(This blog was written last week but only now do we have the internet connection to post it…)
Bible Quiz: Each week this blog will begin with two questions. The answers are at the end of the blog. Have fun!!
According To the Bible… 1. Peter was crucified upside down. 2. James was called “camel knees” because of his prayer life. 3. Thomas took the gospel to India.
Dear Prayer Warriors,
As I sit in a Boeing 747 at about 30,000 feet, flying over the Sahara Desert on my way to minister the gospel in Zambia, I thought I would redeem the time by writing a blog. I will choose the format of answering four popular questions that I have been asked about this trip.
1. “What is a typical day in the life of GCI as you prepare to head out of country again?”
Generally I am up at 6 o'clock in the morning. I have set the coffee pot to turn on automatically the night before. I slip out of bed, put a slice of toast in the toaster, fire up my laptop, get out my Bible and prayer notebook and spend about an hour to an hour-and-a-half with the Lord. About 7:30 a.m. I fix El a cup of coffee and toast and take it to her, gently wake her and let her have toast and coffee in bed. She will use this time for prayer and daily Bible reading. We then have breakfast together about 8 a.m.
At breakfast we get out our countdown sheet. This is a twenty-page list on which we begin working one month before departing for the mission field. We discuss our responsibilities for the day - who will do what - as well as other duties not associated with the mission trip that must be done. Then we do our morning exercises which are covered in the next question.
Both Eleanor and I want to see the children and grandchildren as well as carry on personal ministries of evangelism and discipleship while in the United States. Our ministry appointments generally take place in the evening or mid-day. We use weekends to visit our out-of-town children but even our in-town children like us to set aside a Sunday to go to church with them.
At dinner we reassess our day and then try to do some leisure activity together at night. Talk, play a game, read, walk in a mall or something else done together. Once a week, we have a “Date Night” where we get dressed up and go out on the town, so-to-speak. These date nights have been a long-standing tradition with us. We try to have a “working lunch” on Thursday where we bring the calendar, budget and business items to discuss. This frees us to have a romantic date on Thursday, Friday or Saturday night. The last thing we do at night is spend some time thanking God. Early in our marriage we realized that we were bombarded with negativity from mass media. One of the ways we combat this is to make sure the last thing the Lord hears from us each night is how thankful we are for all that He had done for us that day.
2. “How do you prepare physically as well as spiritually?”
Asking about physical preparation is a good question. Lifting and moving twelve 70lb. boxes of Bibles and Bible study aids through airports, customs and transit areas of third-world airports was, I have to admit, easier at age 45 than it is now at 61. We do a couple of things. It has been our practice to walk together at least 4 times a week (our goal is five). We noticed, though, that weather – heat, storms or cold - was cutting into this time as we matured. We therefore invested in an elliptical exercise machine and a recumbent bike. El and I work out for about 45 minutes, five days a week on these machines. Then I do some light weightlifting where I keep the muscles necessary to handle those boxes up to snuff and El does some stretching and strengthening exercises. Most of our ministry takes place in time zones 9-12 hours different than our own. Physical and mental stamina is very important, especially when you add into the equation the very different cultural, climatic, dietary and physical conditions that accompany these time changes.
As far as spiritual preparation, we do Bible studies to teach on specific topics, as requested by our hosts. The best preparation, though, is a daily walk with God which includes Bible reading, Scripture memory and review, meditation and prayer. I devote about 1.5-2 hours to this each morning, as I mentioned above.
3. “Two months ago you were ministering on the family and marriage in Russia; now you are doing the same in Zambia - two very different countries and cultures. How does the message of godly parenting/marriage remain constant and how do the applications change as you traverse the globe?”
One of the great things about teaching the Bible is that you do not have to make it “relevant.” One of the unchanging spiritual attributes of the Word of God is that it is transcendent – it transcends time, space and culture. That means the same passages that thrilled the audiences of the missionary Paul as he preached in the amphitheaters or river beds of first century Israel, Turkey, Greece and Italy are equally thrilling to audiences in the 21st century - whether in Africa, Russia, Asia or Europe. Applications, however, are a different matter, and this difference remains a constant challenge as we seek to present couples and parents with the practical “how to's” of our seminars. Suggesting a date night of walking in a mall and eating at the food court is not much help if there are no malls in your city. There are immediate applications to all principles in the Word of God - we just have to stay on our toes in terms of the culture, the economy and the practical aspects of the country within which we minister.
This is where you, our prayer warriors, come in. Your prayers keep us strong. Your prayers build us up spiritually. Your prayers prod our thinking and grant us grace to minister throughout the world. It is our strong conviction that without your faith and your prayers this ministry would not be possible.
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon Director – Grace Community Int. Lusaka, Zambia
Answers to this week’s Bible Quiz 1, 2, & 3. False - One of the great disappointments to me in biblical scholarship is the willingness for writers to include apocryphal mythologies in their otherwise excellent biblical research. One of the hardest things for a Bible teacher to say is this: “The Bible does not say.” This is the correct answer to almost all questions concerning the lives, ministry and deaths of the twelve disciples. This does not bother God the Holy Spirit. He clearly teaches in Deuteronomy 29:29 that "the secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” Not only is the Bible silent in this area, but there are no primary source documents dealing with the death of Peter, the prayer life of James, the missionary work of Thomas in India or most of the other myths which are touted as truth. Most books and sermon series on the “Lives of the Disciples” are taught in direct contradiction to the exhortation of God the Holy Spirit. Consider His warnings in these passages:
- "nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith" (1 Timothy 1:4)
- "and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" (2 Timothy 4:4)
- "not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth" (Titus 1:14)
- "But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7)
Let me encourage you in this area. When teaching the Bible, stick to the Bible. When listening to others teach the Bible, ask yourself and them, “Book, chapter, verse please…” and when statements are made which are not found in the Bible, ask yourself, “By what authority is this teacher instructing as biblical doctrine, things not found in the Bible?” Now ask yourself – “What other things about the Bible do I believe which are, in reality, false?” Again, from now on when something is taught about the Bible your first questions will be – “Which book, chapter and verse establish this?”
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