It's Somebody Else's Problem

In Isaiah 39 we find Hezekiah showing off all his riches to the visiting envoy of the Babylonian empire. When Isaiah finds out what Hezekiah has done he tells him that God will one day remove all these treasures and even his sons will be exiled to Babylon. Hezekiah's response is shockingly cold and detached, "'The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.' For he thought, 'There will be peace and security in my days'" (Is. 39:8).

Hezekiah's response, however, shouldn't surprise us all that much. It's always easier to put off our problems on a future generation. They're nothing more than unnamed faces; let them make the sacrifices.

My fear is that this mentality has crept into our zeal for the Great Commission to be finished and the gospel be proclaimed to every tribe, tongue, and nation.  We believe that it will happen - after all Jesus made clear that it would, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). I just don't think we really believe that it could happen in our generation. And, as a result, we begin to pass the responsibility to the next generation.

Of course, we should be preparing the next generation for this great work. But, let's work, pray, and give with the goal that there's not going to be any work left for them to do. Let's not wash our hands of the hard work and think our job is just to get the next generation ready. If all we're every doing is preparing the next generation the job will never get done.

To learn more about the spread of the gospel visit http://www.joshuaproject.net/

Endangered Languages

While I can certainly understand the cultural and historical tragedy of losing a language, perhaps it will open doors for the gospel. A people who have had no access to Scripture in their language could become overtaken by a language that has already been translated. This is not unlike the domination of the Greek language when the gospel exploded on the scene. Who knows what God may be doing . . .

From Enduring Voices Project, Endangered Languages, Map, Facts, Photos, Videos -- National Geographic

"Throughout human history, the languages of powerful groups have spread while the languages of smaller cultures have become extinct. This occurs through official language policies or through the allure that the high prestige of speaking an imperial language can bring. These trends explain, for instance, why more language diversity exists in Bolivia than on the entire European continent, which has a long history of large states and imperial powers."

Planet could be 'unrecognizable' by 2050, experts say - Yahoo! News

The first justification for abortion was a woman's right to choose, the next will be the impact on our planet and over-population. (APF news)

Population experts, meanwhile, called for more funding for family planning programs to help control the growth in the number of humans, especially in developing nations.

"For 20 years, there's been very little investment in family planning, but there's a return of interest now, partly because of the environmental factors like global warming and food prices," said Bongaarts.

"We want to minimize population growth, and the only viable way to do that is through more effective family planning," said Casterline.

Planet could be 'unrecognizable' by 2050, experts say - Yahoo! News