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Pray for the Somau Garia people during April 2026!

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Unexpected

Papua New Guinea is famously known as the Land of the Unexpected. Surely some clever marketing writer came up with that phrase to sell tours to a country positioned just off the equator, far from North America or Europe. Having lived and worked in Papua New Guinea off an on over the last 29 years, I can confirm that the title is well deserved. The spine of Papua New Guinea geography is a range of impossibly rugged mountains, cut by deep ravines and raging rivers. It is geologically active, earthquakes as regular as its torrential rains. Move away the central cordillera toward the coast and you encounter vast plains containing meandering rivers, oxbow lakes, and swamps. Most of the country is ringed by world-class reefs.

The people are as rugged as the environment which they inhabit. Tough and resourceful, they overcome conditions that would break most other people. Their languages and cultures are among the most diverse in the worldโ€”over 840 living languages and many more that have begun to fall out of use. Each language constitutes a distinct culture. Each people group, with its language, struggles to maintain a sense of ethnic identity and cultural heritage in a world that grows “smaller” every day. The advent of cellular communications and alternative power sources has given younger people challenges that their fathers never needed to grapple with. They are being drawn away from ethnic identity toward national identity.

Context

It is in this context that Bible translators minister. Each of the peoples that speak those 840 + languages represents a people called by God to be represented at the Throne of the Lamb that was slain, casting their crowns at his feet in worship. Many of those peoples see the value of having God’s Word in their heart language. Others see Bible translation as a means of preserving their language and culture. Bible translators, by and large, have training in linguistics and anthropology, in addition to Biblical languages and expertise used to amplify the resources, skills, and abilities of local speakers.

Yet this very context is that which introduces the unexpected into every interaction, every plan, and every relationship. It is this unexpectedness that moves us far deeper into prayer and intercession than we might choose to in any other context.

Answers & Challenges

If you were involved in praying through March, you know that I (Todd) departed Papua New Guinea mid-month and that the Somau Garia team returned to their villages. Each of us have been working separately in the mean time. God has been gracious to us in the working. Prior to leaving, the team and I successfully completed the consultant checks of the books of Hebrews and James. In the weeks following those checks, we worked on editing 1 & 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., I was able to generate and send the files of several New Testament books to Papua New Guinea for the team to use in a literacy course that was scheduled for late March, to take place in Somau Garia villages.

That was Plan A, anyway. Then the unexpected happened. The New Testament books were printed. Arrangements were made for the literacy course. People were appointed to travel to the provincial capital to pick up the materials and to accompany the literacy specialist to the village. A few days prior to the course, however, a group of people from another language group came to one of the Somau
Garia markets situated along the Ramu Highway to confront a man who was married to one of their women. The confrontation resulted in the death of the husband. Somau Garia people responded to that death in a very traditional wayโ€”reciprocity. Though they didn’t kill anyone, they did burn a 12-passenger van belonging to the people who killed the husband.

Now it is unsafe for Somau Garia people to travel to and from the area. Somau Garia representatives are unable to travel to the city to pick up the printed Scripture portions, the literacy specialist is unable to travel to the area to conduct the literacy course. People are on edge.

Pray!

As you pray during April, please pray:

  • that cooler heads will prevail and reconciliation can be made between Somau Garia speakers and those who killed one of their men.;
  • that the way will open for the scripture portions to be delivered to the Somau Garia translation and literacy teammates for use in local churches and during the literacy course
  • that God will use this series of unfortunate events to bring people to a recognition of their need to be in relationship with the Prince of Peace
  • that the current work I (Todd) am doing in checking the meaning of 1 & 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude will get into the hands of the translation team for their input and correctionsโ€”and that in a timely fashion, that we will be ready for checks which are scheduled for June
  • that I (Todd), as the exegete, will be energetic, focused, and attentive as I examine the drafts of these booksโ€”and that I will be wise, discerning, and insightful in my suggestions for necessary changes to the drafts.

Thank You!

Thank you for praying through these requests. I know that God will allow our prayers to bear good fruit for the Kingdom.

Blessings!!

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Praying for the Somau Garia people during March

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Thank You for Praying

In last monthโ€™s post, I asked you to pray for the upcoming consultant checks of the books of Hebrews and James, two of the harder books to be checked during 2026. Thank you for praying, friend. We met during the first three weeks of February in the city of Madang, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. Our consultant was a professor from the Midwest in America, a scholar who has taught Greek and New Testament for over 30 years.

The first week was consumed with final preparations for the check. During the last two weeks we performed the checks. At the end of the three week period, we had successfully completed the checks, which means that these powerful books may now be distributed throughout the Somau Garia speaking community.

As the community uses these books in their heart language, they will potentially gain a much deeper understanding of Christโ€™s role in our salvation. Indeed, it is through Christ that God has spoken in these last days. It is through Christ that an everlasting priesthood has been establishedโ€”one not based on lineage, but upon the power of an indestructible life. Because Christ lives for ever to intercede, he takes his own blood as an offering into the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary, where he makes atonement for our sin. It is Christ who has overcome the last enemy, death, and has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews takes us from law to the finished work of Christ, from ritual to restored relationship. Properly understood, Hebrews empowers the believer to walk victoriously by faith.

James takes expands beyond the foundational principle of living by faith, espousing the need to put hands and feet on faith, to practically live out the reality of faith. In his letter the believer learns the conditions and practice of effective prayer. The believer learns to reign in the tongue and bless rather than curse. In this way, the believer is equipped to function in godly wisdom.

Just imagine the difference that could characterize a group of people informed and inspired by these powerful truths!

Please Pray!

During the month of March, Angela and I are asking you to continue to pray as we dive into the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians. We are scheduled to check these books mid-year.

Somau Garia translation team members work at the table together

As you pray, please pray for the following:

  • Our team will be working remotely from one another, beginning mid-month. Pray that each of us will have wisdom and discernment as we work.
  • ย As the team member responsible for ensuring accuracy, pray that I will see potential issues very clearly and that I will find creative solutions to whatever issues arise.
  • Pray for the Somau Garia-speaking teammates, that they will also be able to offer creative solutions to translation issuesโ€”solutions that result in clear, accurate, and natural translation.
  • Pray that the portions of Scripture that are already checked and in circulation will bring about genuine transformation into the likeness of Christ.
  • Pray for Godโ€™s favor as we work toward finishing the checking of the Somau Garia New Testament in 2026.

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Crossing the Finish Line: Transformation

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The Final Stages of a Bible Translation Project

Because Bible translation is a decades-long endeavor, it is divided into multiple stages. Stage one involves learning the language and culture of the intended language group. Stage two is initial training of the local team, translating the first book, and producing a print run of that book (in our case, Xoiteupo Asinaku Kuna Makie Xayawoki, i.e. Godโ€™s Good Talk that Mark Wrote or the Gospel According to Mark)โ€”celebrated and distributed to the people. Stage three is the full production phase, when the bulk of the New Testament is translated and checked. Stage four, combines final checking with preparations for typesetting and publication. We are in this stage of the project.

While each stage serves its purpose, the current stage aims at consistency across all of the New Testament. The ideas vital to gaining clear understanding and insight from the Scriptures are often phrases rather than single words (as they are in Koine Greek). These need to be consistently translated book to book. That is this stage’s purpose.

For example, consider the word “church”. In Koine Greek this word is แผฮบฮบฮปฮทฯƒฮฏฮฑ, which is based upon the root ฮบฮฑฮปฮญฯ‰ “to call”. Its New Testament usage refers to a congregation or assembly, or in modern parlance, “church”. However, its constituent parts add up to “called out”. This word is more than the sum of its parts. A whole sub-discipline of theology (ecclesiology) is devoted to its study. There is no one word in the Somau Garia language that encapsulates its meaning. We, therefore, derived a phrase that, for Somau Garia speakers, best describes what the church is: “the (group of) men and women who believe in and follow Jesus.” So, as we review the New Testament in its entirety, we are examining how แผฮบฮบฮปฮทฯƒฮฏฮฑ is rendered in each instance and making adjustments where necessary to make its usage consistent. This is one but scores of such key terms.

The aim is that the translation be received and used by the local churches, pastors, teachers, and families in their homes. When the Scriptures are learned, memorized, studied, and used in the language of the heart, transformation in lives, communities, and people groups is far more likely. Transformation of men and women into the likeness of Jesus Christ is our primary desire.

2026 and Beyond

By God’s grace, in 2025 we successfully achieved the translation goals the Lord put before us. In 2026, we are scheduled to check the final books:

  • Hebrews
  • James
  • 1 & 2 Corinthians
  • 1 & 2 Peter
  • Jude
  • Revelation

You Can Get Involved

The enemy of our souls is heavily invested in keeping people ignorant, enslaved, and downtrodden. His native language is deception, his operational attitude is hatred and division. His fingerprints are all over the division and irrational hatred so prevalent today. As a Bible translation project nears completion, the enemy becomes more and more stirred to oppose anyone and anything involved in completing that project. He knows all too well that the Word changes people, correcting his lies with Truth, breaking open the gates of death and hatred that hold so many captive, setting people free from fear.

However, the power of our enemy to interrupt people gaining access to the Word of God in their own language is limited. One way in which God limits the enemyโ€™s success is by calling his people to intercede for the translation team through prayer. God involves each of us in his great mission to make Jesus known in every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. He asks us to pray, to give, and to go.

Here are a few ways to participate:

  • You can pray. At the beginning of each month in 2026, I will be updating this website with current prayer needs.
    • If you are interested in receiving weekly prayer and ministry updates in your email inbox, click here and request to be added.
    • Each update has a list of five priority prayers for the week, three photos or graphics, and a brief article with news or a devotional thought.
  • You can donate. See our donate page for instructions and a link to our missionโ€™s giving page.
  • You can invite others to join the prayer or provision team by directing them to this website or to our ministry page on Facebook. 

Thank you for giving your time and attention for the last few minutes. Thank you for the time and energy you can give toward praying purposefully for the successful completion of the Somau Garia New Testament translation. Your prayer and participation is leaving an indelible mark on the future history of an entire people.

Blessings!

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Racing Towards the Finish Line

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Building Up to the Production Phase

Translating the New Testament in Papua New Guinea is, for most, a lifetime endeavor. Angela and I started learning the language and culture of the Somau Garia people in the late 1990s. Life in the late nineties was analog, so language learning was done with a little notebook and a cheap Bic ink pen. Photos were developed from my 35mm Ricoh SLR camera. Evenings were spent reading to our children from printed books, like Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. Computer work was done at desktop computers in the city of Madang, at the Barton McElroy Translation Center.

Much has changed since then. Technology has provided better solar panels, batteries, and communications. Life is digital. The cell tower a mile, line of sight from our house on the slopes of Mount Somau allow us to access internet, email, etc. while in the village. Laptop computers last all day on a single charge. Software has made the task more efficient.

Production by the Numbers

After the pandemic we entered the most productive phase of translation we have known in 28 years. In 2022 – 2023 we brought Luke’s Gospel and his history, Acts of the Apostles, through all the checks necessary to print and circulate those books. Those two books comprise about 27% of the New Testament. During those years the Lord added many young people to our team, many of whom revived and pushed the literacy program forward, writing and producing Somau Garia reading materials and primers.

A portion of Acts Chapter 1 in Somau Garia …

In 2024 we brought 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1,2, & 3 John (13 books comprised of 1039 verses comprising 13% of the New Testament) through the checks necessary to print and distribute those books.

By March, 2025, we had checked Matthew’s Gospel, comprised of 1071 verses or 13.46% of the New Testament through the checks necessary to print and distribute that book.

As I write this post, Romans is in process and is scheduled to be checked in June. John’s Gospel is on the schedule for late this year–a further 16.5% of the New Testament.

Giving Meaning to the Numbers

But Bible translation is not simply a matter of managing data and producing material. Bible translation is about building people through education in using the Scriptures. It is about showing them how to follow Jesus as his disciples. This ministry equips local leaders to use the Bible in their churches, communities, and families. Translation is concerned with transformation.

The further we move toward the finish line, the more we see this kind of godly, positive change happening. God the Father, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, is raising up a generation of world changers, compelled by the love of Christ, to take God’s word to their people.

For example, two of the young men on the translation team were once, not all that long ago, feared for their violent, murderous behavior. These young men were children when Angela and my children were growing up in the village. Over the years, being exposed to God’s word in their heart language (the various portions made available bit by bit), they began to soften to the message of the gospel. Our head translator confronted them and then invited them to follow Jesus. They both surrendered to the light and life found in Jesus.

One of them is a firebrand preacher. He memorizes Scripture and passionately preaches. The other is meek and gentle and draws others through kindness and grace. Both are deeply committed to helping us finish the translation of the Somau Garia New Testament.

Please Pray With Us

Angela and I would appreciate your prayers as we move toward the completion of the Somau Garia New Testament. As you pray, please pray:

  • Pray that we will be wise and discerning in our oversight of the translation program
  • Pray that we will be well provisioned in the coming months:
    • Spiritually for
      • inner resources to both grow and remain spiritually vital throughout the intensity of the coming months
    • Physically for
      • healthy bodies, protection from sickness or injury
    • Psychologically for
      • flexibility through almost continual transition and travel
      • peace in each situation
    • Financially for
      • adapting to the inflation Americans have known over the last few years
      • travel expenses
      • the coming expenses involved in printing the Somau Garia New Testament (in 2027)
  • Thank God for loving us and providing for our deepest need: to have our sin dealt with and to be reconciled to Him.

Thank You

Angela and I appreciate you giving your valuable time to reading through this brief update. Thank you for taking the time. Thank you also for praying. It makes a difference.

Click here for a Photo Gallery of Uria Village
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Smells, Signs, and an Indignant Savior

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Click Here to Read John 2:13-25

An Unusual Day in the Temple

I imagine that Jesusโ€™ actions in the temple that day raised a lot of eyebrows. The rumors mustโ€™ve been flying, the comments a mixture of wonder and criticism. Who had ever come into the temple, overturned tables, and whipped merchants? Merchants in the temple courts?

Another Kind of Aroma

The habit of selling animals and changing coinage began as a convenience for worshippers to buy the animals needed for sacrifice. It started in the city, but turned profane when it moved into the temple courts. The purpose of the temple was prayer, worship, and sacrificeโ€”not business.

Not only had the merchants turned the temple courts into a currency exchange, they had turned it into a barn. Herd animals urinate and defecate at random, attracting all manner of flies, parasites, and vermin. The floor of the temple courts was covered with filth. The pleasant aroma of incense wafting heavenward from the altar of incense (signifying prayers) was replaced with the smell of a feed lot.

Incensed (no pun intended), Jesus fashioned a whip made of several cords and drove the oxen and sheep out, along with those who were selling pigeons (with their caged pigeons). 

The disciples recognized the prophetic significance of his actions. โ€œHis disciples remembered that it was written, โ€˜Zeal for your house will consume me1.โ€™โ€

Demand for a Sign

Jesus provoked his adversaries. They pushed back.

โ€œWhat sign do you show us for doing these things?โ€ They wanted proof his authority to regulate the temple was greater than theirs.

Significantly, this happened during Passover2, the festival commemorating the night that every home in Goshen marked with the blood of a lamb was spared the death of the firstborn of that household.

An Indignant Savior

Jesus, God incarnate, responded prophetically.

โ€œDestroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.โ€ While they thought that he meant Herodโ€™s temple, he was speaking of his body. He was referring to sacrifice, atonement, and resurrection.

While fathers were recounting the story of lambโ€™s blood on the lintels and doorposts in Goshen to their children, Jesus pointed them back to the words of John the Baptist: โ€œBehold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.โ€ His blood would not be spread upon doorposts, but would carried into the holy places in Heaven.

โ€œโ€ฆ He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.โ€3

John reports that โ€œmany believed in his name when they saw the signs that he [Jesus] was doing.โ€

When I was younger I was a straight arrow. I depended upon the knowledge that if I just lived by certain principles Iโ€™d be โ€œinโ€. However, in these later years, I see things a bit differently. Usually within the first few minutes after waking each day, the thought crosses my mind that if Jesus doesnโ€™t save me, I cannot be saved. I cannot carry a sack full of merits into the Holy Place and exchange them for salvation or redemption. I must trust that Jesus himself will walk into the holy places with and by his own blood to make atonement for my sin and rebellion.

Questions for reflection:

  • Who or what do I believe will make my life whole or complete?
  • What role does prayer and worship play in my life?
  • Who do I believe Jesus to be? Does my belief correspond to what we see written in this passage?

  1. Psalm 69:9, ESV โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  2. Exodus chapter 12 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  3. Hebrews 9:12, ESV โ†ฉ๏ธŽ

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A Wedding, a Sign, and the Son of God

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Click Here to Read John 2:1-12

From the very first words of his Gospel account, John has been establishing Jesusโ€™ deity: as God, Creator, pre-existent, eternal.

The first witness he called was John the Baptist, who was baptizing near Bethany across the Jordan River. John identified Jesus as โ€œThe Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world1โ€ and as โ€œthe Son of God2โ€. He goes so far as to direct Philip and Nathaniel to Jesus, thus beginning to relinquish his influence to the One who rightly deserved it.

A Wedding

John then places the reader in Cana3, about eight or so miles north of Nazareth, at a wedding. It is here that John the apostle says that Jesus performed the very first sign showing that he is, indeed, Messiah. The witness to his deity, in a moment, shifts from external (John the Baptistโ€™s preaching) to internal (a demonstration of his power).

There is much speculation about the specific meaning of the act itselfโ€”changing the water into high quality wine. Some point to the significance of Jesus starting his public ministry at a wedding, foreshadowing the wedding feast of the Lamb, when Jesus marries his bride, the Church. 

Others speculate that the water, used for the purification rites of ancient Israel, was being replaced by a better purification, that is, by Jesusโ€™ blood shed on the cross. Indeed, Jesus later connects the Passover cup to the blood he would shed on the cross4.ย 

One might speculate that Jesus turned something common into something remarkable.

However compelling these sound, they are all speculation. But there are things that can be known without speculating.

A Son

First, the relationship that Jesus had with his mother and siblings changed. Mary is mentioned twice in John, here and later while Jesus is hanging on the cross. In both instances, Jesus refers to her as ฮณฯ…ฮฝฮท, โ€œwomanโ€, rather than the more intimate term, โ€œmotherโ€. 

His response to Mary in regards to the lack of wine for celebration reflected that change of relationship. โ€œWoman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not come.โ€ While he is respectful of her, he subtly reminds her that his priorities are now aligned with his role as Messiah, not as her firstborn son.

A Sign

Second, despite what appears to be initial reluctance to comply with her wishes, Jesus quietly does as she asked. Very few in attendance were aware of it: Mary, Jesus, and his disciples. Verse eleven states, โ€œThis, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.โ€

These words remind us of John 1:14, โ€œAnd the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.โ€

As the disciples witnessed the sign, which brought to light the glory of the Son, they believed. John always refers to these supernatural occurrences as signs rather than works or miracles. The signs affirmed that Jesus was the anticipated Messiah and is the Son of God. The signs were performed not to impress or gain power, but that you might โ€œbelieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.โ€

John wrote his Gospel for a wider audience, which included many Gentiles who were unfamiliar with Jewish life and practice. He writes the account in such a way as to produce faith in the reader/hearer.

The Son of God

Jesus, affirmed by his Father at his baptism, by triumphing over Satan in the wilderness, and returning home to begin his public ministry, is found to be โ€œthe Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the worldโ€ and โ€œthe Son of Godโ€.

Questions for reflection:

  • What is your relationship with Jesus? Is it constant or has it changed over time?
  • How have the signs written in Johnโ€™s Gospel affected your belief? Do you believe?
  • Do your acts of obedience show the glory of Christ in you?
  1. John 1:29 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  2. John 1:34 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  3. Click on “Cana” above to view a map of the area described in this passage. The map is copyrighted by Logos Bible Software, 2014 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  4. Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ

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Behold! The Lamb of God!

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Background

John the Baptizer was out in the wilderness, along the Jordan River, baptizing. He was a child of Torah, having memorized Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy by the time he was ten years old. His father was a Levitical priest.
As he grew, he would have become intimately familiar with the other books of the Jewish Bible, now called the Tanakh1.

Click to Read: John 1:29-34

Identity

The day before, John had been grilled by representatives of Jewish ruling council regarding his identity. โ€œWho are you?โ€ they asked. โ€œIf you are not the Christ, what then? Elijah?โ€ The Holy Spirit had indwelled John since before he was born, the Word of God filled his mind and heart throughout his lifetime. Drawing from that well, he responded,

โ€œI am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, โ€˜Make straight the way of the Lord,โ€™ as the prophet Isaiah said.โ€2

He knew with certainty that he himself was not the Anointed One, sent to take away the sins of the world. He was the forerunner, sent to turn peopleโ€™s attention to the Anointed One, who was there with God in the beginning; who was God himself.

I presume that he was so certain of this because he had been told by God or one of his messengers, โ€œHe on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.โ€

Fulfillment and Diminishing Influence

He testified to this when he saw Jesus coming toward him the next day, declaring, โ€œLook! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!โ€

To some degree, this signaled the fulfillment of his ministry. While he continued to baptize and preach, his influence increasingly diminished as he turned more and more of his followers to Jesus.3

World System

Perhaps youโ€™ve noticed how much our world seems to be spinning out of control. Year by year natural disasters, wars, intrigues, political movements, and power plays seem to be on the increase. Media outlets are signaling increasing fear of nuclear holocaust in our time, financial disaster, and religious persecution.
The influence of the Roman Empire in Johnโ€™s day was nothing compared to the power of the world system in our day. While the Romanโ€™s power was distributed and external, the world systemโ€™s power is individualized and in our homes, ostensibly by means of ubiquitous technology.

Proactive Action

Now is not the time to allow the spirit of the age to direct us into its pernicious plans. There has never been a more opportune time to bear witness to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The more dark and demented society becomes, the more it needs the Light and Life.
We do well to follow in Johnโ€™s footsteps by:

  1. Recognizing who we are and who we are not.
  2. Resisting the temptation to make a name for ourselves, instead turning othersโ€™ attention to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
  3. Encouraging those who would follow us to instead follow Him.

Conclusion

It is not an easy road to follow. It takes a quality of humility that is rare in our time. John willingly and rightfully ceded his influence to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We must do the same if those entrapped in the world system are to see something qualitatively different in those who follow the Lamb.
The world system is filled with ladder climbers, platform builders, and influencers who seek power/attention/influence for themselves.
Through our attitudes, actions, and words we must consistently trumpet the message of John the Baptist, โ€œLook! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!โ€

  1. A name made by combining the names of its parts: Torah, Neviโ€™im, and Kethuvim.โ  The Neviโ€™im are the Prophets and the Kethuvim are the Writings. Together with the Torah, they comprise the same books as are in the Old Testament, albeit in a different order and arrangement. โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  2. Isaiah 40:3 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  3. Cf. John 3:22-30 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ

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Creationโ€”Old and New

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I have a box of family photos in the closet. Most are old Polaroids, yellowed and faded with the years. Iโ€™m always drawn to candids of my Dad. He was sort of the poster child of Welshness: jet black hair, green eyes, swarthy complexion. In the older ones he sported a flat top haircut. But as the years wore on, as the โ€œtopโ€ became more sparse, he slicked the sides back with Brylcreem.


One particular photo fascinates me, a photo taken of Dad when he was five or six years old: enormous, sad eyes staring into the lens, soft focus, black and white. A child of the Depression and dysfunction, he knew more hunger and grief than any little boy should. That photo is a snapshot of his story.


That snapshot orients me in his story. My story is indelibly written with the ink of his experience. The want and pain he knew somehow insured that I would not go hungry or without.

Beginnings


John opens his Gospel with a snapshot, that encapsulates the story of redemption via Messiah.
โ€œIn the beginning โ€ฆโ€ writes John. One finger in John, I flip back to Genesis where I read the very same words. I open the Greek New Testament: โ€œฮ•ฮฝ ฮฑฯฯ‡ฮท โ€ฆโ€ I then open the Greek translation of Genesis (an ancient translation known as the Septuagint, translated from Hebrew in about 270 B.C.) and read the very same Greek words. The similarities are not coincidental.


Genesis tells us that in the beginning the earth was formless and void. Spread over that void was a great darkness. The Spirit of God is hovering over the face of the waters. The first creative act in response to the formless, dark, void was โ€ฆ light. โ€œAnd God said, โ€˜Let there be light,โ€™ and there was light.โ€ As the days of creation progressed, beginning with light, God brought form to formlessness, substance to void, order from chaos.

Craftsman


John gives us, what Paul Harvey might have called โ€œthe rest of the story.โ€ In the Genesis account, we see God and his Spirit. John reveals to us the creative agent that God used to do his work. Perhaps John was thinking of Proverbs in describing the Son (characterized as โ€˜wisdomโ€™):


โ€œWhen he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.โ€ (Proverbs 8:27-31, ESV)

Reason

While Proverbs refers to โ€œwisdomโ€, John refers to the ฮปฮฟฮณฮฟฯ‚, the Word. Now, this is where the story gets interesting. Bible scholar D.A. Carson says that โ€œthe Stoics [Greek philosophers] understood logos to be the rational principle by which everything exists, and which is the essence of the rational human soul.โ€ This idea would have been known among the educated when John was writing down his Gospel. But John takes the concept so much further than the Stoics ever would or could. John reports that this logos, this Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. The Stoics were fixed on an idea. John knew logos as a person, the Craftsman of all Creation. In the Fatherโ€™s presence he was โ€œdaily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.โ€
Whereas in Genesis, the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep, in John the Savior made it possible for the Spirit to dwell in us, rather than over us.

New Beginnings


โ€œThe true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God.โ€ (John 1:9-13, ESV)

Light & Life

Just as the earth began a formless, dark void, so our lives began. Sin tarnished all of creation, casting its dark shadow across the millennia. Our foolish hearts were darkened, our passions perverse, our intentions turned inward. Into the darkness and death descended Messiah, to bring inextinguishable light, overcoming the darkness, offering spiritual light to dispel spiritual darkness. And that light brought life.


As I dig through the pages of Scripture, I see a lot of images, a lot of photos, not yellowed with age, but vibrant and colorful. I see a brother who gave himself to save me from the pure Hell of my sin. I see a Savior who overcame my darkness with his light and gave me life. I see a family who drew me in when I was an orphan, wandering in the cold, cruel world. I see reason that stands out against a background of foolishness and strife.

Conclusions


John opens his Gospel by reminding us that Jesus not only created the Heavens and the Earth, he created a new people, the believing ones, born of God. The Spirit that hovered over the chaos in the original creation is now given to this new people, to indwell, comfort, and empower them.

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Hello, Dear Reader. Perhaps you noted that there have not been any new posts for quite a while. It has been a hectic few years, to say the least. Back surgeries, the COVID pandemic, and a return to Papua New Guinea to resume translation of the Somau Garia New Testament have all squeezed our time and resources, leaving little for keeping the website current.

That said, it is time to take up the digital pen and begin scribbling again. It is an important season for recruiting prayer partners and to keep you abreast of each stage as we close in on completion of the New Testament. It is also a time to continually turn our attention to the Lord and his provision.

My prayer is that the coming posts will be informative, motivational, and useful to you and your walk by faith. In order to help make your prayer more informed and specific, I’ll be writing a series of articles about how translation is done, what the aims are, and to what end we are laboring.

I look forward to dialoging with you along the way, hopefully inspiring you to love Jesus more deeply, to know more about how He is providing for the needs of Somau Garia speaking people, and inspiring you to act on what you have either learned or had reinforced.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to stop by and spend a few moments here.

Blessings!

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As the pandemic continued to interrupt international travel and the months dragged on, Angela and I had some weighty decisions to make. When should we attempt passage to Papua New Guinea? What risks were involved in returning to a developing nation amidst a global pandemic? How could we help when we did return?

James says this of weighty decisions:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 1:5, ESV

Ignore this exhortation at your own peril. We gave it due diligence. After prayer and discussion, we decided that our daughter should remain in the States and that Angela and I should return to Papua New Guinea.

We juggled translation responsibilities (including final exegetical checks of Acts via video-conferencing), preparation of the stacks of documents needed for travel during the pandemic, purchase of necessities for the move, and, of course, moving out of our house.

As our To-Do list dwindled, our excitement (and silent dread?) swelled. The silent dread was for all the good-byes, the inescapable change, adjustment, and the deep dive into the unknown. Our excitement? We were returning to friends, co-workers, and worthy work.

I will spare you the finer details of the trip. It was 50+ hours, involving five major airports and a few hours in a bush plane over jungles, oxbow lakes, and rugged mountains. Then there was the 14 days of quarantine at a mission base above 5,000 feet in the New Guinea Highlands.

View from the Kassam Pass into the Ramu Valley of Papua New Guinea
The view from the Kassam Pass into the Ramu Valley, at the junction of Eastern Highlands, Morobe, and Madang Provinces.

Crossing the Planet

Hopes and Plans for 2022

Proverbs 19:21 reads: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” The person seeking to follow in the footsteps of Jesus must pray, plan, and push on toward the upward call to which they’ve been called.

Henceforth, we’ve put some major way points on the calendar for 2022. We invite you to pray with us as we attempt to achieve these things in Jesus’ name.

  • Comprehension check of Luke’s Gospel
  • Comprehension check of Acts of the Apostles
  • Train translators and pastors on the translation of and pastoral application of Hebrews
  • Consultant check Luke and Acts
  • Train translators and pastors on the translation of and pastoral application of Revelation

Pray with Us

We invite you to pray with us regarding moving this proposed milestones ahead. As you pray, consider the reality that the completion of work on Luke and Acts constitutes 27% of the New Testament. By the end of 2022 it is possible that over a quarter (more) of the New Testament will be accessible to Somau Garia speakers!