2060 - The End? June 19, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Church, Powerful Passages , add a commentThis week, a letter from Sir Isaac Newton has gone on show in Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, where Newton uses the Bible’s Book of Daniel to calculate the date for the Apocalypse. He believed the Apocalypse would come in 2060 – exactly 1,260 years after the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire, according to the recently published letter.
The note reveals a deeply spiritual side to a man more usually regarded as a strict rationalist. Newton, known as the founder of modern physics, secured a royal exemption from ordination in the Church of England – something normally expected of academics in his day – so he would not have to follow its teachings.
But he confidently stated in the letter that the Bible proved the world would end in 2060, adding: “It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner.” He got at least one other thing right – in another document, he interpreted biblical prophecies to mean that the Jews would return to the Holy Land before the world ended.
Newton, who died 280 years ago, wrote that the end of days would see “the ruin of the wicked nations, the end of weeping and of all troubles, the return of the Jews (from) captivity and their setting up a flourishing and everlasting Kingdom”. Yemima Ben-Menahem, one of the curators of the exhibition, said: “These documents show a scientist guided by religious fervour, by a desire to see God’s actions in the world.”
God Tour May 18, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI will be out of touch for most of the next few days as I go to visit Park friends in East Asia and China with group from our church. God is doing powerful things in East Asia — I can’t wait to hear about some of those things. Check out World Magazine’s article last year here, which talks about the faith transformation of many CEOs and the impact they have made on their companies. Here is a Feb 2006 about Christianity Comes to China’s Cities.
God Wins! May 4, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Church, Powerful Passages , add a commentIn our couples Bible study we are reading Revelation, and some times it is confusing, sometimes it doesn’t make sense, and sometimes it is a little scary! But Rick, one of the guys in the group, came across this devotion from Our Daily Bread. It reminds us of the ultimate truth — God Wins! With all our busy-ness, and all of the distractions that get in the way of us of pursuing Christ, we must remind ourselves that in the end, God is victorious and Jesus can be seen in his victorious light from Revelation 19:
11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
(Our Daily Bread) Walking through campus one day, a seminary professor came upon a custodian reading the Bible during lunch hour. The professor asked what he was reading. “Revelation,” the custodian said. “I’m sure you don’t understand what it means,” said the professor condescendingly. “Actually, I do,” he replied. “It means Jesus wins.”
In the face of life’s challenges, it’s important to remember that ultimately God always wins! And since His plans are always in the victory lane, it’s infinitely wiser to converge with His will rather than compete with it. (more…)
Merry Christmas and “Mele Kalikimaka” December 25, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI am wishing you all a merry Christmas and Mele Kalikimaka from the warm climate of Maui, where, due the extreme generosity of my parents, we find ourselves this Christmas day (I guess someone has to be here, right?). With all of the buildup this holiday season (I noticed this year that all of the holiday decorations came into the stores on Nov 1, just after Halloween – can you believe it?), we finally reach the day — Christmas Day — that allows us to slow down, and reflect on what Christmas really is. As we saw again this year, in the debate over the propriety of Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays in the stores, the real meaning of Christmas seems to have been lost. The Christmas story is at its heart a revolutionary one for all Christians — that the God of the universe became part of human history through His Son in the person of Jesus, born to Mary and Joseph in an animal manger in Bethlehem in a world in upheaval.
The message that Jesus brought is also revolutionary at heart — a message of forgiveness, of healing and of hope. The Christmas miracle and its message is one that has unfolded for the past two millennia and will continue to unfold throughout the history of the human race. Today as we find ourselves knee-deep in torn Christmas wrappings, new toys and new gifts, the sumptuous feasts, and the warmth of the joy we share with family and friends, we should take time to reflect on the story of Jesus coming down to earth and its meaning for our world, still in upheaval. As we move towards the New Year, are you willing to invest a couple of hours to learn more about who this Jesus really is? If you do, you will receive the real gift of this season.
From all of our family, have a blessed and Merry Christmas.
The Power of a Short Term Missions Trip October 26, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI love to read stories of how a short term mission trip causes life change for the people on that trip. Read this story about how a weekend mission trip to Honduras sponsored by his church in Bedford Hills in 2002 opened Brock Barrett’s eyes to a new way of reaching out to the needy.
Barrett, founder of Air Calvary, a Mount Kisco-based Christian mission aviation charity, is now building a full-time air ambulance program for the central African country of Gabon. Although his 2002 trip with seven other parishioners from the Bedford Community Church only included “light construction work” to help build a reservoir, he met a doctor at a local missionary hospital who alerted him to a great need for an air ambulance program in the region. But he was hooked. On his return, he founded Air Calvary to assist Christian missionaries with their work in remote areas.
This is the kind of exposure trip that helps us to see the needs in a community so different that our own urban situation. Back when I first started attending Park Community Church in the early 90’s, Park started a twice-annual trip called Vacation With A Purpose that still goes to today. This trip would take a group of people, generally people who had been regular attenders and were ready for a different kind of vacation.
In our case, we were led by an excellent ST missions director at Park, Mary Coleman (Mary Mayo now), to an orphanage about 200 miles south of San Diego run by a Christian non-profit called Foundation For His Ministry. We spent a week seeing God at work in the lives of missionaries, as well as migrant workers as we went into the migrant worker camps each day to help the children.
The stories of life change were awesome as people got out of the city routine, got a chance to let down the walls and share how this sort of trip was impacting them, and a chance to see people who had nothing (workers) worshiping God and thanking Him for all His blessings. It is a powerful week and usually ends up with some people making a change in their life.
