A touch here a touch there
Good afternoon, everyone! To be completely truthful, I’m including this entry to make sure it works. Stand by for more.
The James ossuary and the media spin
I find it interesting (and I usually get a little annoyed) when I watch the news and hear the interesting spins that they sometimes put on the stories. Take for example the “James ossuary”. I saw a news report on CBC about it the other night. This may be a small one but it’s an excellent example of how a few words can make a difference.
In case you didn’t hear the story, here it is online. It doesn’t contain the same wording as the TV news, although it has it’s own problems. The basic story is of a burial box that was believed to be from the 1st century. The inscription read,”James the brother of Jesus”, and so it was thought that this may be THE James and Jesus of the Gospels.
Recently Israeli experts decided that the inscription was a fake, although there is still a difference of opinion in the scholarly world (a fact which the TV news report stated clearly, although most of the online news does not), and some scholars are still studying it.
Now here’s where the weird wording comes in. The reporter said that this ossuary was an exciting find because it had been believed to be PROOF of the existance of Jesus Christ! Do you get it? Here’s the problem. How in the world is a bone-box that mentions James and Jesus PROOF of the existance of THE Jesus Christ? I’m no expert on names in the first century, but my understanding is that these are not unusual names. It could have been ANY James at all.
The reason the inscription was interesting, as I understand it, was this: knowing the history of Jesus ALREADY, it’s interesting that a burial inscription would identify someone with his brother, and not, for example, his father. In other words, it’s not in any way PROOF of the existance of Jesus Christ, but because we already KNOW that He existed, it’s an interesting find.
And so, as we listen to the rest of this broadcast, this is the impression we’re left with:
We thought that at LONG LAST we had PROOF that Jesus Christ REALLY existed!
But now it looks like it was a fake.
So once again we’re left with no evidence at all that Jesus Christ really existed. Oh well.
Of course they didn’t say that, but that’s the impression we’re left with. Now, come on. As far as I know, the debate is not really around whether or not He actually existed. There is an incredible amount of evidence that He did. The debate is more around what exactly He did and who exactly He was.
Anyway, the ossuary is interesting, and it will be interesting to see what else happens over the next few weeks. But don’t let anyone tell you that the last little scrap of evidence for Jesus’ existance is gone. Oh brother.
Hey – God must be listening to your prayers!
Guess what? Somebody must be praying and God must be listening to your prayers!
I’m mainly referring to my last entry about Hannah, who was having a pretty rough time with her two year molars. Soon after I wrote that, she began feeling a lot better. It’s funny because her molars are still coming in now, a couple of weeks later, but ever since then she’s been in a much better mood. So praise the Lord! What an answer to prayer!
We are home again now; I haven’t written much more about our trip here because soon after we got home I updated our Family News page and prayer requests, so if you’re reading this in the next few days you should still be able to see a summary of our trip (which went very well) there. Thanks so much for your prayers and gifts that made the ministry in Central Saskatchewan possible!
And now, back to the topic of health. 🙂 I myself have been the sickest one for the last couple of weeks; we try to rotate as much as possible. 😉
Seriously though, please do pray for my health, which has been rather frustrating. I’ve been to a doctor 3 times since returning from our trip, and expect at least a couple more visits in the next couple of weeks. I won’t list all the problems I’m having, but let’s just say I’m not feeling the greatest from the waist up!
I have to say that God really has been teaching me throughout this time. I often think of a song (by Twila Paris) about how God teaches us through the “thorns” in our lives. He exposes the selfishness and pride in our lives, and teaches us how to rely on Him. I found the lyrics online, so rather than typing them out, I direct you to click on this link to read the lyrics for yourself. It starts:
Thank you for this thorn, embedded in my flesh
I can feel the mystery – my spirit is made fresh . . .
So praise the Lord for all He can teach us through pain! Do continue to pray for us. For healing, yes. But also for the more important things – humility, love, joy.
Isn’t it interesting that these things in themselves are often taught to us in times of pain, but these things often actually improve our health? I always remember what a friend of mine, Bruce used to say. He said that he didn’t mind a little pain or discomfort now if it helped him avoid something worse later. Simple principle, right? God so often allows hardship in our lives to teach us lessons of character, so that we can avoid a bad spiritual fall in the future. I can only hope and pray that I will be a willing student!
Just one more prayer request
Ah yes! I do have one more prayer request.
Please pray for Hannah! She is getting her 2nd year molars (that’s those big teeth, y’know), and she’s feeling pretty crummy. This is, of course, hard on all of us, but especially on her. She’s been having problems for a few days now, but today has been the worst yet. So please if you’re praying say and extra prayer for her, that she would be feeling better soon. Thanks!
The Hot Hot North!
Hello faithful readers!
Yesterday we returned from our trip to Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan Canada. Now for those of you who don’t know, Buffalo Narrows is about a 6.5 hour drive north of Saskatoon, SK. That makes it over 4000km north of Mexico City. It may not be quite the farthest north we’ll be going in our travels, but it will be the farthest north that we’ll be going in Saskatchewan.
The irony is that there, over 4000km north of Mexico City, it was hotter than Mexico City was during the day. So that just goes to show the inconsistency of the planet’s weather!
Anyway, we always enjoy our visits to Shari’s old home town and always wish we had stayed longer. The people were as warm as the weather and we enjoyed their hospitality and the hospitality of the church, Buffalo Narrows Community Fellowship Church (but you can call it BNCFC).
On Sunday Shari shared with the children in the service, and we taught them how to sing Jesus Loves Me in Spanish (you all know it, don’t you?). I preached on how the apostle Paul evaluated churches.
On Monday night we shared about what the Lord is doing in Mexico during a Bible study. We had the chance to meet new people and spend some time with people who are on our Support Team. It was a very encouraging time!
When we returned to Prince Albert, Shari’s parents were housing some folks who had been evacuated due to a fire, so we stayed at some other friends’ for the night before returning to Wingers, from where I now write. And if this paragraph doesn’t contain some of the most awkward grammar and spelling you’ve ever seen, I’ll eat my semi-colon.
After seeing some more folks here in Prince Albert, we’re on to the more westerly towns of Central Saskatchewan, such as North Battleford and Turtleford. I’ll let you know how things go there!
God has really blessed us, and continues to give us strength and resources for each step. Please continue to pray about the financial situation – we’re cutting it SO close, it’s really a little discouraging at times. Pray that we’ll have the finances we need to complete this trip, but also equally important the money to pay the rent at the beginning of June and buy a few groceries when we return home.
The weather is still nice today, and we’re enjoying a bit of a slower paced afternoon before hitting the road again tomorrow. Hannah’s Grandpa and Grandma Winger were able to take part of the day off, so we’ve been enjoying their company as well! God is good.
Thanks for stopping by! Remember, you can always leave your comments at the end of each entry if you like.
The great salsa race!
I may not be able to check in for a few days, so I thought I’d give a quick hello here. We had a lot of fun last night having an authentic Mexican dinner and then sharing about our ministry with a small group in Prince Albert. Those of you who were there will fondly (I hope) remember the Great Salsa Race!
Tonight is a Mexican Dessert Nite and the salsa race will happen again. People here have been very interested in learning about Mexico and trying new things!
The next few days we’ll be visiting quite a few people in another 3 towns. We’ll be driving up to Buffalo Narrows on Saturday, where we’ll be sharing on Sunday and Tuesday night. Then we’ll be heading a few km back down south to . . . well, it depends. We’ll see!
And guess what? I think I actually got 8 hours of sleep last night! That’s the first time in a couple of weeks. Maybe it’s a sign of great things to come!
Thanks for your prayers!