Writer and Teacher
The Value of Regular Exercise
Jul 27th
I do not write to lay a guilt trip on anyone, but I warn you this is a commercial. I speak not as a paid salesman but as a satisfied customer. My testimony is that regular exercise has paid significant benefits in my life.
This August 12, 2010, marks ten years of exercising three times a week at Pulmonary Rehabilitation at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. Because it is a priority to me I seldom miss. This exercise program has made a vital contribution in extending and enriching my life.
In 2000 doctors diagnosed me with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a terminal lung disease. Regular exercise contributed to my being able to live long enough to receive a double lung transplant in 2004. My doctors told me that good muscle tone in my body would make the transplant more successful and enable my body to more efficiently utilize the oxygen it receives. Not only did exercise help me live long enough to receive new lungs, it has contributed to my generally strong health these past six years.
Medicine can only do so much. Exercise is something we can do for ourselves. Barbara, my wife, had breast cancer five years ago. She underwent surgery and chemo therapy. She has chosen to work on eating healthy and walking regularly as her approach to try to prevent reoccurrence. She walks two miles four or five times a week. I did not walk as a part of my regular exercise routine taking about an hour. But Barbara convinced me to add thirty minutes of walking and do it on the days I didn’t go to rehab.
The benefits of exercise to physical health does not tell the whole story. Barbara and I thank God that we have been able to continue to have a part in our children and grandchildren’s lives. Though retired we are happy to be serving God and others.
Where Does God Dwell?
Jul 19th
Because the church is the people I have generally referred to the building where the Lord’s people meet as the church house. Though we do not read of church buildings in the New Testament, they provide a place for church meetings and activities. But God does not dwell in church buildings.
Then where does God dwell? Paul said, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man” (Acts 17:24). Jesus explained, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). Paul prays that you may be “strengthened with power though his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith . . . that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-17, 19). “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). As incredible as it may seem, God makes his home in individual believers.
Not only does God make his home in individual believers, the community of believers provides a residence for God as well. “We are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16). “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). We are “members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph 2:19-22).
Instead of shrines, statues or temples, God dwells in five foot six inch women and six foot tall men and in fourteen-year-old young people. He dwells individually in those of us who are believers and Christ-followers. He also dwells in the midst of twenty believers meeting in a small congregation as will as among a thousand believers lifting their hearts in worship. The pantheist and New Agers worship the god within claiming to be god. The Christian worships the eternal living God who chooses to live within believers.
What a privilege to be the home for God—for God to dwell within us! What an incentive to glorify God with our lives and in our church fellowships!
(Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version, I have added the italics.)
The Gardners Accept Invitation to Serve in Jordan
Jun 28th
Barbara and I have accepted an invitation from the Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary (JETS) in Amman, Jordan, to teach for two weeks in August, 2010. I will teach a course entitled, “Worldviews,” which will focus on defending the Christian faith and worldview in response to other systems of thought. Barbara was asked to assist the seminary librarian.
Several years ago it was our goal for retirement to assist Bible colleges and seminaries in this way. But my pulmonary fibrosis and subsequent double lung transplant canceled those plans. I checked with my doctor at Barnes Hospital about this invitation. He asked, “Do you want to go?” I answered that I would like to. He said, “That’s why we do transplants.” They gave some safety tips for the plane trip, since I am immunosuppressed.
This evangelical seminary provides Bible-believing theological education for Arab Christians in the Middle East. I see this as an opportunity to give a strong background in apologetics to these students who will go back as leaders in their respective countries. Barbara will work with the librarian on principles of librarianship.
Jordan is a modern country, progressive in many ways and friendly with the United States. The country has freedom of religion with Christianity being a minority religion.
The seminary has weathered several financial crises but has been able to provide this valuable teaching program. They will take care of us after we get into the country, but we will need to pay for our plane tickets over and back. The Christian Church of Carl Junction has established a fund, Gardner Jordan Fund, for those who would like to make a tax-deductible gift to assist in the plane expense. Checks should be written out to Carl Junction Christian Church. The address is 103 Hodges St., Carl Junction, MO 64834.
Classics of the Christian Faith
Jun 11th
Five Classics
These five books are classics of Christian literature. They speak to the heart issues of Christianity in a forceful and dynamic way. They lead readers into a deeper understanding of the Christian faith. Here is food and guidance to help you grow in spiritual maturity and discipleship. Why not read several of these books as a project this summer? Why not fast from TV, videos, movies, the Internet and feed your soul?
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Perhaps the most widely read apologetic for Christianity written in English in the twentieth century. Sold millions of copies. Logical reasoning in defense of the Christian faith by a former atheist.
Stott, John R. W. Basic Christianity, 50th anniversary edition. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008.
Clear and easy-to-read introduction to the Christian faith. Over 2.5 million sold.
Packer, J. I. Knowing God, 20th anniversary edition. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Believing ignorance of God is the source of weakness in churches, Packer helps the reader gain a personal relationship with God through the knowledge of the living God from the Word of God.
Stott, John R. W. The Cross of Christ, 20th anniversary edition. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006.
Powerful book stating the doctrinal meaning of the cross, answering misunderstandings, and making personal application of the cross to our lives. Many consider this the best book on the cross.
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, 25th anniversary edition. New York: Harper and Collins, Publishers, 1998.
Practical guidance for one seeking a closer devotional walk with God and growth in spiritual maturity.
Three Potential Classics
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.
A relentless search for the evidence answering the question “Who is Jesus.” Worthy of serious attention from every believer and skeptic.
Keller, Timothy. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. New York: Dutton, 2008.
A refreshing and intellectually stimulating case for the reality of God. Contemporary and relevant as the author draws illustrations from his encounters with skeptics and seekers in his New York ministry.
Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. Colorado Springs: Nav Press, 2002.
Challenging instruction for growing in our spiritual walk, shedding sinful habits, and progressively taking on the character of Christ. Practical guidance for being transformed in heart and life into Christlikeness.
Christianity Stands True Available in Spanish Edition
May 25th
Christianity Stands True: A Common Sense Look at the Evidence by Lynn Gardner is now available to Spanish speakers. In addition to English, it is available in Russian, Polish, Czech, and Korean editions and is being translated into Hindi.
Ralph Shead, who is in charge of Spanish projects with Literature and Teaching Ministries, Joplin, Missouri, tells why it is important to be available in Spanish.
Christianity Stands True by Lynn Gardner is a head-on approach to challenge people who do not follow Christ because they think Christianity is not true. Believing the Creator gave us brains so we would use them to think and reason, Brother Gardner shows what is reasonable and what is not. He answers the questions that a skeptic would have before becoming convinced that Jesus really is Lord and that all men are called to be His disciples.
So, why publish a Spanish version of this book? In Latin America (much as in the USA) people hold these beliefs:
- That science has wounded Christianity with a death blow.
- It is just a matter of time until all Christians will hide the fact they are believers, if they choose to still believe.
- Thinking people can’t believe the Bible.
- Hard questions about the Bible can’t be answered.
- You either “feel it in your heart” that the Bible is true or you don’t.
Frankly the “feel it in your heart” foundation for faith is one that does not stand against the storms of life. This book will convince an open-minded person who is willing to investigate the evidence that the Bible is a book from God and that Jesus truly is the Savior who died for our sins and gives us a firm foundation for life.
Literature and Teaching Ministries (LATM) is pleased to be a partner with Lynn Gardner and College Press in presenting this introduction to Christian apologetics to the Spanish speaking world. Target release date: July 15, 2010.
Ralph Shead, Spanish projects, LATM, May 2010.
Contact information for Spanish edition: www.latm.info 417-623-6280, ext. 159
Contact information for English edition: www.collegepress.com 800-289-3300
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