Interesting Bird Of Prey: Hawk? Falcon? Raptor?

The Mighty Shikra: An Indian Bird of Prey

Thought I would pass this on. Right before breakfast this morning, I looked out the window and saw one of these little guys sitting on the edge just outside the window. At first it stood with its feet forward and its head facing completely backwards and towards the ground below. After a few minutes it turned its whole body around, perhaps so that it could face the direction it was planning to fly. Then a few minutes later it flew away.

After taking some photos and video clips I performed a quick google search, and was able to identify the bird as the Shikra raptor.

The one I saw this morning had intensely red eyes. But for some reason my camera wasn't able to catch the brightness of the color through the window. You may want to see the full resolution images on my picasa page if you wish to have a clearer view.

First position

Second Position

A Skilled Workman

A Skilled Indian Carpenter Installs Our Door Latch

skilled |skild|
adjective
having or showing the knowledge, ability, or training to perform a certain activity or task well : a lab technician skilled in electronics | skilled draftsmen.
• based on such training or experience; showing expertise : skilled legal advice.
• (of work) requiring special abilities or training : a highly skilled job.

(See 1 Corinthians 3:10)

Last week we were blessed to have a door latch installed on our door. During the previous five or six years there were only two possible positions the door could be in;

1. It would hang wide open.
2. It could be dead bolted shut.

To solve this, we sought out a skilled carpenter to install a door latch. (spring door catches are still new here in India) It was quite interesting to watch the carpenter working with the door to get it the way he wanted it. He did a great job, and it was noticeably different from the typical Western approach.

For your enjoyment and viewing pleasure, I made a quick video of the process. It's Indian carpentry in action!

Enjoy!

We Fade Like Grass

US General Douglass MacArthur

In his farewell address to congress, US General Douglass MacArthur said, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." MacArthur then described himself as "an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty."

Concerning War itself, MacArthur restated what he had said after accepting the formal surrender of Japan; "The problem basically is theological."

French General Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch (Fo-sh) is one of those "old soldiers" who have faded away in the mists of time. At the beginning of World War 1 he was in command of part of the 2nd French Army, by the end of the war he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies.

General Foch is a man worth researching. Here are some of his more notable quotes.

Only a week after taking command of 9th Army during the great allied retreat to the sea with allied armies retreating all around him, he held his ground tenaciously and said this: "Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I attack."

After liberating Châlons and being congratulated by the Bishop of Châlons he replied: "Not unto us, o Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, (Psalm 115:1)"

On the treaty of Versailles: "This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years."

Foch, a triumphant hero in his day, like countless others is now long forgotten by most. However I don't think we should be overly surprised or dismayed by this. God speaks very clearly in His Word on what we should learn from this phenomenon.

(1 Peter 1:24, 25)
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

From before Cain through this very moment the problem of war has been a theological one. Mankind is helplessly caught up with itself rather than God the creator.

The problem with great men fading from memory is also theological. Because the glory of the great ones is a far cry short of the glory of God. Even much more than the glory of a grass hut is from the glory of granite palace.

In every age great ones have come and gone. Great speeches have been spoken, and forgotten.

Even if they are not forgotten yet, ultimately those words (and the ideas they represent) cannot stand the test of time - yet by faith we know the Word of God will. Untold millennia from now who will remember anything from our world? Who will want to? The only things that will last from our time will be those things done for Christ in accordance to His Word. To be truly great in an eternal, everlasting sense is for God to be shown great in our lives.

Forever is still a hard concept for me to grasp. I can't force my mind to feel the weight of it, but I can rest assured that the Word of God will endure f o r e v e r.



Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Marriage In The Mountains

The Wedding in the Mountain Village

Yesterday morning I attended a wedding in a nearby mountain village. This was the first village wedding ceremony I have attended. It was noticeably different than the other weddings I have seen here. (See my friend Jeevan's excellent wedding at, An Indian Wedding Brief Photo Journey)

Some things were similar to the others. For example, the message was delivered by one of our seasoned pastors. Several of the marriage passages in the Bible were touched; Genesis 2:19-24, John 2:1-10, Ephesians 5:22-33. . .

Beyond being an outdoor wedding in a village, it's difficult to pinpoint precisely what the other differences were, although I distinctly sensed a different ethos in the ceremony than the others.

One thing is certain, it was quite hot outside.

The closer the service came to high noon, the more sweltering it became. It definitely ranked as one of the hottest weddings I have experienced.

Watch the fast paced video and check out the pictures of the ceremony to get a better glimpse. (Smells and heatwaves not included.)

Beginning prayer

Bridegroom and Bride

Final prayer at the end of the ceremony

What To Do About Closed Doors

God has set an open door before us

Here at the ministry all the doors are locked with padlocks. From time to time keys are lost. Today was one of those days when all the keys to one room were lost.

To share the unique experience of what re-opening a room in India looks like, I am posting a video.

Even though the door was locked, it was not that difficult to open, unlike the doors the Lord shuts. Providently our door was opened in short order and Lord willing it won't become 'shut' again. When God shuts a door, it's shut. When He opens one, nothing anyone can do will close it again. God is the sovereign gatekeeper of every event.

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens...

I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." Revelation 3:7,8



So what to do about closed doors? Seeing if a door is truly closed/opened by God is often difficult to see through the fog of human events. If we have a sincere desire to put God's will first (both decreed and commanded will) and sanctified reasoning coupled with prayer says 'it can and should be opened', I say go for it, and God permitting it can and will be opened since heaven has directed it. Otherwise, if God in His infinite wisdom decreed it not to be opened, all the pounding away will not budge it. And regardless if the door is open or closed our attitude ought to be,

'not my will, but yours, be done.'

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Electronic Revolution: Phase 2

Refurbishing the Refrigerator

Skilled Technicians Work Quickly To Bring Our ARTIFICIAL COOLING UNIT Online

Phase 2 of our Electronic Revolution was completed late this afternoon. This phase of the revolution dealt primarily with the cooling, freezing and preserving of our foodstuffs. In other words, we needed the refrigerator (which was previously little more than a glorified cabinet) to be refurbished.

I used Quicktime's basic cut and paste features to create a semi-detailed video of the procedure.

Enjoy!

Electronic Revolution: Phase 1 (Video)

Electricians Work Feverishly To Get The Power Online

It's been a long time in coming, and now it is nearly here - we are installing a battery backup for the entire floor that I live on. This may not sound like anything special, but after a few years of so called "roughing it" during the hundreds of power blackouts that occur every year it's a real treat. It's electronically revolutionary, for me, here in India

Today is phase one of the installation. Basically re-wiring the floor so that we can receive electrical current from both the backup and the main line. It switches itself on automatically when there is a power outage.

Battery Backup

Tomorrow is phase two, installing the battery backup system itself and hooking it into the newly re-wired floor. Lord willing a day will come when a guy can make it a whole week here without the single loss of fan, fridge, lights or computers.

August Baptisms

For What Reason Do You Want To Be Baptised?

Shortly after the Sunday morning service today, the church held their first baptismal service since Palm Sunday. All together around twenty believers were baptized in our pool.

I am posting a short video that does a good job showing the enthusiastic, joyful spirit this afternoon.

Enjoy!

Some children look on

The Believers Singing

Don't Waste The Death Of American Idols

I know this is a little bit dated already, but I think this video really demonstrates how we can take advantage of the passing of our American Idols for the purpose of the kingdom. In so doing, even the "untimely" death of superstars like Michael Jackson have purpose, design, and aren't wasted.

May God use us more and more in this capacity.

Go Tell It On The Mountain!

Plateau High Up In The Mountains

Thank you for praying. By God's grace the trip went well yesterday. It was a trip with a single purpose, to fellowship with and encourage our dear brothers and sisters who are serving faithfully in the remote mountain areas of the state.

We started first thing in the morning with several brothers and drove for about an hour on level ground before reaching the mountains. From then on our trajectory was vertical. We wound our way up though the mountains for two hours before arriving at the village which was tucked away in a small valley.

The mountain driving portion of the trip was slightly harrowing since following the road meant the vehicle's direction would change constantly as we zigzagged our way up the side of the mountain as fast as we could - all the while dodging oncoming traffic because the road was one lane wide.

That was pretty exciting stuff, and consequently one of the brothers lost his lunch a few times on the way back. After the last time he was moved to the front, and I ended up taking his seat and discovered that the seat was still yellowish and moist since all the mess hadn't been cleaned up.

I faced it like a man, and after an hour or so, it reminded me (in an incomparable way) of my sin, which reeked infinitely more, yet Christ valiantly took it upon Himself and bore it on the Cross, along with the sin-stench of countless multitudes of others whom He died for. In life sometimes taking up my cross has meant taking the seat no one else wants to sit in. It's messy business.

Christ Came To Take Our Filth To Himself

The time at the village was wonderful. The director was blessed to fellowship with a few pastors and their wives from the area. I really enjoyed seeing them all as well as breathing the relatively fresh mountain air and soaking in the majesty of God's creation.

I was basically along to pray, take pictures, and smile at the people. And I definitely consider it time well spent.





For your viewing pleasure, I created this four and a half minute youtube video which will rapidly take you all the way though yesterday's exciting journey in less than five minutes. I am still experimenting with Google soundtracks, so please bear with the audio selection.

Enjoy!

Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ

Away For The Day

One of India's beautiful mountain ranges

(Posting one day in advance)

Sorry everyone, I am going to be out and about in one of the mountain areas for the day of August, 20th. Lord willing I will be back on the 21st with a story of God's providence and some interesting photos and video footage. In the meantime, please pray that the Lord will bless this time and be glorified in it.

Grace and Peace,

Josh

Tears Of The Saints

Considering the length, this is without a doubt the most realistic, most compelling missions video I have ever seen. (6 Min.)

[HT: JT]

Obed's Interview

Obed Shares His Heart

[Download Mp3!]

On India's 62nd Independence day (63rd if you count the first year) I interviewed Obed. He is the newest addition to our ministry and hails from Mokokchung, Nagaland.

Mokokchung, Nagaland: Obed's home is just left of the lower-left hand corner

Obed dedicated his life to the Lord in 2001 with a goal to serve the nation of India and particularly the Naga people of India. In his own words he wants to be "a change maker in the ailing society."

He has studied in William Carey's world famous Serampore university and by God's grace, holds a Bachelor's of Divinity.

Obed has committed himself to work with our ministry for the next two years before returning to his native state to serve there. He is currently teaching computer and guitar classes in our school, and leading worship on Sunday night service at our main campus church.



You can download the compete interview by clicking here.

The video interview is also available in High Quality, so please select it if you want it.



List of questions selected for the video edition:

1. What has the Lord done in your life?
2. What are the main dangers facing the church in India from without and within?
3. If you could change any one thing in the Indian church, what would be the one thing you would change?
4. What is the main message pastors are preaching these days?

Christ-Centered Worship

This video is a helpful introduction to Bryan Chapell's new book, Christ-Centered Worship: letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice. I appreciate Bryan's Christ-centeredness, and his work in Christ-Centered homiletics. Like many around the globe, I have immensely benefited from utilizing his seminary's worldwide classroom resources where he has made more than twenty seminary level courses available for free download. Also, a friend of mine, Gray Ewing is currently attending his seminary.

[HT: JT]

India's 62nd Independence Day

10th Class Boys From Our School Salute The Indian Colors During Their March Today

It was sixty-two years ago today that India became an independent nation. This morning our school held a celebration in honor of this event. [Video at bottom of post]

10th Class Boys Demonstrate Their Acrobatic Skills

10th Class Science Project Award Winner

8th Class Science Project Award Winner

Indian Airforce Maneuvers

Here is a little video I put together from the event this morning;

Warnings About Words

Calvin and Hobbes on Writing

Today is my Dad's birthday, so I am dedicating this post to him. Dad, if you're reading this, Happy birthday, and thanks for being such a great dad, and teaching me to love God, and treasure truth about Him!

This comic strip is both funny and clever because of its witty insight into one of the most extravagant travesties of modern day academia.

The point is this, people, especially those of the scientific, teaching, or preaching realm are all too often speaking and writing, not to bring clarity, understanding, and truth but to obscure it in darkness by the means of a grandiose misuse of words and language.

I am a believer in big words - believe me, I believe in using them, and I do use them as much as I can. Especially when discoursing about our sovereign God. However, what I am convinced is important, is that we should (as much as is humanly possible) use words fitting for our great God. An infinite God should not be marginalized in our talking and writing by using small words. This is something worth fighting for, because it's about God's glory, and because people's understanding of it in our speaking and writing is at stake.

So in this post I want to take another look at words and language. The last time I took a stab at it [Words of Life], I focused on the current language of theology and our need to reestablish and recover theological language that has been carelessly dropped out of the church's every day vocabulary.

One of our endeavors is to work towards bringing back to light, propositional truth about God (and knowledge of ourselves) so that it (the truth) does not lie scattered on the floor of the theological wasteland that is the 21st century; and all preceding centuries to various degrees for that matter.

So in order to ramp this topic up to the next level, I am going to reflect on words themselves, particularly how they are used and misused. I am also going to use to our advantage, a few helpful thoughts penned by Isaac Watts, a Christian preacher, and writer from the 18th century who had an acute understanding of words and language, and the dangers attached.

Isaac Watts: The Father of English Hymnody, Pastor and Logician

"Do not always imagine that there are ideas wheresoever there are names. . . too often we use some words in mere waste, and have no ideas for them; or at least, our ideas are so exceedingly scattered and confused, broken and blended, various and unsettled, that they can signify nothing toward the improvement of the understanding" Watt's Logic pg 82

"Never rest satisfied, therefore, with mere words which have not ideas belonging to them, or at least no settled and determinate ideas. Deal not in such empty ware, whether you are a learner or a teacher; for hereby some persons have made themselves rich in words and learned in their own esteem, whereas in reality their understandings have been poor, and they knew nothing." Watt's Logic pg 82

Watt's goes on and explains that there are those who use great words such as Gospel, God, Redemption, Atonement, etc. but have no concrete idea as to the propositional truth that those words signify.

". . . neither they themselves nor their hearers have any settled meaning under those words: and thus they build up their reasonings, and infer what they please, with an ambition of the name of learning, or of sublime elevations in religion; whereas in truth they do but amuse themselves and their admirers with swelling words of vanity, understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. Watt's Logic pg 82,83,

Commemorative Statue of Watts, Abney Park, London

That is sobering, and I can see much truth in his assertions. It seems to me that words such as the word Gospel are used by people everywhere in Evangelical circles, but often without any proper knowledge as to what it signifies. (i.e. Gospel means good news, not good advice. The Gospel is primarily about God, and the great things He has done for us in the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, and exaltation of His Son, Jesus Christ, all according to a determined plan and purpose.)

Conversely there are also those who do know the historic, orthodox Gospel, but they are seeking to bury it in a cloud of obscurity. But perhaps most often we see words like Gospel, redemption, etc. used flippantly by Christian preachers and teachers who used them to add force to their messages without having a clear grasp of the words themselves.

So I, or anyone could quite convincingly say "The gospel is glorious. It is wonderfully fantastic. The gospel is the best hope that God ever gave us." without ever meaning a thing about Christ's finished work. Or the power of God to forgive sin because of Christ's historic suffering and death. In fact, I could mean something entirely different, and I could be using the word Gospel, which is a word most Evangelicals treasure, to hide a fallacy that I could be slyly trying to feed you. That's pretty scary.

In other words, it is quite possible to use the word 'Gospel' without even talking about the Gospel. Crazy huh?

We should use big words, and we should know what they mean, and those who listen to us should especially know what they mean, and how we are using them. To do otherwise amounts to nothing less than chaos, confusion and ignorance, and does not glorify God.

"Have a care of making use of mere words instead of ideas. . ." Watt's Logic pg 82

What do you think?

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

Two Nagaland Fellowship Music Videos

Nagaland Hymn: Very Interesting, A Cultural Masterpiece



Blessed Assurance: Listen to this guy's surprisingly powerful vocals!

These videos were taken at the annual Nagaland fellowship function last month. This is part of Shitio's vision for Nagas.

Enjoy!


Josh

India's Famines

1943 Famine in Calcutta, India

India has advanced considerably since their independence from the British empire in 1947. No longer a third world country, they haven't suffered from major famines since the early 1970s which even then was averted by emergency foreign aid.

During the middle ages famines were so bad that entire provinces of India were depopulated. Famines continued to rage through the centuries claiming millions of lives up through the time India was incorporated into the British empire.

India was and still is (to some extent) heavily dependent on massive amounts of rainfall for a good harvest. However this year has been a dry one for several regions of India. I have been told that millions of dollars of crops have been lost already, and that there has been some talk of famine. By God's grace it does not appear that this year will be anything like the famines India has experienced in the past.

Famines are pretty sobering experiences, the bible has a lot to say about them. It is natural, even healthy for us to ask ourselves why they happen. Ultimately God says that He is sovereign over all things, including rain (Jer 5:24, Amos 4:7) Jesus points out that it is really amazing that God ever allows rain for those who don't believe in him. (Mat 5:45)

We can't say that anyone deserves drought more than another. Ultimately none of us are innocent - as Christ says about those whom the tower of Silaom fell on (Luk 13:4) - they were no more deserving of that terrible fate than any others. None of us are innocent, we all (Americans) deserve a 9/11, a hurricane Katrina, a Southeast Asia Tsunami, an Iranian Earthquake, and ultimately the greatest disaster of all, the second death that awaits everyone who's lives are not hid in Christ.

It's very sobering.

Here are a few photos that tell the stories of famines past in India.

Relief in Bellary, Madras Presidency 1877; more than 5 million died in India

Drought was a major cause of famine

Terrible

The 1876-1878 Great famine was tied to increased taxes and drought

Binnamungalum Relief Kitchen Bangalore 1877 same place as above photo

December 28th, 1943 Famine relief. Royal Air force airman hands out food.

As I write this article all I can think is how merciful God has been to withhold famine from our land for so long, and how great a warning the previous famines stand to instruct us not to turn away from Him. I pray also, that we will see the goodness of God in sending Christ to die for all our sins, and will live accordingly, by His grace.

I think there is a helpful connection between these two verses:

learn to do good; seek justice; correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow." Isiah 1:17,18


Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

The Lesser of Two Weevils

Weevils

Today as I was sitting with Shalem Raju in his office he pointed out some fresh dates which he had been eating. As it turned out they had tasted bland. After a quick examination he had discovered the dates were infested with hordes of Weevils.

This morning they were still there.

It was interesting, it's not every day you get a chance to see a Weevil, so I started to take a picture of the little buggers. Then suddenly I had an idea - what if I set up a race between large Weevils and small Weevils? So as an experiment we set two of them on the table to see if it really was true that it's always better to choose the lesser of two Weevils.

Shalem's Tainted Dates: Deseeded, but not debugged

The Race of the Weevils

Reflections On The First Month

A Happy Indian Villager

Well it has happened - the first month is over. It went by quickly, and now it is time to reflect on some of the Providences of God at work during this period.

Ministry:

God has blessed every day with much joy in Him, it has been fruitful. Fellowship with brothers in Christ has been excellent. One of the fruits has been this Blog. It has been a joy that I look forward to every day. I pray this grace continues and improves.

The interview series has been a challenge and a joy at the same time. I have some new ideas that I am planning to implement in the future interviews. I have at least three more scheduled at this point. Lord willing I will be able to take them and get them online this month.

Study:

I have been blessed to eat richly from the word and observe the transforming work of God on me. That has been wonderful.

While I have certain books I am studying, I am pursuing a special study of the Gospel and the effects and implications of the Gospel on the Christian life. I am hoping to write about some of this in the posts to come.

Culture:

Since I arrived I have been living on a diet consisting mostly of fried vegetable curries with a weekly meal of chicken curry.

As it turned out I experienced a few ugly encounters with rogue goats - you might be able to tell that I am not particularly fond of them - I think they despise me. However, one thing is certain, I do enjoy eating them. Curried goat on rice, mmm, tasty.

Got Goat?

Weather:

It has been raining sporadically. The weather has been warmer than usual for this time of year. It was only a few years ago this time there was so much rain that the streets were flooded.

The monsoons have a cooling effect that brings the temperature down into the 80s and 70s. But if the sun comes out the day after a hard rain the temperature skyrockets and the humidity reaches an insane level.

As I write this post it is 9:45am and the temperature is already 84 degrees even though the sky is overcast.

Lots of rushing water in front of the home base

Thank you for your prayers. I appreciate your support, it has been good, and I encourage you to continue to pray for the ministry and for me also.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text