Message from the President-Summer 2008
Atlanta has a beautiful burst of pear blossoms and cherry blossoms in March and April, and it is the prettiest time of the year here. It has come and gone but other flowers will bloom. So we love springtime. For me, this year’s spring was also a time to prepare my heart and mind for the vitally important National Day of Prayer. Launched years ago by the tireless efforts of Vonette Bright, and now picked up by Shirley Dobson, it is a remarkable moment at which to call the nation to prayer. I had the privilege of being the honorary chairman for this year and to bring the message at Cannon House, which was preceded by leading the prayer at The White House and speaking at the Pentagon.
What a day that was, rushing from place to place and meeting some of the most committed Christians in some very tough situations. Who can deny that we live in a time of global uncertainty? I remember one Head of State in another continent saying to me, “Our cumulative wisdom is unable to meet the daunting challenges of our time.” With that tacit admission, what is a greater need than to come humbly before our Lord? The important thing for us as believers is to know that prayer is to be a pattern for our lives, not just a sporadic thing. Unless our walk keeps prayer as the hub from which all else flows, we will keep moving at high speeds with no wisdom for the journey.
The more political rhetoric I hear coming from some candidates, the more I fear for the future. The more I fear for the future, the more it drives me to my knees. It seems as though the most persuasive emotion for speech-makers is hate. If they can get you to hate somebody they consider themselves loved. To quote a politician from years gone by: “What shadows we are; what shadows we pursue.” But for our recourse in God, the shadows loom larger than ever before.
On that note, may I thank you for your prayers for us. I need it especially in the next few days as I go into back surgery at Emory University Hospital here in Atlanta. I trust the Lord will make it a success and my healing process thorough. Actually, at one stage they had talked about something quite radical, to re-do a triple fusion and decompress one additional one. Thankfully, and may I say after a lot of prayer, they have revisited the problem and opted only for the decompression of L2/3. That in itself is a huge answer to prayer that went up all over the world.
During my recovery, I expect to be doing some writing and radio work. The rest of the team, of course, will be carrying their heavy loads plus some of mine. I look forward to getting back in full strength and with fresh passion.
During the last few weeks, three of my books have been released. Beyond Opinion, which is our team effort in apologetics, New Birth or Rebirth: Jesus Talks To Krishna, and The End of Reason, a response to the new atheists (or the hate-theists as they may be more appropriately described.) The response from the readers is already so encouraging. My good friend Jim Cymbala, the Senior Pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle, phoned and told me that Beyond Opinion is by far the best book in the subject he has read and highly commended the team for the quality and impact of that book. He said he would be recommending it to all of his people, and especially to other pastors, and at conferences. That is quite a typical response to that book. We are hearing from so many that it has meant so much to them. The other two have just hit the bookstores and I pray the Lord will use them in the lives of many.
I ask you to especially pray for our new move into Hong Kong-China as we begin our work there. Grace Lee will be setting up our office and her home in Hong Kong beginning July. Please pray for her as she enters this remarkable phase for us. I also want to thank all of you for the way you have stood with us in our major efforts. The attacks upon the Gospel are stronger than ever and a new breed of anti-theists wants to evict all “religious belief” from the academy and the public square. Their own dogmatic materialism is held with such “religious fervor” and is seen by themselves as intellectually sophisticated while any belief in the transcendent is seen as nonsense. Our work is cut out for us. With prayer and rigorous study, we will face the challenge and continue to see thousands come to Christ all over the world. We need your prayers and your generosity in enabling us to do our best for the cause that is before us all. Thank you for all your support.
Ravi Zacharias
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