Cephas: All Iʼm saying, Paul, is that people have got to follow some leader, to make a commitment to doctrine somewhere and listen to that leader. It would be a different matter to talk about strict, official unity with all Christians if all Christians could agree on all the major points of doctrine.

Apollos: And practice. People canʼt even agree on how to baptize or how often to receive the Lordʼs Supper, and you expect them to be united? Besides that, they are loyal to the traditions and men that God used in bringing them to the Gospel.

Cephas: Exactly.

Paul: It is true, brothers, that we are faced with a formidable challenge if we are looking to persuade believers to unify. But donʼt the Psalms tell us, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” and expect us to live up to it? ¹

Cephas: Sure they do, Paul, but we are human. We canʼt do that on our own. And, yes, I know our Lord gives us grace to do it. Just remember, though: itʼs not me you have to convince of the way things should be. Iʼm simply trying to be realistic: Christians cannot and will not be united together. Theyʼve taken the course of their convictions and practices, and many keep them as central as they do the Gospel.

Paul: You know as well as I do, Cephas, that God has made all believers one. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ²

Cephas: But that does not give them one culture or one understanding of how our faith is expressed. The Scriptures tell us that “the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth.” ³ That is not without significance, and we are not those who will insist on one culture for believers. Was it not I myself who said to the apostles and elders at the Council, “Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” ⁴ We accepted the Gentiles on few conditions — among them being that they not participate in that which is idolatrous.

Apollos: Brothers! Let us prove to outsiders that believers can be united! I begin to see that God has indeed bound us all together and there must be a foundation for unity. We clearly believe the Scriptures. We clearly believe the Christ. Can we not find a common root for being united as the Lord prayed for us, “that they may all be one” and tells us in that prayer that “the glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one.” ⁵ And what is this glory but the Gospel of Christ?

Cephas: “We are brothers in Christ united in one great cause – to stand together for the Gospel.” ⁶

Apollos: Amen! It is the Gospel that has brought us together, made us one. You said yourself, Paul, that “in Christ Jesus,” those “who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ,” that he “might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” ⁷ No matter the cultural or ethnic differences in this regard: all who are in agreement on the Gospel are to be united in the love of Christ, which ended all hostility between the nations and peoples of the earth.

Paul: Aye, brothers. It seems good to me that we can say with confidence that all who are saved by the Gospel and believe in the Gospel ought to receive and recognize each other as brothers and sisters in faith, with no distinction. And what is the Gospel but this? “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” ⁸ and we know that God did this by “sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin”. ⁹

Cephas: It is like our Master said, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” We are one man, one nation, one body in the Gospel of Christ. So, we must start to act like it. We must love one another, by the Gospel, with a brotherly love that demonstrates Christ.

Paul and Apollos: Amen.

Cephas: But what about the brothers in Jerusalem? And the brothers in Antioch? And, more so, the brothers in Rome? They do not do all things the same. Do not the believers in Jerusalem, under the leadership of James, our Lordʼs brother, observe Torah and keep the commandments as our fathers have always done? Yet, our own council released the Antiochian believers with no commandments, except those universal laws that were given to all the world under Noah, after the flood. ¹⁰ We might be one in the Gospel, but we are certainly not one in the way that we demonstrate our faith, and to witness for the Master in the world.

Paul: That is true, Cephas. Do we dare demand a common rule in all the churches? After all that God has done among the Gentiles, dare we demand that they become Hebrews in practice? Have we not said that “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called”? ¹¹ So have I already instructed the churches, for it seemed the will of God.

Cephas: Yes. Iʼm not going to make the mistake again of encouraging conformity to one tradition or way of expressing the faith. Such hypocrisy does not speak well of the Gospel. ¹²

Apollos: Indeed, Cephas, but let us not concern ourselves, again, with the past. The Savior covered all sins, even your pride and hypocrisy. We should respect the reality that the Creator God has given cultures and the Gospel renews and regenerates them, to show people how to live rightly in them, by the blood of Christ, for the glory of God.

Cephas: So, then, we can allow the brothers in Jerusalem to keep kosher, observe Torah, and live as Jews. So, too, can we allow the brothers in Antioch to live apart from the regulations of Jewish culture, for they are not Jewish. Rather, they can live as God would have them in their own Gentile context. But, brothers, can the Jews of Antioch be expected to live as the Gentiles of Antioch, where they do not agree in the form and practice of our glorious Gospel?

Apollos: I think so, Cephas. Remember that for many centuries now, foreigners have lived among the Israelites, not according to Torah, but fearing God and bearing the protection of Him on whom they had called. And they gathered to hear the Scripture in the synagogues.

Paul: Aye. Though it will be difficult for our Jewish brothers to stay long with a Gentile gathering and bear with the way that they worship and pray and preach, and even work with converts. Therefore, it seems to me that things would best be handled by each according to their convictions, and that they should abide by those within the will of God, bearing in mind that they cannot and should not judge one another.

Cephas: Such seems good to me, brother. It denies neither the Gospel, nor the good that the Gospel brings to the creation that should be redeemed by the same. So we ought to let the churches, and all the brothers know that where dealing with the churches beyond the local church, we are to unite ourselves solely in the Gospel, and on that stand together. So also, where dealing with the local church, we should agree in doctrine, form and practice, not condemning our brothers with whom we are united in the Gospel.

Apollos and Paul: Amen.

1 Psalm 133:1, ESV
2 Ephesians 4:4-6, ESV
3 Genesis 11:8, ESV
4 Acts 15:10, ESV
5 John 17:21, 22, ESV
6 Together For the Gospel, “Affirmations and Denials”, http://t4g.org/beta/doc/ 07/17/08
7 Ephesians 2:13, 16, ESV
8 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ESV
9 Romans 8:3, ESV
10 Acts 15. The Council of Jerusalem placed the Christians in Antioch under the Noachic or Noahide laws.
11 1 Corinthians 7:20, ESV
12 Galatians 2. This is an allusion to Paulʼs confrontation of Cephas.

Area 1: God

I attend a Christian college that has a program set up for freshmen and sophomores to meet in a certain room each morning to have their quiet time. The purpose of this is to help us build a habit of daily seeking God and spending time with Him.

If you go to a public school or a state college that doesn’t offer any spiritual guidance or a Christian school without a similar program, the fact still remains that it is vital for you to have a set time to spend with your God. This sets the tone for the rest of the day and influences the decisions you make. It helps bring you back to why you do what you do and what your life should be centered around.

Whether it be an actual time such as 7 a.m. or a reference point like every day after dinner; it’s important to stay consistent. I don’t advise having quiet time in the middle of the day because trying to stop everything can be difficult, and your concentration may suffer. I also wouldn’t advocate that your main quiet time should be spent in the morning, but I do believe that you should spend a few minutes in reflection and prayer each day before everything starts up.

Prayer must also be included in this category of our relationship to God. Not only must prayer be implemented in our quiet time, it should also be something that is regular throughout the day. Take time during your lunch break to spend ten minutes with God in prayer, asking Him for alertness in the following classes or whatever else may be on your heart. Take breaks to pray while doing your homework. Prayer must become as natural to you as eating is when you’re hungry.

In E.M. Bounds’ book on prayer,¹ he talks about the relationship of prayer to God’s Word. According to him, we don’t know what to pray for as we ought if we’re not in God’s Word, and God’s Word cannot come alive except through the fervency of our prayer over the Scriptures.

The first area that we need to focus on then, is our relationship with God. The second, academics, is an area in which we are often unbalanced.

Area 2: Academics

A major problem among our generation is the tendency to over-commit and over-work ourselves. The result is a chaotic life filled with mediocrity. As Christians, we are to live a life of excellence, but when we’re so wrapped up in our busy schedule and just trying to knock things out, we lose the quality in what we do.

Yes, it’s important to get good grades in your classes. Yes, you want to be well-rounded and involve yourself in extra-curricular activities. However, don’t let these things consume your life so that friendships and God are neglected. Don’t do so much that you find yourself struggling to keep your head above water. Otherwise, instead of doing well in everything, you will find yourself just trying to get through it all and pass.

The chancellor of my school has been known to say, “Academics take away from a good college [school] education.” There’s truth to that saying. Most subjects learned in school can be found in books on your own (many of you may do that already if you’re homeschooled). Your future employer won’t care about your grades as much as he will about your character and personality.

If you really want to be committed to a balanced schedule, you need to have some sort of organizer that lays out your academic responsibilities and allows time for God, getting out and doing things with or ministering to others, and any other non-academic activities.

The real benefits of a school institution are the social skills that you learn, the ministry opportunities that are available, and the many experiences that can only be found in a school setting. Consequentially, it is important not to forget ministry opportunities at school.

Area 3: Ministry

Whether you go to a secular or a Christian school, there are many opportunities for ministry. These opportunities require time; you can’t be ministering to someone with your head in a book. Ministry isn’t an optional activity; it’s something that God expects of us. He tells us in Matthew that we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In 1 Peter he says we are to be a blessing to everyone. Ministry is what we’re here to do as Christians.

When you schedule out your time, make sure to leave space for making yourself available to others. Maybe there are ministries already set up for you to get involved in, or maybe you could be creative and start your own ministry with a particular burden that you have or a need that you see.

If you’re like me, you see all the possibilities and needs for ministry and want to do them all; but then you run into the same problem as with academics. You spread yourself out too thin so that your ministries lack excellence, and they are not as profitable as they could be. So, pick one, maybe two things that you’d like to get involved in, and do them to the best of your abilities.

In addition, part of what falls under ministry is discipleship. Discipleship is how the body of Christ is built up. Find someone who you think you can encourage, love, and challenge in the faith. It could be more than one person, but make sure you don’t overload yourself. Also, be willing to look outside your circle of friends. People are worth the time.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stayed up late praying with friends, listening to someone who was going through a hard time, or choosing to have my quiet time with God because I hadn’t yet had it, instead of studying for my test the next day. Often, I’d have to take the test with little or no studying done, and there hasn’t been a time yet that I haven’t gotten a good grade. I’ve found that when you’re not squandering your time or procrastinating, but you have a “valid” reason for not being able to study, God blesses your efforts, however little they may be. The same is true the other way around.

My last words about the area of ministry are a caution to you from experience. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that ministry equates to spirituality or defines where you’re at in your walk with God, and can be substituted for your quiet time. If you start building a house without a foundation, everything may look okay at the time, but eventually the bottom will give out and everything will come crashing down.

Conclusion

Our time, especially during the school year, is a delicate balance, and this is of great concern to me. I know how easy it is to focus on only one of these areas and let the other two slide. Remember, keep God first and put Him over your academics. If you’re balancing your time the way you should be, God will take care of all your needs (that includes your grades). Give your life to Him and be committed to finding the balance that honors God.

Start praying now that God would show you where the balance is this school year, and plan out how you’re going to make these three areas a part of your life. Above all, keep your focus on God and bringing Him glory, and you’ll find that everything else will naturally fall into place.

¹The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer

The question popped into my head one day. It’s still there, whirling around in my mind. There is something amazing in the idea that I will someday fall off of this earth! Imagine just being in a space void of everything but good. To float among the stars, filled with the presence of the Lord! No sin, no pain, no sorrow. Just free.

So often I feel bound by the world. Gravity holds me down. Hunger and fatigue take control. There are constant battles with the devil and my own sinful nature. But someday I will be free!

I Am Free

My idea of this future freedom seemed so distant - until I began to write it down, that is. That’s when I realized something else: freedom isn’t just for tomorrow! Christ has already set me free.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NIV).

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

This is one of those things that I learned in Sunday School. Jesus is the truth, and when I know Him, I am set free from sin and death because of His sacrifice. I’m not sure I understand exactly how it works, but I know that it does.

I also know that the Bible has some specific directions for those who have been set free:

“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:13,14).

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13).

Since Christ has set me free, I love Him and want to serve Him. And that is exactly what I am supposed to do!

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this is the only way to remain free. There are two forces in this world - God, who is good, and Satan, who is evil. Either I can serve God, or I can serve Satan.

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).

The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus is God, and therefore Jesus is good, because God is good. Jesus is the Truth; therefore, the Truth must be good. And since the Truth sets me free, freedom is good and is of God. When written like a math equation, it goes something like this:

Good = God = Jesus = Truth = Freedom

Freedom is part of the Kingdom of God. Anyone ruled by the Kingdom of Darkness cannot be free, because freedom is of God.

The Battle

Here is where the problem arises. I have become part of the Kingdom of God, and therefore I am free from the Kingdom of Darkness. Yet my sinful nature is still there.

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:19,20).

Satan is not too happy that I have been freed from his clutches. He keeps luring me away from my King, and, despite my efforts, I sometimes give in. But God, like the father of the prodigal son, always welcomes me back.

Even though I often fail, I am not to give up. I am to stand firm in the faith, relying on the grace and strength of God, because someday I will be transformed. When that happens, my sinful nature will be left behind and I will be free from temptation forever.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

Furthermore, when those hardships come, God has a wonderful promise for me!

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NIV).

Why Does This Even Matter?

Okay, so Jesus has set me free from sin, death, and the power of evil, and has made me part of the Kingdom of God, but Satan entangles me in wild schemes in an effort to win me back to his Kingdom and a life of slavery under his tyrannical rule. Why does this even matter? The answer is actually quite simple.

First, it is the truth. And once again, the truth sets me free, this time from the clutches of erroneous thinking. Second, it gives me hope for tomorrow. The assurance that someday I won’t be worn down by fatigue, dealing with a broken internet connection, trying to convince an uncooperative serger to sew, or puzzling over questions in my economics textbook, somehow makes dealing with all that stuff now so much easier.

Looking upward from this earthly life, I see a little glimpse of heaven. It is so beautiful and priceless. And suddenly, because I have been promised a place there at last, I no longer see the trials here on earth, for I am looking heavenward.

Whatever cost may be exacted from me here on earth, I know that heaven is worth it. There is no way I could afford it myself, but Jesus bought it for me with His spotless life, making any suffering of mine meager in comparison.

Life in this world is difficult, but it is short. Moreover, for me, it is only a prelude to what is to come. Someday I will graduate from this “School of Hard Knocks” to life - real life, the kind of life only God can give.

In other words, I know that suffering and trials are temporary. For, ” . . . [W]eeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Falling off the face of the earth into the arms of Jesus is definitely a cause for rejoicing!

Sure, environmentalism is attractive on the surface. How you can you go wrong with wanting to help the environment? Environmentalists tell us that saving the planet is a glorious cause: a calling for each self-sacrificial human being to tackle. If we don’t stop using incandescent light bulbs and driving non-hybrid cars, our combined carbon footprints will result in impending doom.

But that’s exactly where the movement fails. Our planet is not facing destruction due to our supposed environmental failings. Rather, God has everything under control; He always has and always will. There is a marked difference between making an effort to take care of what God has given us and striving to “save the planet.” The latter is a philosophy that has no bearings on truth and, ultimately, has evolved into a religion and an industry that rakes in profits by the millions.

The Bible is very clear on environmentalism, despite assertions of its ambiguity on the matter. In fact, we can find God’s plan for mankind and the earth within the first few pages of Scripture.

A Disorganized Movement

But first, it is important to understand exactly what the environmental movement is. There are several different factions within environmentalism, only a few of which represent the movement’s largest members.

The environmental movement is a “diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing the concerns of environmentalism.” [1]

In other words, it’s the driving force behind the philosophy of environmentalism. The movement can be traced back to 1832, around the time of the early conservation movement. But the environmental movement did not really make waves in American culture until the early 1960s, and even then it took until the 1970s to kick off. Incidentally, the terms “ozone depletion,” “global climate change,” “acid rain,” and “deforestation” became common words in our vocabulary about this time.

Environmentalism is a disorganized philosophy, and the same can be said for the movement as well. Practically any topic related to the environment, conservation, biology, and preservation can be classified as relevant to the movement. Structurally, the movement has little balance or unity; it is fueled primarily by political intent.

Recently, the environmental movement has taken on the form of a cult rather than a national faction. The media has had a large hand in this progression, portraying those who scorn global warming and other such beliefs as ignorant and biased. As a result, environmentalism has become a trump card for power-hungry politicians eager to win votes and support.

Biblical Evidence

After examining what the Bible has to say about environmentalism, perhaps you will be able to see that taking a stand against the movement is an important factor in promoting a God-honoring attitude in our culture.

The most important passage of Scripture that disproves environmentalism is Genesis 1:28-29:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (KJV)

Take a close look at the action terms in the first verse: “replenish” and “subdue.” Environmentalists would be right-on in their philosophy if only they took into consideration an important key to maintaining a healthy balance in our “relationship” with the earth. Yes, God cares about His creation and desires us to take care of it. But He also wants us to make use of the natural resources He has given to us. And in doing so, we are, in fact, glorifying Him.

This leads to another important point: you cannot live a healthy, normal life without “subduing” the earth. According to one writer, “…there is not one who does not dominate nature in numerous ways.” ¹ Even the most dedicated conservationists live in homes built of and furnished with wood from lumberyards, eat harvested vegetables, and buy clothing made from animal materials such as leather. It is not possible to exist without using at least some of the earth’s resources. King David could not have put it more plainly when he stated in Psalm 115:16 that “the heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men” (KJV).

Evolutionary in Origin?

Environmentalism is incompatible with Christianity for another reason, and it causes valid concern in Christian circles today: namely, it is pantheistic and evolutionary. Evolution is essential to environmentalism, illustrated primarily by notable environmentalist Al Gore. In his 1992 best-seller Earth in the Balance, Gore blatantly pursues evolutionary theories, many of which have since been scientifically disproved.² He is certainly not the only conservationist to do so. Because the theory of evolution is such that each species depends upon the other, environmentalists apply this to the relationship between human beings and the earth. Pantheism is at the root of the environmental movement. Friends of the Earth International, the world’s largest grassroots environmental network, issued a statement in 2007 in which they proclaimed that “[t]he Earth is a creation to be honored and respected as our Mother.”³ Environmentalists see the human race as being equal with animals, plants, and all life forms. This belief is clearly not in line with the biblical teaching that Man has a soul, whereas all other creations do not.

Hindus, for example, allow disease-ridden cows and mice to live among them and devour essential sources of food while their children starve to death. Pantheism promotes self-destruction and the debasement of the human race with its fundamental belief that humans are an enemy to nature. As we saw in Genesis 1, however, God’s ideal plan was for the human race to keep a natural balance on the earth by subduing and replenishing. Perhaps the most obvious flaw in environmentalists’ reasoning is their fear that the earth is in imminent danger, and our survival depends upon its salvation from our own destructive presence. Yet God is in control. Hebrews 1:3 assures us that God upholds all things, while Colossians 1:17 firmly states that God is before all things, and all things will consist by Him so long as He is God.

What About Nature’s Impact on Us?

Yes, humans have impacted nature. And of course we can do more to replenish the earth God has given us. But have you ever stopped to think of how disasters in nature have impacted our lives? There are countless examples: the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the many earthquakes and tsunamis that occur in Indonesia and Asia, and terrible droughts and famines in central Africa. I’m certain that these events have caused more destruction and damage than acid rain has in New York City.

According to many environmentalists, Christians twist Scripture in order to claim that the earth is ours to use as we please, and as it’s all going to be destroyed someday anyways, we can do whatever we want with its resources. However, the rational Christian will take the key verses we previously examined and see them in their true light.

The bottom line is that yes, God wants us to use what He has given us, and yes, we are to be good stewards and take care of what He has given us. However, this view clearly does not line up with environmentalism. We, as Christians, cannot justify promoting nature above God, while simultaneously deifying the earth and taking part in a political movement that has no value in God’s eyes.

It’s a fact: environmentalism is not compatible with Christianity because it involves the placement of nature and our own efforts above God’s Word.

Simply put, the Bible isn’t green.

1 Wikipedia.org (”Environmental Movement”). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_movement

¹Lansdown, Andrew. “The ‘greenness’ of God.” Creation Magazine. December 1992, pp. 26-29

²Ham, Ken. “An ‘unbalanced’ view of Earth!” Answers in Genesis. http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2/4284news4-21-2000.asp (21 April 2000)

³Miller, Dave. “Evolution, Environmentalism, and the Deification of Nature. Apologetics Press. http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3570 (28 January 2008)

Deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, the Kasua people go about their daily lives. Mango trees dot the landscape around an assorted group of buildings, the most prominent of which are longhouses, village buildings that house several families. Today, there is a church in the village and an airstrip nearby. It has not always been this way.

You may be wondering what the question above means. For the Kasua people, the answer to this question (pronounced phonetically) would, sadly, be “no.” In a good English translation, the sentence would read, “Have you read your Bible today?”

Sometimes we forget that we have had the Bible in our language for seven hundred years. In 2007, there were 6,912 known languages in the world. Only 1,168 of those had the New Testament while less than 500 had the entire Bible. The Kasua people used to be one of the 193,000,000 people in over 2,200 language groups who don’t have any of the Bible.¹  Eighteen years ago, however, God showed that He had bigger plans for the Kasua when Tommy and Konni Logan arrived in the jungle.

The Logans, you see, are translators with Wycliffe Bible Translators, the organization behind many of the almost two thousand translation projects currently underway in the world – especially in places like Paupa New Guinea.¹ The lives and futures of the Kasua people and those like them around the world will never be the same because of Wycliffe and similar organizations that are committed to taking the Bible to even the most remote places. What is the reason for this commitment? Tommy Logan states it well when he says, “We believe with all our heart that every man, woman, and child on the face of this earth deserves the right to hear and to read God’s word in a language that speaks to their heart.”

A Commitment Like No Other

The average New Testament translation takes fifteen to twenty years. The Logans, along with their two daughters, Rachel (17) and Laura (14),  have been working with the Kasua for eighteen years. As of now, the translation of the New Testament is at the seventy percent mark – only eight more books to go. What does translating the Bible entail? What is the process that they have to go through? The hardships on the field for the Logans and their fellow missionaries are many – but they would all tell you that it is worth it.

The first step in translating is obviously learning the language. This is extremely important in earning the trust of the people and even more in learning the culture so that one can be able to communicate the Gospel correctly.² There isn’t a Rosetta Stone curriculum for learning the languages of remote jungle villages. Therefore, they must learn just as they learned their first language. The Logans and their fellow missionaries learn the language of the village phonetically, by listening, asking questions, and writing down what they hear. The process takes years and can be embarrassing, as one missionary discovered when he acted out the word “jump” and unknowingly got “What’s wrong with you?” in return.³

As the Logans and their fellow missionaries around the world learn their respective languages, they are actively analyzing what they are learning in order to create an alphabet. It may sound fairly easy, but one can’t just put a bunch of symbols together and call it an alphabet. As Konni says, “There are rules that govern how a language works, laying a framework for it, much like railroad tracks in order for the train to run on it.” This makes listening to and writing down sounds and syllables of utmost importance. As most of you should know by now, English contains inconsistencies. Other languages are no different. The Logans and others must write down the thousands of things that they hear, and then gain knowledge of how the language works so that they can interpret its nuances and difficulties.⁴ Konni says, “The result of this process is an alphabet that truly reflects the sounds that are there and an alphabet that the people accept as their own.”

After this comes the actual translation work – years upon years of toil. The translation itself involves analyzing the source text in many areas  - from grammatical structure, to the context in the culture of the time to determine its meaning – then doing the process somewhat in reverse to put the discovered meaning in the new language with the new alphabet.⁵ While translation continues, there is constant reviewing, revising, consulting, and proofreading. The Logans and their counterparts must run their work by many people -  from the tribal community to experts in linguistics and the original Hebrew and Greek. The translators go through all this and more to ensure the accuracy of the inspired word of God.⁶

As parts of the New Testament are finished, they are published and made available to the people. This brings up a variety of different tasks. The translators must teach the people how to read and write, as well as find ways of getting the Bible to those who are too elderly to be able to learn to read. Not only this, but the Gospel has to be presented in a way that the people understand.  As the Logans have continued the work, they have seen many come to Christ. Wycliffe missionaries in their fields around the world would agree with Tommy Logan when he says, “It’s amazing to see how they respond to these things that they are hearing for the very first time.” Praise the LORD!

God has done and continues to do wonderful things among the Kasua people. As the Logans would say, their primary mission, above and beyond the translation, is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. As people come to Christ, the Logans and their counterparts have to train them in the Lord, as well as train some to be national translators so that when they are not there, the Lord’s work will still thrive. Tommy appropriately quotes the saying, “You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day. But if you teach a man to fish, then you feed him for a lifetime.”

Looking to the Future

Today, at seventy percent completion of the New Testament, the Logans are still anticipating the final chapter of the process. When all is said and done and the scrutinizing and revising is complete, the Kasua New Testament will be dedicated. A dedication is a huge celebration with singing, dancing, and more. The elaborate occasion often includes dramas put on by the local people that depict what it was like before and after the Gospel came into their lives. It is truly a moving act of praise and thankfulness to God for His faithfulness.

Not only are the Logans looking forward to that special day in the future, but Wycliffe as a whole has a vision as well. In 1999, Wycliffe created Vision 2025 in an effort to challenge the Christian community to get translation projects started in all of the remaining unreached language groups by the year 2025. Due to God’s grace and power, Wycliffe and like organizations that have put their heads together have seen an unimaginable increase in the pace. The projected endpoint went from 2150 before Vision 2025 to around 2040.⁷ Praise God!

“Your labor in the Lord is not in vain!”⁸

The Bible is something we take for granted – John Wycliffe brought us the first English Bible around seven hundred years ago. The Logans and their fellow missionaries desperately need our prayers as they continue to do the Lord’s work. It is always a great joy for them to hear words of encouragement from home. Wycliffe as a whole and the organizations that they partner with need prayer as well, for much work essential to the missionaries on the field goes on behind the scenes, from children’s education to governmental relations.⁹ They are a part of something truly great.

Neil Anderson, who with his wife Carol, had their New Testament dedication last year after thirty years of work, had this to say:   

I think people need to realize that they are part of the greatest thing that has ever happened in the history of the universe. And that is that the Gospel is being given to the nations. Now that is – that is what we are a part of. We are a part of something really tremendous – something eternal. Something that makes more difference than Wall Street times a thousand. . . . Nothing can ever touch it. . . . Your labor in the Lord is not in vain!⁸

Praise and thanks be to God as He continues to work through His servants in mighty ways.

The Logans are currently in South Carolina on furlough in order to get their oldest daughter through high school and settled, when they’ll go back as a family. In the meantime, Tommy is making periodic trips back to New Guinea to continue translating God’s Word into the Kasua language.

On the flip-side, however, those families who home educate their children sometimes take a different approach to education, one that is not often heard about in other circles. These homeschool families emphasize character development as the most important component of their children’s education. While this is a wonderful and much-needed approach, it is sometimes carried out at the expense of academic excellence. In fact, some of these families purposefully emphasize character over academics, leaving their children with an equally imbalanced education that hinders their capabilities and lessens their credibility in a world that holds academics in such high esteem.

But what would an education that emphasized both character and academics look like? And why can’t we have both?

The Debate

Thus begins a seemingly never-ending debate in homeschooling circles: character vs. academics. Which do you choose? Coming from a homeschool family that strongly emphasized academic pursuit, I sometimes felt as though we lived under the disapproving gaze of those families who claimed to favor character in their schooling. Must it really be such a choice? I often wondered. Some would say, yes, it must. As one homeschooling parent commented:

Some children may have a special calling and gifting from the Lord to pursue academic disciplines as a vocation. But even in such exceptional cases, I suspect teaching diligence in non-scholarly, real-life pursuits will more likely instill the character more effectively. I am very doubtful that frustrating yourself and your child regarding artificial academic pursuits…will produce diligence in either academics or in real life.¹

This parent seems to be saying academic excellence and character development are two entirely different, unrelated pursuits. If you choose to pursue academics, you do so at the expense of building character.

Such an attitude puzzled me all throughout high school. If character training and academic learning were so unrelated, why did they seem so connected in my own schooling? My parents mapped out a rigorous academic program for my high school years, but neither they, nor I, abandoned attention to character development. On the contrary, we found that such a rigorous academic schedule actually proved to be a venue to further character development.

What Does Scripture Say?

How could such an experience as mine contradict the views of so many around me, especially when I found no such struggle over the matter in Scripture? There are numerous examples in the Bible where we are commanded to develop godliness or Christ-likeness. Leviticus 11:44 commands us to “be holy for I [the Lord] am holy.” In Galatians we are admonished to develop the fruit of the Spirit. Commands like these must take a priority in our lives; they are not optional. Striving to obey them is the fruit of our salvation and should not, indeed even cannot, be suppressed if we are truly born again. Likewise, however, is the command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”(Matt. 22:37, emphasis added). This commandment cannot be ignored either. We cannot pick and choose the passages and principles of Scripture we want to apply to our lives. We are commanded to love God with our minds. We then have the responsibility to challenge our minds and stimulate the intellects that God gave us to their fullest potential. When we do this, we love God with our minds.

Why, then, is there this debate, if Scripture calls us to both develop godly character and stimulate our minds?

Defining Our Terms

It seems to me that part of the grounds for disagreement in this character vs. academics debate in homeschooling circles is due to a misunderstanding of terms. Perhaps a clear definition of what is meant by such words as “character,” “academics,” and “education,” would yield more agreement as to what a real education entails.

What do we mean when we speak of character? The dictionary terms it as “moral or ethical strength.” For Christians, however, character should entail much more than that. It involves realizing Who those morals and ethics come from. True godly character cannot but stem out of a biblical understanding of the infinite, absolute God and His holy standards after which we must strive. Academics, however, could be described as formal study. It is the obtaining of facts and information, some of which may, at the time, appear useless. Some dictionaries even describe academics as focusing on reading and liberal or classical study as opposed to vocational or practical study.

Education, on the other hand, is a very ambiguous word in today’s world. Our society tends to think of education solely in terms of academics. It is considered the instruction a person formally receives at public schools and universities, consisting predominately of the facts that you learn and the knowledge you obtain. But such a view of education is useless, indeed, even dangerous. Education should involve not just what is put into the mind, but how a person applies what is put into the mind. It is the attaining of knowledge (academics) and the proper use or application of that knowledge (character with wisdom).

What’s the Relationship?

For example, an “education” that focused only on academics might appear useful to the world, but without character and an understanding of how to apply those facts to life, it is essentially pointless. As one homeschool mom advocating an emphasis on character development said, “Getting the answers right on a test is meaningless unless a child knows how to apply those truths to everyday life. Non-applicable knowledge is worthless.”² Her statement is absolutely true. Knowledge without application is of little value. Studying history is pointless if you only memorize dates. Classic literature serves no purpose without looking at its worldview and how it impacted society in its time. Academics without application is indeed worthless.

It is likewise my belief, however, that an “education” that focuses on character development to the detriment of academic study would be incomplete as well. In fact, I believe such an approach would actually be damaging to character development, for the discipline of diligent academic pursuit is itself a matter of character. What message is being sent to students when they are allowed to be lazy in their studies, while at the same time being encouraged to develop diligence and perseverance in a setting that is more like “real life?” Character cannot be compartmentalized like that. Students need to learn that they must apply themselves in ways that don’t always pay off immediately, and one of these areas is academic study. Furthermore, what kind of leaders will we be if we have exemplary character, but no knowledge of how the world works? How can we lead our society and our nation if we cannot identify and discuss cultural issues, an important part of which is academic subjects like history and literature?

What, then, is the proper ratio of character and academics for students? Like everything else, there is no magic “formula” to ensure a good education. However, a complete education does indeed involve emphases on both character and academics. From a Christian standpoint, academics, along with everything else, rests under the umbrella of godliness and is useless until character, with the understanding of God and morals that come with it, is applied to it. Thus, developing character and godliness must be our first priority in education, but it cannot be legitimately used as an excuse to slack in academic study. Part of being well educated necessitates academic pursuit. Academics is a venue to character development, while character attainment activates or validates academic knowledge. The two of them can, in fact, be one and the same pursuit.

An education like this, combining the strength of character with the power of academic knowledge, will provide students with the “big picture” on life. It will bring together character and academics to produce an understanding of our world and our time that neither could produce on its own. Such an education will provide us with a solid foundation to step into the world and be successful. We may not always be deemed a success by the world’s standards, but we will certainly catch the world’s eye. And, more importantly, we will leave a mark on society for God’s kingdom. Our society is in need of a rising generation of people who have both godly character and academic competence. These two things working together is not a common thing in today’s society – but together they can accomplish great things.

¹  http://localhs.com/methods/motivation.asp

² http://www.christianhomeschooling.us/articles/israelwayne.html

So he takes matters into his own hands - and fails miserably. In an instant he goes from being someone groomed to potentially rule the greatest nation on earth to a fugitive hiding and eluding capture. He spends the next forty years of his life in the desert, raising sheep and a family. For forty years, he waits, thousands of miles away from what he thought God had called him to do.

After looking at this story, and modifying some of the extreme variables, I can identify with this guy called Moses. Despite some four thousand years and major cultural differences, there are things I see in his story that are not so different from mine. I’ve had excellent training, but I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to do with it. I know that God has great things in store for me, a perfect plan that He will work out in my life, but I don’t know any specifics: most days, I seem to lack even a general direction. After seeing several doors close and options disappear, I find that I, like Moses, must wait.

Waiting is not an easy process, regardless of whether it is waiting for an event or a season to arrive, or waiting on God to reveal Himself, His plan, and His purpose. Yet it is an inevitable part of life and part of the spiritual process we must go through to grow. Waiting, when seen as an opportunity for growth, leads to perseverance, which builds character, which produces hope. This hope points us back to the gospel, back to God, and reminds us of His plan for His glory.

Scripture encourages us to wait on God and offers hope as we wait. In Psalm 40, David tells of his experience: “I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”⁵

Isaiah also offers encouragement: “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”⁶

Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was trained by his parents in the ways of God. Yet this schooling did not make Moses the greatest leader Israel ever had. God transformed him and molded him during his time in the wilderness, a long span of forty years that most would call a waste of time. Following a short transition in which he gained the responsibility of several million people, God sent him again to wait in the wilderness for forty years. If Moses, and God, had viewed this waiting time as a complete waste, Moses would never have truly accomplished anything. But the seasons of waiting he experienced were not pointless: they taught lessons and bore fruit that could not have been otherwise accomplished. This time of waiting was not a waste, but a time of great preparation, even though the purpose was not clear at the time.

After the time of waiting in the wilderness, we see the man who murdered because of his unbridled anger and passion to avenge injustice emerge as the most humble man who ever lived.⁷ We see the man who did not wait for God’s plan or timing return to Egypt bearing the Name and signs of God as proof of his life-changing encounter. He still had much to learn, and he still fell, but he was not same the same young man of Egypt. He had become a leader and a man of God.

The teenage years are a time of waiting. In any season of life, waiting should be seen as a chance for preparation, but this is especially true for teenagers and young adults. The desire to do big things for God in the future can destroy our present calling of living where God has placed us now. Across the country, seniors struggle to stay focused on school as they anticipate graduation and beyond. Young people eager to fulfill what God has called them to do may struggle to find practical life application in memorizing geometry theorems or the periodic table of elements or the generals of the War of 1812. The subject or the topic really is not the point, though. God has called us to be diligent, faithful, and excellent in the little things that may seem unimportant. Perseverance in the small, seemingly unimportant hard things leads to a strong foundation of character and hope, as well as faithfulness and trust, which simply cannot be built by taking shortcuts.

The goal of regenerating a culture is a goal that inevitably requires a lot of waiting. Really, this goal is not a new concept, but one that has been passed down, with the charge to persevere, since God first called His people to Himself.

Moses spent the majority of his life waiting in a desert, yet he allowed God to move mightily in a season some would see as time wasted. It was in this waiting that Moses developed his relationship with God. We are told that God knew Moses face to face.⁸

Like Moses, it seems Christ spent much of His time on earth waiting, as He devoted only three years to His actual ministry. God used the previous thirty years as preparation, not only for Jesus, but for those around Him. We are not told much about the gap between Jesus’ childhood and the beginning of his ministry, but we can learn from what we are told. Luke reports, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”⁹

I would challenge you to use the time you have as a young person to grow in your faith and your relationship with God. Use this period of waiting to let God prepare and develop you for the things He has planned. Be diligent and faithful in the little things. Seek out the instruction of your parents and pastors and mentors. Develop the relationships God puts in your life. Learn from the resources and the gifts He has given you. Learn to wait on God, for His timing and His purpose, because dwelling in His presence is the ultimate goal for which we wait.

Do Hard Things begins with the story that started it all. Two young boys, Alex and Brett Harris, who were only sixteen, believed that age ought not be a limitation to what they could do. The brothers started not a movement but a counterculture called The Rebelution, which combines two words – rebellion and revolution. This counterculture quickly developed from two separate blogs into a full-blown website, The Rebelution.com.

Now nineteen years old, the Harris brothers have written a book. Their premise is that teenagers must rebel against the low expectations that the world has set on them. They expel the “myth of adolescence,” which they say is “holding our younger generation back.” “Being a rebelutionary is all about changing the way the world views the teen years.” Teen years are not what they used to be. Did you know that the word “teenager” didn’t even exist until 1941 when it appeared in a Readers Digest article?

This book is full of stories from many other teens who have risen to the challenge to take on hard things, as well as testimonies from adults who reportedly regret having wasted their teen years. Some of the stories you will read include teens who were in charge of political campaigns, started a clothing line of modest apparel, campaigned against modern-day slavery, and produced Christian music CDs.

The Harris brothers introduce a phrase called a “holy ambition” that originated from John Piper. “A holy ambition is something you really want to do – that God wants you to do also.” Once a person has found that holy ambition, the next step is to pursue it with no reservations.

The Harris brother help you take this next step by outlining five kinds of hard things that they say are “God-given opportunities powered by God-given principles that work for everybody.” Though teens are given steps to take towards tackling these big hard things, the foundational pillars emphasized are character, competence, and collaboration.

Not only are teens encouraged to do big hard things, but also to do the little hard things that are common in everyday life. This could be anything from doing the chores around the house to not procrastinating on homework. Alex and Brett challenge teens to do everything, both big and small, unto excellence and ultimately to the glory of God.

Whether you’re a teen or an adult, this book can apply to you. It outlines what God expects of us as Christians. We are not suppose to settle for the comfortable, regular old life. In everything, we are to excel and stand out from the cultural norm of this world.

This book is going on my list of books to read annually because it is an important reminder that God is not limited by our age or anything else if we are willing to do hard things. It challenged me to live a life that glorifies God by not allowing the world to fit their culturally low expectations on around me.

And just when I think I’m doomed, He gives me light.

God’s ways are not our own; His timing, never our timing. I want[ed] answers now. I want[ed] Him to show me how to get out of my spiritual slump now. But He decided not to. And I find that that’s the best way it could have gone for me.

In this issue, I was particularly encouraged by new ROCer, Jenna Watts. Her article on Psalm 46:10 was pleasant enough back in June when I received it during a spiritual “high” … but it’s all the more encouraging now as I’ve been going through some “lows.”

I was even rebuked:

When we let our own desires take priority, we end up pushing God over to the side. Whether we realize it or not, this act signifies that we don’t believe that He is as important as everything else that we have going on.

That stings.

But it’s so true. God doesn’t come first in my life. Lots of times, He doesn’t even come second.

If you’re anything like me, you struggle with prioritizing your daily life, especially where God is concerned. The teenage years are a time of indecision, mood swings, and lots and lots of dreaming. You have your goal, your dream, your passion, and you’re rearing to go get it.

But we have to realize that “our ways are not God’s ways….” We have to realize that God must come first.

This issue has a lot to do with that. Besides Jenna’s “Be Still” in Becoming Bereans, this issue sheds light on how to read literature with God’s Word in mind, how to “Make a Difference”, giving your love to God before giving it to another, and getting out of your comfort zone in order to behold “A Beautiful Reality” from God. I hope you’ll be challenged, as I have been, to put God first in every aspect of your entire life.

Because a pure, undefiled, beautiful relationship with God is the most important thing in the entire world. Seek for Him, give your desires to Him, and then wait on Him; His timing will astound you again and again.