AMERICA'S PASTOR HAS DIED

Early Wednesday morning the news heralded Billy Graham had died at age 99. He had a key spiritual role in America as an evangelist for most of his life. He was a Southern Baptist evangelist who was propelled into the America eye by a national newspaper publisher William Hearst. He thought America needed to hear Graham’s message.

Graham also became pastor to twelve American presidents. When 9/11 hit, all civilian aircraft were grounded except Air Force One. However, there was a second plane that was allowed aloft; the plane that bore Billy Graham to the White House where he would pray for our president and country. It is said that during this time he led the President to Christ. He also helped Queen Elizabeth in a similar way earlier. God used him in unique ways.

Billy Graham had a role in my salvation as well. I had attended church all my life but never clearly understood the Gospel. I thought I was probably “good enough for heaven.” When I was an early teen my mother became very ill and began searching for God. I attended various churches with her and began to realize I was a sinner and that no amount of good works was enough. Then I heard Graham preach on TV and was drawn to his message. The Gospel was become clear to me. He was scheduled to have a Crusade at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962 so I took the train to see my aunt and attend the Crusade at the Century 21 Exhibit. There in the shadow of the newly erected Space Needle Graham preached the gospel and I went forward in repentance and faith. What he said about Christ matched what I heard from other preachers.

Seattle 1962 Worlds Fair poster 1962

The Spirit worked and I began reading my Bible and attending church with a desire to learn and grow. When I finished junior college, I attended Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland. At that time Graham had a crusade in Portland during which I was privileged to be a counselor. That was the last time I saw him in person. I’m so thankful for how God used him in my life. 

Very few have the opportunity to witness to presidents and kings. But all believers have the simple gospel that can change lives.  We should share it whenever possible. We never know who it will touch.

This Sunday I'll be back in Galatians 5 as we look at what it means to be set free in Christ.  This is an important passage in understanding also how we are to live daily.

-Pastor Mark

DON'T JUST DO SOMETHING, STAND THERE

"Don't Just Do Something, Stand There," titled an early message by Al Mohler. It addressed the need to stand for truth and how we too often get so busy that we miss the point of what we really are here to stand for. That's a good thought. It was Martin Luther who was under attack for his criticism of the church in 1517 when he said, "Here I stand. I can do no other." He was standing on the Bible alone as sole authority because it is God's Word. This is a stand all Christians should take.  Standing like Point Robinson Light, my old lighthouse, that has stood in one place now for over a century.

Painting by Ezra Suko.

This Sunday Pastor Chris will conclude his series on James. Then at 6PM we'll have a sending service for one of our missionaries. It is our opportunity to stand with them in prayer and encourage them to stand for truth as they go. We'll have a chance pray for the Caleb Sukos as they prepare for another term in Eastern Europe. Bring a snack for the fellowship to follow.

Next Sunday I'll return to begin preaching on the last two chapters of Galatians. That book was Luther's second wife, so to speak, because it encouraged him in his "stand." It should encourage us also. It is said to be the Magna Carta of spiritual liberty and to have had more influence on America than our own Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.

So what should you do? Don't just do something, Stand there with us.

Pastor Mark

TODAY'S BEST SELLER IS?

I was shocked to see that Barnes & Nobel listed HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS as a best seller on the web. I discovered that the New York Times list is considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. This week it listed THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS and LET TRUMP BE TRUMP as the best sellers of hardcover fiction and non-fiction books respectively.

Why is the Bible not on that Best Sellers list? Wasn’t the Bible an all time best seller? The answer is that Bibles so far outsell any other books that there is no point in putting it on the list. If they did, the second most sold book would be so far down the list that it would be a dwarf best seller. It’s like comparing our lawnmower shed to the Empire State Building. No comparison!!

According to Guinness World Records the Bible is the world’s best-selling book of all time. While statistics are hard to calculate, the Bible far outsells the Koran and any other book. This year over 100+ million copies were sold or given away in 2,476 languages. The Gideons alone give away one a second. At our Living Nativity they gave away over 1,400 Bibles and ran out an hour before finishing time both nights. The Bible is still the best seller.

But some still question the integrity of Scripture. “How can we know the text of our Bible is true to what was in the original manuscripts?” “Couldn’t error have crept in and the original meaning been lost with all the copying that has to take place?” Consider this. The Bible was written by forty different authors from kings, to poor people, to fishermen, prophets and tentmakers over a period of 1,600 years. Yet it all ties together in a common theme that applies to all cultures and peoples.  

It was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) on three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) and is supported by a vast amount of textual evidence. For example, if you took all the ancient manuscripts that support the writings of Caesar, Plato, Thucydides, Tactius, Suetonius and Homer you would have a total of 696 manuscripts supporting all six authors. But if you take just the New Testament, you have around 24,000 manuscripts. If we throw the Bible out due to a supposed lack of support then we might as well discard the writings of the classical authors too. Not going to happen!

We live in a country where you can easily get the Bible in book form and also electronically.  In my phone I can easily have more Bibles than in my entire collection of paper books. At the same time there are still places in the world where it is hard to get a copy of the Scriptures. 

We who have been given much, much will be required of us (Lu. 12:48). We have much access to God’s truth. Therefore, we have a responsibility to read it, learn it, practice it, teach it, and share it with others starting with our families and then to the world starting in Gig Harbor. How are you doing getting the Gospel out?  It starts with a growing understanding of God’s Word.

January is a good time to start a disciplined Bible reading program. You can read at your own rate of a year or two or three.  But do it. 

Jerry Cudney says, “Why not read through the Bible with other DBC'ers in 2018.”  Register by emailing cudneyjj@comcast.net (or letting him know on a Care Card) and tell Jerry to count you in. Then each morning he will send you the references plus some optional devotional thoughts. Reading takes about 20-30 minutes.  No tests involved.

If you prefer to listen to the Bible, then go to www.dailyaudiobible.com  and listen to Brian Hardin read the exact same texts and give a little commentary with music too; it takes about 20 minutes. 

Don't forget there is only a 10:30 worship this Sunday due to the holidays. This is the last Sunday to give to any fund for the 2017 calendar year tax purposes.  You can also give online before the end of the year at www.discoverybaptist.org.

-Pastor Mark