3 videos

Last week I returned from a trip to the US where I was helping some of our European missionaries develop their financial support teams. Here are some quick introductions to those missionaries.



Ben showing off...



Savannah and Ben being recognized for the basketball achievements at their school's awards night.

The Sign of Jonah and the Validation of Jesus as God

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But Jesus replied to them, “…a sign will not be given except the sign of Jonah.”
Matthew 16:1,4

Woody Allen: “If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.”



French atheist Voltaire: “Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open marketplace before a thousand sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses that admit a miracle.”



At the first reading of this Biblical text, one may ask Jesus, “Why not do a miraculous sign in the sky and prove that you really are the Messiah? Why not settle the issue once and for all? Why speak so encrypticly and use phrases such as ‘The sign of Jonah’?"

However, a closer reading of the text from Matthew’s gospel will reveal recent days that were full of miracles, specifically miracles of compassion: miracles of healing (14:35-36; 15:28; 15:30-31) and miracles of provision (15:32-37). The Pharisees and Sadducees had all the miracles they needed if they were truly seeking evidence of who Jesus is.

The issue wasn’t that the Pharisees and Sadducees were searching for God; they were “testing Jesus” (16:1). But Jesus was not into “miracles on demand.” He was not some circus freak show.



He did, however, promise them one Granddaddy miracle: “the sign of Jonah.” The first time Jesus mentions “the sign of Jonah” was at a similar confrontation in Matthew 12:39. There Jesus explained what the sign of Jonah is: “for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus is saying if you really want a sign, then wait. For when you kill me, three days later I shall be alive again. To rise from the dead with a resurrected body to never die again is a miracle that no one has ever before done in history. There are evidences for “smaller” miracles, but one has ever risen from the dead!



The Sign of Jonah would vindicate Jesus as God in the flesh once and for all. Why listen and follow mere “prophets” when the Lord God Almighty became a man, was crucified, dead, buried and then rose again? There is no God like our God!

The issue of the Pharisees and Sadducees was not that they didn’t have enough evidence (which, by the way, is an argument frequently put forth by atheism even today). The issue is that their own hearts were hard to the things of God.

Will we believe in God, or will we only trust Him further, if He performs a miracle according to our expectations? Rather embrace the God Who Is knowing the Sign of Jonah, His resurrection, validates His claims and His supremacy.

Czech: the most atheistic country on the most atheistic continent

Last week EB and I, along with Quentin, traveled to a campus in Ostrava, Czech, to speak to a student group there about the reliability of the New Testament Scriptures. The name of this Czech-led evangelical ministry is KVZ {www.kvz.cz}, a ministry with close ties to Campus Crusade for Christ. We have ministered with this group several times over the past few years and have grown to love their staff and students. KVZ has done a great job witnessing for Christ in this spiritually dark country.



EB is pictured here (2nd from the left) with a group of students involved with KVZ in Ostrava. The two girls in dark shirts in the middle were just recently baptized as new believers in a local evangelical church!



Martin, on the right, is one of the KVZ staff members. He has a doctorate in microbiology yet heard the Lord's call into ministry. Here he is witnessing to a student after my talk from Josh McDowell's Czech translation of "More than a Carpentar." This particular student is from Bulgaria, studying in Czech, talked with me in Hungarian and is named Vladimir....only in Europe.



Lada and Eva, KVZ staff and our excellent hosts! They fixed a typical and tasty European breakfast for us.



Quentin went with us and found a listening ear in Lada (Lladislaw), our host in Ostrava. Lada didn't know much about baseball and his English isn't perfect either. But that didn't stop Quentin from telling him all about the most recent Braves game.



If you wanted to know what happened to Carl from "Up", I found him on a bus in Ostrava. Pixar sent him there to scout out a location for a sequel ("Down"?).



From high up in a student dorm looking down on graffiti in the courtyard on campus



I believe that policemen are overworked, underpaid and under appreciated. But oh just this once I wish I had a bucket full of water balloons!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL IN CZECH! THE LORD HAS NOT ABANDONED THIS ATHEISTIC COUNTRY!

Evidence supporting early dates for the writing of the New Testament Gospels

Evidence #1: PROPHECY IN MATTHEW: Matthew 24:2 Jesus predicts the fall of the temple in Jerusalem, along with Mark 6 and Luke 21. This prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 when Titus and his Roman army destroyed the temple. But the fulfillment of this prophecy is not recorded in Matthew (or the other gospels).

Matthew records many other prophecies fulfilled in his gospel (5 in just the first 3 chapters) but there is silence regarding the dramatic destructon of the temple in Jerusalem.

Evidence #2: ENDING OF THE BOOK OF ACTS: The Book of Acts chronicles the growth of the Christian church immediately after the resurreciton of Jesus. Extra-biblical sources tell us that Paul and Peter were executed in Rome somewhere between 62 and 65 AD. However, the Book of Acts ENDS with Paul very much alive under house arrest awaiting trial.

The Book of Acts details the murder of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60) and James (Acts 12:2), so it is not afraid to mention difficult events for the early church. On the other hand, Acts misses the opportunity to turn the executions of two of its pillars (Paul and Peter) into a cause of martyrdom.

Therefore it is logical to date the Book of Acts, which is a sequel to Luke's Gospel, before 65 AD. That date puts the writing of Acts within one generation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Evidence #3: MARK'S GOSPEL IS THE EARLIEST: Given it is reasonable to date the Book of Acts in the early 60s AD, then we can give an earliery date to the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke and Acts were both written by Luke and Luke's gospel was written first. And most scholars agree that Mark's gospel pre-dates Luke's gospel.

Therefore to assign the date of the writing of Mark's ... See Moregospel to the late 50s AD is not unreasonable. This is within one generation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. There is plenty of time for critics to contradict Mark's claims and not enough time for legend to develop.

Evidence #4: ANCIENT CREED IN 1 CORINTHIANS: Many scholars believe that 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 is an ancient creed that Paul is quoting. Given what we know about Paul, some scholars date that creed within 5 to 15 years of the earthly time of Christ. In that creed we have core doctrines of Christianity mentioned: Christ died for our sins, was death, buried, raised and appeared!

Matthew 14:26-33 Learning to trust Jesus deeper in the storms of life.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried, "It is a ghost!" Matthew 14:26

At our church here in Budapest, I teach an adult Sunday school class on Matthew’s gospel. This week we studied Peter walking on water from Matthew chapter 14. Outside of the Christmas and Easter stories, there are few Biblical texts which have been taught on more often than this one. And rightfully so. Peter, an ordinary man, displays great faith only to have it shattered by the winds and the waves of life, a scenario many of us can relate to.

While studying, my mind was brought back to a similar story in Matthew 8:23-27 which has striking similarities with this week’s passage (Matthew 14:22-33). In both stories, you have the disciples in a boat on a sea that was very familiar to them. And in both stories, the weather turns ugly and the disciples turn fearful. In both stories Jesus proves that He is trustworthy and proves He alone can calm the storm.

However in the first boat-in-a-storm miracle, the disciples are in the boat WITH Jesus. In the second, the disciples are WITHOUT Jesus. He seems far away, even unrecognizable (Matthew 14:26). The more I studied the more convinced I became that it was Jesus’ plan to be with the disciples physically the first time but not the second. I believe Jesus wanted to STRENGHTEN THEIR FAITH IN EVEN GREATER WAYS. Jesus wanted the disciples to learn to trust Him in ever more difficult circumstances.

That is why in the second storm , Jesus was NOT with the disciples. Jesus was hoping that the disciples would remember that He calmed the storm the first time and that they would remember that He had earlier that very evening healed the masses (Matthew 14:14) and fed the 5000 with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:17-21). Therefore even though He was absent, the disciples had plenty of reason to trust Him. I think THE LORD WANTS US TO LEARN THESE SAME LESSONS OF LEARNING TO TRUST IN EVER MORE DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES.

When we are young in our spiritual journey, we readily sense the Lord is near. It seems as if He is always quick to answer prayer, give wisdom and calm the storm. Yet as we continue to walk with Him, at times He seems not near; He seems far away and mysterious. We are jaded by life’s difficulties; we are disappointed by unmet expectations. As a result, our faith easily grows cold. We can relate when the disciples cried, “It is a ghost!” not recognizing Jesus when they saw Him (Matthew 14:26).

After years of walking with the Lord does He seem silent to you? Does He seem more like a ghost than a personal Savior? He was with us in the boat at first so we learn that He is trustworthy. But next He will send us out into the storm alone, so we will learn that He is even MORE trustworthy. Like a new mother whose baby is always near. Yet as the child grows, the child learns to trust even though Mom doesn’t always immediately respond. For if Jesus remained in the boat the second time, the disciples would have never witnessed Him walking on water. And Peter would have never walked on water with Jesus. The faith of the disciples would have remained untested and unstrengthened in a child-like state.




Yet never doubt that He is in fact there. He may seem hidden, nebulous and silent. Yet may we never forget Matthew’s last words of Jesus before He ascended: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18).

You might wonder where it is the Lord will take you as you follow Him. You may wonder what storms await as He calls you into the boat. You might wonder with Lucy and Susan if the Lord is even safe at all. We would be good to remember Mr. Beaver’s reply: “ Of course he isn't safe.....but he's good. He's the King I tell you." - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.



Quentin after his first baseball game as starting center fielder for the Diosd Dodgers. They outlasted the Erd Indians by a score of 9-3.



EB, Rebekah and one of the five puppies that have joined our family this spring.

The (Frequently) Missed Message of Easter

{At our monthly office meeting, I gave this message as a devotional. Some asked for my notes. Written out in long hand, here are those notes.}

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour... [An] angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him… And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. The first [trumpet] sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
Revelation 8:1-7 NASB

As the Book of Revelation unfolds, heaven up until now has been full of noise. There are the sounds and peals of thunder around the throne (Revelation 4:5), the constant praise of His creation (Revelation 4:8, 11; 5:11-14; 7:10), the loud calling of angels (Revelation 5:2; 7:2-3) and more. Yet here we have silence. 30 minutes of eerie, terrifying silence. As the last of the seven seals is opened.

And the ending of that 30 minutes of silence is a scene of worship. As the angel offers incense before the altar, the scene is duplicating the Old Testament duty of the priests. John MacArthur, in his commentary on Revelation, made the connection this way:

"In the Old Testament era, the priests would twice daily (morning and evening) take hot, fiery coals from the brazen altar (where sacrifices were offered) and transport them into the Holy Place to the incense altar. They then ignited the incense, which rose toward heaven, emblematic of the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8)."



Yet in one of the most frightening twists in all of Scripture, the silence in heaven is shattered as the angel takes the censer, fills it with fire from the altar, then turns and throws it down to earth. Peals of thunder, sounds and flashes of lightning and great earthquake accompany this bizarre twist. John must have been horrified; surely he was expecting a liturgy or a chorus from this moment of high church. Yet without warning the holy worship in heaven becomes terrible judgment on earth (Revelation 8:5).

A trumpet sounds, the first trumpet judgment, and the fire from the altar in heaven arrives on earth mixed with hail and blood (Revelation 8:7). A third of the earth is destroyed. A third of the trees and ALL of the green grass. ALL? Yes, ALL!



I remember just a few days ago standing on a baseball field here near Budapest. The sun came out and the warmth chased away the cold wind. All around were signs of spring. The crack of a bat and the pop of a glove. However there is no more soothing, comforting sign of spring than green grass. The juicy, soft green color of spring grass is an indication that winter is over and warmer months and renewed energy lay ahead. How many children’s drawings in your life have you seen that include green grass? Yet in the judgment of God, green grass is GONE, ALL GONE!

What is going on here? How can a worship service in heaven without warning turn deadly on earth? I thought God is a God of love! In fact, John wrote “God is love,” in 1 John 4:8. Didn’t God so love the world that He gave us His only Son? Isn’t Easter a sign of God’s triumph over evil and death? Don’t we celebrate Easter with little bunny rabbits, green plastic grass and chocolate eggs? Don’t we point our children to God’s love through the celebration of Easter? Then why this judgment? What is God doing?

It is very tempting to not like this God…and to despise the cross. At first glance, at least…

Yes, it is true. The cross is a symbol of God’s love for mankind. For God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died a horrific death on the cross to pay the death penalty for our sins.

However, Jesus’ death on the cross not only displayed God’s love; it also displayed His judgment. Sin was not merely laid aside and dismissed. Justice was satisfied; the law fulfilled. The full punishment for sin was poured out on Christ; for the Lamb of God who stands before the throne took our wrath upon Himself. He took our sins upon Him so that we might have the righteousness of Christ upon us.

Romans 5:8 speaks beautifully of the love of God and how that love drove Jesus to the cross. Yet the very next verse, Romans 5:9 also speaks of how the wrath of God destined for us sinful humans was assuaged by Christ Himself: “Much more then, having now then, been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Christ.” The wrath of God destined for us was imputed to Him.

Yet the Lord will punish, no longer with imputed wrath but with the full weight of His fury, those who reject the cross. The Book of Revelation spells out in excruciating detail the wrath of God on those who reject the cross.



May this sober us and may it quicken us in our short-time of ministry upon earth. The cross is a frightening reminder of God’s judgment on sin. Yes, the message of Easter is one of love of God for the world. It is also the glorious message of the power of Christ over death. Yet we must not miss the most prudent message of the cross: that God has judged and will judge sin.

Through God’s judgments, the wrongs will be made right; sin will be punished, creation restored and death will be reversed. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. “God will dwell among us…and wipe every tear from our eyes.” Revelation 21:3-4.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

“The cross is God’s commentary on us.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"The tree of life looked good but was the only thing in the world to bring death. The cross looked bad but was the the only thing in the world to bring life."

Ronnie Stephens, our pastor here in Budapest



Nothing says spring like a lawn full of fluffy, frisky puppies on a sunny spring day! Our dog Reagan had 5 puppies late February.



Another sign of spring is boys playing baseball. Quentin gets his dream that he has had for several years. He is now playing ball for the "Diosd Dodgers" little league team. (Never mind the Braves baseball hat!)




I helped run a baseball clinic for kids in our community here in the suburbs of Budapest. We expected 10-15 kids and over 50 turned out! Here I am (on the right with the red jersey) explaining to the kids the true meaning of Easter and what Jesus's death on the cross means.



Hungarian kids taking their turn at this "strange American sport."



EB going thru "Resurrection Eggs" in a park with some local kids.





Budapest is a beautiful city, especially at night. Here is the Chain Bridge and St. Matthias Church.



Buda Castle from the shore of the Danube.




Hero Square: the early morning sun radiating through the statue of Gabriel

Liz Laboring in the Harvest Field of New York City

New York City is a colorful, lively, bustling city, and people there are always on the go. Yet at the same time, it is one of the most dead places in the world spiritually. Because it is a melting pot of cultures, it also becomes a melting pot of religious beliefs, yet the truth is drown out and extremely difficult to distinguish in this sea of every kind of spirituality. The city is yearning for truth, and so this spring break our goal was to equip the college students and future leaders with God’s truth, giving hope to this lost city. With over 1 million college students, more than any city in the world, and people from almost every culture represented, NYC is a strategic place to fulfill the Great Commission.

Six of us from K-state joined 35 other students from all over the country on this trip. We used tools such as Solarium, evangelistic videos, surveys, and “Knowing God Personally” booklets to spark spiritual conversations with students at various campuses across the city. My team and I went to Hunter College, and while we were there we encountered Muslims, Mormon, Catholics, atheists, Hindus, and many more. We strove to get to know these students and talk about spiritual things, learning more about their beliefs and sharing ours.



One day, my friend Francesca and I showed a video to a girl sitting and eating lunch by herself. She responded excitedly to the video and quickly opened up to us about her beliefs. When her friend joined us, she insisted her friend watch the video as well. Accordingly, we were able to go deep quickly with these two girls, and ended up talking to them for over three hours. We shared the gospel with them and also different things God had done in our lives. They responded well, and Francesca and I were extremely pleased that God used us to proclaim His truth to these searching girls.

This was one of many encouraging conversations we had throughout the week. The students of New York City are friendly, open, and seeking to understanding life. Please keep New York City in your prayers, as the fields are ripe for the harvest, yet the laborers are few.

Using the gift of the English language to proclaim Christ

Emily, on the right from Athens, GA, was with us that morning. Her husband works for the US State Dept here in Budapest. The hurt among some of these kids is so deep. They willingly talked music, friends and movies but when the topic turned to family, several did not even want to talk about their families. You can almost see that truth in how they dressed.


Yesterday I had the chance to speak in some Hungarian high school English classes. English is the universal language of our planet. If you are a native English speaker, then your language skill is in high demand around the world. Most mission agencies realize this and use English as door opener. This is true of our ministry here in Hungary.

I accompanied a few of the members of our Budapest student ministry. Several English teachers in a Hungarian high school turned their class periods over to us. While speaking English we played some simple games and had conversations with students. In turn the students were able to practice English with us.

At the end of each class, we invited the students to come to our ministry’s weekly Friday night meeting as well as to our summer English language evangelistic Speak Out camps. Even though we could not share the gospel in the classrooms, doors were opened and connections were made that very easily lead to telling high school students about Christ. This is one of the primary tools our Hungarian student ministry uses to reach into new high schools.

My morning with our Hungarian ministry serves as a reminder of why EB and I do what we do in the harvest field in this part of the world. As we help our missionaries by assisting them in their funding efforts, our personal impact is multiplied as they in turn can reach out evangelistically to lost students all across Eastern Europe and Russia.

Thank you for investing in our lives so we can invest in others!



Great words to live by!



More Hungarian high school students



Jamie and Emily, on the left, both have husbands who work for the US gov in town but volunteer with our ministry.



Ryan, on the right, is new to our ministry here in Budapest and is a recent grad of Dallas Theological Seminary.



Okay, one last basketball picture. This is Ben jumping higher than I ever thought he could in the championship game of his conference against the team from Salzburg. It is sad to me to think Ben will not wear his high school's jersey again in a basketball game. Watching our kids play basketball is the funnest thing I do as a parent!

ICSB girls win DVAC conf championship!

In a game that took 2 overtimes to decide, ICSB girls beat AISS (Salzburg) for the DVAC (Danube Valley Athletic Conf) championship! It was a hard fought game, even ugly at times. Savannah played remarkably well, especially as a starting freshman. Yet all the girls contributed for the victory.



Ben goes up strong in the championship game against AISS (Salzburg)

Ben's team rolled through the tournament to an easy confernece victory. And like the girls' team, the boys championship was determined with a win over the team from AISS (American International School of Salzburg).

We are proud of our kids! We look forward to three more years of Savannah playing basketball for the Intl Christian School of Budapest (ICSB). It is sad to think we will not see Ben play again for ICSB. But it is good that this season is over, in some way, as we can now focus on other things!

Ben's team wins basketball championship!

Ben launching against cross town rival American Intl School of Budapest on the opening night of the tournament.

This past Saturday was one of the funnest days of my life! Ben’s basketball team, the Intl Christian School of Budapest (ICSB) high school varsity team, won their tournament championship for the first time in 10 years!

Even though I have just finished the most intensive support raising effort for our European staff in almost 2 years, the last few days my mind has been in a completely different place. This past weekend was our kids’ school’s big invitational basketball tournament. For 2 ½ days it was wall-to-wall basketball. In fact, my plane from Atlanta landed in Budapest at 3:30pm on Thursday, the first tip off was 4:30pm Thursday. Jetlag was not an option as game after game was played involving teams from as far away as St. Petersburg Russia.



Ben’s team, the varsity boys, lost in the seeding round of the tournament to a school very much like their own, Kiev Christian Academy. After the loss, Ben’s team rallied in the rest of their games and the same two teams faced each other again in the championship game. Our ICSB boys, up against a Kiev team of 4 seniors who had beaten them badly just the day before, were a clear underdog going into the game for the tournament champion. Yet what happened was truly phenomenal! Please watch the video highlights…



There is a great moment in this video at the 2:35 mark where EB hugs Ben and then recoils because she got his sweat all over her. Watch this celebration video and tell me if you think that moving to the mission field produces out-of-touch, bland kids!



ICSB’s girls team, which Savannah is on and I help coach, did not have a good tournament. We lost two starters to season-ending injuries on the first day of the tournament; our team was held together with duct tape and bailing wire and still we played our hearts out.

It was hard to not have Liz at this tournament since this is a place where she saw so much basketball success. Also, we have a deep love for Kiev Christian Academy, a school very much like our own. Even though the rivalry is intense, there are many shared friendships between the schools.

WARNING: BRAGGING PARAGRAPH! I think there is a good reason why our “little religious school” can field basketball teams that consistently beat teams from schools 10x their enrollment size. (Ask me and I will tell you my opinion). If you draw a line from Salzburg, Austria thru Vienna, Budapest, Kiev and on up to St. Petersburg, Russia, there is not another team from any independent school that can beat our boys this year! There are probably not too many public schools across Central and Eastern Europe that can beat these guys either. So cool!

The International Christian School of Budapest NEEDS TEACHERS! Being a missionary teacher will never be as fun as it is at our school! Please help us get connected with teachers that would like to teach at a school that serves the needs of missionary parents and will have a teacher’s impact on kids from across the globe. Please pass on the school’s website: www.icsbudapest.org Pass on the videos above also!



School spirit even hit EB's kitchen! In a game day "victory" brunch EB prepared, the menu had names such as "shoot em up vanilla sauce" and "victory apple crisp."



EB's mom Charlotte Biays, was able to visit us while the tournament was being played. She saw every second of play!



The starting five for the 2010 boys varsity basketball team at the Intl Christian School of Budapest: (from left) Jake Sanders, Ben Jackson, Andrew Neel, Jacob Mullet and Ming Huang.

Happy New Year 2010!

May God's abundant grace be upon you during 2010! As we seek to resource the work of the gospel in Eastern Europe and build a stronger bridge to the church in America, thank you for walking with us on our journey of faith.

Top 10 Photos of 2009

Photography is one of my hobbies. Here are my favorite 10 photos that I took in 2009.



Slovenia: the day after a big snow.



Slovenia: Our son Ben launching while snowboarding with his friends.



Hungary: the weak winter setting sun made this photo possible.



Colorado: Quentin's 9th birthday with all of his cousins (and siblings) on his mom's side. Someone said they all have the same smile.



Greece: This past June for the first time in 10 years, EB and I got away alone longer than a weekend. It was so hot that day. We sought shelter in the cool stone rooms while touring an old castle. As EB came through the doorless entry way I thought I was seeing an angel.



Europe: a summer time beach.



Greece: the moment at 5:54 am when the sun rose over the distant mountains on the Turkish mainland.



Austria: Our daughter Liz playing for her high school basketball team in the championship game at a tournament in Salzburg. Liz jumped so high here that you cannot see her feet; the bucket was good and her team went on to win both the game and the tourney!



Switzerland: I was at a 3 day meeting in October with my missions agency. The meetings were held at a Catholic monastery. This was the view from the patio where we had our coffee breaks.



Greece: I love the texture in this photo. It is as if I can step into this photo, run my hand across the stones and feel the porousness as well as the weathered door. At the time I took this pic I was studying Revelation 3:20 which has some great imagery involving a door.

GOD IS THE ARTIST; I AM MERELY THE TOUR GUIDE.