Unbroken: The Testimony of Louis Zamperini

I just finished reading “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand.  Expecting to read a wonderful story of endurance and survival of a WWII hero who was lost on a raft in the Pacific Ocean, only to be found and imprisoned by the Japanese for almost two years, I also discovered that it’s a powerful Christian testimony of an Olympic track star who found Christ after the most horrendous ordeal that a person could possibly suffer.  The read was serendipitous. It’s a must read.

Here’s a great excerpt from  the book.

I found a documentary (which pretty much covers the entire book) in the videos below.  Though a good summary, the videos don’t do justice to the book.  The details are powerful.

God’s love and the power of the cross as demonstrated in Louis Zamperini’s life is amazing.

I’m a great believer, and I believe it with all of my heart that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and who are called according to His purpose. Christ told us in the Scripture, “I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life.” Christ is the way to God, the way is the truth. People are always seeking truth; the truth is Christ, and He’s the life. But I think our eternal life starts now by faith in Jesus Christ. That is the strength we live by, and death no longer has a sting… not to the Christian.” – Louis Zamperini

Louis Zamperini and Billy Graham

Helping Our Teens Retain Their Faith

Here’s a good read on what we can do to help our teens.  Nancy Pearcey, a colleague of Chuck Colson, writes:

Fuller Seminary recently conducted a study on teens who become leavers in college.  The researchers uncovered the single most significant factor in whether young people stand firm in their Christian convictions or leave them behind.  And it’s not what most of us might expect.

Join a campus ministry group?  A Bible study?  Important though those things are, the most decisive factor is whether students had a safe place to work through their doubts and questions before leaving home.

The researchers concluded, “The more college students felt that they had the opportunity to express their doubt while they were in high school, the higher [their] levels of faith maturity and spiritual maturity.”

The study indicates that students actually grow more confident in their Christian commitment when the adults in their life — parents, pastors, teachers — guide them in grappling with the challenges posed by prevailing secular worldviews.  In short, the only way teens become truly “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks” (1 Pet. 3:15) is by wrestling honestly and personally with the questions.

Here’s the original article.

Waiting till Marriage

Here’s a good story of a guy who didn’t date anyone until he got married.  David was a student I ministered to when he was in college at UC Berkeley.  He is now happily married to his wife Joyce, who also never dated anyone until she married David.  Currently they both serve at our church in Austin.

An Argument for Same Gender Relationships

Here’s a short article from Boundless.org on the importance of same gender relationships.  I think most young people take their same gender friendships for granted and focus too much on getting to know the opposite sex.  The reality of all individuals, after they get married, is that opposite gender confidants are impossible: Would you want your spouse, or future spouse, to have serious friendships with the opposite gender?  So doesn’t it make sense, then, to invest in same gender relationships throughout your life?

Lessons on Love and Marriage: Dating, Part II

From my last post on this subject, I left off with Budziszewski’s advice for dating:  It should be done only for the purposes of marriage.(1)  His reasons are as follows.  A woman’s biological clock (to have babies) is ticking, and so it makes sense for her to view every date in terms of possible marriage.  Though guys (who don’t have this biological clock since men can father children virtually at any age) should be considerate of that.  And so, Budziszewski concludes, dating should be for the purposes of marriage.

This makes sense doesn’t it?  Perhaps if more singles took his advice there will be fewer broken hearts and a lot less sinning.

But where is this prescription for dating found in the Bible?  Budziszewski says, “Thinking like a Christian means a lot more than doing what the Bible says; it also means thinking like the Bible thinks–even about things the Bible doesn’t mention.”  I definitely agree.  So let’s look at this thing called dating.  Yes, it’s not attested in the Bible, but marriage is.  God ordained marriage.  It was his idea.  He created it. God doesn’t command marriage, but a man and a woman who are interested in getting married then he or she should date with the purpose of marriage in mind.  I’m not saying that all dates must lead to marriage (sometimes after a few dates people discover that they really don’t like one another).  What I’m saying is that the intent–the purpose–should be there.

(1) J. Budziszewski, Ask Me Anything (Colorado Springs: TH1NK, 2004), p. 20.

Lessons on Love and Marriage: Dating

I just picked up J. Budziszewski (I don’t know what’s harder–saying his last name or typing it) book, “Ask Me Anything.”  I just thought I’d share some thing interesting lessons.  These days a lot of men and women spend a lot of one-on-one time together.  And they do so under the banner of friendship.  When asked if they’re dating, they would probably say “No.” But Budziszewski would say otherwise.  In his book, he says that “any date is potentially romantic” (1).  And I agree.  Sure, one on one meetings might happen because of friendship, but if continued, they have the potential of being romantic.  That’s dating.  If romantic interests do develop, and it’s mutual, and if it leads to courtship and marriage and God is glorified then great!  But from my experience, what I described is the exception than then norm.  Too many young people get led on during these friendships, or these friendships lead to romantic friendships that lead to sin.  Or the romantic feelings aren’t mutual and a member of the “friendship” is led on.  Dates are powerful because they have potential, and so it’s important that singles understand what dating is: any meeting that has the potential of being romantic.  And if an individual is not readying to date, then it makes sense that he refrain from these kinds of meetings.

Budziszewski (I copied his name to my clipboard, so now I can copy and paste his name) goes on to say that the purpose of dating is to find a suitable marriage partner (2).  I completely agree.  But I’ll talk more about this later.

(1) J. Budziszewski, Ask Me Anything (Colorado Springs: TH1NK, 204), p. 16.

(2) IBID, p.20.

Worldview Questions: The Big 5

Here’s an interesting website/tool that shows the Big 5 Worldview Questions and how different people answer them.

What’s the Big Deal About Pornography

Gracepoint’s Worldview conference just ended, and the keynote speaker, Sean McDowell gave many wonderful presentations.  He gave a good, convincing one about the dangers of pornography.  It’s a must read.