Category Archives: Blog

Whatever Happened to All Those Pentecost Converts?

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One moment 120 Christians were quietly praying together, and the next moment the hall was filled with a howling hurricane. Then they saw what looked like flames of fire that spread to every person. Running out they started telling what God had done. The crowds were utterly bewildered to hear them speaking in their own languages even though they came from fifteen different countries. Peter then preached a sermon which resulted in 3,000 converts with Jewish backgrounds.

Overlooked by Church Historians
Acts chapter two lists the fifteen countries represented by these 3,000 new believers. We know them by their modern names:
Nine countries in the Middle East: Palestine, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran.
Four countries in north-east Africa: Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan.
Three countries in south-east Europe: Crete, Italy, Greece.

Twenty years before the apostle Paul started his missionary journeys in western Turkey and Greece, these three-thousand new believers—an average of 200 new believers per country—returned within weeks to evangelize their own people and spread the Good News for 2,000 kilometres in every direction from Jerusalem. Jesus established His Church in the whole Middle Eastern region as well as in north-east Africa and south-west Asia.

Christians Are Surprised
The reason that this is a surprise to many Christians is well-stated by Paul-Gordon Chandler in his book, God’s Global Mosaic. “In Western theological colleges the study of church history begins in Jerusalem and proceeds quickly westward with the apostle Paul. Then there is a jump from the early church fathers to the medieval Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformation. Consequently, a student can be left with the impression that the church somehow ceased to exist in the lands of its origin.”

Strong Through Suffering
Although little is taught about the Church in the Middle East and Africa, these countries had strong, thriving churches. In Libya, for instance, archaeological evidence indicates the presence of a vibrant, creative Christian communityfrom early in the first century until the Muslim conquest of A.D. 643. All these churches endured enormous persecution. First under the Roman Empire, then under the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire, Christians were harassed and martyred for centuries.

Christianity survived in all the areas where portions of the Bible were available in the language of the people. Where the church used translation into Greek or Latin instead of the local language, the church did not survive.

With the spread of Islam came more widespread oppression and killing that continues even today. The first time the word genocide was used to describe the targeted killing of  people group was one-hundred years ago when the Muslim Ottoman Empire was accused of killing Christians in Armenia in eastern Turkey, an area far from where the apostle Paul traveled.

The Christians in northern Iraq were persecuted so much they were forced to migrate every couple of generations, much like European Anabaptist groups such as the Mennonites, Hutterites, and Amish had to do centuries later.

“Killing Christians Pleases God”
God has been faithful, the Church in the Middle East has endured, and the twelve million Christians currently living in these nations continue to carry out powerful ministries under some of the most repressive regimes on earth.

What sobers me is that these millions of Middle Eastern brothers and sisters in the faith have a heritage of suffering few of us can look back on. These believers have endured for generations and continue to persevere in their faith even though most are treated as second class citizens and some of them live among people who sincerely believe that to kill a Christian wins favour with God.

What about Us?
In comparison, we western Christians, especially in English speaking nations, have had it relatively easy for many generations, since we are living in countries where the laws are based on biblical principles. But as secular humanist ideology grows stronger, governments now feel free to marginalize Christian principles and repeal the laws based on them.

In some European countries, Christian schools are closed, home-schooling is banned, and children are forced to attend public schools where the parents have no input into what is being taught. There are local governments even in North America that promote the same atheistic, humanist agenda.

And what if these rather mild acts of discrimination provoked, not just a howling hurricane of protest, but a deep spirit of unity among Christians, leading to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

What if, along with uniting to protest, we also united in praising God and praying for strength to endure increasing persecution?

Would we grow strong in faith like our suffering brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world?

Would we, like them, also live by the words of Jesus, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world?” John 16:33 (NIV).

 

Learning to Laugh at Myself

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It happened to me in the early years of television in the late 1950s. The small Baptist church I attended had the opportunity to fill a half an hour of Sunday afternoon air-time on the local television station.

Since I frequently sang in church, my part was to sing a solo, and I chose How Great Thou Art. I felt at ease since I had sung this piece many times, and my favourite pianist was with me to play the piano. I was a recent high school graduate and still years away from voice training in Bible school, but was confident I would do well, even though this was my first no-do-over, live television performance.

On cue, I smiled at the camera, the pianist played a brief introduction, and I launched into the first verse and chorus, followed by the second verse and chorus. All was going well.

My First Mistake
As the pianist played the customary interlude before the last verse, I happened to glance to one side of the camera and suddenly saw a monitor with my face on it looking off to one side. The unexpected shock blanked out the words for the third verse. When the pianist played the third verse, I just stood there smiling into the camera, then sang the chorus again and thankfully, I was done.

I had never forgotten the words of a song before, and I felt terrible making such a mistake, and on live television!

My Second Mistake
The next morning at my ditch-digging job, a plumber came by. He looked at me and said, “Hey I saw you sing on television yesterday afternoon!”
Before he could say another word, I apologized for forgetting the words and went on and on about how it had happened. When I finally ran down, he said, “It sounded great to me. I didn’t notice any problem. I’m just glad to know another Christian is working on this project.”

A lesson on not taking myself so seriously, and learning to laugh at myself.

Another Mistake—and Laughter
Decades later I was the main speaker at numerous missions fund-raising banquets. At one banquet while greeting guests, I met a dozen teachers. So, at one point in my after-dinner speech, I thanked the teachers for coming and told a stirring story of a teacher who had taught our daughters in Brazil. The audience spontaneously applauded, and I opened my mouth and closed it again, having forgotten where in the speech I had interrupted myself.

“Um, before I told this teacher story, where was I?” I said.
A lady near the front spoke up, “The Canela kids were stealing the learn-to-read booklets.”
“Right!” I said, “How could I forget that?” I laughed, the audience laughed with me, and I continued with my stories.

Decades of Mistakes—and Laughter
I had decades of practice laughing at myself. Arriving in Brazil, and learning to speak Portuguese, Jo and I made people laugh many times as we fumbled and stumbled our way through a sentence. And that was the easy part.

When we arrived among the uninhibited Canela, they screamed with laughter at our mistakes, repeating them to others for their merriment. They couldn’t wait for us to open our mouths so they could have a good laugh. We, of course, learned quickly to laugh with them.

I remember the first time I told a funny story to a group of Canela men, and no one laughed until the punch line. What an achievement!

The Recipe for a Fun-Filled Life
We Christians must take our mission, our ministry seriously, but never ourselves. God is very clear about this. “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” Romans 12:3 (NIV).
Remember that every time we make a mistake, we are simply confirming our humanity.
We all like to have fun.

Well, when we learn to laugh at ourselves, we will never stop having fun.

How the Hero Overcame the Villain

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I am writing the story of my life: my memoirs of the sixteen years in which God, the protagonist Hero, was preparing me to serve Him while Satan, the antagonist Villain opposed Him in every way. Here is one such incident:

 Satan Meant it for Evil, but God Meant it for Good.

For four months, I worked with a crew doing seismic oil exploration in the Three Hills area. The crew was a typical, hard-drinking, wild-living bunch of roughnecks. They knew I was a Christian and was earning money to attend Bible school that fall. But they wanted no “religious talk” from me.

Just before the September long weekend, the crew chief, Stan, and his girlfriend were driving up to Edmonton. He was giving a ride to Jimmy, another guy in the crew.

“Can I ride with you as far as Red Deer?” I said. “No problem,” Stan said, “but make sure you are ready for us to pick you up at your house on Sunday. I’ll phone you to let you know what time we’ll come by.”

That Sunday afternoon Stan called, “We’ll pick you up at your house tonight at nine o’clock. Be ready.”

“Stan, I will still be at church at that time. Please pick me up there. It is only one block off your route, right near the highway. It’s much closer than my house.”
“Well, okay,” he said, but I sensed resentment in his voice.

When the car arrived, I saw that Jimmy was driving and Stan, the crew chief, was in the backseat, cuddling with his girlfriend. As I got in the front seat, Stan scolded me. “I hate you changing plans on me. And especially for making me pick you up at a church!”

I didn’t say anything, and after fussing at me some more, he turned his attention back to his girl. He had often made it plain he didn’t think much of “church people.” But something was about to interfere with this pattern of thought.

A half hour later, as we were driving down the two-lane highway at sixty miles an hour, the car ahead of us abruptly slowed down. Jimmy slammed on the brakes, and to our horror we swerved hard to the left, sliding sideways into oncoming traffic. The right front brakes on Stan’s car were defective, something Stan hadn’t warned Jimmy about. The last thing I saw through my side window before the crash was a pair of headlights only yards away.

Next thing I knew, there was glass everywhere; my left wrist was broken, and my head hurt from smashing out the side window. People ran up and helped us out of the wreck, then held us up as we stumbled to a nearby house where I sat on a couch, dazed and in pain.

A policeman came in, and after talking to the driver, asked, “Who was the front seat passenger?” I raised my good right hand. “You are a lucky guy. The door post on the hinge side, absorbed much of the impact. If the car had hit the middle of the door, you would not have survived.”
Hmm, I thought, another narrow escape, someone out there sure wants me dead, but it’s good to know Someone Else wants me alive.

Since Stan’s car was a total wreck, he worried aloud about how we were going to get to Three Hills still fifty miles away.
“I’ll phone my Dad.” I said, “He’ll be in bed, but he’ll come, pick us up and take us to Three Hills.” I phoned, and Dad came.

Arriving in Three Hills after an hour’s drive, Dad refused the money Stan wanted to give him, saying, “Jack and I are Christians, and when we help someone in trouble, it’s as if we are helping Jesus.”

With that Dad turned the car and drove home, completing a 140-mile-long demonstration of Christian love.

Jesus and the Sign of Jonah: Easter Thoughts

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One day when a group of scoffers called out for Jesus to perform some sign for them, he called them a wicked and adulterous bunch and told them the only sign they would get would be the sign of the prophet Jonah.
“Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so I, the Son of Man, will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Mat. 12:39-40)

Here are some more similarities as well as some contrasts:

  1. Both Jesus and Jonah died, were buried, out of sight, away from God, after their death and before their resurrection. Jesus’ body in a grave, in the heart of the earth. Jonah’s body in a fish’s belly, in the heart of the sea.
  2. Both traveled down. Jesus from heaven to earth, to a grave, into the realm of the dead. Jonah down to Joppa, down into a ship, down into the hold, into the sea, to the bottom of the sea.
  3. The deaths of both provoked natural phenomena. At Jesus’ death the sun darkened and there was an earthquake. At Jonah’s death the storm stopped instantly and there was a great calm.
  4. The deaths of both provoked exclamations about the natural phenomena from bystanders. At Jesus death the centurion said, This was the Son of God. The sailors who threw Jonah overboard said, This was a prophet.
  5. Both were resurrected after three days. Jesus came out of the grave on Easter Sunday. Jonah was vomited onto the shore by the whale and was given new life.
  6. Both clearly knew the will of God. Jesus obeyed, only spoke and acted in accordance to God’s will. He went to Jerusalem to certain death. Jonah disobeyed, ran into the opposite direction and out of God’s will.
  7. Both were prophets and spoke God’s message. Jesus was eager to speak, throughout his life and to his disciples after his death and resurrection. Jonah was reluctant and only spoke God’s message after his resurrection.
  8. Both prayed. Jesus prayed throughout his life, for his followers and for the nation, in full submission to God. Jonah only prayed after his resurrection, for his own comfort and was angry at God.
  9. Both were executed. Jesus’ executioners didn’t understand what God was doing. They eagerly killed him without delay. Jonah’s executioners saw God at work. They killed Jonah reluctantly putting it off as long as possible, asking God’s forgiveness.
  10. Both were obedient. Jesus all his life long, even unto death. Jonah only after his resurrection.
  11. In both cases sleepers were awakened and scolded for not praying. Jesus’ companions slept and he awakened and scolded them for not watching in prayer with him. Jonah himself slept and the sailors awakened and scolded him for not praying for salvation.
  12. Both offered themselves to die in order to save others. Jesus was lifted up on a cross to die slowly and in agony and public shame over many hours. Jonah was drowned, a quick easy and private death.
  13. Both were resurrected. Jesus sent his disciples to preach to the world at enmity with God but loved by Him. Jonah was sent to preach to Nineveh, the enemy of God’s people, but loved by God.
  14. Both preached a message of warning. Jesus gladly preached out of love, did not want anyone to perish but all to repent. Jonah preached reluctantly, not wanting them to repent, but to perish.
  15. Both died and after three days were returned to life. Jonah was resurrected with the same body he had before, one that would die again of old age. Jesus was resurrected with a new, ever-living body.

This Holy Week, as we think about these similarities and contrasts between Jesus and Jonah, may we realize that by his Spirit, the resurrected Jesus in living his life through us. We are more than followers of Jesus; we have within us the capacity to be replicas of Jesus.

Just as he lived his life loving people and doing good, so we too can live lives loving people and doing good to those around us.

The Time to Speak

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A professor from a German university visited the Canela village briefly when Jo and I worked there as linguists, teachers and Bible translators. He studied the Canela belief system and, once, when we had coffee together, he mentioned the Canelas’ fear of ghosts and evil spirits. My response startled him.

“But there are no ghosts or spirits!” he said. I chuckled and said, “Remember, you are talking with a Bible translator, one who believes in God who is a Spirit.” He looked at me as if he had never seen me before.

“Jack,” he said, “You are the first educated person I have ever met who believes in God.” I was not surprised since I knew that secular humanism was the credo of many European countries, even back then, forty years ago.

Canada is rapidly catching up. People are capable of morality and self-fulfillment without belief in God. This is the core of secular humanism, and it this religion is spreading rapidly throughout North America. Lawmakers operate within this framework and courts decide cases that result in anti-Christian actions.

A Recent Example
In the summer of 2018, Trinity Western University Law school was denied accreditation because the university requires students to adhere to biblical standards.
The LGBTQ lobby took TWU to court because students on applying had to sign a document stating that they would abstain from any sexual immorality. The court found in favour of the LGBTQ lobby stating that TWU standards do not match the court’s definition of diversity.
In other words, any view is acceptable, except the biblical Christian view.

Humanists Forget History
The history of higher education in the western world, however, shows that Christians were at the forefront of meeting human needs, be it hospitals, orphanages or schools. Many post-secondary educational institutions were founded by Christians to prepare clergy and teachers, even as far back as 1663, with the founding of Universite Laval in Quebec.

An Honest Atheist
It’s almost impossible to read a news report or view a newscast without some reference to human rights. Often the view is that secular humanists are upholding human rights whereas Christians deny people their rights. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Chris Berg is an outspoken atheist, and he is honest when he writes, “Virtually all the secular ideas that non-believers value have Christian origins. It was theologians and religiously minded philosophers that developed concepts of individual human rights. The same with progress, reason, and equality before the law. It is fantasy to suggest that these values emerged out of thin air once people started questioning God.”

God Made Human Beings in His Image
For thousands of years, Christians have believed and taught that people are not just higher animals; we are images of God Himself. The people we live with and among, the people we talk to and talk about, all are made in the image of God. Therefore, every human being has intrinsic value, and is worthy of respect.

God Wrote the Operating Manual
The Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments prohibit actions against people that would counter their God-given rights:

  • Murder: the right to life
  • Sexual immorality: the exclusive right to their own spouse
  • Lying: the right to truth, to trust and be trusted
    Overwork: the right to a day of rest from work
  • Stealing: the right to own property
  • There is even a command against merely wanting what other people have.
  • The rest of the Ten Commandments focus on the human right to relate to God and with God in the way that He wants people to relate.

The concepts Western cultures value came from God through His Word and His people, yet secular humanists deny God exists and disparage His people. They talk about freedom, but ignore the fact that our Canadian society is free because it was built on the values taught in the Bible.

By actively seeking to silence God’s voice and the voice of Christians, they are destroying the very foundation of freedom that made this country great. Christian voices are being silenced today in education, law, politics, and even sports.

What Can Christians Do?
“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? Ps.11:3 The Psalmist goes on to say that “God is on His heavenly throne. He examines the righteous.” What does God see? Silent Christians? Believers afraid to speak for fear of what might happen to them? Surely not! God has given every Christian a voice. Surely today is a time to speak! Our words, written or spoken, are read or heard by others, and when they contain biblical truth, they influence other people. Christians must speak up, defend the laws that uphold Christian values and speak against those laws that deny and destroy these principles.

Now is the Time
Someday Canadian Christians will no longer be allowed to speak, in our blogs, our books, our magazine articles, on social media, or even in our churches.

Countries that developed without the influence of Christians have already silenced believers.

God is looking at us today. May He see believers who write, teach, speak, preach, protest, and proclaim His truth to an antagonistic world.

The Good Old Days

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I handed my cheque to the hardware store clerk. He wrote out a receipt and taped it to the stock of the 12-gauge, pump action shotgun I had just bought. As I walked out of the store, gun in hand, the thought popped into my teenage mind. I hope I have enough in my bank account to cover that cheque.

No problem, my bank was just across the street, so I crossed Gaetz Avenue, walked into the bank, and shotgun in the crook of my arm, waited in line behind the other customers. When it was my turn, I stepped up to the teller’s window, laid the shotgun on the counter, pulled my passbook from my pocket, and asked the clerk to update it. He did so, and I noted happily that there was enough to cover the cheque. Picking up my shotgun, I ambled out of the bank and walked for half an hour through town to my home on Michener hill.

It was the mid-1950’s and no one raised an eyebrow in Red Deer, Alberta. Rifles and shotguns were a common sight. Most farm pickup trucks had gun racks across the back window holding a shotgun or a rifle, or both.

Those were the “good old days.” No mass shootings in schools or churches. No elbows or cell phones at the table. No oranges or bananas except at Christmas time. No pineapples except in pieces in a tin can. No pizza, pasta, kebabs, or chicken fingers. All drinking water came out of a tap, not from bottles. Prunes were for medicinal use only. Sugar was used everywhere, as was lard for baking and cooking. Muesli was plentiful, it was called cattle feed.

Seat belts were installed only in airplanes. Nearly every man and many women smoked cigarettes constantly. At recess, every Monday morning, us high school guys would tell funny stories of our dads, uncles or neighbours driving drunk over the weekend. Comics on the Saturday night radio shows always had some drunk-driving jokes.

A visit to the principal’s office to “get the strap” was a serious matter for troublemakers like those who chewed gum in class. That heavy leather strap caused a good deal of pain on the open hand. The “Three R’s” song about “Reading and ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic, taught to the tune of a hickory stick,” was all too true. That hickory stick was not just for pointing out things on a map!

In the 1950s, and before, evangelical Christians in Western Canada did not smoke, drink alcohol, enter beer parlours, attend dances, play billiards, or go to movies. Hollywood was typified as Sin City where actors were forced to passionately kiss persons they were not married to. And it was general knowledge that any young woman wanting to succeed as a movie actress would need to “give herself” to the men who could advance her career.

A good deal has changed since those “good old days”. What was “par for the course” back then gradually became no longer acceptable.

Fortunately, police cannot retroactively ticket every 1950s driver who was not wearing a seat belt. People suffering heart attacks do not sue their mothers for using lard to make those fabulous pie crusts. Red Deer police will not be charged with negligence for letting a teenager walk into a bank carrying a shotgun.

Cultures tend to change from one decade to the next. In the late 1960’s seatbelt use became law. In the 1980s Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) changed the culture about driving drunk from a joke to a criminal offense. In the 1990s laws were passed to keep all firearms out of sight and locked securely when not in use. Smoking is generally seen as an unhealthy habit and non-smokers feel sorry for those still addicted to tobacco.

Lately we have noticed some changes even in the entertainment and business communities. Now movie actresses and women in business, insist they should not need to “give themselves” to the men who have the power to advance their careers.
There are not yet any laws against this practice, but it does seem as if a little bit of Christian morality is finally seeping into the entertainment and business culture.

As a Christian I’m happy to see this.