Evangelist Drowns

Pastor Franck Kabele reportedly drowned off the western coast of Africa after telling his congregation that he could walk on water just as Jesus did. He went so far as to tell his church people that he had a revelation that if he had enough faith he could repeat the miracle.

Pastor Franck then walked into the water from the beach. The water eventually went over his head and he never came back.

Always be careful of those "revelations"--they might not be what you think they are. That is why we must always go back to the Scriptures to verify what we hear and feel. Emotions and suppositions should always take a backseat to God's revealed will for mankind.

With that in mind, why would God (or whomever) reveal to Pastor Franck that he could replicate the act of Jesus? The point of that miracle was to demonstrate the deity of Jesus (notice when Jesus gets in the boat the disciples worship Jesus saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."). Why would God want to demonstrate the deity of Pastor Franck when he is simply a created being?

Home Again...For Now

Many thanks to all of you who have been praying for our family! We know that it is only by the manifold grace of our God that we have been sustained the last couple of weeks. We are home again, but another trip to Montana will be here soon.

My dad is doing fairly well. It is hard to say anymore than that, though. How well can someone be doing when he has had two brain surgeries in the last three months? Dad is doing better mentally than physically, but both are below par (and yet significantly better than before the surgery). Improvement is daily, but slow.

It is hard to know what will happen now. Portions of the tumor still remain, so regrowth is certain. There are few, if any, possibilities for treatment remaining. Humanly speaking my dad only has a few months to live. We still believe that our great God can intervene miraculously if that is His will, and we are still praying for that.

Now we are just trying to live day by day in His care. Isn't it wonderful that He is the anchor of our soul and our constant refuge?

Out of ICU, Home Tomorrow?

Things are going okay here. Jason's dad was moved from ICU to a regular room on Monday night about 7:00. He hadn't slept much on Sunday night, so he really wasn't feeling very well. Tuesday was better, because he'd had more sleep, but there was a lot of swelling on one side of his face. One eye was swollen shut all of Monday. As of today, Wednesday, the swelling is greatly decreased, and he's able to see again out of that eye. He's having physical and occupational therapy, making sure that he is stable enough on his feet to avoid falls at home. He was up and dressed in street clothes by 4:30 this morning, and he performed beautifully for the therapists today. Jason took him on a walk this afternoon, and he did really well. If things continue to progress, he may go home on Thursday.

His sister, whom he has not seen in years (since our wedding), flew in to surprise him today. We are so glad she came, and Jason's grandparents were especially excited to see her. It was a great surprise for Lynn.

Thanks again for your prayers for us. This is a tiring routine, but it is good to be together. We're so glad the Lord allowed that to happen.

Thank You for Your Prayers

Hello from Montana!

We're at the end of a very long Sunday. Jason's dad had brain surgery this morning to remove a cyst that was creating pressure on his brain. This surgery was a risky one, with sudden death during surgery, mistaking radiated normal brain tissue for cancerous brain tissue, and bacterial meningitis as very real possibilities. The decision was made to move ahead with the surgery, because without it, he would not have survived much longer. We started our day at 7:00 assembled in his hospital room with both sets of Jason's grandparents, his stepbrother and stepsister-in-law, a couple who are good friends of his parents, and us. Jason's granddad led us in prayer, Jason read some scripture, and we sang some hymns together. It was a sweet time. Lynn finally went into surgery at 9:30 MST, at little later than expected.

The doctor believed he saw a cyst on the MRI, but when the surgeon saw the mass during the surgery today, he determined that it was not really much of a cyst at all. It was instead portions of the tumor that had died, having exhausted the blood supply to those portions. Those were removed, as was any tumor that the doctor could see. Lynn's survival of the five hour surgery and the removal of the source of the pressure on his brain was a wonderful blessing and answer to prayer. The six hours he was away from us were difficult, and there was obvious relief among us when we finally knew that the surgery was over and he seemed to be okay.

The sad news that we have is that the chemotherapy and radiation have had no impact on his cancer. He is in the twenty percent of cases of this type of cancer that does not respond to the treatment at all. The doctor gives him six months at the most, but we are preparing ourselves for less than that, based on the experience of the last three months.

He is currently in ICU, and he was very groggy when we left for supper this evening. We plan to go back to the hospital in a little while to see him again. We are so tired--it was a very short night, and many of us slept very little. The day was emotionally exhausting, and we are ready to crash. (Jason's actually sleeping beside me in the car as I write to you.) We will be in Montana for at least another week. We will update again as we can, although it may not be often. (Our dial-up connection isn't working.) If you think to pray for us, pray specifically that his body resists infection. He is still at risk for bacterial meningitis, which would be fatal.

We understand that a significant portion of adult Sunday School was spent in prayer for us this morning. Thank you so much for that ministry to us--we know God used your prayers to hold us up on this difficult day. We love you, and we thank God for each of you.

Allison

Update

I will not be posting very consistently, if at all, in the next couple of weeks. We are leaving in the morning to fly to Montana. My dad has developed a cyst in the brain that is causing the same kind of symptoms as did the tumor. If something is not done, he may not survive long. Please pray for us as we seek His will for the next few days.

In His hands....

The Angels are Rejoicing...

because another child has come home. Who knew that God could use Culvers to bring someone to Himself? Give praise to Him, will you?




P.S. If you know of whom I speak, please let them tell, would you? They have some specific people at church they would like to tell.

Welcome to Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin officials are being warned their refusal to recognize Christian student groups is illegal.

In recent weeks, the University of Wisconsin-Superior has denied recognition of the school's InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison has derecognized the Knights of Columbus.

The officials allege the groups violate school's "anti-discrimination policy" by not allowing non-Christians to serve in leadership positions, according to the Arizona-based public-interest legal group Alliance Defense Fund, which notes non-recognized groups are denied access to campus facilities and student funding.

"The University of Wisconsin has decided to force campus student organizations to violate their core beliefs, even in the face of controlling federal case law that bars them from doing so," French said.

The ADF is working on this situation.

Missing the Point

Brian McClaren, co-author of Missing the Point, has some company. The Rev. Ian Gregory, a retired congregational minister from the UK says that he missed the point in his twenty years of ministry. He is now working on a new project that he calls, "Christianity without religion."

What does that mean? Apparently it means chatting about "anything that makes you feel good" and a "laughter room" because "laughter is as important as prayer." I'm simply not surprised that Mr. Gregory tells people who are bored with church not to go!

"People are fed up with religion. The bar-room talk is that it causes too much trouble in the world. But people are intrigued by spirituality and by figures such as Jesus and Buddha."

The traditional Sunday morning service will be replaced by "coffee and laughter" - videos of classic comedy films during which people will be able to come and go or read the Sunday papers over tea and toast.

While the Church of England is going hay-wire trying to keep its pews filled, this is a little extreme. "The Rev Mark Ireland, the Church of England Missioner for the Diocese of Litchfield, wondered whether Mr Gregory's church was proclaiming the "good news of Jesus Christ" in what he was doing."

I'm with him.

Dr. Dino

Many Christians are familiar with Kent Hovind (a.k.a. "Dr. Dino"), the evangelical creationist. He has developed a DVD teaching series, as well as books, maps, charts, etc., detailing creation from a biblical perspective. Apparently, Mr. Hovind is quite popular worldwide. In fact, he is scheduled to visit 26 cities in Africa for debates.

Oh...make that was scheduled. It appears that Mr. Hovind got stuck in Genesis and failed to make it to 1 Peter 2:1: "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good." A federal judge has called Dr. Dino a "flight risk" in a case charging him with failing to pay $470,000 in employee taxes. So, no debates for Mr. Hovind, at least outside of the local judicial district.

In the midst of the heat it sometimes helps to think about cool mountain water...



Hmm...I wonder if the River of Life will be like this?

Summer + Theology= ?

My brain feels like it has been working very slowly recently. I don't know if it is the heat or something else. Maybe my occupation and the heat don't go hand-in-hand. At least that's what another blogger says: "Summer is a terrible time to attempt theological thinking. For one, every time you step outside there is the great risk of being preoccupied with the doctrine of hell."

I couldn't help the little chuckle that came when I first read that!

Missions in Action

Mountain paths, bears and flooded rivers couldn't keep Lhaka and Diyali from journeying deep into a remote region of Bhutan to bring the Gospel in a way no one had done it before: film.

Bhutan's population is 72 percent Bhuddist. The less than 1 percent who are Christians face being expelled from the country, losing their citizenship or being persecuted in other ways. GFA Radio has broadcasts in five of Bhutan's 15 languages. But with so many more people still to hear the Gospel, Lhaka and Diyali decided to do something new.

"Seeing the hunger of the Bhutanese for the Gospel," our correspondent wrote, "they made a sacrificial attempt to screen the film on the life of Jesus in some remote villages."

Read the rest of the account here.

Suffering for our Faith

The following is from When God Weeps by Jonie Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes:

Stripped to his waist and forced on his stomach by the authorities, Paul shut his eyes. A pair of sandals shuffled in the dirt behind him. He heard the crowd quiet down, heard the breath taken, the whistle of the leather, and—snap!—felt its bite. The guard found his rhythm and the beating began in earnest. The flogging was characteristically Jewish: thirty-nine applications of a triple lash. Thirty-nine, not forty. Mosaic law permitted up to forty, but better not risk overstepping the bounds.

By the thirtieth blow, Paul’s tongue lagged in the sand. Before his career’s end, he would taste the dust outside of five such synagogues. He would also know scar-opening sessions under the rod of Rome, barely elude assassination, cling to ship’s wreckage in the open sea for a day and a night, mark years in chains, and be left for dead after stoning-by-mob (2 Corinthians 11:24-27).

He could avoid it all. A few disclaimers would do, even just a discreet silence at critical moments. But Paul never could hold things in. His enemies came to hate his endless spewing of quotations, not to mention his formidable intellect. They couldn’t fool Paul. He knew their deeper objection. What his enemies truly loathed was the unseen figure behind every debate and discussion he entered—the one, as the Baptizer put it, whose sandals he wasn’t good enough to untie. It was the memory of this unseen man that kept Paul going. Of course, what always set everyone off was that thing above “three days in the tomb and then…” Hadn’t the Greeks guffawed over that one! A corpse hopping off his stone slab? A stiff traipsing about town? Hah! But what entertained the Greeks incenses the Jews. How dare a mere mortal claim the same rank with the Almighty! Especially a bastard rabbi from the backwoods who polluted the Sabbath with his so-called healings and infested teachings! He was double a fool for having gotten himself crucified!

But Paul had seen this Rabbi. After his burial. Less than a decade afterwards. This Rabbi had appeared to Paul and his caravan on the road to Damascus—enveloped in eye-sizzling glory, speaking from the third heaven, and majestic beyond words. Unquestionably risen from a stone-cold tomb. This incident alone convinced Paul that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the long prophesied Son of God—come to meet death for the sins of the world in order to grasp life again and lavish it on others. Hours later this same risen Christ had appeared in softer tones to a Christian man in Damascus, telling him to find and baptize Paul. The message ended with an announcement: “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15-16).

The proclamation proved true. Paul was destined to spread the fame of Jesus more than the other apostles combined. Yet he suffered intensely in the process.