Pioneer Missionary Adoniram Judson

Greetings All!

     After a week in Costa Rica I am back to sending out the weekly thought!  And being in that foreign context led me to choose sending out this encouraging account regarding a missionary who struggled for many years in a foreign context before seeing any fruit whatsoever. I trust that you (especially if you are active in sharing the faith) will be encouraged by it.  It comes to you from "The One Year Book of Christian History" by Michael and Sharon Rusten.  Enjoy.

     
     "Pioneer missionary Adoniram Judson graduated from Brown University as valedictorian at the age of nineteen, and in 1810 graduated in the first class of Andover Theological Seminary.  After much prayer, he and his wife (Ann Hasseltine) sailed from the docks in Salem, Massachusetts, to the predominantly Buddhist country of Burma (now Myanmar), arriving in 1813.  Shortly thereafter he was joined by two other missionaries. However, after six years of labor not one Burmese had trusted in Christ.

     Then on June 6, 1819, Judson received a letter from Moung Nau, a Burmese man who had shown great interest in the gospel but up to this point had not acted on it.  The letter read:  "I Moung Nau, the constant recipient of your excellent favor, approach your feet. Whereas my Lord's three (ie: Judon and the other two missionaries) come to the country of Burma -- not for the purposes of trade, but to preach the religion of Jesus Christ, the Son of the eternal God -- I, having heard and understood, am, with a joyful mind, filled with love. I believe that the divine Son, Jesus Christ, suffered death in the place of men, to atone for their sins. Like a heavy-laden man, I feel my sins are very many. The punishment of my sins I deserve to suffer. Since it is so, do you, sirs, consider that I, taking refuge in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, and receiving baptism, in order to become his disciple, shall dwell as one with yourselves, a band of brothers, in the happiness of heaven, and therefore grant me the ordinance of baptism. It is through the grace of Jesus Christ that you, sirs, have come by ship from one country and continent to another and that we have met together. I pray the Lord's three that a suitable day may be appointed, and that I may receive the ordinance of baptism. Moreover, as it is only since I have met with you, sirs, that I have known about the eternal God, I venture to pray that you will still unfold to me the religion of God, that my old disposition may be destroyed, and my new disposition improved."

     Three weeks later Moung Nau was baptized, and the barrier of unbelief was broken. What enabled Adoniram Judson to faithfully labor so many years before seeing any fruit from his labors? We can see evidence of his motivation in the following lines, which he penciled on the inner cover of a book he used in his translation of the Bible into Burmese:

     "In joy or in pain,
     Our course be onward still;
     We sow on Burma's barren plain;
     We reap on Zion's hill."

     After thirty-seven years as a missionary in Burma, Judson could look back not only on good times, but also on extremely difficult times. He was imprisoned for 20 months between 1824-1826. The sufferings and brutalities of those 20 long months in prison -- half-starved, iron-fettered, and sometimes trussed and suspended by his mangled feet with only head and shoulders touching the ground -- are described in detail by his wife, who passed away shortly afterward from illness in 1826.  From the time he landed Judson struggled against persecution, disease, and the sadness and discouragement caused by the death.  He not only lost his wife Ann to death, but two of the children he had with her -- 7 month old son Roger, and 2 year old daughter Maria, not to mention one that was still-born. After eight years alone, he married his second wife Sarah Hall Boardman and lost three of the children he had with her -- only to lose her to sickness as well.

     Yet at the end of Judson's labors, he could look with satisfaction on a complete Burmese translation of the Scriptures; a Burmese-English dictionary; sixty-three churches among the Burmese and Karens; and best of all, seven thousand Burmese Christians.  Today there are more than two million believers in Myanmar, and 40 percent of the Karen people to whom Judson directed his ministry are now Christians."

     Judson's belief was that nothing enduring comes without sacrifice. Ann was of the same mindset, and her story of faithfulness and perseverance is also well worth reading.  It is hard for many to imagine what makes a people give up and sacrifice so much. Jim Elliot (who lost his life reaching out to the Auca Indian Tribe in the jungles of Ecuador probably summed it up best when he wrote in his diary (addressing those who asked why one would give up so much to go reach a small group of people): "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

     What would you be willing to lose for the sake of Christ, His church, and those who have never heard?

     If you would like to read more about the amazing life of Adoniram Judson, the book "To the Golden Shore - The Life of Adoniram Judson" is superb, and there is a free ebook "Adoniram Judson Biography"   Download eBook as a PDF file.    Download eBook as an EPUB file formatted for readers like the Nook, Sony Reader, and Apple iBooks (iPad, iPhone, iPod)  Download eBook as a MOBI file formatted for Kindle applications (this option works well on some mobile devices, and not so well on others).

     Prayer note: Between 2001 and 2004 up to 200,000 Karen people were driven from their homes due to war, with 160,000 more refugees, mostly Karen, living in refugee camps over the border of Thailand. The largest camp was the one in Mae La, Tak province, Thailand, where about 50,000 Karen refugees are hosted.  As recently as February 2010, the Burmese army continued to burn Karen villages, displacing thousands of people.   A 2005 New York Times article on a report by Guy Horton into depredations by the Myanmar Army against the Karen and other groups in eastern Myanmar stated: "Using victims' statements, photographs, maps and film... he purports to have documented slave labor, systematic rape, the conscription of child soldiers, massacres and the deliberate destruction of villages, food sources and medical services."  Many of the refugees form that attempted genocide were brought to the United States and settled in Nebraska, central New York, Pennsylvania and California.  Pray for their adjustments, faith, and the painful memories of atrocities like those mentioned above.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Why does the celebration of Easter vary so much?

Greetings All!

When people discover I am a pastor it often leads to questions they have about God or the church. This was the case the other day when at the YMCA an older gentleman asked me: "Why is Easter so late this year?"  As I always try to find the answer when asked, I collected the following data to share with him.  Yet its not the first time I've been asked that question. So I offer this to you in case you wondered or have been asked the same.  Why does the celebration of Easter vary so much?  The answer lies below!  Enjoy!

Why Does the Day to Celebrate Easter Vary So Much from Year to Year?

     This year most Christians in the Western hemisphere will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 21, which is much later than last year’s April 1, or 2008’s Easter, which fell on March 23. This may make it “seem” like Easter is late this year, but according to the lunar calendar, it's right on time!  Easter Sunday is known as a "movable feast" because unlike Christmas (which always falls on Dec. 25), the celebration of Easter within the church does not adhere to a single date.  Rather, it always falls within a certain time period – on a specific Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This is because – NOTE:  Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on, or after, the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox (spring equinox).

     Scripture puts Jesus’ death following the Jewish Passover, celebrated on a full moon in Spring. So, early Christians decided to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection according to that Jewish calendar tradition. In an effort to standardize this, in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea, the Western Church compiled information about lunar cycles into an ecclesiastical full moon table and made March 21 the standard date of the vernal equinox.

     One of the more noteworthy contradictions of this dating will be Easter in the year 2038. Astronomically, Easter should fall on March 28 that year, but because the equinox falls on Saturday, March 20 in that year, and the full moon occurs the next day, Easter will be observed on April 25 – its latest possible date given the lunar cycle's length of about a month. So, while Easter may feel "late" this year, the 2038 celebration will take place even later.

     Same Easter, Different Day

     At the Council in Nicaea (called for the purpose of seeking to create greater unity in a Church encompassing many peoples and cultures), the council thought they had finalized a universal date for Easter. However, what they didn't count on was a later split in the church which occurred in 1054. The “Great Schism” of 1054 became the dividing point for the church.

     The Roman Empire had already divided itself into the Eastern (Byzantine) and Western (Roman) Empires, and even though the church tried to maintain a semblance of universal unity, it soon divided as well. Not only did the Eastern and Western halves form their own separate empires, they also chose their own spiritual heads for each church (Pope Leo the IX for the Western church, and the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius for the Eastern or Orthodox church). They split over doctrinal an “head of the church” issues, but when it came to Easter, both still believed Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon to follow the Spring equinox.

     Yet in 1582 (528 years later) the Catholic Church switched over from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.  The Julian Calendar proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. took the place of the old Roman calendar on 1 January 45 BC, by royal edict. This was the predominant calendar of the Roman world and most of Europe until it was replaced by the Gregorian Calendar put forth in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.

     The Julian calendar has two types of years: "normal" years of 365 days and “leap” years of 366 days. There is a simple cycle of three "normal" years followed by a “leap” year, and this pattern repeats forever without exception. The Julian year is, therefore, on average 365.25 days long. Consequently, the Julian year drifts over time with respect to the solar year which is 365.24217 days. The Julian calendar did not compensate for this difference and as a result, even with “leap” years, the calendar year gains about three days every four centuries. This discrepancy was largely corrected by the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582.

     The Orthodox Church still holds to the original Nicaean Council's formula for Easter, but by using a different calendar system, the vernal equinox (which now falls on March 21 under the Gregorian calendar), is on April 3 under the Julian calendar.  Therefore, the Eastern Orthodox Easter this year is April 28. The two churches celebrate the same Easter holiday, but on two different days. Whereas the “Catholic” Easter falls anywhere between March 22 and April 25, the “Orthodox” Easter now falls anywhere between April 4 and May 8.

     In rare instances the dates align and Easter is celebrated simultaneously. For example, both the Orthodox and Catholic Easter fell on the same day in 2010, 2011, 2014 and in 2017. However, with the way the two calendars work, they will not fall on the same day again until 2034.

     I know some people will not care about such things, but some will.       For those who did, today was your day!  Yet, regardless of the day Easter is celebrated on, the more important fact is what we celebrate -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!  For as the apostle Paul tells us, it was Jesus' resurrection that "declared" (proved) Him to be the Son of God.  As Romans 1:1-4 states: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God -- the Gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God through his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

     Though the disciples confessed Jesus to be the "Son of God" right up until He went to the cross, when He died from the suffering inflicted by crucifixion, it left them all disillusioned, questioning everything, and hiding in fear and despair from the authorities. That is, until they saw, encountered and touched His resurrected body! Then all doubt was erased! For through that miracle He was, "declared with power (God put a divine exclamation point on it!) to be the Son of God... Jesus Christ our Lord."  So, regardless of the day we celebrate it (I prefer it later in the Spring!) it is that event we look forward to, honor, and rejoice in in our hearts. To Him be glory in the Church, now and forever more. Amen.

Living in the Hope of Jesus' Resurrection, Pastor Jeff

Tortured for Christ

Greetings All,

     This week’s “thought” comes from a man whose faith and commitment to Jesus I have admired for years.  Shortly after I came to Christ 38 years ago, I headed to the Dominican Republic as a short-term missionary.  At one point I came across a book in the mission’s library.  It was Richard Wurmbrand’s autobiographical sketch of the 14 years he spent in a Communist prison camp in Romania for being a Christian - “Tortured for Christ.” 

     It was the first Christian book I ever read cover to cover in one sitting, and I have given out many copies to friends ever since! The two stories I share today were related by Wurmbrand to a friend, and are samples of what you will find in that book.  They come from the most recent “Voice of the Martyr’s” magazine.   Enjoy.

     Story #1:

     “Richard once overheard a conversation between a pastor named Simeon and a thief named Cunia.  Every day Cunia stole Simeon’s eyeglasses and then offered to return them in exchange for the pastor’s supply of sugar. Pastor Simeon never complained, and then one day he said to the thief, “I will give you the sugar gladly. You don’t need to blackmail me by taking my glasses.”  “Why don’t you get angry with me and report me?” Cunia asked.  “Because I want you to become a better man,” Simeon replied, “I love you.”

     “Nobody loves me,” Cunia said.  “I am a thief.”  “It is Christmas -- Jesus’ birth,” Simeon continued.  “He loved thieves so much that He likened Himself to a thief who comes in the night.  I too have learned much from thieves.  You are passionate in your trade. You go to great lengths to get money. You suffer repeatedly, but, once freed, you revert to stealing. You are a model of perseverance.  Like you, I too like gold. I have chosen as my eternal abode a city where even the streets are paved with gold. Jesus came from there to enrich us. There is no need to steal anymore.”  He went on to tell Cunia about the Son of God who was born in a stable to save us...

     Wurmbrand said of Pastor Simeon, “On Christmas the Son of God was made a man that we might become children of God. His aim has been fulfilled. There are real children of God.”

     Story #2:

     “On Christmas Eve, while Richard lay in bed, an abbot named Iscu lay in another bed on his right, awaiting death from the tortures he received. The abbot was serene knowing he would soon be with Jesus in heaven…  On Richard’s left was another prisoner – the man who had tortured Iscu.  His comrades had turned on him and he too had been imprisoned and tortured.  Distraught by his deeds, this man woke Richard during the night.  “I have committed horrible crimes,” he confessed. “I can find no rest. Help me,” he pleaded.

     Just then, Iscu called two other prisoners to his side to help him. Leaning on them, he slowly walked to his former torturer and sat down on his bedside. “You were young and did not know what you were doing,” he said, caressing the man’s head. “I forgive you and love you, as do all the other Christians you have mistreated. And if we sinners who have been saved by Jesus can love like this, how much more is He ready to erase all the evil you have done, to cleanse you fully. Only repent.”

     In that common cell in which there was no privacy, Richard heard the torturer confessing his crimes to the one he had tortured…  Both men died that night, on Christmas Eve.  It was not simply a commemoration of the event in Bethlehem. It was Jesus being born in the heart of a criminal.”

     Such a degree of love really is amazing.  Who could explain it except as the fruit of a very real and true faith in Jesus Christ.  And what a blessing it is for those who have messed up so badly to discover that salvation is by the grace of Jesus, and therefore no one is too far gone to be beyond the reach of God’s power to redeem. Not even a man who had tortured and brought great pain and suffering to many.

     It is a matter for great praise that forgiveness is not earned, but as the Gospel proclaims, is a free gift of grace to those who cast themselves upon the mercy of Jesus and take eternal refuge in the blood that was shed to satisfy God’s just wrath against sin.  A Gospel promise that is to all who will turn in faith to Jesus and leave their life of sin behind -- regardless of how terrible that past life of sin may have been.

     Blessing the Name of him who came and took on flesh that first Christmas, Pastor Jeff

Gospel Formed

Greetings All,

     This week's "thought" has to do with our identity.  That is, how we view and define ourselves.  What ultimately makes us who we are, and what we turn to or look to, when we are struggling to come up with a label that describes the essence of our deepest core identifying markers. It is taken from J. A. Medders book, "Gospel Formed."  I picked up a copy last week and have enjoyed many of his insights. If you have struggled with what your identity is, or what defines you, I offer you his insights. Enjoy.

"He is not ashamed to call them brothers." 

Hebrews 2:11

     "Have you ever thought about the meaning of your name?  My wife's name, Natalie, means, "child of Christmas."  (Cute, but she was born in March!) Names in the Bible are often pregnant with significance. Naming a child ranged from a parent's reaction at birth (Issac means "laughter") to religious significance (Adonijah means "the LORD is sovereign). In the ancient Near East, your name defined you.  But what about when someone's name is changed? God has a thing for changing names: "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham (Gen. 17:5).   "He said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel." (Gen. 32:28)  "Sarai" was given the new name "Sarah"(Gen.17:15), and "Simon, son of John" was given the name "Cephas" which means "Peter" ( John 1:42).  What's all the fuss abut a new name? It's mega-crucial.  A new name from God means you've been redefined. God grants a new identity, a new life, a new outlook...

     Christian, you have a new name.  So, "you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." (Gal. 4:7).  "See what kind of love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God; and so we are" (I John 3:1).  "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends." (John 15:15).  Do you know who you are?  What defines your life -- or rather, who defines your life? All of your hurts, hang-ups, disappointments, and struggles do not make up who you are.  Only Jesus does.  If you are in Christ, you are no longer defined by your sins, whether past, present, or future.  Jesus gives you a new identity.

       Yet far too often we have mislabeled ourselves and others. Have you ever called yourself a liar?  Have you ever labeled another Christian an adulterer?  What about a drunkard? Or in today's language, an alcoholic? Or a homosexual?  Thinking this way does more damage than we realize.  I know because I myself have suffered at the hand of the same cruel label master.  Maybe you can hear yourself saying: "I'm so arrogant,"  "I'm a jerk," "I'm such a fool,"  "You are so ___________."  That line of thinking is anti-Gospel. It defines us by our sins rather than the sin-conquering power of Christ on the cross. By looking inward instead of upward, fixating on our sins instead of Jesus, we are subtly drawn away from the power of Christ. 

     The accusations of Satan, ourselves, and others -- "You are a (pick the sin of your choice)" -- seek to identify us with sin, instead of Jesus, who became sin for us. But the sin identity is a false identity. The truth is, we are no longer our sin. Rather, we are the pure righteousness of Christ (II Corinthians 5:21). Grace means that we are not defined by our sins, but by Jesus, who became our sin in His death and then rose from the dead in sinless victory. This does not belittle our indwelling sins; rather, it puts them in the right perspective.  We must wage war against our sin, but we must also think of sin rightly. We are what Martin Luther called, "simul justus et peccator" (at the same time righteous and sinner). We are saints who sin. We are no longer just sinners. We are sinners saved by grace.

       The apostle Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to grasp this very thing. In 1 Corinthians 6, he rattles off a list of sins and then drops a four-letter, megaton word on them: "And such WERE some of you."  "Were" is the game-changer. The Corinthians WERE sexually immoral, idolaters, drunkards, thieves, etc. Those sins used to define them -- but not anymore, because another "WERE" had crashed into their lives. The Corinthian Christians WERE washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit. And if you are in Jesus the same is true of you. As the blood of Jesus flowed down the cross, it washed away all of our sin stains. Now we are new people in Jesus...

       Gospel-centeredness means we go back to the cross and find ourselves there, not in our sin. When we sin we go back to Calvary and believe that we are forgiven, cleansed, saved, and redeemed from all that haunts us. Jesus changes the way we think about our sin, ourselves, and our brothers and sisters in Christ. The man isn't an adulterer; he is a Christian who committed adultery... That woman in your small group isn't an arrogant person; she is a Christian who wrestles with pride. The world wants us to define ourselves and each other by our sins, but God does not (Rom. 8:1)...

     Whatever old names you had, forget them. I mean, all of 'em. Addict, adulterer, liar, cheater, drunkard, pervert, victim, moralist, bully, Pharisee, depressed, glutton, pill-popper -- shun those names. They might be sins you struggle with, but they aren't your calling card. They're who you WERE, not how you are now in the light of the gospel. Jesus took the old you into the ground, and a new you came up with him. May you remember our new name today..."

Blessings on your week -- as you take his words to heart and practice doing what he says.

In the Service of the Gospel, Pastor Jeff

I would simply like to wish everyone a joyful, blessed, and soul-enriching Christmas celebration!

Greetings All,

     This week I would simply like to wish everyone a joyful, blessed, and soul-enriching Christmas celebration!
     My prayer for each one of you is that one night this week (before Friday comes) --

After friends have left, and the all the kids have headed to bed;

After all the electronic devices have been turned off,

And the lights have been dimmed,

And all is quiet...

May you find the time to spend just a few moments earnestly focusing on the miracle,

Offering God your grateful praise for the unspeakable gift of His Son,

And silently worshiping Him who took on human flesh

to redeem us from sin and make us His own.

"Sweet hymns of praise,

In grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name!

Christ is the LORD! Oh praise His name forever!

His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!"

Adolphe C. Adam

(Translated from the French by John S. Dwight)

"The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God."

C. S. Lewis

In His Service, Pastor Jeff