Philippe Martinez thought his mountain climbing days were over. He had been a mountain guide since 1981, but had since followed God's call to become a pastor. At the age of 52, a friend asked Martinez to lead a French Expedition to the summit of Mount Everest. Though he resisted the idea at first, Martinez began to realize God was calling him to go to the highest place on the planet in order to preach the gospel to all nations. After a year of preparation, the team set out for the Himalayas and eventually reached the peak May 17, 2006.

During the trip Martinez used the small Bible he carried with him for inspiration, reading from the book of Psalms. On the day the team decided to attempt the summit, the weather conditions were favorable, and Martinez knew God was leading the way. He was so strong that he reached the peak 20 minutes before the rest of the team. When he reached the top of Everest, Martinez took off his oxygen ask and sang a hymn of praise. He then buried his small Bible in the snow at the top of the world as a symbolic gesture to show that God's word must be proclaimed to the furthest reaches of the world. He added a personal touch including photos of his family along with a message that read, "Thank you, Lord, that you have protected me so far. I place into your care those whom I love and ask that my children will serve you one day."

http://www.goodnewsnews.org/americanbible/tgnn/item.php?id=163; Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Matthew 24:14 (GW) "This Good News about the kingdom will be spread throughout the world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end will come."

His mother called him "rude," his wife referred to him as "arrogant" and his caddie said he was "impatient." That is until he turned to Christ. The Gospel changed Payne Stewart's life.

"There used to be a void in my life," Stewart told Sports Illustrated, 'The peace I have now is so wonderful. I don't understand how I lived so long without it.'" "Sports Illustrated took note of Payne Stewart's faith in its June 1999 U.S. Open coverage, recounting that Stewart had "turned to religion, embracing Christianity with the fervor of a prison convert." He wore a "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelet during the tournament and began each day by reading a devotional book, the magazine reported.

After Stewart died in a plane crash in October 1999, Stewart's pastor, Jim Henry of the First Baptist Church in Orlando FL. said Stewart, "was a wonderful Christian who had Christ in his life and somehow in his death, that brought a great sense of peace to his family in a difficult and tragic time." (Pro golfer Payne Stewart, 42, was First Baptist member, new believer

Today, Stewart knows the power of the resurrection and can say with the Apostle Paul, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Cor. 15:55 KJV)

Golf Digest has an opening in a foursome at the site of the 2009 U.S. Open golf tournament with Michael Jordan and two other celebrities. To fill it they are sponsoring an essay contest. The rules are simple. Just write an essay explaining why you should be that fourth person. The catch? Yes there is one. Your essay is limited to six words.

25,000 readers have submitted entries. A military veteran wrote, “Left family, conquered Iraq for you!” A hopeful groom writes, “If I win, she marries me.”

Perhaps we could work to refine the message of the gospel in as few as six words. “Jesus loves me, this I know.” The message is fantastic but it lacks something. “Christ Jesus died for our sins.” Better, but how does this affect me? “Christ Jesus rose from the dead.” These six words are essential but fall short of the whole gospel. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Well it may be we will need more than 6 words, but we do need to keep the message simple in a complex world.

--Golf Digest, February 2009. P. 94. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Romans 10:17 (NASB95) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Russell Carney, a Psychology professor at Southwest Missouri State University, told the Associated Press in 1992 that he had developed a technique for improving memory.

Here is his suggestion for how to remember that Degas did a particular painting in 1865.

“First, think of an object that sounds like “Degas” (day-GAH), for example, “dagger,” and then memorize the last two digits of the year by learning the sentence ‘Twin new moons rose low, just clearing four pine saplings,’ in which the first word begins with a T and stands for ‘1,’ the second, N, stands for ‘2,’ and so on.

“Thus 1865 becomes ’65,’ which becomes ‘just’ ‘low,’ which could translate to J-L, which could be ‘jelly,’ which would produce a ‘jelly dagger,’ to which the subject tries to find a resemblance, somewhere, in the Degas painting. Simple as that!”

--“News of the Weird,” The Salt Lake Tribune, January 25, 2010, p. a2. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Some religions and cults share a “gospel” that is just about that simple. By the time they are through explaining the ins and outs, the dos and don’ts, the seeker is as confused as Dr. Carney’s students. The simple Gospel, is not only the truth, it is so easy.

John 3:16 (NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The gospel and religion are not synonyms. The things people preach and practice in religion can be crazy, even if very interesting. The leader of a Florida religious sect pressures followers to drink the mucus of giant African snails.

Charles Stewart is practicing the African religion Ifa Orisha. “I did not invent this,” Stewart told The Miami Herald.”It’s something that is part of our religion.”

--The Week March 26, 2010 p. 16 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

I am so thankful I don’t have to ingest snail juice, or do any of the other weird things to prove my worth to God.

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 (NASB77) “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, (5) and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

Pollstar, a publication covering the concert industry says the Winter Jam 2011 Tour beat out tours by big name artists such as Bon Jovi, U2, Brad Paisley, and Justin Bieber. The 46-city tour created by NewSong included Christian artists such as the David Crowder Band, The Newsboys, and Kutless and reached a record audience of over 500,000.

Tour Founder Edie Carswell says the large crowds were a secondary consideration because around 92,000 people made a life-changing decision to follow Jesus during the event. Carswell said, “It is amazing to think that nearly 100,000 people made meaningful, life-changing decisions to follow Christ and that over 13,000 made a commitment to assist orphans through our partnership with Holt. To truly impact lives is the reason that Winter Jam was created 16 years ago.” He said the season included an array of artists who were artistically excellent and passionate about the message. Carswell added,”We are grateful and humbled by the response to this year’s Winter Jam that only God Himself could have orchestrated.”

Christian Music Tour Beats Gaga, Bieber to be No. 1, http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-music-tour-beats-gaga-bieber-to-be-no-1-49901 ; April 20, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Mark 8:36-37 (CEV) (36) What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? (37) What could you give to get back your soul?

A new animated film is taking the good news of Jesus to a new generation in a way they understand. The film, entitled ”My Last Day” is adapted from the original Jesus film and tells the story of Jesus’ crucifixion through the eyes of the thief who hung next to Him. The new film is just over nine minutes long and uses the style of Japanese animation known as Anime. Since the attention span of young people is constantly shrinking, the short feature hopes to provide the audience an opportunity to witness the personal transformation of the criminal when he encounters the truth about Jesus Christ. The end of the film displays a link to a website that answers the question, “Who is Jesus” and presents the good news in several languages.
Senior Associate for The JESUS Film Project, Greg Gregoire says the project is part of a strategy to communicate the story of Jesus in “heart languages of the world.” Gregoire explains that heart language represents a combination of a person’s mother tongue and a communication style that people want to use when receiving information. He added, “ We now have the classic ‘JESUS’ film in over 1,100 languages and today many people, both literate and non-literate prefer a story format.”

Classic ‘Jesus’ Film Now in Japanese Anime, http://www.christianpost.com/news/classic-jesus-film-now-in-japanese-anime-49841; April 16, 2011. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Colossians 1:6 (CEV) “The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in that same way among you, ever since the first day you learned the truth about God's wonderful kindness .”

Do you have Paraskevidekatriaphobia? If you do, 2012 is a bad year for you. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. In most years, two Fridays fall on the 13th. In 2012 and again in 2015 there will be three.

Tom Fernsler is a University of Delaware math professor who has studied Friday the 13th through history to discover if it is really an unlucky day. Fernsler says that 95% of the world’s people are superstitious about something, and the other 5% are liars.

--USA Today, January 13, 2012, p. A1 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Acts 19:23-27 (GW) During that time a serious disturbance concerning the way {of Christ} broke out in the city of Ephesus. (24) Demetrius, a silversmith, was in the business of making silver models of the temple of Artemis. His business brought a huge profit for the men who worked for him. (25) He called a meeting of his workers and others who did similar work. Demetrius said, “Men, you know that we're earning a good income from this business, (26) and you see and hear what this man Paul has done. He has won over a large crowd that follows him not only in Ephesus but also throughout the province of Asia. He tells people that gods made by humans are not gods. (27) There's a danger that people will discredit our line of work, and there's a danger that people will think that the temple of the great goddess Artemis is nothing. Then she whom all Asia and the rest of the world worship will be robbed of her glory.”

The Ephesians in Acts 19 were superstitious about their little images of Artemis. They were worried that the message preached by Paul would ruin the market for the little idols. They were correct of course. When one believes in the gospel of Jesus Christ, they understand that the God of Love is in control, not the luck of the draw.

The town of Rijukan, Norway, which is about 90 miles west of Oslo, has found a way to bring light into its sun-deprived town. They have set up three huge computer controlled mirrors, which will follow the faint sunlight as it moves across the horizon, directing it into the town square.
Visionary town founder Sam Eyde came up with the idea around 100 years ago, but technology has just recently caught up with the vision.

http://www.news.nom.co/norwegian-town-uses-giant-mirrors-to-6771479-news/ (accessed 10-27-2013)

Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; (15) nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (16) "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Branko Lustig was a 10-year-old prisoner at Auschwitz when Nazi guards ordered him to stand in the front row at a hanging. Seven inmates were brought to the gallows and, as Branko watched, just moments before the bench was kicked out from under them, the inmates shouted in Yiddish, “Remember how we died! Tell the story about us!”

Lustig would do just that. Years after his 1945 liberation, Lustig embarked on a career in film that eventually took him to Hollywood. There, in 1994, he shared the Best Picture Oscar for producing Steven Spielberg’s Holocaust epic, Schindler’s List. “I hope I fulfilled my obligation to the innocent victims of the Holocaust,” he said at the award ceremony.

Just before Jesus ascended to heaven he gave us a similar command. “Be my witnesses! Tell the world what has happened here!” Would that we be as faithful to carrying out our witness as Branko Lustig was. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

A score of 300 in bowling has always carried the idea of perfection. 12 strikes--perfect rolls in a row, where the bowler knocks down all ten pins on the first roll. A strike in every frame brings a perfect score of 300.

Sara Lyons, after bowling for 69 years has finally scored the 300-point game many bowlers only dream about. There is an asterisk, however. Lyons bowled a “no-tap 300.” In no-tap bowling, knocking down 9 pins in a frame is counted as a strike. Even though she was short of perfection she received a perfect score.

Monks in Germany created bowling around 300 AD. In the original game there were only 9 pins. To the Monks each pin stood for a temptation or sin. The more pins you knocked down the more righteous you were.

Sara was given credit for removing all the pins, even when she left one standing. That sounds good for “no-tap” bowling, but in life, being sinless means no sins, they all must be accounted for. That is the good news of the Gospel. Jesus took the penalty for all our sins. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.