Here's to Hookah

"When you smoke a hookah, you have time to think. It teaches you patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation of good company. Hookah smokers have a much more balanced approach to life..." -- Ismet Ertep, a 71-year-old Turkish pensioner

"The important thing is not what you put in the pipe, but who is with you while you're smoking. In a cafe like this one, you find the good people, the old people, the interesting people. As long as there is a need for company and friendship, as long as people want to stop and think, there will be hookah cafes." -- Ahmed Metin, a 48-year-old Turkish sailor

Wear a Black Armband

On July 1st, the Chinese government will begin operation of its railway connecting the Chinese mainland to Tibet - a project that Tibetans fear will have a devastating impact. The Chinese government claims that this railway will benefit Tibetans and is a project that all Tibetans want. They tell the media and the world that the railway will bring progress and positive benefits to Tibetans. But the truth is this: China's railway to Tibet is not meant to benefit Tibetans and is only meant to consolidate Beijing's control over the region. Show your rejection of China's Tibet Railway by wearing a Black Armband today through July 1st. Take a photo of yourself wearing the black armband and send it to photos@studentsforafreetibet.org.

In the words of newly-arrived Tibetan refugee Yamphel from Rebkong County, "The Railway has become a matter of concern for all Tibetans, when older generation passes away, younger generations would be converted into Chinese." (Phayul.com, June 28, 2006)

According to Tsering from Chushur County, "No Tibetans like Railway coming to Tibet because many Chinese from Mainland China would come to Tibet and Tibet would be full of Chinese ... all these campaigns are to make room for Chinese settler when they arrive in Tibet." (Phayul.com, June 28, 2006)

Visit this website to find out more: http://www.rejecttherailway.com/

Hymn of the Day

Be Thou My Vision

Music: “Slane,” of Ir­ish folk or­i­gin

Slane Hill is about ten miles from Ta­ra in Coun­ty Meath. It was on Slane Hill around 433 AD that St. Pat­rick de­fied a roy­al edict by light­ing can­dles on East­er Eve. High King Lo­gaire of Ta­ra had de­creed that no one could light a fire be­fore Lo­gaire be­gan the pa­gan spring fes­ti­val by light­ing a fire on Ta­ra Hill. Lo­gaire was so im­pressed by Pat­rick’s de­vo­tion that, de­spite his de­fi­ance (or per­haps be­cause of it­), he let him con­tin­ue his mis­sion­ary work. The rest is his­to­ry.

Words: At­trib­ut­ed to Dal­lan For­gaill, 8th Cen­tu­ry

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Chameleon Snake Discovered in Indonesia

As if God's creation didn't impress me enough already, researchers scouring swamps in the heart of Borneo island have discovered a venomous species of snake that can change its skin color. The 1.6-foot-long snake was discovered in wetlands and swamp forests around the Kapuas River in the Betung Kerihun National Park in the Indonesian part of Borneo island. Scientists speculate it might only occur in the Kapuas River drainage system. The WWF, the international group formerly known as World Wildlife Fund, said 361 animal and plant species have been discovered since 1996 on Borneo, underscoring its unparalleled biological diversity. This is just another reason to be careful how we manage our environmental resources in the future. If you love the Creator, take care of creation.

Source: here

A Delightful New Find

I've stumbled upon a diamond in the rough:
http://www.monergism.com/

Don't forget to check out the Monergism Bookstore link at the bottom... it's pretty naughty.

Nasty Nike

I am going to begin to do a series of company profiles with the intention of helping myself and others to orient purchasing and patronage around Kingdom values and to push back the darkness wherever it is found...including the marketplaces. So, without further delay, here is profile # 1.

Nike, Inc.
Beaverton, OR
Phone: 503-671-6453
Fax: 503-671-6300
Web: www.nike.com
Email: sales@nike.com
Employees: 22,000
Earnings: $589,700,000.00
Revenue: $9,488,800,000.00

Human Rights

• Nike has admitted that it cannot guarantee that it's products cannot be made without the use of child labor
• Nike factory workers in Vietnam were exposed to toxic fumes at up to 177 times the Vietnamese legal limit
• A former Nike factory worker said while Nike provided its workers with housing, they were crammed 12 to a room and slept on wooden floors with no pillows.
• Nike was the recipient of one of the National Labor Committee's First Annual Golden Grinch Awards, given to companies for outstanding sweatshop abuses and starvation wages. In a factory producing Nike apparel in the Dominican Republic, workers were given 6.6 minutes to sew one children's sweatshirt. Workers earned just $0.08 for each $22.99 Nike sweatshirt they had sewn, which amounts to 3/10ths of 1% of the garment's retail price.
• Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, withdrew a promised $30 million donation to the University of Oregon after the university joined the Worker Rights Consortium, a group that monitors conditions in factories that make clothing with college logos.
• Nike offered Ralph Nader, the consumer rights campaigner and presidential candidate, $25,000 to "take a light-hearted jab" at the company's poor human rights record in an ad. He said no.

It is my intention to boycott Nike until these conditions change. In an industry that only understands the language of money, the only thing I know to do is deprive them of my money. Obviously, that won't make a huge difference, but a lot of people withholding their money from Nike could make a substantial statement. It goes without saying that I cannot force you to do anything. Ultimatley, the call is yours, as are the consequences of your decisions.

"If you faint in the day of adversity,your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death;hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, 'Behold, we did not know this,'does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,and will he not repay man according to his work?" -- Proverbs 24:10-12

Source: www.badcorp.org

Today in History

In 1739 George Whitefield wrote, "Christ's servants have always been the world's fools".

Missions Motivation Mondays

"'Not called!' did you say?

'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.

Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face -- whose mercy you have professed to obey -- and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world. -- William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army

Bad Corp

My gorgeous girlfriend recently alerted me to this website:
www.badcorp.org

It is certainly worth checking out.

Saint Jack

Jack Housley is a good old boy from Tenessee. Nearly thirty years ago now Jack was working construction they way he had ever since he had been fortunate enough to marry the beautiful Janie, and he got the bulldozer he was operating stuck in the mud. It was the straw that broke the camel's back, and he relented to the calling that he had been feeling for quite some time...Jack was going to take Jesus' command to take the Gospel to all nations seriously...Jack was to be a missionary. Things happened pretty quick after that.

Jack and Jannie applied to New Tribes Mission, were accepted, and headed off for training. Training complete, Jack and his lovely wife headed off for what would be a lifetime of service in Papua New Guinea. Not long into their careers as missionaries, Jack realized that he was far from a gifted linguist. This was quite a blow for Jack. Language learning is among the missionary's most important skills. It would be impossible to present the Gospel to the many tribal peoples with their varied languages or to translate Scripture for them if he could not learn the language himself. This would have been a death sentence for most missionaries...but not for Jack. Instead of calling it quits, he devoted his life to supporting other missionaries, recruiting new missionaries, and leading short term trips into PNG.

Since then Jack has spent the better part of three decades running supplies up remote rivers in long canoes, hiking through the highlands to help build some new missionary's house, hacking through the swamps to repair another broken generator, tending to the sick, giving advise and counsel to the rookie missionaries, and hundreds of other behind the scenes jobs to support the advancing of the Gospel among the many unreached peoples of this island nation of primitive tribal peoples. All the while he raised a strapping family of boys and cared for his sweet Janie.

Jack is known among the missionaries on the island as a real "man's man." You don't have to hang around long before you start hearing stories about Jack. He fought and killed a Maruk (think ostrich with velociraptor claws) with a paddle. He climbed up in trees after snakes. He swam in crocodile infested waters. He's made friends with cannibals. He has weathered all manner of storms and dangers, and lived to tell about it. Yet, if you met Jack, you would be struck by his remarkable wisdom, humility, and down-to-earth attitude. He has done a thankless job, in dangerous circumstances, far from home, and with just basic necessities all because of his love of his Saviour, and I do not doubt that his reward in heaven will be great. While most of his contemporaries here in the States are beggining to plan their retirements, Jack is still in the wilds of Papua New Guinea doing his part, with the help of the Spirit, to push back the darkness. Jack Housley is the best example of a true disciple of Christ that I have yet come across in my young life. He has been a great inspiration for me, and I hope that he will be one for you as well. Whatever you do, do it with humility, with love, with a wild abandon to the Saviour's care, and with a single-minded devotion to the Glory of God. That is what Saint Jack taught me.

ESV Journaling Bible Released

I present the ESV Journaling Bible for your enjoyment. I think it is good for every Christian (especially if they don't know Hebrew and Greek) to own an essentially literal Bible like the ESV and a modern vernacular Bible such as The Message or even the Amplified Bible. It really helps things come to life.

More Rough Times for Indonesia

As if a tsunami that killed 200,000 and displaced 500,000, terrorist bombings in Bali that killed 23, an earthquake that killed 6,200, and a volcano on the blink were not enough, now there is major flooding on the island of Sulawesi that has killed at least 200 so far. I hope the absolute magnitude of the suffering of the people of this island nation doesn't escape us. It is easy to be numb to such reports, but if you try to imagine yourself grasping for the hand of someone you love, only for them to be swept away in a muddy river and never to be seen again it begins to hit home. You would scream, and pull out your hair, and nash your teeth. It would be devestating. Even further...if you try to imagine so many catastophic events grouped so closely together... it really does take your breath away. Pray for the people of Indonesia, pray for the relief work, and pray for the missionaries and Christian workers there...that they would persevere and demonstate a peace that passes understanding.

Book Review: Eat This Book

Eugene Peterson's newest work Eat This Book is certainly well worth your time. He begins the book by pointing out that the way we read the Bible in contemporary America is not only out of touch with the way most Christians through the millenia have read it, but it is also out of touch with the way the authors of our Sacred Writings intended for them to be read. Peterson, a pastor for 29 years and currently professor of spiritual theology at Regent College, proceeds in an almost poetical and prosaic tone to encourage the reader to do exactly what the angel of the Lord told Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and John to do -- "Eat This Book." His description of exegesis is of such a high caliber that I doubt a finer one could be written. He pulls the Holy Writ out of the ivory towered halls of academia, and brings it back where it was meant to be...in the rough and tumble of life. He does this, though, without criticizing scholars and theologians. Far from it, he actually shows us our incredible debt to such men. Through the course of the book Peterson introduces the ancient practice of Lectio Divina (roughly translated Divine/Spiritual Reading) which is a technique for reading the Bible that is aimed at putting yourself in a position to assimilate and live out the text of our Sacred Scriptures. The four parts to Lectio are Lectio, Meditatio, Oratio, Contemplatio which means Read, Meditate, Pray, Contemplate...or even more contemporarily Read, Think, Pray, Live. Peterson then gives a brief history of the Bible and Bible reading, and then shows the reader how understanding to read the Bible rightly has impacted his life and spirituality. Incredible. This book is the finest book about the Bible I have yet to put in my hands, and I can't recommend it enough. By the end, you too will be wanting to "Eat Your Book." Bon Appetite!

World Refugee Day

Today is World Refugee Day. I know, I know...it seems like they have a day for everything now, but this one is pretty important. There are 15 million refugees worldwide, and it isn't because they were having a good time at home. Take a moment (or hour) to pray for the refugees around the world, and for the followers of Jesus around the world to take some action. And for yourself...well, education is a good place to start:

http://www.refugeesinternational.org/
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/refugee.day/index.html

On Alcohol

"Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers." -- Luke 11:46.

Shame on you.

Shame on me.

There is shame on every one of us. That is a fact. The good news is (don't miss this) that Jesus came and took all of that shame, and set us free. What a tragedy, then, to behold the shackles from which we have been freed, only to set forth and load other burdens upon our back, or even worse...on the backs of others. I am here refering primarily to alcohol, but could be refering to any of a number of extra-Biblical rules, laws, and commands that Christians heap on themselves and others. I was born and raised in the southern United States in what is known as, for better or for worse, the Bible Belt. Many of you may not have experienced what I am about to describe, but where I am from the very consumption of alcohol is viewed as a sin, or in the very least it is handled as if you enter some 10th circle of holiness by abstaining from alcohol. As I have grown up in body and in spirit, I have become increasingly concerned with this belief, it's effect on the Christian communities in which it holds sway, and it's inablity to be squared with our Sacred Writings.

The first issue any thoughtful Christian is going to run up against if he or she wishes to promote the idea that alcohol is inherently sinful or that a person is more holy for abstaining from alcohol is the fact that virtually every major role player in our Bible used alcohol, and some even promoted it's use. From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Saul, David, and Solomon, and to Jesus, Paul, and the early church, all of them are known from scripture to have used alcohol with quite a bit of regularity. Melchizedek, a priest of God Most High, brought out wine to celebrate Abram's miltary victory (Genesis 14:18), wine was used as a drink offering in the Old Testament (Exodus 29:40, Numbers 15:10), God said he would bless the wine of His chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:13), it is said that God's people may use their money for wine or strong drink and consume it before God and rejoice (Deuteronomy 14:26), David says that God causes the earth to bring forth wine to gladden the heart of man (104:15), King Lemuel in Proverbs says to "Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress" (Proverbs 31:6), Jesus used wine in his parables (Matthew 9:17), Jesus made good wine when they ran out at a wedding celebration (John 2:1-10), Jesus was accused of being a drunkard (Luke 7:33), Jesus and his disciples drank wine at the last supper (Mark 14:23-25), Jesus drank sour wine on the cross (John 19:30), and Paul advises Timothy, a pastor, to drink wine (1 Timothy 5:23). In fact, the Bible has 247 references to alcohol: 17 warnings against abusing alcohol, 19 examples of people abusing alcohol, 3 references to selecting leaders, 1 verse advocating abstinence if drinking will cause a brother to stumble, 59 references to the commonly accepted practice of drinking alcohol with meals, 27 references to the abundance of wine as an example of God's blessing, 20 references to the loss of wine and strong drink as an example of God's curse, 25 references to the use of wine in offerings and sacrifices, 9 references to wine being used as a gift, and 5 metaphorical references to wine as a basis for a favorable comparison, 33 symbolic references ("the wine of His wrath," etc.), 21 references to vows of abstinence, 4 references to people falsely accused of being drunk, and 4 references which don't seem to fit a category. From this, it seems obvious that alcohol has uses other than evil, and that there is no prohibition of alcohol to Christians. John Owen, a Puritan theologian from the 17th century, said, "Only what God has commanded in His Word should be regarded as binding, in all else there may be liberty of actions" Yet, many still persist in insisting that all faithful Christians should abstain from alcohol. Why?

Well, arguments usually fall in one or more of the following catagories:
1) Christians should abstain from alcohol because it causes some to stumble or sin.
2) Christians should abstain from alcohol because it can cause harm to the body.
3) Christians should abstain from alcohol because it leads to drunkeness and alcoholism.
4) Christains should abstain from alcohol because the "wine" refered to in the Bible wasn't alcohol.
5) Christains should abstain from alcohol because in a culture that tends to abuse alcohol, it is easier and less confusing to just avoid it all together than to try to pick and choose when it is and isn't appropriate.
6) Christians should abstain from alcohol to be a good witness to others.
7) Christians should abstain from alcohol because the issue of alcohol causes division in the church.

I will here try to address each of these issues in short. I could probably say quite a bit about each point, but I would like to keep this from becoming a book.

1) Christians should abstain from alcohol because it causes some to stumble or sin. Well, I certainly realize that not everyone handles alcohol in a way that honors God, and that there are many people out there who are addicted to alcohol. There are, without a doubt, circumstances when a Christian drinking alcohol could cause someone to stumble into sin, and in those cases, I believe it would absolutely be a sin to consume alcohol. Shame on anyone who would go out for a few beers with a known alcoholic. Yet, to say that because there are circumstances where alcohol can be abused means that it should be avoided all together is silly, as well as inconsistent with the rest of life. Sex can be abused. Should we Christians stop having sex with our husbands and wives? Gluttony is a way that food can be abused. Should we stop eating? I admit this point is not my own. It was Martin Luther who originally said, "Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we prohibit and abolish women? The sun, moon, and stars have been worshipped. Shall we pluck them out of the sky?”

2) Christians should abstain from alcohol because it can cause harm to the body.
Again, certain foods can be harmful to the body if eaten in excess. Should we not eat them? Cars kill thousands of people every day. Almost everyone of us know of someone who has been harmed or killed in a car wreck. Should Christians stop driving cars? Of course not. More than that, there have actually been many demonstrated health benefits that arise from drinking moderate amounts of red wine and a few other alcoholic beverages.

3) Christians should abstain from alcohol because it leads to drunkeness and alcoholism. Yet again, almost everything in creation can be abused and lead to problems. Abstaining from God's gifts is not the answer. You cannot legislate righteousness.

4) Christains should abstain from alcohol because the "wine" refered to in the Bible wasn't alcohol. In other words, the wine refered to in the Bible was really grape juice. This one is absolutely false, and a perfect example of how people will sometimes actually make up things to justify their position. If this were the case, why the 17 warnings against drunkenness in the Bible? Did the partakers of the Lord's table at the church of Corinth get drunk on grape juice? I have had my fair share of grape juice, and it hasn't done anything to me that could be described as "drunkenness." No, when the Bible says wine it really means (surprise or surprises) wine. A similar, but equally invalid, argument says that the wine of Biblical times had a lower alcohol content than modern wine. Whatever the alcoholic content of the wine of the Bible, it was of a sufficient level for there to be a need for warnings against drunkenness. It was, once again, real wine.

5) Christains should abstain from alcohol because in a culture that tends to abuse alcohol, it is easier and less confusing to just avoid it all together than to try to pick and choose when it is and isn't appropriate. If anyone became a follower of Jesus because they wanted easy, they are in for a rude awakening. "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household." -- Matthew 10:24-25. The Roman culture of Jesus' day abused alcohol as much as any culture that has ever existed, and Jesus did not find abstaining to be the answer. Why should we? What our culture needs is not Christians who will check out of the alcohol problem, but Christians who will demonstrate to the watching world how to use wine and everything else in a way that honors God. I shudder to think of all the people who have written off Jesus because of Christians who avoided drinking or being around alcohol. They called Jesus a drunkard, and it certainly wasn't because he avoided alcohol.

6) Christians should abstain from alcohol to be a good witness to others. Making up your own rules and then following them does not make you a good witness. It may, in fact, make you a worse witness. Also, this one has the built in assumption that drinking alcohol makes you a bad witness. If that is the case, then Jesus and the apostles lost their witness. The very idea of such a thing is almost laughable.

7) Christians should abstain from alcohol because the issue of alcohol causes division in the church. First of all, this is sad, and is more a testament to the destructive nature of man-made rules than of alcohol. Secondly, you are not doing your Christian brothers and sisters any favors by letting them remain in error. Would you avoid bringing a black person to a racist church, just to avoid dividing the church? I should hope not. You would call on them to believe the Bible, and to repent, and to live as Jesus would have them live, and not to errect artificial walls that alienate us from the very cultures and peoples that we are supposed to love.


It is not wise to prohibit that which God has given as a gift (Deut. 14:26; Ps. 104:15), or to functionally condemn the actions of Jesus (John 2; Luke 7:33-34; ) and Paul (1 Tim. 5:23). Alcohol can indeed be abused, and there are circumstances when it should be avoided. Yet, alcohol is not inherently sinful, nor does abstaining from alcohol make you in the least bit more holy than one who chooses, in their Chrisian liberty, to drink alcohol. C.S. Lewis said, "there is a special kind of bad person that cannot give a thing up without forcing everyone around them to also abstain." I pray that we, as followers of Christ, would not be that sort of people. Any follower of Christ may (not should) drink alcohol with a clear conscience, so long as

• they are not doing it to get drunk
• it isn't illegal (prohibition by law, under-age drinking, driving under the influence)
• they are not causing anyone to stumble
• they are not addicted
• they are not doing it to flaunt their Christian liberty
• they are doing it, and all things, to the Glory of God
  

I understand that there are people who choose to abstain from alcohol for various reasons, and that is wonderful so long as they are doing it to honor God and they do not look down upon those who choose not to abstain. I do not pretend that it will always be easy to know the way, but I do know that in the end, the law always kills, but it is the Spirit who gives life. I conclude with a word from John Piper and a word from the book of Colossians:

"I want to hate what God hates and love what God loves. And this I know beyond the shadow of a doubt: God hates legalism as much as he hates alcoholism. If any of you still wonders why I go on... after hearing all the tragic stories about lives ruined through alcohol, the reason is that when I go home at night and close my eyes and let eternity rise in my mind I see ten million more people in hell because of legalism than because of alcoholism. And I think that is a literal understatement."

"Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ...If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." -- Colossians 2:16-20-23

Sources of quotes, statistics, and some thoughts: The Derek Webb Message Board, Reformissionary, Alcohol and the Bible, Between Two Worlds, and Desiring God

Missions Motivation Mondays

"The true greatness of any church in not how many it seats but how many it sends!" -- Mike Stachura

Good Christian

What's the Difference

What's the difference between a Presbyterian and a Baptist?

A Presbyterian drinks his beer on the front porch, and a Baptist drinks his on the back porch.

A Conference Worth Going To

The Desiring God 2006 Conference will be held from September 29 to October 1 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The theme of this years conference will be Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World. While I'm not usually a huge fan of the conference scene (I think many of them encourage Christians to use loads of money on things that are not Kingdom oriented at best...i.e. expensive hotels and expensive rounds of golf), I would give my Reformation Study Bible for a chance to attend this one. Speakers include Mark Driscoll, D.A. Carson, Timothy Keller, David Wells, Voddie Baucham (go Texas!), and the man himself...John Piper. This is the website: Here. If you can find a way to go to this...you should.

Missions Motivation Mondays

"Go, send, or disobey." -- John Piper

Conscientious Projector

My beautiful and inspiring girlfriend has done it again. She has concocted a way to use the TV for something other than sucking away precious hours of life. She has decided to, once a week, show a documentary at her house that showcases some social justice issue and invite members of the community in which she lives to come and see and learn and be challenged and be changed. I couldn't be more proud of her. As Americans we are too often conveniently ignorant of the travesties taking place all around us. She has started a blog that shows the documentary of the week, and provides a forum for discusion of that week's film. Check it out, and be inspired to make a difference in the world. Soli Deo Gloria. http://www.conprojector.blogspot.com/

Free Tibet

If you are even remotely interested in social justice, or have ever met a hippie, then odds are that you have heard the phrase "Free Tibet." Since you may or may not know what exactly is going on here, I'll take the liberty to fill you in.

• China's invasion by 40,000 troops in 1950 was an act of unprovoked aggression. There is no generally accepted legal basis for China's claim of sovereignty.
• Some 1.2 million Tibetans are estimated to have been killed by the Chinese since 1950.
• The International Commission of Jurists concluded in its reports, 1959 and 1960, that there was a prima facie case of genocide committed by the Chinese upon the Tibetan nation.
• Some 3,000 people are believed to have been detained for political offences since September 1987, many of them for writing letters, distributing leaflets or talking to foreigners about the Tibetans' right to independence.
• The number of political detainees in Lhasa's main prison, Drapchi, is reported to have doubled between 1990 and 1994. The vast majority of political inmates are monks or nuns.
• Since 1994, the Chinese have strengthened their drive to re-educate young Tibetans about their cultural past at all levels of Tibetan education. They use a distorted history programme which omits reference to an independent Tibet.
• Religious practice was forcibly suppressed until 1979, and up to 6,000 monasteries and shrines were destroyed.
• Chinese traders are favoured by lower tax assessments and the dominant position of Chinese in government administration. Chinese officials are paid various bonuses for working in Tibet.
• Estimates of deforestation vary, but at least half Tibet's natural forest cover has gone since the Chinese occupation.
• China has admitted to dumping nuclear waste on the Tibetan plateau. There is a 20 km2 dump for radioactive pollutants near Lake Kokonor, the largest lake on the Tibetan plateau.

This is just a small sampling of the facts. If you want to know more, or what you can do, check out www.freetibet.org or www.studentsforafreetibet.org.

"Rescue those who are being taken away to death;hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, 'Behold, we did not know this,'does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?" -- Proverbs 24:11-12

Saint Jorge

Somewhere, right now, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras a man named Jorge Mahomar is doing his best to push back the darkness. If you passed by Jorge in the streets, you very likely wouldn't even notice him. He is a fairly thin middle aged man, not very tall, and not strikingly handsome. His clothes are nothing special, and the truck he uses for transportation wouldn't even pass for drivable in most parts of the U.S. No, you probably wouldn't even notice Jorge at all. But I'll tell you who does notice Jorge -- all the poor, the downtrodden, the prostitutes, the drug addicts, the street kids, the homeless, and the all the other hopeless people in that broken city.

Jorge came from one of the wealthiest families in Honduras. After graduating college and getting married to the lovely Laticia, a restlessness began stirring in Jorge...a restlessness brought on by his faith in Jesus Christ. As he looked around his broken and despairing homeland, he could not square the life that Jesus called him to with the life that was presented to him by Honduras's elite. So, he did what any regenerated and born-again follower of Jesus would do -- he began selling all that he owned, quite literally, and giving it to the poor.

Initially, his family thought he was crazy. They had him flown to a mental home in Miami, Florida. But, after a few weeks, the doctors determined that there was nothing wrong with Jorge at all. He was perfectly healthy, and perfectly happy, and perfectly ready to go back to Honduras. As soon as he was able, he was back on a plane to Tegucigalpa and back on the steets with the poor and the sick. His family absolutely could not understand why he was squandering all his wealth on such a lost cause.

Over the years, Jorge has been arrested dozens of times for standing up for the rights of the poor, homeless, and drug addicted. He has opened dozens of orphanages, half-way houses, and homes for the unfortunate of his country, and continues to run them with the small staff that he has recruited to his cause. You may not know who Jorge is, but ask any street urchin in Tegucigalpa and they will tell you. Walking into one of the orphanages with Jorge one day was quite overwhelming. From every direction, half dressed little boys came running, screaming and laughing along the way, to Jorge's side. They quit their soccer games, they ran out of the classrooms, they put down their food, and they ran. They ran to be near the only man in the world who seemed to care about them. As he sat down with a cell phone pressed to his ear tying to arrange for more water to be brought up to the orphange that day, the boys climbed all over him like little monkeys, happy to just be near him. This was the man that had saved them.

Sitting in Jorge's house later that night, exhausted by a week of what Jorge considered "just regular days", I remarked about the cruise ships that come to port in Honduras asking if Jorge had ever been on one. He said, in that he had not, and I suggested that he should take a short cruise with his wife one day. "I guess I should," he said smiling. "How long has it been since you had a vacatation Jorge?" He sat back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and thought. "Well, I don't guess I've ever had a vacation," he remarked as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Never had a vacation!" I stammered. "How long have you been doing this?" He sat back again, and after thinking for a few seconds responded, "Twenty three years."

As the conversation unfolded it came to light that not only had Jorge not had a vacation in twenty three years, but the only time he had even taken a day off was when he was so sick that he had to be hospitalized for a week nearly a decade ago. Not a single day off in twenty three years! He was not moved at all. With all sincerity and humility he told us, "I do what I do because of Jesus and with Jesus' help. Without Jesus I do nothing."

Jorge starts every one of his days, seven days a week, with prayer at the church before daylight, and then heads out to push back the darkness. His days are filled with visiting the orphanages and half-way houses, delivering supplies, meeting with politicians to loby for the rights of the poor, picking up street kids he sees during the day, and handing out money to the poor (he carries a wad of One Limpiera bills everywhere he goes). While we were there, he had to get up during the night several times times go break up gang fights or pick up street kids with no place to stay. His days were exhausting for us, and we only did it for a week. I can't imagine doing it for 23 years without even a day off. Jorge is truly a saint.

As I sit here very comfortably in a coffee shop, I'm sure that Jorge has carried on his day much as he has carried on evey day for the past 24 years now -- loving the unlovable and pushing back the darkness. I pray that God would bless him in all that he does, and that God would give me the grace to push back the darkness and proclaim the good news with all the life that He grants me. I pray that all followers of Jesus, where ever they may find themselves, will live lives that count.