Retire? There's Too Much Work To Do

Most people retire to take it easy. Most people fill their quotas for adventure with movies, amusement parks, games, and tourism. Most people try to keep the needs of humanity from getting too close. I hope to persuade you to "retire" to a life of adventure while serving humanity.

I will be able to retire in mid-2013 (I'll be 52). At that time, my wife and I will take our meager savings and small pension to the Philippines. (If we were to stay here, we wouldn't be able financially to retire yet. In that Third-World economy, we'll be living pretty well.) We'll devote our lives to the welfare of poor children. Startling fact: 50% of the population in the Philippines is age 16 or younger. With the poverty, domestic violence, neglect, and child-labor abuse in that nation of 80 million, there's a lot of need.

Don't praise us for any perceived altruism...imitate us! Ask God to show you a need in a Third-World country that you can get passionate about.
Many of you have job-related retirement benefits waiting for you in the future. Others have savings and investments prepared. Why retire here and barely get by, playing games and rocking your chair every day, when you can live well and do good in Mexico or Liberia or the Philippines?

You probably have an ability that would be a great blessing in a Third World nation. Even if you can't do things like construct buildings or repair laptops, since you're reading this, you can teach conversational English. Millions of people elsewhere know some English but desperately want to learn it better. And if you're a Christian, you have something better than such abilities. You have the answer to every soul's desperate need. If you don't think of yourself as much of a soul-winner, please consider the fact that in many nations, average Americans are celebrities. You can use this attraction to point people to Jesus. And people in such countries are often much more hungry for truth than the average American.

OK, I understand that this missionary retirement is not for everyone. But billions of people have no idea why they were created. Is the Church is fully obeying The Great Commision? It is God's will that none should perish.
How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news.
Romans 10:14,15

Dinosaurs and Dragons

If Genesis is reliable history, and if the Earth is relatively young (probably not more than 12,000 years old), then dinosaurs roamed the Earth at the same time as mankind before dying out. Job (probably the first book of the Bible to be written) chapters 40-41 speak of animals called Behemoth and Leviathan that, according to the dialog, were around for Job and his friends to see. Chapter 40 describes Behemoth's great strength and its "tail like a cedar" tree. Chapter 41 refers to Leviathan's huge, powerful build, as well as a back covered with armor plating that deflected swords and arrows. I believe these accounts tell of dinosaurs.

What about dragons? Could fire-breathing creatures be a real part of biological history? Who would have thought that amazing creatures such as electric eels, fireflies, snakes that spit venom, angler fish, chameleons, or ink-spewing squid were real if they were not still with us? A few lines of evidence should be considered. First, there is the fairly clear teaching of scripture. The Bible leaves very little room for a hyperbole or metaphor interpretation. Job 41:19-21 says of Leviathan that,
"Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goes smoke as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth."
Secondly there is the matter of historical evidence. Multiple ancient societies from around the world told stories of fire-breathing dragons. Thirdly, consider some biological evidence. There is a "fire-breathing" creature called the Bombadier beetle. Hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone are contained in separate chambers in the beetle's abdomen, from where it can be ejected to confront a predator with an explosive mixture reaching 212�F! Lastly, there is some paleontological evidence that a skull arrangement could have accommodated "fire-breathing." In his book Dinosaurs by Design, Dr. Duane Gish discusses how the hadrosaurs' nasal cavities could easily have connected to chemical reserves in the hollow, horny crest.