The Touch of the Master's Hand

My heart is heavy this afternoon. We have just lost a colleague due to a moral failure. Our faculty is already minimized, with a dear brother on sabbatical, and a couple on medical leave. Others, already overworked will have to pick up the slack.

In our "in house family meeting" our president told a story which I will reproduce here, that highlights God's knack for taking a bad situation, and transforming it. The story is kind of like the well known poem by Myra Brooks Welch, "The Touch of the Master's Hand." I will link to the poem, but will not cite it.

This story was knew to me. I used Google to trace the story. It has been published in a number of different places. I'm not sure where our president, Matt Proctor, found it. Most recently, it was published in a book by Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose titled Live Deeply: A Study in the Parables (David C. Cook, 2009). I'll quote from that book (pp. 136-137):

Over a hundred years ago in a Scottish seaside inn, some fishermen were relaxing after a long day at sea. As a serving maid walked past the fishermen's table with a pot of tea, one of the men made a sweeping gesture to describe the size of the fish he claimed to have caught. His hand hit the teapot, sending it crashing against the whitewashed wall, staining a large area. "That stain will never come out," the innkeeper said. "The whole wall will have to be repainted."

"Perhaps no." All eyes turned to the stranger who had spoken. "What do you mean?" asked the innkeeper. "Let me work with the stain," said the stranger. "If my work meets your approval, you won't need to repaint the wall." So he picked up a box and went to the wall. Opening the box, he withdrew pencils, brushes, and some glass jars of linseed oil and pigment. He began to sketch lines around the stain and fill it in here and there with dabs of color and swashes of shading. Soon a picture began to emerge. The random splashes of tea were transformed into the image of a magnificent stag. The man inscribed his signature on the painting, paid for his meal, and left.

"Do you know who that man was?" the innkeeper said in amazement. "E. H. Landseer!" Indeed, the famous wildlife painter. Sir Edwin Landseer had visited the village.

God sent Jesus to take the stains and disappointments from our lives--not merely to erase them, but to turn them into a thing of beauty. Will we be like the religious leaders and reject Him as the cornerstone of our faith, or will be gladly accept Him as one who can transform our lives into a masterpiece?

For the unknowing, like myself, Sir Edwin H. Landseer was a famous British wildlife artist in the 19th century.

May God turn the ashes from this situation, toward His greater glory.

10 Chapters a Day

Have you ever gotten to the point where you want to read the Bible in a systematic way, but have fallen behind? Over the years, I have read the Bible through using a variety of systems. After using each system for a while, I find that I begin to lose interest.

Let me try to explain what I mean. If one begins in Genesis, reading straight through to Revelation, it takes forever to get to Jesus. One tends to bog down in the Old Testament. I love the book of Genesis, but I usually don't tell people to begin reading there. They'll get lost for certain through Leviticus and Numbers.

I have used a Chronological Bible, which is not the same thing as reading from Genesis to Revelation, but has some of the same problems, as it takes so long to get to Jesus.

I have also used a system where one reads a portion from the Old Testament (except for Psalms and Proverbs), a portion from Psalms, a portion from Proverbs, and a portion from the New Testament, every day, so that one will finish reading the entire Bible in a year.

How much must one read each day to finish reading the entire Bible in a year? About 3 chapters, more or less, per day.

Whoa, this post is titled 10 chapters a day! If one reads 10 chapters a day, one will read the Bible through quicker than one year--but it is SO EXCITING!

The drawback I mentioned to reading through one of the systems described above is that it takes too long to get to the good stuff. Last week I cam across a "10 chapter per day" system. I have been using it daily for the past week, and it has been exciting.

It was developed by Professor Grant Horner, who teaches at The Master's College in California. You can begin it at any time, and it just keeps coming at you. Basically, you start reading in 10 different sections of the Bible, reading one chapter in each of the sections, each day. The sections are as follows:

• Gospels
• Genesis - Deuteronomy
  
• Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews
• 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timoty, Titus, Philemon, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-2-3 John, Jude, Revelation
• Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 -2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
• Isaiah - Malachi
• Acts

That way, you read a WIDE variety of Scripture every day, and you get the good stuff every day! At the end of the year, you should have read the gospels about 4 times, the Pentateuch about twice, the epistles 4 or 5 times, the books of Poetry (other than Psalms and Proverbs) nearly 6 times, the book of Psalms more than twice, the book of Proverbs nearly every single month, the books of OT History nearly twice, the OT Prophets nearly twice, and the book of Acts more than 12 times.

Does that sound exciting? It requires a little more reading time than the other systems mentioned above, but it is great! If you would like to see Professor Horner's own description of the system (PDF file), which includes a sheet with bookmarks that can be cut out to use in your Bible, click here.

If you decide to give this system a try, drop me a line to let me know how YOU like it.

Reflecting on OCC's Greek Program

I've been teaching NT Greek at OCC for a number of years now. I have enjoyed co-teaching with my advanced Greek professor, Kenneth L. Boles, at both the 2nd year Greek level, and 3rd year Greek level. When I started teaching Greek, I taught 1st year students for a number of years. The last several years, however, I have spent my time teaching more advanced students. I hope someday to get some more whacks at 1st year Greek as well as teaching the advanced level students.

At any rate, this reflection has its roots in a conversation that I had earlier this year with one of our graduates. He went on to do some graduate study at a rather prestigious graduate school. He took a Greek proficiency exam, and needed to take a leveling course in Greek, as he did not show himself to be proficient in NT Greek, despite studying Greek at OCC for 3 years! OUCH!!

He took his leveling course in Greek, and was able to continue on in his Greek studies at the prestigious graduate school. Once he got into the courses that he should have been taking, he saw that he could read Greek far better than most of the people in the course. The reason for his reading proficiency is because that is what we foster in our advanced Greek courses. In other institutions, advanced Greek courses teach the intricacies of Greek grammar, but students don't learn to read Greek.

For the past several years, in our 2nd year Greek classes, we have used Daniel Wallace's The Basics of New Testament Syntax, which is the abridged version to his Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. We attempt to expose students to all of the categories, while at the same time getting them massive amounts of Greek reading. Our 3rd year Greek classes consist of massive amounts of reading, talking about the grammar that surfaces from our reading. For example, my 3rd year Greek students from the 2009-2010 school year read the following in Greek: Mark, Romans, 1-2 Peter, Jude, and Ephesians. We spent some time the last week of the semester reading some Patristics.

Seumas MacDonald, an Aussie who authors several blogs, has a post today on his blog, Compliant Subversity, along these same lines. In it, reflecting on the tendency at seminaries to emphasize grammatical categories in their 2nd year Greek classes, says:

I’m not sure this is the best use of a 2nd year Greek education. Let’s at least acknowledge the fact that Greek speakers rarely looked at a genitive and asked ‘what category of the genitive does this fall into?’. Did they sometimes do that kind of in-depth analysis of their own language? Certainly, as we do in English sometimes when disambiguating or arguing over complex or unclear words. But not in our everyday discourse. Far better, I contend, that we spend 2nd year Greek studies trying to get students deeply into reading Greek qua Greek, and far less on memorising 183 uses of the dative.

I agree with him wholeheartedly.

Do You Text? Interpret This:

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.
2. dnt wrshp pix/idols
3. no omg's
4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)
5. pos ok - ur m&d r cool
6. dnt kill ppl
7. :-X only w/ m8
8. dnt steal
9. dnt lie re:bf
10. dnt ogle ur bf's m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

My colleague Gary Zustiak shared this with me. I believe it is taken from the current issue of Reader's Digest.

Logos Bible Software Scholarship for Bible College Students

OCC Students (& other Bible college students): Logos Bible Software has had a seminary scholarship program for some time. They just released a new program, offering scholarships and Bible software to undergraduate Bible college students. The recipient could be you! Check it out!

Appeared on their blog this morning: click here.

We're Praying for Chile

Chile was devastated by one of the strongest earthquakes in history early Saturday morning. 25 years ago (almost on the same weekend--last weekend before the school year was to begin), Santiago was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale (as a comparison, the January earthquake in Haiti was 7.0).

This quake, with an epicenter near Concepción (the 2nd largest Chilean city), registered 8.8 on the Richter scale. Only the 1960 earthquake in Valdivia, CHILE measured larger (9.5 on the Richter scale). We are praying for Chile, and are very concerned about many friends in the VII Region of the country.

This music video is making the rounds on Facebook. The music is sung by a Christian duet (man and wife) called Tercer Cielo (3rd Heaven). The song, titled Yo Te Extrañaré (I'll Miss You) appeared on their album titled Hollywood (2008). The song, together with images from Saturday's earthquake, moves me to tears. Knowing that many of you do not understand Spanish, I wanted to help you understand the lyrics to the song.

Please remember to pray for Chile.

It is for calves, and I like it in frozen form (perhaps with strawberries) . . .

I did not write this. The author's name is Mark Lightman. But I liked it . . .

Μαρκος τοις δυναμενοις αναγιγνωσκειν Ελληνιστι. Χαιρετε, ω φιλοι! Πως εχετε; Εγω Μαρκος καλως εχω.
Σημερον ὁ τοπος του Μαρκου «γαλα» εστιν. Γιγνωσκεις το ρημα «γαλα;» γαλα ποσις εστιν. Πινομεν γαλα. Γαλα λευκον εστιν. Εκ βοῶν γαλα εστιν. Μαρκος χεει το γαλα επι των «fruit loops» αυτου. Το γαλα εστιν «2%» ἢ «1%» ἢ «4%» ἢ «skim.»
Τοις ανθρωποις ὑγιειαν φέρει το γαλα. Αλλὰ γαλα και ωφελιμον εστιν προς το μανθανειν την γλωσσαν Ελληνικην. Την αληθειαν λεγω. Ουκ ψευδομαι. Εγω Μαρκος λεγω υμιν οτι γαλα βοηθήσει υμιν μανθανειν την Ελληνικην.
Γαλα γαρ «ακρωνυμον» εστιν: γ-α-λ-α.
γ-γραφε
α-ακουε
λ-λαλεῖ
α-αναγιγνωσκε.
Μαρκος λεγει: μικρον γαλα καθ’ ημεραν. γραφε Ελληνιστι και ακουε Ελληνιστι και λαλεῖ Ελληνιστι και αναγιγνωσκε Ελληνιστι. Ποιουντες ταυτα παντες ημεις προκοψομεν.
Ερωτῶ ουν σε: γαλα εχεις;
χαρις υμιν.

I haven't blogged for a very long time . . .

I thought that the next blog I would post would be a reflection on the movie Avatar. I still haven't written that one down.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. In my e-mail this morning was a very thoughtful reflection on attitudes of Christians towards sports. It was written by my Chilean friend, Fernando Soto Dupuy, who ministers on the west coast. He recounts how he grew up in a church culture in Chile (different from the one in which we ministered), that viewed a Christian's participation in sports as an indication of carnality. I once led a Bible Study in a home in Chile, shortly after having my nose broken playing basketball. At the end of the Bible Study, my Chilean colleague asked the woman of the home to dismiss our meeting in prayer. She came toward me, put her hands on my head and began to pray for me, casting out the demons of sports. That shows a prevailing attitude of a certain Christian sub-culture at the time in Chile.

At any rate, Fernando's reflection was based on personal experience, and on an article titled "Sports Fanatics" by Shirl James Hoffman, published in Christianity Today. I know that most of the readers of this blog are more proficient in reading English than Spanish. You can access the article by Hoffman by clicking on the link.

Some of my readers will appreciate Fernando Soto's essay, titled "El Cristianismo el el deporte competitivo". If you read Spanish well, you may enjoy reading it. I know that I did!

A Christmas Greeting for Decent People

I received this greeting via e-mail. Perhaps you will enjoy watching it:
http://bit.ly/6kzdbP

On the "Intolerant" Exclusivity of Christianity--Is it "arrogance" or is it "revelation"?

I am a graduate of Columbia International University (Columbia, SC). One of my favorite professors there was Dr. William Larkin. He has written a number of books on the Biblical message as it interfaces with divergent cultures.

I recently received the December 2009 letter from CIU's president, Dr. Bill Jones. In it, he shares a portion of an op ed piece in the State newspaper, as Dr. Larkin responded to another writer's thesis, that "a variety of paths lead to the same Divine Truth."

Christians who believe that the Bible is the very Word of God sometimes appear to be intolerant. John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 are rather narrow. If a Christian accepts Scripture as revelation, such texts do not allow for much wiggle room.

I liked the portion from Dr. Larkin's piece so much, that I wanted to share it here. In his introductory letter, Dr. Jones said, "What better time to discuss the exclusivity of Christianity than at Christmas."

Here are the two main points from Dr. Larkin's article:

1.) Exclusivity is revealed in the Old and New Testament.
God has a salvation plan with a universal scope. God’s call to Abraham clearly
communicates that universal scope: “in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Joel’s invitation, repeated by Peter and Paul (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13), echoes that opportunity: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In the Old Testament, at the very heart of covenant obligations, is exclusivity. In the first two Commandments God commands “You shall have no other gods before me” and “You shall make no carved idols” (Exodus 20:3-4).

In the New Testament, Jesus and His followers taught exclusivity in terms of salvation accomplished and applied, though they asserted it should be offered to all. While Jesus said to make disciples of and teach all nations and ethnic groups, He also said, “I am the way the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

At CIU, we do not debate Christian exclusivity. Our doctrinal standard centers
on the person of Jesus Christ. In fact, we only admit students for degree
candidacy who affirm this Scriptural truth. Christian exclusivity means that much to us.

2.) The source of Christian exclusivity is revelation, not arrogance.
Left to ourselves, we are those blind individuals feeling various parts of the elephant and coming to our conclusions about God’s truth. But if God’s message is that He has provided one way of salvation, then the exclusivity of
its truth claim is not a matter of the “fundamentalist” Christian’s desire to be right, but of humble obedience to the Good News he has received.
It has been said that sharing God’s exclusive message is simply “one beggar telling another where to find bread.” Admittedly, we can hold to this exclusivity in arrogance, self-righteousness and smugness. But this is not the stance Jesus commended—or commanded. Throughout His ministry, Jesus challenged such attitudes among the religious leaders of His day. A quick scan of the Gospels
reveals this.

Jesus IS the reason for the season. We live to know Him and to make Him known.

The Passing of a Friend and Former Colleague

This week a friend went home to glory. Charlie Williams, long-time coach at Ozark Christian College passed away this week after a sudden illness. We went to his visitation last night, and attended the funeral this morning. It was very well attended (an understatement indeed!), which is a testimony to how many lives he touched.

Bud Clapp and Randy Gariss officiated. Bud's message was taken from John 4, perhaps a strange text for a funeral message. In his message, he compared Charlie's simplicity as a coach, always sticking to the fundamentals (the ABCs) of the game, to Jesus' approach to the Samaritan Woman in the text.

He emphasized that in the text, Jesus (as did Charlie, in his life), stuck to the ABCs, by

1. Making himself AVAILABLE to those that really had a need.
2. BATTLING over things that were really important.
3. Remaining COMMITTED to the will of God in all things.

College Heights played last night versus Diamond High School, and lost. The guys on the team wanted to play for Coach Williams. You can read the newspaper article about their defeat, which also pay tribute to Coach Williams, by clicking here. An earlier tribute, "Williams Left a Gentlemanly Mark", written by The Joplin Globe's Jim Fryar, is available here.

The video below was recorded from KODE TV (ABC affiliate) channel 12 local news on December 16.

The Obituary:

Charles R. "Charlie" Williams, age 67, of Carl Junction, MO passed away at 8:55 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin following a sudden illness.

Charlie was born September 27, 1942 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and moved to Carl Junction in 1985 from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was a graduate of Midwest Christian College in Oklahoma City, and received his Master's Degree from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. Charlie servied in the U.S. Army, and then served 20 years in the Army National Guard. Charlie was employed as the Athletic Director, Men's Basketball, and Baseball Coach for College Heights Christian School in Joplin. He previously served as the Athletic Director, Men and Women's Basketball Coach, Women's Volleyball, and Baseball Coach at Ozark Christian College in Joplin. He also assisted with the Women's Basketball program at Missouri Southern State University and Crowder College. Charlie was a member of the Joplin Sport's Authority Hall of Fame, and the Missouri Basketball Coach's Hall of Fame. He led several of his teams to National Championships in various sports.

Charlie married Kim Wright August 17, 1979 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and she survives. Additional survivors include a daughter, Trisha Gage, and husband Harrison, Carl Junction, two sons, Charles R. Williams Jr., Webb City, MO, and Cody Williams, Carl Junction, one sister, Patricia Self, Claremore, OK, and one grandson, Gaven Williams, Carl Junction. He was preceded in death by a sister, Betty Burks.

Spanish is "¿Cómo Estás?". That's nothing you eat! We're doin' business here.

3 things made me write this post:

• Over the last couple years we've incurred LOTS of medical expenses at Freeman Hospital in Joplin.
  
• Since July, I have eaten only healthy foods, in order to lose weight and improve my overall health.
  
• I also have an innate interest in language.
  

The confluence of all of those factors make this spot for Freeman Hospital very interesting. Good job, Freeman!

Roger Powell Update

Roger Powell is playing in the Spanish Pro league. He recently came back from injury, and played in just his 2nd game today. He led his team with 14 points, as they were defeated on the road. Final score: Real Madrid 73 CB Murcia 66. Here are some video highlights, including one of Powell's dunks.

Sports from a Christian Perspective

On the way to my activities this morning, I caught part of Focus on the Family's weekend program, and heard Del Tackett, founder of the Truth Project, talking about an incredible high school football game played almost a year ago in Grapevine, TX.

The game made some national news. Rick Reilly of ESPN The Magazine wrote about it here. I made a note to myself to look for information on the story, and located Del Tackett's story, "Cheering for the Underdog."

I also found this youtube video. Read the stories and watch the video. I think you will be blessed.

Frustration!

The AT&T Customer Service (sic) Representative asks, "How can I make you a satisfied AT&T customer today?"

After about 4+ hours on the phone, unfortunately, I have to answer, "Sorry. You should be able to, but obviously you cannot!"

We have been AT&T phone customers (land-line) for over 15 years, and DSL customers for about 5 years. The plan was to drop the land-line and use their new product, DSL with no phone. We were to lose the phone service yesterday (10/6), with the DSL service continuing seamlessly. It did not happen. We lost both phone and DSL service. Their explanation was that the "order fell out of the system". Their solution was to make an entirely new order and wait another 6 days for activation. Yesterday I was told that a manager had authorized expedited service. Today they could not find the "new" order made yesterday, and made a 3rd order, for activation on 10/13.

Tomorrow morning, our local Cable company will be installing a cable modem for internet service only. It is nice to walk into a company, see a real person, and see how they do their best to provide customer service that is worth providing.

Eric Juan Phillips

Eric Juan Phillips Tomlin, an MK from Santiago, CHILE is in the running to be Chile's entry in the prestigious music festival in Viña del Mar.

His entry would be a song written in 1975 by Buddy Richard, a Chilean composer whose real name is Ricardo Roberto Toro Lavín. The Chilean public is allowed to vote via text message. It's a pretty good song. Here it is:

My Little Lady Ambassador

Here is a photo of a little OCC Lady Ambassador--Ruthie A. Ayelén Fish, Class of 20??

She's beautiful, isn't she?

Woohoo! E-mail from Zondervan!

Last month the rumors were alive at Logos Bible Software about an important contract that Bob Pritchett had signed. Logos users were speculating (and hoping), that Zondervan would cease and decease in their crazy idea that they could sell their books in electronic format better than Logos.

Every time I have attended a Logos event for Bible College and Seminary profs, I have asked the same question, "Are you making any progress with Zondervan?" The Logos people would smile and say, "You know, we used to say that we publish electronically some of the best books in the world, from A to Y!"

This e-mail notice came to me this morning from Zondervan:

Zondervan is discontinuing its Pradis® line of software. Technical support will continue until June 1, 2010 . Zondervan content can be found on multiple platforms and across many devices from e-book readers such as the Kindle and Sony Reader, to mobile devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry. In 2010, new software titles will become available for use with Logos Bible Software.

I Have a Granddaughter

Ruthie Ann Ayelén Fish (Benson), born September 13, 2009 at 7:09 PM (Central Time).

Proud parents: Gregory and Emily Fish

Proud grandparents: David and Rose Fish; Van and Tammy Benson

7 lbs. 20 inches long.

Ayelén is a Native South-American (Mapuche) name that means "to smile" or "joy".

Emily's Grandma Went Home

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Shirley A. Sweeten. In loving memory of the matriarch of our family, Shirley A. Sweeten. To a woman that no one ever believed was 72 years old, due to your year-round tan, fashionable purses, ring covered fingers and the most stylish high heels in town. To many you are well known for the Elvis Presley collection in your office, to others for the combined 46 years of hard work as company manager for The Don Roderique Insurance Agency and Jasper County Mutual Insurance Company of Carthage, and to many as a proud member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.

To us, you are the foundation of our family. From June 4, 1937, to September 8, 2009, you brought to those around you strength, logic, determination, love and security. So many times, your opinion has become fact. We take comfort in the unshakeable faith in God that you taught us, and know that He must have had some projects in heaven that required your tenacity to get them done. We send our love through you to those that have gone before you, your parents, Joe and Ruth Leonard (Gramps and Granny), and your brother, Floyd. We know your sister, Reva Jean, and your lifelong friend, Sono, are comforted to know you are together. You have always been the heart of our family and we will take with us the lessons you taught us throughout your generous and productive life. So, for now, we express our love and respect, and look forward to the day we see you eternally so you can remind us once again what you never let us forget. “Love you More.”

Your loving husband, Keith, your children, Tammy, Russ, Darren, Van, Jill and Christina. The pride of your life, nine little Indian girls, who called you “Grandma”, Emily, Valery, Holly, Julia, Jessica, Stefany, Jenna, Hannah, and Madison. And to those that called you “GG”, your great-grandchildren, Nathan, Arianna, Elijah, Addelyn, Samuel and Ruthie. We all love you so much, but know you love us more! We as a family invite you to attend visitation from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hedge-Lewis Chapel and graveside services at 2 p.m. Friday at the Carterville Cemetery with Rev. Jim Carter officiating.

Memorial contributions are requested to the College Heights Christian School Scholarship Fund in care of the funeral home.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hedge-Lewis Funeral Home, Webb City.