What's Wrong With This Picture?

Is it the lack of a seat belt? Is it the fact that a two year old is behind the wheel? Is it the fact that the two year old isn't wearing a seat belt either? Could it be the fact that there is a camcorder in my hand so I can film while driving? What's the deal???

OK, here's the scoop. While driving five miles per hour at Lion Country Safari, I allowed Jesse to sit in my lap and Mommy took this incriminating photo. I just wanted him to get a closer view of the wild animals we passed within feet of our van, for instance the lions, rhinos...oh wait...that makes it even worse!

On a side note, Jesse was way more interested in the steering wheel than he was the zebras we'd just passed!

"The Agony of Washing Feet"

Here is my message from July 20 on John 13:1-17. It will be available online for about one month.

The Legacy of William Carey

When William Carey served as a missionary to India, one of his chief aims was to translate the Word of God into the many dialects spoken in that vast land. He operated a printing press for this purpose and the amount of translated material was tremendous. On March 11, 1812, a fire ravaged the hall where production was taking place. Ten Bible translations perished entirely. Priceless dictionaries, along with fourteen fonts of oriental type, Hebrew, Greek and English type, steel punches, grammar texts and paper were gone. Years of work and thousands of dollars went up in flames. When Carey arrived at the scene, here's what he said.

"In one short evening, the labors of years are consumed. How unsearchable are the ways of God...The Lord has laid me low, that I may look more simply to Him."

Why would God allow a fire to destroy Bible translations that were essential to so many people being able to read the Word of God for the very first time? After all, Carey left his homeland, experienced rejection and suffered terrible hardships as a missionary. Is this how God rewards him? I'm sure Carey asked himself that very question. One thing he did not do, however, was give up. Carey committed himself to an even better press and more scholarly translations.

As it would turn out, God used this fire to make their missions work in India famous around the world. So many contributions came in that one fellow laborer said, "Stop sending contributions!" Within only two months, the first pages of select portions of the New Testament were being shipped to the churches. Carey eventually confessed, "We found on making the trail that the advantages of going over the same ground a second time were so great that they fully counter-balanced the time requisite to be devoted thereto in a second translation. The fire, the cause of which was never discovered...had given birth to revised editions."

Another result of the fire was that God called two new missionaries to join Carey in the work, including what was perhaps the first ever missionary nurse. All of this only goes to show that God is sovereign, and even when we cannot understand His actions, we can trust that we will understand it by and by.

Not Shocking?

The Federal Communications Commission was dealt a blow today when an appeals court decided that it was wrong to fine CBS corporation for its 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Yep, the infamous one in which Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's shirt moments after singing "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song." I remember the game, but not the "moment." I was already so offended by the lyrics and choreography of the halftime show that year that I had turned off the TV, so I never saw it. The court stated that the FCC was wrong to fine CBS because the FCC may only issue fines in cases so "pervasive as to amount to 'shock treatment' for the audience" Not shocking? A sports game displaying nudity that is watched by children is not shocking?

Our courts have ruled that we cannot issue fines for nudity on shows in which children are an expected part of the audience. Tim Winter, of the Parents Television Council, said it best: "If a striptease during the Super Bowl in front of 90 million people— including millions of children—doesn’t fit the parameters of broadcast indecency, then what does?" Those who care about decency must surely fear where this will lead and whether or not the time will come when no Christian who is serious about holiness can have a TV in their home. Until then, Christians need to take control over what enters their home and what reaches their children.

Hard Facts About a Hard Heart

Here is the message I preached July 13 during the AM services at FBCH. It is based upon John 12:37-50. It will be availale online for about one month.

The Real Story About Josh Hamilton

While everyone was talking about Josh Hamilton's record setting Home Run Derby performance Monday night, here's a story that gets the record straight about the real difference in his life...Jesus Christ.

Cousins!

While on vacation, we got to see some of our cousins, both on Joy's side and my side of the family? So, it's pretty obvious which is the crazy side, right?

Above: Brenda, Jesse and Rachel with Joy's cousins in Greenville, South Carolina. Right: Brenda and Jesse with my cousins in Keystone Heights, Florida. Click on photo for larger view.