Insights Magazine: January

January 2011

Light for a Dark World

Biblical Illiteracy 3 What Use is the Bible? 15

in this issue “Asking for what God has already said He desires, is

His guarantee of answered prayer.”

3 Biblical Illiteracy Charles R. Swindoll pressure points

6 Knowing the Wills of God Steve Johnson lifetrac

9 Can Bible Knowledge Be Trivial?

Jeremy Postal 14 moment of insight lifelines

15 What Use is the Bible?

Steve Johnson 16 When Push Comes to Shove Matt Dressler laughing matters

19 Expendable Me Phil Callaway 23 31 Days of Wisdom Ben Lowell

Copyright © 2011 Insight for Living Canada. All rights reserved.

No portion of this monthly publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. Insights is published by IFLC, the Bible teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. IFLC is an autonomous ministry and certified member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture passages are taken from the NASB. Printed in Canada. Unless otherwise noted, photography by IFLC staff.

tree

© istock.com/pancaketom

Illiteracy

Biblical

by Charles R. Swindoll

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D

34. MY NAME IS: a. Tickles b. Chuckles c. Jezebel d. Cuddles

52. Matthew, Mark, ______and John? a. Luke b. Luther c. Leroy d. Lambchop

In the final analysis, biblical ignorance is a personal choice— your choice.

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Biblical Illiteracy continued from p. 3

uring my days serving as a pastor in New England, I heard of a teacher named Thayer S. Warshaw who quizzed a group of college-bound high school students on the Bible. The quiz preceded a Bible as Literature course he planned to teach at the Newton (Massachusetts) High School, generally considered a top public high school in the nation. Among the most astounding findings he got in his replies from the students were: Sodom and Gomorrah were lovers.

Jezebel was Ahab’s donkey.

Some students thought that the four horsemen appeared on the Acropolis, that the New Testament gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luther, and John . . . that Eve was created from an apple and that Jesus was baptized by Moses. Seriously! The answer that took the cake was given by a fellow who was in the top five per cent of the graduating class, academically.

The question: What was Golgotha?

The answer: Golgotha was the name of the giant who slew the Apostle David.

If it were not so pathetic, it would be hilarious. Isn’t it amazing how pitifully illiterate John Q. Public is of the written Word of God? In a land filled with churches and chapels, temples and tabernacles, there are only an insignificant handful of fairly well-informed students of the Book of books. We have Scripture in hardback, paperback, cloth, and leather . . . versions and paraphrases too numerous to count . . . red-letter editions, large-print versions, big as dictionaries and small as microchips . . . yet the years roll by as one generation after another passes on its biblical illiteracy.

Our nation’s technical knowledge and scientific expertise overshadow our grasp of Bible basics to an appalling degree. We are, therefore, moving toward an era similar to the Dark Ages when copies of Scripture were chained to the pulpit in Latin—the private language of the clergy . . . when the public was kept stone ignorant of the life-changing teachings of the truth.

But I see one great difference; in those days, biblical ignorance was forced . . . in our day it is voluntary. Therein lies the saddest fact of all.

Upon whom do we rest the blame? Who deserves

to have the finger of accusation pointed at him or her? Some would say the fault lies with the seminaries of our world. Part of the problem indeed rests there. As we look around our world we can find seminary professors who no longer hold to such foundational truths as the deity of Jesus, His substitutionary death, or His second coming. While this troubles us, we thank God for those seminaries that continue to place their focus in the right place . . . teaching and preaching the whole counsel of God. Others choose to blame the pulpits of our land. Weak preaching can take a terrible toll on a congregation. I’ve said for years that a mist in the pulpit will invariably cause a fog in the pew. Far too many preachers are specializing in longhorn sermons—a point here and a point there with a lot of bull in between. Our preachers must get back to their primary respon-

sibility: to proclaim Scripture to God’s people and point the way to reconciliation with Him. Still others would blame this satanic, pressurized system we call the world— society, with its persuasive pleadings and so-called academic arguments—on “a fanatical, foolish belief in the Bible.”

To embrace its truths, we have been told, is tantamount to committing intellectual suicide. The morticians promoting this lie have nothing to offer in the Bible’s place but the grave . . . a cold hole in the ground.

But in the final analysis, biblical ignorance is a personal choice—your choice. If something is going to be done to plug the dike, it will take your finger to stop the leak . . . and I mean fast.

Photograph of Chuck Swindoll © 2010 by David Edmonson

On The Air: Hope Again: When Life Hurts and Dreams Fade “I shouldn’t be struggling like I am . . . suffering is wrong.” Oh, really? Chuck Swindoll’s practical lessons from the book of First Peter reveal that suffering shouldn’t take a Christian by surprise. Chuck’s classic series redirects our minds away from popular, positive thinking and realigns our hopes to those of One who suffered and yet entrusted Himself to God: Jesus Christ.

Upcoming Messages include:

January 21-25 Hope Beyond Guilt: Becoming Living Stones

January 26-28 Hope Beyond Unfairness: Pressing On Even Though Ripped Off

January 31-Feb 2 Hope Beyond “I Do”: The Give-and-Take of Domestic Harmony February 3-4 Hope Beyond Immaturity: Maturity Checkpoints 5

Pressure Points

Knowing the

Wills of God

by Steve Johnson

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“How can I know God’s will for my life?” is a question many Christians ask.

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t’s a very important issue yet many Christians are unclear about it because, quite simply, we don’t know our Bibles well enough to know what it teaches about the wills (plural) of God. Yes, God has more than one will.

One of the most basic and helpful things in understanding the concept of God’s will is to understand the Bible’s distinction between what we call the moral will of God and the sovereign will of God. The Bible doesn’t use those terms, but the concepts are there.

The moral will of God is what He has revealed in Scripture. It is what He wants and desires of people. It isn’t enforced; we can choose to obey it or not. Here’s an example: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). This says God wills/desires that we be pure. We have a choice to obey it or not but as with all His commands He doesn’t force us to obey.

The sovereign will of God is very different. It is His unrevealed pre-determined plan for everything that happens in the universe. It is known only to Him, cannot be thwarted, will definitely occur, and only becomes known to us after it happens. It encompasses all the good and evil things that happen in the world and in our lives (Daniel 4:35; James 4:13-15).

Although these concepts are different, they are related. To visualize the relationship between the two, visualize two circles, a smaller one inside the larger. The larger outer circle represents the sovereign will of God. There is nothing that happens that is outside that circle. All of history— past, present, and future, is inside that circle. Nothing happens outside the sphere of God’s sovereign will. By definition, God would cease to be God because His sovereignty would be compromised.

The moral will is represented by the smaller circle within the circle of the sovereign will of God. If someone chooses to disobey His commands, that disobedience is outside God’s moral will, but not outside His sovereign will. The best example of this is the death of Christ. His coming was sovereignly determined in eternity past, orchestrated in history, and fulfilled at Calvary. Yet, for it to happen God’s moral will was disobeyed by Christ’s executioners as they murdered an innocent man.

These are the only two ways the Bible refers to the will of God. Although it is a simple distinction, it impacts our Christian beliefs and life in major ways.

For one thing, to understand Scripture referencing the will of God, we need to ask, “Which will is this referring to?” Jesus prays, “Your kingdom come, Your will 7

be done, On earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Which will is He referring to? Since God’s sovereign will is already being carried out, it must refer to God’s moral will. Thus the prayer is that people would obediently do what God desires in the same way as His desires are carried out in heaven.

When Paul says he is “…an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (2 Timothy 1:1), which will is he referring to? This would be the sovereign will, the predetermined plan of God. When Paul tells the believers how to do their work “…as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:6) he’s referring to the moral will of God as revealed in Scripture. It means working according to the characteristics the Bible says we should have as employees.

When someone says, “I think it is God’s will to do such and so,” ask them which will they are talking about. No one except

God knows His secret sovereign will, leaving only the option of God’s moral will.

Since that has been revealed in the Bible, their statement needs to line up with Scripture. Either way, be discerning.

“When you seek to pray according to the will of God, which will are you praying about?”

Finally, when you seek to pray according to the will of God, which will are you praying about? The things God has revealed are things we can ask for confidently knowing that is His moral will too. “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14). Asking for what God has already said He desires, is His guarantee of answered prayer. We may also ask for things God hasn’t expressly revealed in Scripture, but not knowing His plan we must humbly accept His sovereign will.

Knowing the wills of God begins with knowing our Bibles.

Steve Johnson is the communications director at IFLC

This Month’s Gift Scripture for Skillful Christian Living: 40 Verses from Proverbs CD and Card Set Chuck has recorded on CD carefully selected verses to highlight important areas in life that require God’s wisdom.

With corresponding memory cards, you can follow along, seeing the words as your hear them.

Make Scripture memory a priority in 2011 and gain wisdom for everyday life.

(click here to order online)

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Can Bible Knowledge be Trivial?

by Jeremy Postal

On lifetrac.ca and facebook.com/lifetrac this month: Questions without Answers by Robyn Roste

“Moses.”

And I’m right again! But really, of course the answer was Moses. Honestly, who do these people think that I am? I’m 10-yearsold and probably know these stories better than Billy Graham himself, or even Jesus.

Twenty-one years later and, through a fog of insomnia and ego, I attempt an online Bible literacy test. Though, “attempt” is probably the wrong word. I demolish it; perfect score. I try another,100 per cent. And another—the results never vary.

“The more I come to understand the Bible, the more I realize that my Bible trivia is actually quite trivial.”

While being king of Bible Trivia does have its advantages at Bible Trivia nights and in debating theological nitpicks, it hasn’t been all that useful in helping me follow Jesus.

In fact, the more I come to understand the Bible, the more I realize that my Bible trivia is actually quite trivial. Jesus, at a point in His life where the religious trivia champs of His time were plotting to kill Him, answered them with a fierce and pointed statement.

His statement would have shocked His audience and has shaped our reading of Scripture ever since: “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40 NIV) The Bible, written by statesmen and soldiers, peasants and priests, is the culmination of some 1,600 years worth of writing gathered from about 40 different authors and editors. It is an extensive collection inspired

by God and put together by men so that we could know the nature and mission of God. In

it God’s character, attributes, promises, and, ultimately His Son, Jesus Christ are revealed.

An artist friend of mine says when he thinks or reads he sees colours and images.

His mind processes problems and solutions by creating storyboards of pictures strung together like a film running through his head. This, among other things, makes him a slow reader. For him the Bible is full of images and colour. It is a living narrative of background and texture filled with directors’ cuts and commentary.

I, on the other hand, devour stacks of books with startling speed and proficiency. I approach the Bible as literature. I see moving poetry, shocking history, interesting personal letters, disturbing biography, and clever parables.

Despite our very different approaches, both my friend and I are able to see Jesus revealed around every corner and hiding behind every hedge of Scripture.

It is here I think the crux of Bible literacy lays. It is easy to think that to know and follow Jesus one must also know and understand the Bible in the same way and by the same method that the trivia champs do. But in reality, each person is wired to digest and respond to Scripture differently. Not only that, in different seasons of life it is totally natural to bring different questions, biases, and study methods to Scripture.

For example, while my go-to method is academic, the biggest question that I’ve brought to Scripture in the last two years has been, “Is God good?” I understand that He is good, but the sudden and tragic loss of a close family member caused the question to take an emotional life of its own. I know that God is good, but is He really?

Life throws so many curveballs that it’s no surprise when we’re left reeling with unanswered questions and confusion. And while a self-help aisle, a bottle of Jack, or backpacking through Europe are tempting ways

Can Bible Knowledge be Trivial? continued from p. 9

Want more from LifeTrac?

to deal with or ignore the difficult questions of life, it is the Bible that points to the only real source of Go to lifetrac.ca and download this healing, restoration, and life. month’s free mp3 “Coping with the My generation of experience chasers value Slough of Despond.” story and image over and above the written word and are more likely to view the Bible as less accuIf you ever find yourself disillusioned or discouraged, you’ll want to hear this mesrate and less sacred than the generations before sage from Chuck Swindoll. In this fullus did. In turn, we’ve found less engagement with length message we learn about Elijah and Scripture and are going to it less and less to work how we can handle those days when we get out our understandings and worldview. depressed.

This is unfortunate considering that the content of Scripture is, at times, shockingly blunt and deals with issues of sexuality, money, authority, grief, gender, pollution, Feel like some Bible Trivia? poverty, and the list goes on. The grand a char iot story of the Bible—cover to cover—speaks 1. Who was taken up to Heaven in fire? of directly to the condition of our messed-up, to Balaam? mixed-up, and punched-up lives and souls.

2. What species of animal spoke is there The Bible speaks to issues embedded deep3. Jesus said where your treasure ? ly in our souls and deals with the source of your be will

our heartache, confusion, and questions.

As Christians, faced with the rough issues and questions of life, it should be our first thought to look into Scripture to discover who God is and what He has to say. As Christians, we allow the tough questions of life to engage with the revealed nature of who God is. As Christians, we trust Jesus’ words, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

As Christians, our go-to source of hope, comfort, and sustenance is Jesus Christ as revealed in God’s Word, the Bible. Find Him there.

1. Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11 2.

3. Heart in Mat thew 6:21

Donkey in Numbers 22:22-35

Another Year to Live

None of us know the future. It is beyond our control. But what we can control is how we will be remembered. What will your legacy be? Will people say you lived your life as God intended it?

Subscribe or listen free online at lifetrac.ca

Jeremy Postal lives in Abbotsford, BC and loves spending time with his wife and son exploring mountains and forests with a coffee in one hand and a Bible in the other

January’s Featured Resources Hope Again: When Life Hurts and Dreams Fade

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Phil Callaway, paperback, 264 pages

The journey begins with a season of reverence, followed by renewal, rest, and finally reflection. As God escorts you through these seasons, listen closely to His voice as you observe the changing scenery.

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This Month’s Gift Scripture for Skillful Christian Living: 40 Verses from Proverbs

Improving Your Serve hardcover book with CD, 230 pages

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Chuck Swindoll has recorded 40 verses from Proverbs on audio CD, perfect for memorizing during your daily commute or workout routine.

With the corresponding memory cards, this set is a practical guide to gaining godly wisdom for everyday life.

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Charles Swindoll shows the important aspects of authentic servanthood: what it takes to serve unselfishly; why a servant has such a powerful influence; what challenges and rewards a servant can expect.

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Hope Again: When Life Hurts and Dreams Fade

The New Strong’s Compact Bible Concordance

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This series unites the timeless words of Peter’s first epistle and the timely wisdom of Chuck Swindoll to bring hope in the midst of challenging trials.

Access over 40,000 Bible references quickly and easily in this compact-size concordance. Includes brief definitions and pronunciation guides for all proper names. Key references for Bible words are arranged from A to Z. (NOTE: print is very small)

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Getting Past the Guilt of Your Past single CD message

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What are the biblical grounds for ending a marriage? Who may remarry with God’s blessing? Chuck Swindoll offers an uncompromising yet compassionate perspective on the subjects of divorce and remarriage.

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Cynthia Swindoll shares her personal story about dealing with disappointment and self–doubt, discouragement and recovery, pain and forgiveness, and God’s faithfulness through it all.

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Moment of Insight

My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.

Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.

Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.

Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.

Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God.

~ Proverbs 2:1-5 (NLT)

chest

Š istock.com/DanBrandenburg

Lifelines

What Use is the Bible?

by Steve Johnson

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) The human race has a problem. Each one of us is affected by sin. Consequently we don’t live as God designed and desires.

To do that, we need to know what to believe and how to behave.

God gave us the Bible to impact our beliefs and behaviours. It has at least four relevant uses, which, in turn, prompt four practical questions to ask ourselves when reading: • Teaching: We cannot understand God, His world, and spiritual things apart from Him telling us the truth in His Word.

Ask: Is there any truth I should learn from this?

• Reproof: Scripture makes us aware of when our beliefs or behaviours are wrong and need to be changed.

Ask: Is there a reproof for something I am doing or not doing?

• Correction: Scripture straightens us back up so that we can again live by God’s standard.

Ask: Is there a practice in my life I should change?

• Training in righteousness: God’s Word guides us positively into paths of living that please Him. Ask: Is there a habit I should begin?

All this is because God has two more things in mind: 1. He wants us to believe we are adequate. God’s Word is sufficient to help us be wise and godly people. The tasks God has for us will regularly overwhelm us. We can too easily believe we are inadequate for them. God wants us to know and believe that we can do all things through His Spirit. When we are assaulted from every side the Spirit of God encourages us that we are capable of standing.

2. He wants us to be equipped and rely on His Word. God’s Word equips us so that He can do His divine work through our lives. The word “equipped” addresses our competency. To minister to others and live wise and godly lives we need extra wisdom, endurance, and faith. God equips us through His mighty Word. We need to be careful not to trust in ourselves and experiences but to rely on the Spirit of God to equip us as He did Jesus during His life on earth (John 12:49).

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tools

© istock.com/dem10

bible

© istock.com/DNY59

By Matt Dressler

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In a recent sermon I called up one of my adult sons to come stand beside me. When he had settled next to me I suddenly and unexpectedly reached out and pushed him hard sending him flying off to my left.

The congregation laughed nervously as I once again invited him to stand beside me. Once again I pushed him and this time he only took a few steps to the left. A third time I asked him to stand beside me taunting him by saying “It sure is easy to push you buddy.” Then I turned and pushed him hard. This time he was ready and braced for what was coming. My hard shove accomplished nothing and, looking at me smugly, he stood his ground. Then I said to the congregation, “Now you see why it is essential for the Bible to warn us to stand firm.”

For the past 18 months I have been preaching through Philippians. Although it’s often only seen as an ode to joy and a gold mine of encouraging verses to put on fridge magnets, there is also a great depth of teaching to enhance maturity. One dominant theme that runs through it, and most of Paul’s epistles, is his concern for believers to be spiritually stable.

After a Gentile church was established at Antioch, Barnabus was sent by the Jerusalem church to help them and we’re told that when “he arrived and witnessed the grace of God… [he] rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord” (Acts 11:23). To this new growing Gentile church the message was clearly one of spiritual stability. To the Corinthians Paul wrote, “therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Later on he wrote, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). In his famous passage dealing with spiritual warfare, Paul three times commands believers to stand firm (Ephesians 6:11, 6:13, 6:14). Early on in Philippians Paul expressed his desire for stability this way: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). To the Colossians he wrote, “For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with

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you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ” (Colossians 2:5). To know what the Bible says about assaults against you will make you stronger and more resistant. You need to know!

To succumb to these attacks makes us spiritually unstable.

This instability leads to disappointment with our“To know what the Bible says about selves and others. It makes assaults against you will make you us doubt God’s attributes and stronger and more resistant.” existence and discourages our belief that Jesus offers a solution to problems. All of which renSo what did Paul mean by standing ders us ineffective and useless witnesses firm? In the same way that my assault for Jesus. on my son caused him to fall and become Knowing that this assault is always imunstable, so the Church has always been minent, Scripture warns us to be ready assaulted by the unholy trinity: the world, when the unholy trinity attacks and to reour flesh, and Satan. The world tempts sist and stand firm. To us and the believus to compromise our moral standards ers of his time Paul writes, “So then, brethand relax our stated purpose to serve and ren, stand firm and hold to the traditions glorify God. Our flesh is our fallen, unrewhich you were taught, whether by word deemed humanness, which constantly of mouth or by letter from us” (2 Thessastruggles to be unrestrained and is so very lonians 2:15). The answer to instability is vulnerable and easily tempted to sin. And the knowledge of and adherence to God’s Satan is lion-like in his aggression to see powerful and holy Word and the day by us lose faith in God, become angry and day reliance upon His Spirit for strength weary in our disappointments and pracand hope. tice moral and spiritual apathy as a result.

So before push comes to shove and we’re The knowledge of what God says about destabilized, let’s get to know the Word. these assaults is absolutely necessary when it comes to our being able to withMatt Dressler is lead pastor at Chilliwack Baptist Church in Chilliwack, BC stand them.

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Visit insightforliving.ca/read to continue the conversation.

Laughing Matters

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O

ne week after my 49th birthday, in a move, which still has me shaking my stitched-up head, a friend and I climbed aboard an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), and proceeded to flip it. And I do not mean we sold the thing for a profit.

While I was flying through the air with all the grace of a screaming stuntman nothing slowed down like it does in the movies. When I landed there was blood spurting from a wound in my pointy head and I lay there in the dust, thinking I had bit The Big One. Mortality creeps up on us all, but sometimes it lunges.

Not much comes to mind when you’re pretty sure you’re dead. You think of your wife and kids. And you don’t consider embracing atheism.

I’ve been doing careless things ever since I was old enough to cross my eyes.

Playing far too much ice hockey. Riding too fast in cars. Eating ox tongue. Flying a million miles on airplanes that were built by the lowest bidder. I figure I’ve used up about eight lives.

Thanks to friends, angels, and a doctor who kept mumbling something about miracles, I lived to tell this story. But were it not for God’s grace and the glorious gift of painkillers, I would be unable to type

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the words you are about to read.

The problem with injured ribs is that they are well-connected to the rest of you.

Everything hurts. You can breathe all right, but on the Richter scale, sitting up rates a 4.0, laughter a 6.7, a full-fledged greeting from an unwitting friend a 7.4, with a sneeze topping things off at 13.2— three points beyond giving birth. And so you rest. Or try to.

One of the greatest benefits of nearly dying is that my wife—glad I am alive— fetches me stuff when I ask. She brings me drinks, meds, snacks, more meds, and the first season of MacGyver.

Three weeks on your back recuperating offers you time to contemplate life and mortality and to read. And if that makes your brain hurt, well, there’s always television.

I would love to report to you that I am spending my convalescence praying four hours a day and memorizing the book of John. The truth is, I am watching far too much TV. Flat on my back I’m discovering that we have 41 channels, though one doesn’t count—it merely tells what’s on the other 40. Two are devoted entirely to movies, two to religion, two to sports, and the rest to news that promotes paranoia.

The medication helps, but I do not sufATV. But this time I will strap on a helfer quietly. Never have. A sinus infection met, full body armour, a parachute, and has me itching to dial 9-1-1. A hangnail a flare gun. causes me to question God’s goodness.

I’m not sure what I would have done Right now I want the world to know that differently had I known how close the end it feels like aliens are conducting experialmost was. I suppose I would have burments on my ribcage. ied my Blackberry more often, then dug But as I rest upon my self-pity, two notes it up and called some family and friends. arrive. One from a friend whose husI’d have said “Sorry” to some, “I love you” band walked out on her and her beautiful to others. I’d have spent less time saving daughters, and another from an acquainmoney and more time trying to save othtance who buried his brother following an ers from heartache. As it is, I’m glad I’ve ATV accident. To top it off, my wife puts pulled my children close, travelled with on an old CD by Keith Green that has him them, and taken licks of their ice cream. singing, “It’s so hard to see…when my But this blessed crash has reminded me eyes are on me.” Imagine the nerve. that life is short, so today matters. And to Perhaps this ATV hangover is a blessbe thankful. ing. It is reminding me that I may not have as much time left as I thought. That that I am spending my convalescence I should spend whatever is praying four hours a day and memorizing left focusing on things that the book of John. The truth is, are true, noble, right, pure, and admirable as PhilippiI am watching far too much TV.” ans 4:8 invites me to.

I’ve noticed subtle changes already.

Today I’m thankful for improvement in Manyana seldom sabotages my vocabuthe television-viewing department. You’ll lary. I prefer the word “today.” I am enbe pleased to know I am engaged in Bible joying more nature walks, far from TV reading and prayer. Thanks to a wife who and the roar of man-made machinery. has hidden the remote control.

Visit Phil Callaway at www.laughagain.org One day I hope to climb aboard another

“I would love to report to you

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Goal: $50,000

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$6,700.00

We’ve Raised:

Christian leaders in Cuba have a tremendous need for biblical resources, particularly in the area of leadership development.

In response to this great need, we have put together a three-volume set of Chuck Swindoll’s LifeMap books specifically on Christian leadership. These books have been translated into Spanish and received approval from Cuban officials. The titles are: The Leader’s Passion, The Leader’s Purity, and The Leader’s Perseverance.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 and send 30,000 books (10,000 sets) to Cuba in May of this year.

As Canadians we have the wonderful privilege of reaching out to our Cuban brothers and sisters. Will you join us in this worthwhile project? Your donation will make an incredible difference.

To donate to the Cuba Leadership Project call 1.800.663.7639 or donate securely online at insightforliving.ca/cuba.

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29 30

Days of

by Ben Lowell

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his January I will begin a journey that I’ve never really taken before in quite the same way. I’ve decided to offer myself intentionally and vulnerably to God’s Word in the book of Proverbs.

Thirty-one days, 31 chapters. Not that I could consume all that is offered in this book so filled with wisdom in one short month, but for these 31 days I am committed to opening my mind and my life to its direction.

I often consider questions about life and living—those life issues that each of us face about relationships, finances, issues of godly living, and the list goes on.

Within the 31 chapters of Proverbs God speaks bluntly as to how we as His children ought to live, make decisions, treat others, who we ought to associate with, issues of anger, greed, humility, temper, love, justice, loyalty, generosity…

These are not only words I need to hear but respond to so that others might truly identify Christ in me. And that I might

continue to strive to live a life that glorifies Him, a life that provides me with an inexplicable peace and joy beyond this world and the challenges of daily living.

These words are for everyone—men, women, husbands, wives, children, pastors, leaders, fathers, and mothers. These are words worth reading and reflecting on. Some are hard to hear, some convict, others provide hope and light.

The Message paraphrases Proverbs 1:7 as, “Start with God—the first step to learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.”

Begin this New Year by seeking God’s wisdom. Take the next 31 days and become a sponge of these words of wisdom.

Allow them to shape your life like that of Christ, and choose to live in His ways.

Journey with me.

Just a thought...

Ben Lowell is the executive director of IFLC

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Kids will be captivated by Paws & Tales adventures, caught up in the laughter, and carried away in the fun . . . and the whole time they’ll be on their way to understanding solid Bible theology.

Get ready for a brand new look to Paws & Tales DVDs! Launching in February with a redesigned look and exciting new features, you won’t want to miss it! Each DVD includes two episodes, Spanish track, parent resources , colouring pages, and more. The first two DVDs will be available this February with new ones released throughout 2011 and on!

PAWS & TALES DVD RE-LAUNCH