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