Jack...

...What a STUD!!!

You may know that my friends in Iraq at PLC have recently completed "Remedy Mission," a project where they partnered with doctors and technicians from around the world to work for 2 weeks in order to perform heart surgeries on about 25 kids in their hometown.

To put this in perspective, it would take PLC almost a year to save that many kids "the old fashioned way" (by sending them out of the country to Turkey to have the surgery). In addition, the local doctors are being trained. The hope and goal is that Kurdish/Iraq doctors will be self-sufficient in heart surgery in 5 years.

The wonderful news is that, due to a lot of hard work and a lot of generous people, the project was a huge success and many families are now celebrating a life that was previously considered lost.

However, not all stories have happy endings. Click here for a challenging glimpse into the world of PLC.

Is this going to be on the test?

I've been reading Matthew lately. For a while, actually (there's a lot in there). Today, I read the story of the rich, young ruler. Remember that one? The guy that asks Jesus how to get to heaven and then is disappointed when the Lord tells him to sell everything he owns... It's Matthew 19:16-26.

Today, this passage brought to mind a lot of questions, like:

* When the man asked how to have eternal life, why did Jesus respond with "keep the commandments"? Why not "believe in Me and the One who sent Me", or something really faith-based like that?

* When the man asked which commandments to keep, why did Jesus respond by listing SIX of the 10? What about the other four?

* After this exchange, how did the man know that he was still missing something? He claimed to have done all that Jesus required, so why didn't he think he was "in"? How did he know he was still lacking?

I think that maybe the answer to these questions could lie in the original question from the young man: "What do I need to do to obtain eternal life?"

I think he was asking the wrong question. Could it be, that to Jesus, this question is equivalent to "Is this going to be on the test?" The young ruler's motivation wasn't glorifying God, proclaiming His Name, or helping his fellow man; it was simply his own destiny.

Maybe, it could be that when my desire is to please God, to follow God, to glorify Christ, then I see my eternal salvation as simply a by-product... not the main course.

Not rocket-science theology, I admit. But even if you agree with this statement, you have to admit that as Christians, we do an awful lot of stressing eternal life as the "end-all" goal of evangelism. Which raises the question of how does that attitude affect our daily life and our theology of interacting with a lost world?

The more I think about it, the more I'm forced to admit that I've been doing it wrong for a long time...

Remedy Mission

These past two weeks have been busy for the Preemptive Love Coalition.

Click here to read the story that the Arab and Muslim world's top publication, Al-Jazeera, wrote on their work in Iraq.

"Do you love me?... Tend my sheep." John 21:17

Please Pray...

Please lift up Travis Bigham, the nephew of my friend, Mindy. He is currently in a coma due to a car accident several weeks ago. His precious family would appreciate your prayers. His Caring Bridge website is www.caringbridge.org/visit/travisbigham or you can click on the link in the column.

Also please pray for William Carter, the nephew of my friend, Karen. He is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, and his precious family would also appreciate your prayers. His Caring Bridge website is www.caringbridge.org/visit/williamcarter1 or you can click on the link in the oclumn.

Thank you for lifting up these young men to our powerful, personal God.

First Day of School Blues

I've always hated the first day of school. When I was young, I hated it because I didn't want the care-free days of summer to end. Now that I'm in my 40's, I hate it because I don't want the care-free days of summer to end. I hate it because it means no more staying in our pajamas until late afternoon, no more staying up late just because we can, and no more boys filling the house with their rambunctious laughter.

I also hate it because it's one more milestone that I'm missing with Paul.

Paul, who would be in fourth grade.

Yep. I've always hated the first day of school. I guess I always will...

The End of Summer

It's been a great summer.

I've done a lot of things, but nothing more important than this.