The Truths of the Christian Faith

March Update

Greetings!
First off, I need to apologize. Its been several weeks since my last post. However, the weeks have not passed without much work done and trials on my part. I have had midterm exams as well as several papers. In addition to academics, my family has had several issues. One family member had a stay at a hospital and another is having serious spiritual struggles. It has been a challenging time.

I cannot write this post without giving glory to God for the changing seasons. The recent spring weather has enabled me to take many runs, and facilitated a soccer game or two. :) The sun's warmth brings joy to my heart, as it reminds me of my beloved Africa.

My trip to North Carolina was a time of great refreshment. I got to rest, hang out with friends, go for a run, shoot some skeet, and fellowship with the body of Christ there in Morganton. The weekend also had its drawback though. Sadly, my alternator on my truck went kaput on me. But, I am grateful to God for His orchestration of events. The alternator started going dead right as I pulled into Morganton, instead of 200 miles earlier in central VA. Also, a good friend of mine (who is very knowledgeable about engines) was able to help me fix it. I bought the part and we did all the labor ourselves, thereby saving hundreds worth of the typical labor charges (if I had gone to a shop).  I count myself greatly blessed!

School is going well. I have several upcoming papers but I am most excited about my Theology paper. I am researching the role of Christ in the covenants. I have received wonderful counsel from both my theology professor and my father, as well as several highly regarded books. I am without excuses; Lord willing, I will write a great paper.

I have a test tomorrow that I need to study more for but I found a great exhortation in the New Testament. 1 Peter 4: 7-11 says: "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve on another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies-- in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Let us live our lives in recognition of the fact that we, as Christians, represent Christ to the world. Let us pray that, by His grace, the lost will see Him in our lives. May the words of our mouth, the meditations of our heart, and the actions and attitudes of our life give to Him what is rightfully His: "glory and dominion forever and ever."

Prayer and Praise
-Praise for the gift of life, which is given to us constantly. It was sobering to have a dear family member in the hospital. Life is a gift of God.
-Praise for safety as I travelled, as well as for physical, emotional, and spiritual rest.
-Praise to the Lord who has given me a heart to know Him. Pray that I continue to study the Scriptures; spiritual laziness is too easy to slip into.

-Pray for the persecuted church of Christ around the world, as well as the African church which is in desperate need of solid biblical teaching.
-Pray for my parents and their work in Kenya.
-Pray that I show the love of God to all, especially to those who know me, and have a great knowledge of my imperfections.
-Pray for perseverance in every aspect of my life.

Thank you for reading.

In our Savior,
Martyn

All is vanity

Greetings again and welcome back! Its been a while since I have posted an update on life here in beautiful Virginia. Alot has happened but has happened so quickly that it makes it rather difficult to recall it to memory. It must be because I am getting older. :)

As I wrote on the eve of my birthday, God has blessed me with a wonderful 21st year of life. Feel free to read the post to glimpse what He has done. He has certainly been gracious and loving to me. However, He has not been the only one. This past week was jammed pack full of exams and study sessions for the exams but somehow my roommates and their fiances managed to throw me a surprise birthday party. They had me fooled for a while but a slight slip by Jordan gave me a hint of the upcoming surprise. Regardless, I still was taken aback at their kindness. They made me a chocolate Coke cake, purchased a whole gallon of whole milk, and a sizable container of ice cream. I was in hog heaven. I thoroughly enjoyed every last part of it, particularly their humorous birthday card. In it they wished my next year to contain a "resurgence of Calvinism" and an "A in Spinny's class" (the most difficult history course at the college) amongst other things. What a blessing friends are!

I also received cards, phone calls and presents from my family. We found a good deal so my Grandmother is flying me back to Indianapolis for my Easter break. How grand it will be to fellowship with my extended family once again! In addition to that wonderful present, my father and mother sent me the ESV Study Bible. It is, by far, the best gift I have ever received. The footnotes, articles, maps, and cross references enable me to study the Scriptures in greater depth. Nothing could trump that.

I was also richly blessed this week with the opportunity to be a part of the chapel worship team. As a result, I have a greater appreciation for the work of worship leaders now. There is an extensive amount of time, thought, effort and prayer that must go into any chapel worship. Regardless, it was a joy to join my fellow students in exalting the name of our Savior.

On a different note, I have much to look forward to. After my death-by-papers (Philosophy and US History) this week, I am driving down to Morganton, North Carolina for our spring break. It is only Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but the therapeutic value is not found in the amount of time. Rather, it is found in crossing state line going into NC, hangin out with my "family" in Morganton, and worshipping at Faith PCA. This weekend I am taking a friend of mine with me. He is alot taller than me (6ft 5 or 6ish) and I figure its tall time that I wasn't the tallest one around. Actually the truth of the matter is that he is from California and I figure its higher time he partook of some good ol Southern cooking :)

In addition to the upcoming trip to look forward to, the weather has provided me with much hope. It might seem trivial to some but being able to feel the warmth of the sunshine is a big deal to me. Recently the bitter cold has left Purcellville and has been replaced by a less chilly breeze. Its a slight improvement.... but this African will take what he can get. Actually, today was so warm that I has able to go for my first run in several months, - in shorts and a t-shirt! The trees might be bare, and the grass smushed by the weight of 50 (ish) inches of snow, but the radiant warmth of the sun was too much to resist. I had to run....

I have just begun reading thru the book of Ecclesiastes and have had much to ponder while reading the words of the Preacher (thought to be Solomon). The book begins with the proclamation that "All is vanity!" The phrase at first glance is easy to read. When one reads a passage with the intent to get to the end of it, the deep seated nature of such a statement is missed, and I certainly confess to missing it many times. However, with the help of my new study Bible I was informed that the term "vanity" used by the Preacher is quite difficult to translate. It has been translated "vanity" in most, if not all of the English translations, but it has far reaching definitions. Literally it means "vapor" and gives the implication of something extremely temporary, fleeting and elusive. Such a word is applied to every aspect of life- wisdom, pleasure, toil, accomplishments- and even to life itself. That is profound and convicting.

The nature of the human nature is self centered. If you disagree with that claim I encourage you to go for a drive on the highway, or just get in a really long line at a grocery store or bank and watch people. Some dislike traffic jams so much that they are willing to violate laws and drive on the shoulder of the road to get themselves to the front of the traffic jam, or respectively, become so enraged at the gross inconvenience of waiting their turn that they stomp away in disgust. We become wrapped up in the world of "I" and ascribe the highest value to ourselves. Yet the entire book of Ecclesiastes is telling us the complete opposite.

Fleeting are our bank accounts. Temporal are our occupations. Our lives are as a vapor. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity! For in the sight of our God, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. What we hold in great esteem and value is nothing in the sight of our God- unless of course, that which we esteem the greatest honor is God himself.

How ought that to affect our lives? One thing is certain, when the truths given by the "one Shepherd" (Eccl. 12:11) are completely understood, it becomes increasingly easier to abandon the pressures, trials and temptations of the world. Indeed, this is part of the recognition of the truth of the uncomfortable Gospel that we have proclaimed by Christ. It ties directly back into the calling made by Paul in the New Testament that we as Christians are to "do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant that (our)selves." (Philippians 2: 3 - ESV) For it is only when we count our own lives as vapors and temporal segments in time that we can "count others more significant than (our)selves."

Praise
-That midterm exams are over
-For the changing seasons
-For the faithfulness of God to me, a sinner.
Prayer
-For focus and wisdom, that my papers will be of the best possible quality
-For the work of my parents in Kenya
-For safety in travel
-That my license extension would come before I travel to NC (my license expired on my birthday but I filed for an extension prior to that)

Thanks for reading!

In Christ,
Martyn

Article of the UN's recent role in Zimbabwe

The following article was written by Brett D. Schaefer. See note at the bottom of the article listing his credentials.

More Harm than Good

The situation in Zimbabwe highlights the tragic consequences of the U.N.’s willingness to engage despotic governments.

The United Nations’s emphasis on working with and through governments can horribly undermine its efforts to alleviate suffering — especially when governments are key drivers of the suffering to begin with. AForeign Policy article this week offers a chilling story of how this has unfolded in Zimbabwe over the last several years.

The article discusses policy disagreements between the U.N. country director for Zimbabwe, Agostinho Zacarias, and Georges Tadonki, who headed up the U.N. humanitarian office in the country. According to the article, Zacarias desired a cooperative relationship with President Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party, and to that end was willing to downplay many of the problems plaguing the country.

The resulting policy included “forcing agencies in Zimbabwe to . . . [equate the situation in Zimbabwe with that in other African countries] that the agriculture is troubling because there is no rain, that the education is failing because of a lack of resources from taxes.” These explanations deliberately excluded contributing factors such as land seizures, centrally planned prices for agricultural goods and other basic commodities, and political repression — factors for which Mugabe and his supporters were responsible.

When Mugabe failed to win the March 2008 election, it was dubiously asserted that opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai also failed to receive a majority of the votes, and a run-off election was set for June 2008. Mugabe’s supporters launched a violent campaign, resulting in many deaths. The violence eventually led Tsvangirai to withdraw out of concern for the welfare of his supporters.

According to Tadonki, “We are responsible for those deaths. If the United Nations had told Mugabe, ‘We know what you are planning,’ we wouldn’t have seen it. . . . We all sat [in Harare] and knew that in the countryside, 60 percent of Zimbabweans were being killed or raped.”

Also, the U.N. downplayed a looming cholera outbreak at the behest of Mugabe. According to the article:

In the 11 months between August 2008 and July of last year, nearly 100,000 Zimbabweans came down with cholera in the first countrywide epidemic of the disease in modern history. Previous outbreaks in Zimbabwe, which have occurred annually since 2003, had affected only pockets of the country. This time, cholera was everywhere. Corpses filled the streets and hospital beds. In some districts early in the crisis, half of those infected died. . . .

A Nov. 19, 2008, U.N. appeal for aid, issued months after the cholera epidemic began, predicted just 2,000 cholera cases. Just two months later, the death toll alone had already reached that number. In all, more than 4,000 people died between August 2008 and July 2009, and roughly 98,600 people had caught the disease. The true figures might be even higher.

Ed Schenkenberg van Mierop, an independent analyst present in Zimbabwe at the time, corroborates Tadonki’s claims that his warnings of a cholera outbreak went unheeded, observing, “It was very clear that no action was taken. That is what I would call criminal neglect on the part of the U.N.”

Unsuprisingly, Tadonki was fired — for refusing to go along with the U.N. country director’s policy of appeasing Mugabe, for confronting the government with NGO estimates (admittedly without permission) of the burgeoning epidemic, and for raising objections in correspondence with the country director and with his own superiors in New York. He has appealed, and his case is under review.

It would be nice to think that the Zimbabwe situation was unique. However, the U.N. is involved in virtually every developing country on the planet, including those controlled by despotic regimes, such as North Korea, Burma, and Iran. The article quotes a senior U.N. official on the dilemma faced by the U.N. in these countries:

The U.N. has to work with the government. Clearly, we work in a lot of countries where the government can make it very challenging. But should we say forget it? Or stay and try to help? . . . To be the resident coordinator in some of these countries is not an easy task; you have to deal with the consequences of the actions of those regimes, but in a way that those regimes don’t take for granted that you’ll be there to clean up.

But how much does U.N. assistance aid the governments in these countries instead of the people suffering under their rule? The organization’s officials all too often ignore the dilemma altogether. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe recently stated about U.N. assistance to North Korea, “These are human beings that need the food. It’s not the political system. This shouldn’t be argued in a political way.”

This amounts to whistling past the graveyard. Governments often cause these crises directly, or exacerbate smaller problems until they grow to unmanageable proportions. Pretending that a crisis can be addressed effectively without addressing its underlying causes does a disservice to those most affected — and those most likely to be affected by the next crisis.

The desire to help those in need is understandable. However, it does not obviate the responsibility of donors to face the situation — and its causes — forthrightly. As I recommended in my papers on U.N. aid to North Korea and Burma, it is eminently reasonable (though politically difficult) for the U.S. and the U.N. to deny food and humanitarian assistance that may aid a repressive government rather than its citizens, and to demand that the government agree to rigorous, transparent monitoring standards and delivery verification. Failing to do this can have consequences that rival those of doing nothing at all — as the citizens of Zimbabwe can testify.

— Brett D. Schaefer is the Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs in the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation and editor of ConUNdrum: The Limits of the United Nations and the Search for Alternatives (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009).