Two Tires!

Yesterday, my family I and headed out for literacy class and mid-week service. It ended up being a pretty eventful trip, but none the less normal for PNG. We had to leave a little early as this was the first day of the literacy course for the Christians at Bible Baptist. Many of those who have trusted Christ can not read or write. This is one reason why spiritual growth is some what impeded. They need to be able to read the Bible for themselves. (This is the second time we are going through a literacy course.) However, we would never make it to church for the class or services. As we left, the weather was not good. It had been raining for almost one full day, and I knew the rivers would be high. During rains like this the rivers can become impassable. Two of the rivers have no bridge at all and I have to drive right through the river. I was not to the river yet, and was asking the Lord if we should just turn around and go back. About that time, a tire went flat. I pulled over and as I got out I noticed it was not one tire that was flat, but two tires! Both my back tires took nails. (Many of the youth put old nails in the road as a form of entertainment. I really need to introduce a baseball and glove to the young people!) Now I had a problem, I only have one spare tire and I am 10 kilometers from home and it is pouring rain. As Daniel and I were assessing the situation (by the way this day was Daniel's sixteenth birthday) the villagers began to come over. I was in a village called Namarodu. They all knew I was the missionary and wanted to help if they could. One of the ladies there was a lady whom I had witnessed to a few years ago. I met her and her husband in the haus sik. They were their with there baby who had malaria. I prayed with them and gave the gospel. Daniel and I decided to change the "worst tire." The Lord allowed for one tire to have a little air remaining. I had a gauge with me, and there was not enough air in it to move the gauge, but the rim was not on the ground. Since the rim was not on the ground, that was the better tire.We changed the one tire, and headed back. Daniel and I were soaked and muddy. I prayed the Lord will allow us to make it back. We took it easy, and the bad tire held all the way home. I was amazed. I did no damage to the tire or rim either. The Lord allowed us to return without having to walk back in the rain. The rain still has not stopped and that was 24 hours ago. I was able to get the two tires repaired at one of our “tire shops.” Getting a tire repaired here is an adventure in itself, as there is no real equipment to do it, but they fix tires everyday.

The Lord is good and we rejoice in his care and protection over us. I think the Lord was making sure I did not try and cross any of the rivers!!

Tsunami

We had a Tsunami hit us this past Tuesday night. It was a series of three waves that hit back to back. By my estimations each wave was around 35 miles long, with a possible fourth wave about half that size. I live in a place called Namatanai. My house is less than a quarter of a mile from the ocean, but we are on top of a hill. The village next us had several houses destroyed. These are bush houses so it does not take much. The village where I started the church was hit hard, and had three houses taken into the ocean. The church sits close to the ocean as well and the ocean did come into the church but only a few feet. Had the ocean went another 30 feet inside it would have carried our pews away. The picture, to the left, shows how close our church is to the ocean. The picture was taken three years ago when I had several men from my home church come and help build a church house. Our church house was not damaged but our church ground was changed. Parts of the ground are no longer there! The ocean swept it away! Where I used to baptize, it is now nothing but sand. It was chest deep water!

There has only been one death reported from the three waves. A small child was taken out to sea. There were other children who needed to be rescued though. Some lost their live stock, pigs. The tsunami was very small compared to the major one that hit our neighbor Indonesia two years ago, but it was still destructive. It was a reminder to the people on the island how fast life can end. I preached in a village Friday night called Wilo, where I started a mission work. There were two who made professions of faith. This village was not hit by the Tsunami, but they were only a few miles away from where the tsunami had hit.

Praise the Lord for his protection. When you live on a small island that is only a mile or two wide in most parts, you often think about tsunamis. For the Christian, though, we know that God is in control, and that nothing happens to us without his permission. Romans 8:28.

Update On "Truck Trouble."

Back On January 8th, I blogged about "Truck Trouble." My truck is still out, awaiting a new head! However, several of my supporting churches sent funds to help me purchase another vehicle. Without the Lord using them, I would not have been able to get another vehicle. I wanted to say thank you to them and to those who prayed that the Lord would help us. The picture is of the 1993 Land Cruiser we were able to purchase. Here is a list of the churches that sent funds to help us.





Independent Baptist Church of Anchorage AK (My home/sending church)
Bible Baptist Church - Fairbanks, AK
Pilgrims Baptist Church - Wasilla, AK
Homer Independent Baptist Church - Homer, AK
Valley Baptist Tabernacle - Wasillia AK
Landmark Baptist Church - Lineville, Alabama
South Side Baptist Church - Tampa, Florida
Harvest Baptist Church - Hagerstown, MD
Faith Baptist - Misawa, Japan
Immanuel Baptist Church - Kenai, AK
Grace Bible Baptist - Leesburg, Florida

Now that the Lord has blessed us with another vehicle, the ministry is back to full throttle. During the time we had no vehicle, I was only able to preach on Sunday's. (On Sundays, I would hire a vehicle from a trade store owner.) All other ministries had stopped. (Discipleship, Bible Institute, mid week, village visitation, etc...) During that time we were praying the Lord would supply us the funds for another vehicle, and, after talking with my Pastor, I sent out a prayer letter about our situation to our supporting churches. The Lord met our need in an amazing way! My family and I were amazed at the funds the Lord provided. I knew we needed around $18,000 to find a decent used 4x4. Vehicles here are very expensive. We were praying for $18,000 and a little over $18,000 came in!

With this new vehicle, my family we will have seats now as as well! That was not the case with my truck.

Nakedness and the Bible

(I have been doing a lot of traveling on the island as of late, so it has prevented me from posting. I hope to be back on track now.)

I was asked in the comment section on my last post about nakedness and the Bible. I have also been asked the same question, about my post, from another person as well. Here is a short answer to that question, but none the less, an answer that gives Bible truth to the question of nakedness and sin.

Gen 3:7, 21

Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.


In verse 7, because of sin, Adam and Eve knew they were naked for the first time. They felt shame. Adam made an “apron” out of fig leaves. From the word apron we know Adam only covered the groin area. (The word means “loin covering.”) It was not enough though. In verse 21 God makes a “coat” out of animal skin. Death has entered the world. An animal had to die to cover their shame. Notice it was a “coat” God made. The Hebrew word implies robe/long garment. God covered their nakedness. He did not cover their nakedness with just a loin cloth, but with a “coat,” or long garment. God has set the standard here for us to follow. (First mention principle) God covered Adam and Eve with clothes. We, too, need to be covered with clothes. Allowing others to see your nakedness is sin, except for your spouse.

Lev 18 is a good chapter for seeing we are not to look upon each others nakedness.

Some think nakedness is just the groin area. That is not true Biblically as we seen in Gen 3. A coat covered much more than the groin area. When we compare Gen 3 with Ex 28:42, we see we need to be covered from our chest area to at least our knees. Our thighs need to be covered. This is true of both male and female.

Many times nakedness in the bible is associated with sin rebellion, shame, peril. One verse to see this is EX 32:25

Do a study on nakedness in the Bible, not in light of American culture, but solely based on what you read in the Bible. I believe many Christians will be surprised!

Cultural Differences

(This post I originally wrote in response to a question on how to handle cultural differences. The person asking wanted to know how a missionary determines what is right or wrong in a culture and how does one go about changing something that is not right within the culture. I thought it would make a good post here.)

I am in a missionary working in a jungle village on a small island in the south Pacific. The culture here is incredibly different then what I am used to as an American. When I first arrived the culture shock was incredible and almost paralyzing.

After some time, I began my first church plant. When preaching and teaching on Sundays, I would have some women with no tops on. These women were usually breast feeding mothers who did not cover up after feeding their children. The children here breast feed until two to three years old. The children would be running around while I was teaching, and then run to their mother to feed. I am in a culture where fornication is rampant and expected. Most youths have lost their virginity by fourteen, especially if they’re female. Rape is against the law, but none the less it too is a cultural norm. A wife is almost property here and husbands beating their wives is common. Having more than one wife is also common. All of these items are clearly against Scripture. (Not the breast feeding of course, but the nudity, which occurred in between feeding the children.)

Now, my primary mission was not to end the nudity, remove the fornication, or stop the rape and wife beatings. My primary mission is to preach the gospel and as a result establish local churches. However, if a true church is established those things will change. The more who truly trust Christ, the more the local culture is affected and changed.

Let’s remember as Christians, in any part of the world, we will be different. We will be strangers and pilgrims on this earth. The people should begin to reflect the culture of heaven instead of the culture where they physically live. The missionary does not change the culture, but the Holy Spirit does as He changes lives. It is not up to the local people to decide what is culturally right or wrong either, it is up to God and His Word. Based on the authority of God’s Word, not my own authority, I teach against the unscriptural practices. There is something wrong in any part of the world where people make professions and yet there is no change.

“If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The Lord

As a missionary my focus is not on what part of the culture is wrong, but on drawing the people closer to a holy and righteous God. As a result, a new culture is formed in the church. This is not a western or village culture, but a heavenly one!

How is Your Vision of God?

Isaiah had seen the Lord as he never had before in Isaiah chapter six. The event forever changed his life. He saw the Lord “high and lifted up.” He saw a holy God with amazing strength. He saw the true “King” and “Lord.”

Today, many see God wearing a Hawaiian shirt and wearing flip flops, as one popular preacher described him in a book. They see the “man upstairs,” or their “buddy.” How we view God is very important, because it is directly tied to how we serve God. Yes that’s right; your view of God does determine how you will serve God. The devil has done a good job at painting a distorted picture of God, and it has affected Christianity today.

So, how do we get a proper view of God? Has God revealed himself to us? Yes he has! First through creation and second through His Word. In creation we see an all powerful God, who is remarkable. In His Word, we see a special revelation of God. We learn of his attributes. We see how He works, and what He desires. We see, first, a holy God. A just God; a perfect God, a righteous God. We also see a God full of mercy, love and grace.

As we get a clearer picture of God through His Word, this affects how we serve Him. You see in His Word, God is not my buddy or the man upstairs. He is not sitting down on a beach some where in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts. He is HIGH and LIFTED UP! He is holy! As you get closer to the Lord you realize, as Isaiah did, that you are “undone.” That you are a wretched sinner in need of grace and cleansing. The closer you get to God the more you realize how far from being like God you really are. The devil paints the opposite picture: one in which leaves off the holiness of God. The holiness of God is what drives me to try and be holy. Did the Lord not say, “Be ye holy for I am holy”?

This in turns affects our standards such as dress, music, social standards, and others. Our music is less holy, because we do not see the Lord as we should. The same applies to the other standards as well. Too often, standards in fundamentalism are solely based on what the preacher says and not a vision of God. When this happens people simply conform to where they are. This is why you see some people change their standards when they move to a new location and change churches. Their standards were not based on their view of God, but on the preacher. In other cases, their standards ARE their god. It is here where they judge their spirituality. This, too, is because they lack a clear picture of God.

How do you view God? Your view God will affect how you serve Him! I, for one, am sick and tired of the irreverent views of God portrayed today. Is it any wonder why sin is so rampant today! The media portrays Him as a God who makes homosexuals; as a God who if exist has no absolute standard for man. Religion paints him as a God of no judgment; a God where there is no personal accountability. Most people only know of God through what they have seen in Hollywood or liberal “churches.”

I suggest we dive into His Word and learn of Him! It will forever change your life!

Books I am Reading

Here is a list of books I am currently reading or have just recently finished:

The All Sufficient Christ, studies in Colossians by Theodore Epp.
Flyboys, Non-fiction about WWII flyers
Becoming A First Century Church, Clarence Sexton
Teaching to Change lives/Seven ways to make teaching come alive, Howard Hendricks
Deadline, fiction Randy Alcorn