel with individuals who have never heard the real story of Jesus. They have heard much but not the truth. I stood in a lit classroom after the working day had passed and shared for at least an hour with a Muslim friend the truth of Jesus and what He has offered to us. His question at the end was, "Can I be a Muslim and Christian at the same time?" The sad but true answer was "no". I knew I had to say it but I could see in his eyes that after hearing this News for the first time, he desired it and I wish he could have it. The difference here is that being a Muslim is not only a belief, it is a way of life and not being a Muslim anymore means much more than it would for a Catholic not to be a Catholic anymore. I've heard so much about the unreached and the difficulty of reaching them and here I was, standing in front of one such "unreached". What a privilege! I've also heard much about the "Back to Jerusalem" movement from the Chinese Church as they move into the most unreached part of the world through the old "Silk Road" route. As I traveled and lived in this region, I was again incredibly privileged to be able to share Jesus with those who are in one of the most unreached and increasingly difficult areas of the world. I count it all a privilege and my hope is that many others would have this privilege in the near future who haven't had it. What do you think? Would you count it a privilege?

What Do You Think?

I AM CURIOUS AS TO WHAT OTHERS THINK OF THIS STATEMENT.

Eedee Korbon and Mel Gibson

Well, for the Muslim holiday in which they celebrate the belief that God stopped Abraham from killing "Ishmael" after He told him to do so, we

were invited to the houses of our friends where we were supposed to eat a lot of food and pray for the house that we were visiting. The tradition goes that each house is supposed to prepare food for guests to come and eat and every house is to welcome anyone who comes to the door even if they don't know them. We could have literally walked into any home and sat and ate for at least a half hour and then prayed for the home. We did this in two homes and thoroughly enjoyed their hospitality. The holiday is a great opportunity to go to their homes and to share the truth of Jesus being the final sacrifice needed for our sin.

I recently watched the film, "Apocalypto", the new film by Mel Gibson about the Aztech empire in South America. The riveting scene in the film is when the captured Natives are on top of the sacrifice pyramid getting ready to have their lives ended by being sacrificed. The film does an excellent job of turning your stomach and causing disgust and gratitude at the same time. Disgust for what the sacrifice represented and the confusion that surrounded the scene and gratitude that we don't have to deal with the putridness of believing lies and the death that follows, specifically in sacrificing humans to appease "the gods". In the middle of thinking about this, I began to realize that in not believing in human sacrifice, I am denying my faith. As disgusting as it sounds, human sacrifice is the most important thing to the faith of any Christian. Without it we are lost. So before you detest the practice of human sacrifice in the film, realize that it is the salvation of any follower of Jesus. The only difference is that it only had to happen once, not over and over. God did need to be appeased and He was and it was and is our salvation, the Human sacrifice.

My New Year's Resolution

I made the Man of Sorrows sorry by all my foolish lies.
I drove the nails, I raised the cross
I was the reason that He died

Utterly unfaithful then I added anger to my sin
In a world already dark to me, I closed my eyes and would not see

So I may kick and I may scream, say many things I do not mean
Hold blindly to what is not true, but I will not walk away from You.

Just why I choose to disobey
I simply cannot tell

Why I blame you when I rebel and weep for wounds I give myself
Then screaming at an empty sky, I search for you and wonder why…

Though I cause you so much agony, you refuse to walk away from me

Don’t read me pointless poems friend
Don’t diagnose, don’t condescend
Though you may be right to disagree
I need someone to weep with me

I made the Man of Sorrows sorry by all my foolish lies
I drove the nails, I raised the cross
I was the reason that He died

So I may kick and I may scream,
Hold blindly to what is not true
But I will not walk away from you.

-Michael Card