November 2008 Update

Baby News. Our little girl has arrived, 8 lbs, 8 ounces, 19.5 inches long. As planned, we have named her Jasmine Grace. Now Jada has a baby sister to spend time with instead of always being stuck with three older brothers. We’ll see how she adjusts and pray that she plays well and takes good care of her (at least until Jasmine is old enough and big enough to defend herself). I truly don’t care for hospital newborn photos, so we’ve included one we took ourselves. As you can see, she looks like all newborns do: cute, little, squishy, wrinkly, pink, etc. Thanks so much for your prayer for Jasmine, and for Carrie as she was carrying her for the last nine months. The pregnancy, labor, and delivery all went very smooth and we give our great God the glory for His grace and blessing in it all. (For pictures see the blog posts from October 14th and 15th)

Ministry News. I think you all know what Carrie is busy with at the moment. For those of you not sure... she’s recovering from childbirth, taking care of a newborn, trying to pay attention to Jada so she doesn’t get too jealous of the new baby, mothering the three older boys, and babying the biggest boy too! (That’s me, Jon, if you didn’t catch it). I’m pretty busy as well. With Carrie so busy with the new baby, I’m taking over much of the homeschooling. We’ve just started a new Science curriculum so it’s good timing for the transition from mom to dad as teacher. In addition to the homeschooling, I’m attempting to lend a hand around the ‘house’ (the travel trailer we’re living in right now) so that Carrie doesn’t get too overwhelmed (okay, that last statement was a little generous as Carrie is such a hard worker that it’s really not that much more work for me... but I try). I’m also preparing for teaching next semester. I’ll be teaching a class on Church History as well as teaching the Book of Daniel and one other class yet to be determined. On top of that, I’ll be starting the book of Luke at the church so I’m preparing for that as well. This is my first time teaching Church History at the Bible College and I’m really looking forward to it. Anyone who knows me a little knows how much I love history, and when you truly enjoy what you’re teaching it typically makes the class go really well. The same is true of Daniel - that I really enjoy the book - so it should be a great class as well. That being said, please continue to pray for the time of preparation and the classes themselves. We will only be in the States for a short time now that the baby is here. We need about two months to get her U.S. Passport, her Tanzanian visa, and to get her started on the basic immunizations (when you live in a place where people die every day from things that the last couple of generations in the U.S. have forgotten the names of, you really appreciate good vaccinations and immunizations). So, as we remain in Southern California for the next two months, I will also be volunteering in ministry locally. Please pray the Lord would use us for His glory while we’re here for this short stay.

Electronic Info. It’s not fancy, but I have managed to erect a basic website to compliment the already existing blog. Please take a minute to check it out at http://www.thelangleyclan.org. The best source for regular information, pictures, thoughts, funny stories, and even mini-sermons, is still the Web Log, or Blog, which you can find on the Internet here: http://thelangleyclan.blogspot.com. There’s a link to it from the website as well.

Contact Us. We’d really love to take advantage of the opportunity of being here to visit those we haven’t had a chance to visit yet. Please email or call if you’d like to arrange something. Our contact information is below. We look forward to hearing from you.

Co-laboring. There are many ways that we co-labor together with others. Several individuals, as well as a few churches, have partnered with us financially, and in that way have provided for our needs in order that we might serve the Lord and His people as we do. In addition to these co-laborers, many dear brothers and sisters in Christ have partnered in prayer, and in that way have also supported us in serving as we do. Still others have co-labored with us by providing housing and/or a vehicle to drive while in the U.S., or by meeting little needs here and there as they arise (and they always do). Others have partnered with us by speaking to their pastor and inviting us to come and share at their church. And some have done several, or even all of these things. But there is also another way to co-labor with us in this ministry, and that is side by side. This isn’t for everyone, and we’ve had some tell us plainly that they’d rather just use the money that the trip would have cost to financially support the work. But we have had several people contact us about doing a short-term trip, and we are still praying for others who will want to come out for even longer periods. If you’re interested in either, short or long term, or in co-laboring in any other way at all, please get in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you and discuss the possibilities. If you’d rather remain anonymous, please contact the Far Reaching Ministries office. Their contact information is also listed below. Mungu akubariki sana!

The King of Shame

Please read this post, but prepare yourself in advance for the graphic and disturbing truth revealed.

Is New Really Improved?
What truly separates modern man from those we study in books? We tend to study history through a telescope, as if our ancestors were somehow alien, instead of using the vision God gave us... up close and personal. Though the facts and figures of history are separated from us by a great gulf of time, they are not physically far away and out of reach like some distant galaxy. We can touch the past - with the gloved hands of the present - through the records and annals of historical knowledge collected and preserved through time. We can know and learn from our predecessors. We are not their superiors, but their descendants. We are neither their prosecutors nor advocates, but the gallery, learning from their past actions and the judgments of the Great Judge. We find ourselves living in the most historically egocentric generations of all time, deeming each generation before as successively inferior. We consider technological and scientific advancement proof of our preferred evolutionary status. And yet, for all of our research, scientific, technological, and industrial success, we are fools; for "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Psalm 14:1. At our core we are no different than our peers of old. Only now we use different blinders to avoid the greatest and harshest of realities. Now we use bigger, bolder, supposedly better methods and means of distracting ourselves from the truth of who we are: sinners all.

The Old
There is an Ammonite deity who goes by the name of Molech. He goes by various other names within the Semitic sub-cultures of the Levant region. The Punic peoples called him Kronos. Whatever the name, he is a god of great power, proving capable of destroying many kingdoms and cultures, and bringing great shame upon the peoples who worship him. In fact, in the Semitic language of Hebrew, his name is derived by taking the word for "king" and substituting the vowel points from the word for "shame". I shall call him ‘the king of shame’. It was this very king of shame that King Solomon allowed into the nation of Israel. And after giving time for repentance, God tore Solomon’s kingdom apart and took it from him, just like the children who passed through the fires of Molech were torn apart and taken from this world.

There are different historical accounts of the king of shame and the way in which the shameful worshiped him. They vary slightly, but as a whole they paint a clear picture. Like any god, past or present, the king of shame was worshiped so that the worshipers might somehow receive a benefit. The benefit desired by the worshiper is irrelevant. The fact that a person is willing to do whatever seems necessary to achieve that benefit is in itself the act of worship, regardless of the god being worshiped or the benefit being sought. Whether the god is ancient or new, famous, infamous or nameless, well respected, popular, or hated, the sacrificing of time, money, people, energy, thought, or prayer in order to achieve a desired benefit is an act of worship. For the worshipers of the king of shame, the way to achieve their desired benefit was to sacrifice life... specifically the life of a child.

Most people absolutely cringe at the idea of “child sacrifice”. They picture a young, innocent child, bound and gagged and cut open by the blade of a madman. Or maybe they’ve done research into the ways of worship of the various cultures of the world and can picture the bronze idol of the king of shame, arms outstretched over a pyre aflame, metal body heated to a radiant red. And then they can envision the priest taking the small child from the stoic parents and placing her upon the blazing bronze arms of the king of shame, watching her little limbs contract and disintegrate in the severe heat, and seeing what appears to be a smile on her face as her cooking facial muscles slightly curl her open mouth into the shape of laughter. Maybe now they will get what they really want.

The New
If I were to go to my local donut shop tomorrow morning to get a donut and a cup of coffee, I would find that the owners have placed a small statue of Buddha in the back corner of the store and have placed money, food, and incense in front of him as a sacrifice. They are sacrificing these things in order to receive a benefit they are seeking, presumably good business and/or happiness. If I were to look at the bank statements of certain people I know today, I would find that they have sent thousands upon thousands of dollars to a man or woman they saw on television who promised them good health and an incredible ROI (return on investment) directly from heaven because of their "faith". They, too, have made a sacrifice in order to receive a benefit that they desire, again, presumably wealth and happiness. I know those who sacrifice so much time and money to books and television shows and CDs that promise them the benefit of wealth, happiness, “spirituality”, etc. Whatever we sacrifice to for the desired benefit is the god we worship!

In the last 35 years, my fellow Americans, some of them family members and close friends, have sacrificed sacred life to the king of shame in order to receive the benefit of health, wealth, and/or happiness. They have given various reasons and explanations to assuage the guilt of the truth, but the facts remain: 50,000,000 children (yes, that’s fifty million!) have been shamefully sacrificed for the benefit of happiness, health, or wealth in this country alone. You won’t find a lunatic legion of the criminally insane behind it all. You’ll find average, everyday people. Some of them so self-centered and egocentric that they can’t even recognize themselves as the shameful worshipers they are. Some of them scared and confused children who didn’t have a family that loved them enough to tell them the truth and help them through their difficult time. Some of them are dastardly and deceitful people of power and position whose agenda of self-promotion was the benefit desired and achieved. Most were simple people persuaded by pop culture, pop psychology, and the propaganda of relativism. Whatever the reason, whoever the scapegoat, the ultimate end was the sacrifice of a child’s life for the benefit of another person. Like those who lived before us, we continue to hand over our children to the priest of pleasure so that we might have less stress, or avoid responsibility, or do what feels right at the moment to achieve the desired benefit. We, like those before us, continue to stand by and watch as the child is placed into the welcoming arms of Molech, consumed by the torturous, burning pain of the saline or urea solution. Slowly and painfully the body is maliciously mutilated by the cocktail, while the child - piece by piece - falls into the the pyre below: the vacuum canister. Thus the sacrifice is complete, the benefit secured. The god of shame has been given his due, as have we, the shamed.

I shudder and weep at what is in store for us after the time of God’s mercy and patience is passed, and the cup of His wrath is full. Don’t mistake patience for passivity. Just as He is full of grace and will blot out the transgressions of those who repent and call upon His name, He is also righteous, and will blot out the wicked and unrepentant from this life and damn them to eternal punishment. These aren’t my rules or ideas. They’re His. Read it for yourself in His Word.

God was, is, and always will be SOVEREIGN

It's 8:11 pm California time on Election Day (not the theological kind) 2008. Barack Obama is being declared the President Elect of the United States of America. I am not shy about the fact that I did not vote for him because I believe him to be the lesser of many candidates for the job (not just in comparison to John McCain). That being said, he is the President Elect and the same Bible that clearly guided me to use my precious vote to elect a Godly man now clearly guides me to live in obedience to the laws and governing authorities so long as they do not contravene Scripture (Romans 13), and to live peaceably with all men, as much as is possible and within my power (Romans 12:18), even if I don't like their worldview, their record, their ideas, or their lack of Scriptural morals. The Scriptures also tell me to pray for those in authority over me, ie. the President, Congress and Federal Judges, the Governor, State Senate and State Assembly, the Mayor and Councilmembers, etc.

Most importantly is the Scriptural fact that God is sovereign and still in control of everything. I may not prefer the man taking office next year, or the policies that he has promised to enact, but that does not change me, my relationship with my Creator, or my duty to serve Him in love each and every day. I encourage you to read the previous article for further information, but let me summarize with this: God is in control. Yes, we are responsible to vote according to Scripture, but God is still sovereign over those who don't recognize His sovereignty. No matter what nation or community we live in or who is governing over us; no matter how wonderful or terrible they might be or we might perceive them to be; God's will for me and for you is much bigger than one Tuesday every four years. It was important to educate yourself and others about the candidates and issues and to prayferfully and Scripturally vote. Now that you've done so, continue on with the many other important tasks God has called you to. Continue to live a life completely sold out to Him, talking to Him, listening to His Word, worshiping Him with your voice, your time, your resources, and your very life. "Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Don't be distracted by things that don't go the way you wish they would have, but instead, continue to trust Him. He hasn't changed, nor has His plan or His will for you. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).