Tool? Or Toy?

I trust you would rebuke me.

I mean, if I let my son Daniel use that humongous chainsaw for a toy, you would rebuke me wouldn’t you?

660 Stihl chainsaws are a very efficient tool for milling logs like the one Daniel is standing on. In about six minutes, I could cut off a board 22 inches wide by eight feet long.

But you need not rebuke me: I never let Daniel play with that saw, other than to hold it up for the picture perhaps. Faster than you could say “Be careful with that saw, son!”, it could rip off a little boy’s leg. In fact, that saw was so powerful that I was almost afraid to run it myself!

I say all this to make a point: tools are tools, and toys are toys.

The Internet can be a useful tool. I myself have used it to find a manual for my wife’s sewing machine, got a good bargain for a vehicle on an online auction, located hard-to-find parts for small engines, and other practical uses.

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The Beauty of Little Things

Recently I’ve been reading a lot about approaching persecution for the church. And almost every time I see it, the article says something about preparing ourselves. But what is preparation, anyway?

I think it possible, and perhaps even likely, that persecution is coming soon. I’m no prophet, but I do have ideas of how it will happen. It will not be by denying God’s existence, as in the Soviet Union. It will not even be by attacking the name “Christian.” No, if the church is persecuted, I believe that it will be to force us to stop proclaiming Christ as the only way to God. Ironically, it will come from those who worship at the altar of worldwide tolerance.

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The Radical Chinese House Churches (part II)

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16b

These verses beautifully describe some of the secrets of this vibrant church. I chose to place the same picture at the beginning of this continued article, because it says it all. It is the broken-hearted prayers of humble believers that bring the presence of God into their midst. I pray that God will lead us into this same kind of desperate praying, so that His bride in America can be like His bride in China.

We have received many encouraging words about the first half of this article. Thank you for your input. We love to hear from the hearts of our readers. It is good for us American Christians to be challenged by believers from the other side of the world. Let us return to the interview.

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