by Jason Joyner | Jul 11, 2011 | Bible, Blog
From the prophet Isaiah (ch 55):
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
by Jason Joyner | Jul 11, 2011 | Bible, Blog
From the prophet Isaiah (ch 55):
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
by Jason Joyner | Feb 19, 2010 | Bible, Blog, books, Loren Cunningham, missions, non-fiction, YWAM
My friends and regular readers of this blog believe that the Bible is a special book.
If we only knew how much…
I recently finished
The Book That Transforms Nations, the latest book by Loren Cunningham. He is the founder of Youth With a Mission, and if there’s anyone who is qualified to write this book, it is him. He has ministered in EVERY country on Earth, as well as numerous territories that don’t count as countries but are distinct areas nonetheless (how many of you have been to Pitcairn Island?).
The book has a straightforward structure. The first part of the book explains the problem, especially in the West, of our turning away as a society in general from God’s Word. He then spends a majority of the book describing ways the Bible has been used to transform cultures, from whole countries like Norway and South Korea to Calvin’s Geneva and yes, Pitcairn Island. Third, he describes how what we believe about God affects how we act in life, and shows how exceptions to the rule actually prove his point, with examples such as Japan and Latin America. Finally, he casts a vision on how we can get the Word out there.
We don’t hear stories anymore of the way God has transformed societies. I was impressed by Hans Nielsen Hauge, the Norwegian who skied to much of Norway spreading the Word, and the difference it made in that land. We may know a little about William Carey and his ministry in India, but I didn’t realize the extent of work done there.
Some of this information isn’t all that new. The idea that how we believe about God affects our culture comes admittedly from Francis Schaeffer (and it isn’t necessarily original with him). Loren touches on the various areas of culture that shape it, the Seven Spheres of Influence, which I have blogged about (after learning them from YWAM). There could be more practical information about how to do what the book is trying to promote: getting the Word out to people and let it transform hearts.
Still, Loren (and his sister Janice Rogers, who has written other books with him) has an easy style to read, and he excels at getting the reader excited about the proposition in the book. I finished and was immediately ready to start tossing Bibles on co-workers’ desks (however, I believe I would better serve the Lord by staying employed for a longer term basis).
What really challenged me was page 198, where he talks about how easy we have it to finish the job, as previous generations had to hand copy the Bible, and travel by foot or animal to get it anywhere. Modern technology puts reaching the whole world with the gospel as a doable goal in our lifetime! His challenge is that “our willingness to obey the Lord and move out is the only real limitation” (p 198).
I encourage anyone who has a love for Jesus and His Word, and a desire to see our country and the other nations changed to check out this book.
by Jason Joyner | Feb 19, 2010 | Bible, Blog, books, Loren Cunningham, missions, non-fiction, YWAM
My friends and regular readers of this blog believe that the Bible is a special book.
If we only knew how much…
I recently finished
The Book That Transforms Nations, the latest book by Loren Cunningham. He is the founder of Youth With a Mission, and if there’s anyone who is qualified to write this book, it is him. He has ministered in EVERY country on Earth, as well as numerous territories that don’t count as countries but are distinct areas nonetheless (how many of you have been to Pitcairn Island?).
The book has a straightforward structure. The first part of the book explains the problem, especially in the West, of our turning away as a society in general from God’s Word. He then spends a majority of the book describing ways the Bible has been used to transform cultures, from whole countries like Norway and South Korea to Calvin’s Geneva and yes, Pitcairn Island. Third, he describes how what we believe about God affects how we act in life, and shows how exceptions to the rule actually prove his point, with examples such as Japan and Latin America. Finally, he casts a vision on how we can get the Word out there.
We don’t hear stories anymore of the way God has transformed societies. I was impressed by Hans Nielsen Hauge, the Norwegian who skied to much of Norway spreading the Word, and the difference it made in that land. We may know a little about William Carey and his ministry in India, but I didn’t realize the extent of work done there.
Some of this information isn’t all that new. The idea that how we believe about God affects our culture comes admittedly from Francis Schaeffer (and it isn’t necessarily original with him). Loren touches on the various areas of culture that shape it, the Seven Spheres of Influence, which I have blogged about (after learning them from YWAM). There could be more practical information about how to do what the book is trying to promote: getting the Word out to people and let it transform hearts.
Still, Loren (and his sister Janice Rogers, who has written other books with him) has an easy style to read, and he excels at getting the reader excited about the proposition in the book. I finished and was immediately ready to start tossing Bibles on co-workers’ desks (however, I believe I would better serve the Lord by staying employed for a longer term basis).
What really challenged me was page 198, where he talks about how easy we have it to finish the job, as previous generations had to hand copy the Bible, and travel by foot or animal to get it anywhere. Modern technology puts reaching the whole world with the gospel as a doable goal in our lifetime! His challenge is that “our willingness to obey the Lord and move out is the only real limitation” (p 198).
I encourage anyone who has a love for Jesus and His Word, and a desire to see our country and the other nations changed to check out this book.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 26, 2010 | Bible, Blog, resources, YWAM
The best 9 month investment of my life was spent reading a book 5 times.
Back in 1995 (getting farther all the time…) I was privileged to go to the School of Biblical Studies through Youth With a Mission in Canberra, Australia. Yes, we basically read the Bible five times through those nine months.
We learned the Inductive Bible Study method, which places an emphasis on learning the literary and historical context for the book of the Bible one studies, and reading the text and listening to what it says. It is contrasted with Deductive Bible Study, where one goes to the text with a preconceived idea and tries to find support for it in the Bible.
Those nine months did more for me in grounding me in the Word, and was invaluable to this day. Now I have found that it can be a resource for anyone.
There is a website entitled “The SBS Podcast” that gives downloadable teachings from some of the key leaders in the SBS system. You can download them directly from the site, and you can also subscribe to it through iTunes.
I highly recommend this resource for foundational Biblical study. There are topics from the Trinity, to Israel in New Testament times, to specific teachings on books of the Bible. I have a longtime personal friend as one of the teachers, and Ron Smith, who runs the SBS program within YWAM, has been a Bible teacher and author for years.
Oh, and the best thing: it’s free.
I encourage anyone interested to check out this great free resource for the Body of Christ. YWAM’s motto is, “Know Him and make Him known.” One of our best ways of knowing God is through His Word.
—
by Jason Joyner | Jan 26, 2010 | Bible, Blog, resources, YWAM
The best 9 month investment of my life was spent reading a book 5 times.
Back in 1995 (getting farther all the time…) I was privileged to go to the School of Biblical Studies through Youth With a Mission in Canberra, Australia. Yes, we basically read the Bible five times through those nine months.
We learned the Inductive Bible Study method, which places an emphasis on learning the literary and historical context for the book of the Bible one studies, and reading the text and listening to what it says. It is contrasted with Deductive Bible Study, where one goes to the text with a preconceived idea and tries to find support for it in the Bible.
Those nine months did more for me in grounding me in the Word, and was invaluable to this day. Now I have found that it can be a resource for anyone.
There is a website entitled “The SBS Podcast” that gives downloadable teachings from some of the key leaders in the SBS system. You can download them directly from the site, and you can also subscribe to it through iTunes.
I highly recommend this resource for foundational Biblical study. There are topics from the Trinity, to Israel in New Testament times, to specific teachings on books of the Bible. I have a longtime personal friend as one of the teachers, and Ron Smith, who runs the SBS program within YWAM, has been a Bible teacher and author for years.
Oh, and the best thing: it’s free.
I encourage anyone interested to check out this great free resource for the Body of Christ. YWAM’s motto is, “Know Him and make Him known.” One of our best ways of knowing God is through His Word.
—
