A Chilling 21st Century Icon

21 Christians beheaded by Muslim Jihadists on a beach in 2015. 
7 of them were Mama Maggie's "boys."

At the Colson Center’s Wilberforce Award ceremony last weekend, Maggie Gobran, a Coptic Christian known as “Mama Maggie,” and “the Mother Theresa of Cairo,” was honored.

Among the many blessings Mama Maggie has brought to thousands of poor children in Egypt, is the establishment of 100 schools. Yes, 100! 

John Stonestreet, President of the Colson Center, pointed out: “You might remember those 21 Coptic Christians that were beheaded by ISIS terrorists on that beach back in 2015. Each one refused to renounce their faith. At least seven of those martyrs attended Mama Maggie’s schools.”

Do you recall the photo of those 21 men on the beach, each with their killer standing behind in black? The photo is a chilling 21st century icon. 

It's especially iconic when you know the backstory.   

Upon hearing of Maggie Gobran’s connection with 7 of these men, I did a bit of research and came across a 2015 article that filled in some blanks:

Five of them she knew by name.

...the diminutive Mama Maggie said that when those young men were children growing up in her schools, she ate with them and prayed with them.

"Yes,” she said, “they are my boys."

The men were in Libya, looking for work to support their families in Egypt, when they were captured. As they faced death, they were said to have called on the name of Jesus. Mama Maggie explained how these simple men had such faith.

"From Him, firstly, because they experienced a real touch of love."

Then she pointed out the stark contrast between those who were killed and those who did the killing — and how their demeanors spoke volumes about what they believe.

“If you look at the picture you find the one who is trying to kill is covering his face,” Mama Maggie said. “He's afraid to face the world with who he is. And [the 21 Copts] have their identity, their self-respect and self-esteem clear. And they are looking up knowing they are going to live forever. I think it's a huge difference."

A huge difference indeed, Mama! This is due, in part, to your tireless efforts to establish 100 schools in Egypt that lift up the name of Jesus. A huge difference, too, because of the personal love you gave them.

Thank you, Mama Maggie. Your boys wrote an iconic message on the beach that day that won't be washed away.   

The world needs more Maggie Gobrans and "her" kind of boys and girls. If you want to start a Christian school, or you've started one and want to make it a better one, or you teach at a Christian school and you what to be a better teacher, by all means attend the Biblical Worldview Training Boot Camp hosted by Renewanation on July 29-30, either via simulcast or at the Manderley Christian Camp and Conference Center in Pikeville, TN, or on August 1-2 at the Manderley Center only. 

If ever there was a need for quality Christian education, quality Christian educators, and quality Christian students, it is today. 

HEADS UP: A 10% discount for the simulcast ends today. 

For details and registration, click here.

I'll see you there--or via the simulcast!

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman 

Fill It And Farm It

Have you signed on to your role on planet Earth?

Last week I quoted Jeremiah 29:4-7 in reference to the notion that the Church in the United States has been deported to Babylon. God told the Israelites in Babylon to reproduce, and be productive. Bear children. Plant gardens. Eat its fruit. Prosper.

Did you notice how similar Jeremiah 29:4-7 is to Genesis 1:26-28?

In Genesis 1:26-28, God told the first humans to “be fruitful and multiply.” And He went on to give us a task. An assignment. A mission. A charge.

Specifically, God told us to “have dominion over” planet Earth. To “rule” over it. To “replenish the earth, and subdue it.” This is our role. This is God’s purpose for us.   

The “First Commission” of Genesis 1:26-28 was not rescinded at the Fall. The Fall makes our role more difficult. But the assignment remains, even as it did for Israelites in Babylon.

In my writing, I keep coming back to one fundamental question: What is the role of human beings on planet Earth?

The reason I keep coming back to this fundamental question is because the answer to this question provides a fundamental purpose for education, a fundamental purpose for work, a fundamental purpose for rearing children, a fundamental purpose for civil government, a fundamental purpose for living.

The Westminster Confession answers the question, “What is the chief aim of man” this way: “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Very good. But this does not tell me what my role is. It does not tell me what my purpose is on planet Earth. It tells me a by-product of fulfilling my role well, but it does not tell me what my role is.  

  

What role did God specifically have in mind for humans to fill on planet Earth?

The answer is so simple it eludes us: fill it and farm it.

Psalm 8:3-6 says: “…what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet…” (NIV)

Psalm 115:16 puts it this way: “The heaven of heavens is for God, but he put us in charge of the earth.” (The Message)

We have a role. We have a charge.

Let's fulfill it, shall we?

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman 

I Was Born In Jerusalem, Deported To Babylon

An engraving with a royal inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II. 

(Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1311723)

As our nation continues to slide from a post-Christian nation to an anti-Christian nation, I cannot help but feel I was born in Jerusalem, deported to Babylon.  

I can remember when stores were regularly closed on Sunday, and the Bible was read in public schools. Abortion was not only illegal, but unthinkable. Now we’re legalizing infanticide. Homosexuality was hidden. Today it has moved past normalization to proliferation. Tired of being a boy? Be a girl. 

In this hour, it is good to revisit God’s message (in Jeremiah 29) to “people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” Verse 4 reveals that God was behind it: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” It was God’s discipline, for God's reasons.  

So, what do we do in our Babylon? Sit in despair under a juniper tree and weep?

Here’s what the Lord told the Israelites:

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Be productive? Work? Bless the pagan city?

I appreciate Jodi Hasbrouck’s comments on verse 11, which is usually quoted apart from its context: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.“

Hasbrouck writes: “In the midst of your suffering, cling to Jeremiah 29:11, but cling to it for the right reason: not in the false hope that God will take away your suffering, but in the true, gospel confidence that he will give you hope in the midst of it.”

“Sometimes,” Jodi says, “trials are of our own doing; sometimes they’re the work of Satan; sometimes they’re just an effect of living in a broken world. Regardless of the source, they're always an opportunity to know God better.”

And an opportunity to bless a pagan nation. As Daniel did, working in a civil service job.    

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman 

Admit The Bible Got It Wrong And Move On?

When it comes to same-sex marriage and the LGBTQ agenda, why shouldn't Christians just admit the Bible got it wrong and move on?

A recent article in USA Today suggested just that. Christians, the writer declared, are not misinterpreting the Bible in the area of sexual dos and don'ts, but the Bible simply got it wrong when it comes to homosexual behavior. We know better now.

Does being a faithful Christian mean we have to accept that everything the Bible said was "wrong" thousands of years ago is still "wrong" today? Could taking such a position be one reason why so many young people are leaving the church? If so, should the church keep on hemorrhaging regardless?

Albert Mohler responded to the USA Today article, and I'm turning my blog over to him today because he said it better than I ever could: click here.

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman