Stand By Me

Many, if not most of you, are probably aware of the song from the 1960s, "Stand By Me," sung by Ben E. King.

There's an interesting viral video cover of the song from a music documentary that's been making the rounds for the last few years.  If you haven't seen it yet, you'll want to check it out...

One of the things that I think is most interesting about early rock music was its strong gospel roots with many of the biggest names getting their musical upbringing by singing in church.

Ben E. King

Ben E. King was no different, being a regular in his church choir as a boy.  Early on, King was picked up as a replacement member of the second iteration of the musical group, The Drifters.  King eventually started a solo career and was recording the song "Spanish Harlem" when the producers asked if he had any other songs.  King played the tune "Stand By Me" which he took from the spiritual "Oh Lord, Stand By Me."

Included in King's version were several additional lines from the Bible:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore will not we fear, thought the earth be removed,

and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.

Psalm 46:1-2

I heard a radio interview the other day where someone was talking about the state of Christian music in the United States.  He said that he found it sad that many of the Christian songs now are just romantic love songs with the girl replaced by God.  I partly agree, but if you study music history, you'll find that it has happened the other way too.

If you haven't heard the original "Stand By Me" here it is too:

He is Risen!

Today is the day that Christians around the world celebrate the day that Jesus rose from the dead!

God came to Earth and became a man, lived a perfect life, and sacrificed himself on the cross as the penalty for our sins, but then rose from the dead.  Those who place their trust in Jesus will likewise not stay dead, but will be raised with him to eternal life!

The apostle John wrote of meeting Jesus after he had risen, "When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man.  Then he laid his right hand on me and said, 'Don't be afraid!  I am the first and the last, the living one.  I was dead, but now I am alive forever.  I have the keys of death and hell.'"

Thank you, Jesus!

E.S. Goodner and Wycliffe Bible Translators

E.S. Goodner

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it's Missions Week at our church.  It's always nice to hear from missionaries around the world.  Some of the missionaries I enjoy hearing from the most are from an organization called Wycliffe Bible Translators.  The goal of Wycliffe is to translate the Bible into every language on the planet.  Oftentimes this necessitates Wycliffe translators to create a written form for the language for the first time in history.  Bible translation and literacy go hand-in-hand and in many remote areas on our planet and in addition to bringing the gospel message, literacy allows people to improve their lives in other areas (such as improved agriculture and sanitation acquired through reading).

Literacy class in Chad

Today, there are over 6,800 languages in the world today.  Since 1942, Wycliffe has produced Bibles for the first time for about 700 of those languages and they are currently in active translation work in about 1,500 additional languages.  UNESCO estimates that there are about 750 million non-literate people living today and about two-thirds of those are women.

Language surveyor at work in Papua New Guinea

My great-grandfather, Ed Goodner, was on the Wycliffe Board of Directors from its founding in 1942 until his death in 1957.  My great-grandfather, known for his keen sense of humor, often journeyed abroad with other Wycliffe members to lay the groundwork for translation work in those countries.  Dawson Trotman (founder of another organization called the Navigators), often accompanied the Wycliffe people abroad.

I'll repeat a couple anecdotes about my great-grandfather from a book about Trotman called, Lengthened Cords, by Ethel Wallis:

     Daws was accompanied on his trips to Mexico by other Wycliffe board members, William Nyman, Dr. John Hubbard, and Ed Goodner.  The later was the object of most of Daws' jokes.  Ed, according to Daws, presumed to be able to manage fairly well in Spanish, so the other non-Spanish-speaking board members left the bargaining for taxi fares to him.  Ed had been instructed that a fair rate for a given distance was dos (two) pesos, and he developed a fixation for that amount.  When a certain taxi-driver came out with "uno cincuenta" (a peso and a half) in answer to "How much?" Ed Goodner stuck to his guns – "dos pesos."  After some argument, the taxi-driver gave up and accepted two pesos for a peso-and-a-half ride.  Ed Goodner's reputation asa  linguist suffered appreciably at that point thanks to Daws.

     Another time Ed Goodner saw a group of Mexican people all dressed up and walking down the street.

     "This must be a Mexican holiday," he said.  "I think I'll just step over and ask them what day it is."

     As he returned to the other board members he said, "Yep, just as I thought–it's a big holiday.  Today is Jueves."  Upon discovering that "Jueves" meant "Thursday," Daws had all that he needed for jokes on Ed Goodner for several conferences to come.  When I last saw Daws at our Wycliffe conference in September, 1955, he was still teasing Ed Goodner, privately and publicly, about his dos-pesos-Jueves brand of Spanish.

Curiously enough given his rudimentary foreign language skills, Ed Goodner's youngest daughter, Jane Goodner Nellis, spent her life working with Zapotec Indians in Oaxaca, Mexico, and was known for her work in the Zapotec tongue.

Extended Goodner family

Standing, back row: Jane Goodner Nellis and Neil Nellis

Seated, middle row:  Ed Goodner holding my father, Don Maas, and Mary Grow Goodner

Seated, front row:  brothers Dave Maas and Richard Maas

Why is Christmas Special?

I wake before everyone in my house and one of the unintentional benefits to my morning routine is to have some reflective time just to myself.  Today I found myself thinking about something that I overheard a couple days ago.  I was out doing some last minute shopping when I overheard an obviously disenchanted fellow talking with his companion and complaining about the crowds.  I heard him make an offhand comment to the effect of, "I don't even know what's so special about Christmas anyway, it doesn't even feel like Christmas."  And he is a little right at least about the weather out here.  Right now in California, it's in the mid-70s (or about 24 °C) so as people are walking around in shorts and t-shirts, it doesn't really fit the traditional image of a Victorian Christmas.

For Christians, Christmas is a time that we remember Jesus coming to Earth and becoming a man.  But why is this special?  I think the story of Simeon in the Bible explains it well.  About 40 days after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the Jewish purification rituals.

"And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
       'Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
      According to Your word;
       For my eyes have seen Your salvation
       Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
       A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
      And the glory of Your people Israel.'

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him."

Basically in all the hustle and bustle of Roman occupied Israel, Simeon was a godly man who eagerly waited for the promise of God's salvation to be realized.  When he saw that Jesus had come, his hope was realized.

Jesus came, not to live his life as a perpetual baby to remembered as an infant year after year, but to grow up in to a man and offer his life as a sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world.  When Jesus died, his followers were disillusioned because they weren't looking for a savior for their sin problem, they were seeking a great king who would establish justice and right the wrongs of the world.  But Jesus didn't stay dead, he rose from the dead and promised to return any day now to establish his kingdom of peace.

Jesus is alive and coming back any day now!  Christmas is special in the same way that looking at baby pictures of my own kids is special to me, it helps me remember those precious moments gone by.  More special though are the times spent with my living and real kids.  Jesus is alive and living today.  Why not spend some time with him today and get to know him for who he is?

For those who do know him already, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas!  And like Simeon, keep watching the skies, he'll be back any day!

Happy 400!

I passed this display in WalMart the other day and the 400th Anniversary sign caught my eye.  Actually it was the display of books that first caught my attention (being an avid reader), but a did a double take when I saw the 400th Anniversary sign.

When I was a kid, just about every church used this version, then there was an explosion in translations.  My favorite modern English version is the Holman Christian version.  I find it the most readable and accurate for me.  You can see the Holman version HERE.  Does anyone out there still read from the King James Version of the Bible?  I do sometimes, but not so much.  Any favorite Bible passages out there?

Happy Easter

Good morning and happy Easter to all my readers!  Of course this is the day that we remember Jesus rising from the dead.  It still amazes me that he would care so much for us that he would come from Heaven, taking on the likeness of a man, and then humbling himself, was obedient even to the point of a terrible death on the cross, all so that there could exist forgiveness for sin.

Amazing!

+ + + + +

For those of you who are logging in to find out who yesterday's Person-of-Mystery was, it was the Swedish explorer, Sven Hedin.  The last week has been pretty filled with travel and exploration for me.  As a younger man, I read Hedin's book, My Life as an Explorer.  It was novels like this that put a taste for adventure (and history) in me.  I defy someone to read books like Hedin's and not wish to similarly explore the world.

Free Audio Book (on Christian Living)

Okay, sorry about that title.  I didn't know what else to call it.  So there's this site, Christianaudio.com, that each month gives away a free audiobook.  Some months they're good, other months, they're okay.  I've downloaded a few, but this month they're giving away, Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges.

I haven't read this book, but I've read other stuff by Jerry Bridges and I've enjoyed everything I've read of his, so I'm going to recommend it for my Christian readers without even reading it myself yet.

I have about a 30 minute commute to work, so I frequently listen to podcasts and books in the car.  Although to be honest, I don't usually listen to books because it takes longer for me to listen to books than to read them.

Judging by the description, this is probably more for someone who is already a Christian than someone who is interested in knowing more about Christianity.

If you're interested, you can download it HERE.  Just click on the "Free Download" link.  You'll need to set up a free user account first, but no credit card is necessary.  If you're not interested in this one, check back next month as I'm sure they'll have another title.

Oh, and by the way, they'll give you a couple options for audio formats.  M4B is primarily used with Apple products (iPod, iPhone, etc.), MP3 should work on most other devices (including Apple products too).  The benefit to M4B format is that it can bookmark chapters while listening.

The Missing Years of Jesus

Last week, Roger posted an interesting question about Jesus.  He said, "Why is it we celebrate his birth and then nothing is said or written about him until he is an adult?  Or did I miss something along the way?"

I've had similar thoughts from time-to-time and so have other people over the years, so I figured I'd share what I know.

There are really three questions Roger is asking.  The first is, why do we celebrate his birth?  This is a good question.  Early Christians didn't celebrate his birth, they celebrated his resurrection from the dead.  Certainly the early Jews did not celebrate birthdays (and their lunisolar calendar makes it difficult to do so anyway with leap months and all).  The early Christians didn't celebrate the birth dates of saints, preferring instead their death dates, so since virtually no one was celebrating birthdays, it makes sense that the calendar date of Jesus' birth wasn't recorded.  We do know from the Bible that he probably wasn't born December 25.  It's recorded that shepherds were keeping watch over their sheep at night, which in Israel it's too cold to do most Decembers.  Using other markers like the birth of John the Baptist, the Roman census, etc., it's probably safe to assume that Jesus was born during the months of August to September.  So why December 25?  Well, the pagans had their feast day of Saturnalia that day and the Roman Catholic church wanted to put a stop to it, so they kind of party crashed Saturnalia and in the year 440 proclaimed the birth of Jesus to be the same day.  Many dissenting Christians (e.g., Protestants including Puritans) resented all the trappings and excesses, so they tended to shun the holiday.  In fact in parts of Colonial America it was against the law to celebrate the day as it had been earlier in Cromwell's England.  George Washington knew that the Hessian soldiers would most likely be drunk on Christmas, so he chose that day for a surprise attack (and to most American soldiers it was just another day).  Christmas got a big boost from Dicken's Christmas Carol and along with immigration from Europe, Americans began celebrating Christmas in larger numbers during the 1850s.  The answer to why we celebrate his birth and why we do it the way we do is probably just tradition of a modern origin.

Roger's second question (which was really combined with the first), which I'll paraphrase, was, why is nothing said of Jesus between the time he was born and the time he was an adult?  Actually, there are a couple of little snapshots of his life growing up if you look closely.  We know his family was from the town of Nazareth (in Northern Israel).  Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem (closer to Jerusalem) for a Roman census and when they got there Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Sometime before age two, the Magi (or wise men) from the East came to visit Jesus.  We know that it wasn't the night he was born since he was born in a manger (where the shepherds visited) and the Bible records that by the time the Magi visited Jesus, the family had moved from the manger to a house.

(More likely where the Magi were when Jesus was born)

(Less likely where the Magi were)

The word used to describe Jesus in Greek is "daidion" which is a young child and not a baby, which would have been the word, "brephos," so there was definitely a time lapse involved.  King Herod had earlier inquired from the Magi when they first started following the star and when he realized that they had departed the country without returning to him, he ordered the killing of all the young boys aged two and under in the town of Bethlehem, so we can assume that Herod believed that Jesus would have been two or younger.

(Herod was one crazy bad man)

Joseph had been warned by an angel that Herod was going to try and kill the baby, so the family fled ahead of the baby massacre to Egypt and the family lived there until Herod died.

Returning to Israel (when Jesus was a young child) after Herod's death, Joseph learned that Herod's son was ruling in his father's place, so the family settled away from Jerusalem back in Nazareth where they thought they would be more safe.

Jesus lived a pretty normal life in Nazareth, the son of a carpenter, probably learning the carpentry trade.

At age 12, there is an account of his family taking a trip to Jerusalem.  When it was time to go home, Joseph and Mary assumed he was traveling back with extended family, but when they couldn't find him among them, they returned somewhat panicked to Jerusalem and found him three days later in the Jewish Temple discussing theology with the elders.

There is a period of time in Jesus' life, from age 12 to age 30, so 18 years time, sometimes called the "lost years" or "missing years."  Most people don't realize that apart from his birth, almost everything Jesus is known for occurred between age 30 and 33.  The Bible doesn't tell us what Jesus was doing between age 12 and age 30, but we can assume that they were pretty ordinary considering that after Jesus had started his ministry (between 30 and 33) he returned to Nazareth where the people were wondering where the local boy they knew had acquired the ability to perform miracles and teach so well.

They said, "Isn't this the carpenter's son?  Isn't his mother Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?  And aren't all his sisters with us?  Where did he get all these things?"  Their reaction leads to a few natural assumptions on my part.  First of all, it appears from several places that Joseph, the father, was dead by the time Jesus was 30 and before he died, Joseph and Mary had other children (at least four other boys and at a minimum of two girls), Jesus being the firstborn of Mary.  Since he had spent the greater portion of his youth until age 30 just hanging out in Nazareth, he was known to many as Jesus the Nazarene.

Roger's last question, "Or did I miss something along the way?" is a pretty natural one.  Because Jesus is such an important figure in world history, it's pretty normal for people to want to have more information on his life.  There were four major books in the Bible written about Jesus' life (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).  Within a few hundred years, there were several fictional accounts written about Jesus by a group called the Gnostics.  Christianity has from its earliest day been open to everyone, but the Gnostics were into hidden knowledge or secret learning and creating some pretty wild stories about Jesus doing miracles as a kid fit their belief system better than the generally known account of Jesus.

Sometime in the future I'll have to talk about miracles, because that seems to be a big deal for some people, but miracles in the Bible seem to happen mostly around the times that new teaching is being revealed and then they seem to be less common at other times.  It seems as though Jesus may have performed no miracles for the first 30 years of his life and then performed many miracles in the three years he was actively teaching.

Love the questions in the postings on the blogs.  I try to read everything and will respond as I have time.  I really wish there were a better way to discuss ideas amongst posters on this blog.  As a teacher I really enjoy the teaching learning process.  I hope open and interesting thoughts keep coming.  Thanks, Roger.