Man may be executed for failing Bible quiz.
A headline in the Christian Post caught my attention this week. It read, “Iranian Christian convert fears execution if deported for giving wrong answers on Bible quiz.” Yes, you read that right. Perhaps you have taken a Bible quiz. You probably did not have to worry about be executed for failing it.
Is this real and how does something like this happen? Reza Karkah, a former Muslim, became a Christian while living in Iran, a criminal offense there which is punishable by death. For that very reason, he fled to the United Kingdom seeking asylum as a refugee. An immigration hearing was scheduled to determine if Mr. Karkah’s claim of conversion is true. At that hearing, a judge gave him a test with 150 Bible questions. The reasoning goes, if he is truly a Christian, he should have a certain knowledge of the Bible and be able to pass the test. If he does not pass, he is faking conversion as a pretext for immigration.
Imagine knowing that you had to take a test to evaluate your knowledge of the Bible. Pass it, and you get to stay in the country. Fail it, and you are deported and executed! Ask yourself this question: How hard would you study the Bible if you knew your life literally depended on it? Now ask yourself another question: Isn’t that exactly how hard you should study the Bible anyway? Philippians 2:16 refers to Scripture as the “word of life.” God’s Word brings life and when heeded, can save your life. So yes, read the Word of God as if you will die if you don’t! Cling to it as you would a life jacket while drifting at sea.
In case you’re wondering how Mr. Karkah did, he failed the test in part because he could not remember that Judas was the disciple who betrayed Jesus. It has yet to be decided if he will be deported and executed for that mishap. Perhaps we should all stop and pray for Mr. Karkah and his family.
The Mine That Keeps Giving
A mine in Australia has produced what its owner believes are two of the biggest gold specimens in recorded history.
The biggest of the stones came in at 198 pounds and is estimated by the company to contain about 143 pounds of gold, a total that at current prices would be worth around $2.6 million
The second-biggest piece weighed 132 pounds and was valued at about $1.95 million.
Early estimates from RNC Minerals have put the total take of coarse gold from the cut at more than 562 pounds, or more than $10.4 million worth.
Airleg driller Henry Dole has been credited with uncovering the astonishing find at the 45-year-old Beta Hunt gold mine near Kambalda.
Here is what I like about this story…
They have been digging at this mine for 45 years….
And still getting gold, and not only that, but their biggest piece ever!
That is so much like the Word Of God.
Dig in it for years and years, and still haven’t seen it all or exhausted its treasury,
In fact, I believe that the greatest revelation and truth are still to come!
"And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times" (Psalm 12:6).
Finding Our Fixed Point
Studies have shown that if you blindfold a man and ask him to walk in a straight line, he will start out well but will soon begin to turn one way or another, looping around in ever tightening circles. It is a phenomenon that has been demonstrated over and over again: without a fixed reference point we cannot keep a straight line.
The strange thing is that it feels like we're walking in a straight line. But we begin to loop and curve erratically – without ever knowing it. We need a fixed point to walk a straight line.
Robert Kulwich, for NPR, observes, "Without a corrective, our insides take over and there's something inside us that won't stay straight."
[Studies of this phenomenon appear in Chris McManus' book, Right Hand, Left Hand, The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms and Cultures (Phoenix, 2002).]
God’s word is that fixed point for our souls. Its truths are fixed – “forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Ps. 119:89). Thus, it gives us a safe and accurate reference point for our lives.
A person who rejects God’s word as the source of truth may feel like they’re on the right road – they’re going straight – but inevitably they go astray. The Bible says there is a way that seems right to a man (think they’re going straight) but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12).
Amazingly, Jesus didn’t point people to the fixed point, he claimed to be the fixed point. Jesus didn’t say “I know the truth” or “I can point you to the truth”, he said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6)– He is the sun by which we navigate our lives, the star by which we guide our path. He is our fixed point.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2, BSB).