Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The greatest temple of all




Above are renderings of the inside of Solomon's temple, as well as the outside of the temple of Diana (at Ephesus). Both of them are acknowledged to have been magnificent structures, but which was the greatest? Although there were other temples, these are certainly among, if not the most beautiful. Diana's is better known--it wasn't destroyed until travel was easier and more people had seen it, but Solomon's must have been awesome--everything overlaid with gold, of the finest woods, decorated to the n'th degree.
But in spite of the great beauty of these and other houses of worship even today (think of the "crystal cathedral" there is a temple that eclipses them all--the church of the Living God. No, I'm not talking about the building, of course, but rather the people. The people that Eph. 2 describes as "growing into a temple". The people called from every nation, tribe, and tongue under heaven. The people from every culture you can imagine and probably some you can't. The old, the young, the middle-aged (like me); the rich, the poor, those who travel extensively, those who've never been more than 50 miles from where they were born.
Together we all make up the mosaic that is the temple of God. Would you want to damge the beauty of Solomon's temple? Of course not, so why should we not then preserve the purity and beauty of the temple of God?
Tol

Saturday, April 05, 2008

What makes a good prospect?


In Grenada, the Isle of Spice (that's cinnamon bark drawing in the photo), particularly in Mt. Granby, it is not hard to get Bible studies. We spent 2 morning and another aftertoon and had all the studies we had time for. That has happened consistently, so after I got home I tried to analyze why people there will so readily listen--after all, if honest people will study the Bible the majority will become Christians. So if we can identify "what" we're looking for in prospects, it would make our job simpler.
What I noticed in Mt. Granby were several points:
1) They had time to at listen for 30 minutes to an hour. Some of them were older, but others had small children, work to do, etc. But they didn't have 2 appointments for themselves, soccer practice for one kid, piano lessons for the other, and . . . This is not true in all the islands--you couldn't find that much in Puerto Rico or Barbados, but in the more rural islands it is still common.
2) They believed God was important, whether or not they went to church. Some of them attended a church regularly and most had at some point been "faithful" to their church. If God is important, then one can always spare a little while to study His Word. Now this means they accept all comers, so may study with the Jehovah's witnesses one week, the Adventists the next, etc. Are you surprised when I tell you they're a bit confused?
3) They were not lazy people. Yes, they took the time to listen, but it wasn't because they had nothing else to do. One of the ladies we studied with worked spices the whole time we talked--one day the nutmegs and the next tamarind. Others had to shush the kids, give them a snack, etc. Lazy people see quickly that the Gospel is too hard, so most never begin, but if they do, they don't usually last.
4) They were not wrapped up in materialism. If you want things, you don't stay too long in the islands--you go on to England, Canada, or the US so you can work and buy "things". If you're still in Grenada you are satisfied with less--you'll have clothing, food, and housing, but you won't have your own car, many clothes, etc. God cannot be second to things and to so many Americans He is second. We're looking for people who realize God is more important than things.
Tol