Bible Quiz The answers are at the end of the blog. Have fun!!
According to the Bible, are these statements true or false?
1. Noah and his descendants were the first Jews. 2. Abraham was the first Jew.
Dear Prayer Warriors,
This is part two of the “Reflections" blog first posted on 08/11/13.
6. The novelty act I can remember as a young boy watching movies on TV, such as ”Meet Me In St. Louis” or Shirley Temple, which usually had in the script a grandfather or uncle who had served in India or “in the foreign service.” His room was filled with exotic items. It was always a source of mystery to be in his room where he regaled the listener with tales of Africa, the Boxer Rebellion, or the India Insurrection. We fill that role in our extended family and friends, only as missionaries instead of soldiers. I actually enjoy it. Not just children, but also adults wander through our home like a museum, looking at the gifts we have brought home from all over the world. It opens the door for the re-telling of many wonderful and exciting experiences and events, both cultural and spiritual. We are asked to share at church and in schools during "mission emphasis week." It is a great honor and a lot of fun.
And it does have its moments of unintended humor. We are at the table, people sitting around talking local politics, sports and community affairs; the conversation lulls, and El and I share, “You know that reminds us of the time we saw lions attack a zebra on the side of the road,” or “a troop of monkeys once came through and grabbed all the refreshments off the picnic table,” or “in Siberia, they just leave their frozen fish in the trunk; it saves freezer space since the trunk is actually colder than the freezer.” People stop, look at us and then all break out in laughter. “Sure, John. We can relate,” and then the conversations start back up in earnest.
I can also attest to the fact that our Christmas gifts are definitely not off the rack at Wal-Mart. One relative told me that her children talk more about what Uncle John and Aunt El will give them from the mission field than they do about Santa Claus, which I guess is not a bad thing.
7. The vibrating metal tube Acts 8:39 describes Philip's travels on the mission field: "When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing." A surreal aspect to our ministry is sitting in metal tubes that vibrate and shake for hours before spilling us out on the other side of the world. Doctor Who has his phone booth, Captain Kirk his warp drive, Jean Luc Piccard his wormhole, Luke Skywalker has hyper-space, and we have the vibrating metal tube. We enter the tube sweating, on a hot Houston afternoon, but when we get out, we are shivering in the dark in Russia. We enter the tube in subzero weather all bundled up, but when we exit, we find ourselves in Houston on a day that any Russian would love to have in the middle of the summer. We enter the tube with familiar sights, smells and sounds, but then we exit the tube, seeing nothing familiar and understanding nothing being spoken. El enters a surreal world where she cannot read, write or communicate and must depend on pictures on packages to do grocery shopping. Then she gets in the vibrating tube, rattles and shakes for 12 to 15 hours and re-enters a world of familiarity.
8. With the apostles in the school of humility Two key passages remind us of the need to embrace humility. Philippians 2:8 describes Christ behavior when "being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross," and Ephesians 3:8 relates Paul's perspective in ministry when he writes that "to me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ." A woman walks up to you in the airport, picks your bag up off the trolley and throws it across the floor, shouting in a voice you do not understand, then takes the trolley and returns to her family. Security guards look on to see what you will do, bystanders look and snicker - just another day with the Lord in the school of humility. Knowing that you are a foreigner, police, stores and a host of others overcharge you or seek to intimidate you. Store clerks will not respond to your primitive handling of their language and then raise their voices and talk very slow to you as if you were both dimwitted and deaf. “Why don’t you speak our language? What is wrong with your hair? What are those spots on your arms and face? Why is your government/president/foreign policy doing this or that?” Although our friends in the ministry and churches love, care for and affirm us, still we are strangers in a strange land. America is not the sole resident of racial, religious or cultural prejudice. My dad had a saying concerning things he did not have to put up with or do - “My mother raised me for better.” That may be true, but Christ calls us to a ministry of sacrificial service to those to whom we minister and to the cultures which we enter. We are exhorted by the God the Holy Spirit through the great missionary and Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:5-7 to “have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
I share these little insights with you, not to alarm or to complain but rather to open a “window” to our lives for your prayers. The Apostle Paul did not have blogs, Facebook pages or emails, but he did have Tychicus. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:21-22 "but that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts."
We would not change the life to which God has called us for anything. It is a great pleasure and privilege to serve the Lord, preach Jesus, strengthen the church and build up families on foreign fields. God is doing great things – pastors are being trained, the church is being built up, families are being restored in Christ and founded on the Word of God, the message of salvation is sounding forth, and men and women are being saved, baptized and folded into the church. These are exciting times in which to minister!
Paul shared the good and the bad, the ups and downs, and what was going on in his heart in an honest way with the churches of his day. I just wanted to give you an inside look at some of the unusual aspects of missionary life. You may not hear from us for a while as Baminda has variable internet service. Until then, we ask you to keep us in your prayers. You can update yourself in terms of our most current ministry praises and events on our GCI Facebook page. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gciweb.
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon Director: Grace Community Int. – Yaoundé, Cameroon heading inland to Baminda
Answers to this week’s Bible quiz
1 & 2. False - Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel by God) is the father of the Jews. His twelve sons are the origins of the twelve tribes of Israel. The word “Jew” is not racial slang but rather a Biblical term. The first mention of the word “Jew” is in Esther 2:5. The first use of the word “Jews” is in 2 Kings 25:25. The first appearance of the word “Jewish” is in 1 Chronicles 4:18. Although there are many conjectures, there exists no primary source material to explain the usage of the word “Jew” for the children of Israel in either Biblical or secular literature.
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