Author: Chris Luzio

I read an interesting essay last week that began, “When the phonograph was invented, the composer John Phillip Sousa was heartbroken. In a 1906 article on ‘The Menace of Mechanical Music,’ he worried out loud that recording tools would reduce music from a matter of the heart and soul to a mere mechanical process.” The article really caught my attention because I used to love listening to an original recording of Sousa’s band playing Stars and Stripes Forever on my dad’s Edison phonograph
in the attic.

Sousa was worried that recorded music would make us less likely to make music ourselves, and asked, “Why learn to play the piano when you could simply press play?” For Sousa, half of the beauty in music comes from the personal element of its performance. He asked, “When a mother can turn on the phonograph with the same ease that she applies to the electric light will she croon her baby to
slumber with sweet lullabies, or will the infant be put to sleep by machinery?”

The purpose of the essay really wasn’t to discuss Sousa’s concerns about the phonograph, but to call our attention to gains and loses in the use of AI. The author noted that it’s being sold on the premise that it has the ability to chat with you like you a dear friend or give you mental health counseling. He notes, however, that in doing so it robs us of what is most truly intimately human: personal relationships. That friendship, therapy, and family are not merely about mouthing the right sounds or typing the right words.

I think we should indeed be careful about using AI in ways that diminish humanity, but I must admit I’m thankful that Chris used his iPhone to record a few of Bonnie’s songs during the Covid lockdown. Carole had to retire from accompanying due to her health, and Scott was on vacation last week, so Bonnie was back on the piano…sorta.

God Bless,
Rick

Mark Fishel’s latest newsletter from Cambodia is on the bulletin board, but I want to highlight some of the things he shared.

He began by telling of five young men who were baptized during a retreat for the Phnom Penh Church. He noted that the retreat was planned and funded by those who went, which he sees as a huge move towards helping the church be more self-sustaining. He also told of a young lady from the church who was recently baptized and decided not to have her new food stall open on Sundays, something that is very unusual in Cambodia.

He also reported about a Christmas outreach attended by 75 people, 11 of whom had never been to the church before, and a Christmas celebration he and Grace had in their home that he hopes will become a tradition. They have also started a Bible study in their home for English speakers, and Grace hosts a variety of functions, hoping to open hearts to the gospel message.

He ended by noting that they celebrated their first anniversary on January 20th, and there have been many challenges, but Grace put it well when she said, “We have not just survived our first year of marriage. We have thrived.”

They are looking forward to the year ahead of them, and have assurance in the Lord’s faithfulness to them, and that their love for one another is grounded in Him.

I believe that’s a great Valentine’s Day message for all of us.

God Bless, Rick

Many of us begin the year by starting an annual read through the Bible. There are many plans that can guide you through the Bible in a year, but the one I use is the Daily Reading Bible NASB. It’s only available in digital format and can be purchased from Kindle through Amazon for $5. The thing I especially like about this guide is that it has you reading an OT and NT passage each day, and if you look for it, you can find a connection between them.

I’ve recently discovered something else that can help you succeed on your journey though the Bible; illustrated overviews of the books of the Bible. They are produced by BibleProject, a nonprofit, crowdfunded organization that makes free resources like videos, podcasts, articles and classes that help people experience the Bible. It was formed ten years ago by a couple of former Bible college roommates. One of them had become a teaching pastor and college professor with a PhD in Semitic languages, and the other founded digital and marketing companies. They decided to combine their talents and love for the Bible to create the BibleProject.

While everything I’ve looked at that they’ve produced is excellent and biblical, I especially like their overviews. They outline the structure of each book and summarize what they contain. The easiest way to find them is to go to YouTube and simply type in Bible Project Overviews. They will look like the illustration I’ve printed below. If you want to see what they all look like, you can ask Caleb Luzio. He’s made a book out of all of them!

God Bless, Rick

Jack and Bonnie supported Good News Productions International for many years, and continued doing so after death through their estate. When a representative from GNPI was scheduled to be the area, he invited us for breakfast. We thought it would an informational meeting about their ministry, but their reason for coming was to introduce us to Fernando Basso.

Fernando and his wife Janaine, along with their boys Benicio, Timoteo and Tito, are missionaries in Madagascar. Fernando was an agricultural engineer in Brazil, but he and his wife felt God was calling them to serve in Africa. After learning of the need for someone with knowledge of agriculture to help on the mission field, they moved there. After being welcomed, they were told they would be on their own because the other missionaries were all leaving.

Fernando had been led into a deeper relationship with Christ by watching the Jesus film that has been translated into nearly 2,000 languages and shown billions of times throughout the world, so he decided that would be a good way to introduce Jesus to the villages in southern Madagascar. In order to show the film he needed a solar-powered projector, so he reached out to GNPI. With their help and encouragement he has trained a team of pastors who have shown the film in over half of the 500 Bara villages, established over 200 churches, and started several ministries for children.

We just met him three weeks ago, but were so impressed by his ministry that we are excited to present him as another missionary for us to support.

God Bless, Rick

When Jesus prayed that we’d all be one, He was praying for the church, not for a nation. And when He said a kingdom divided against itself could not stand, He wasn’t talking about a nation, but the kingdom of Satan. When Patrick Henry, however, said “United we stand, divided we fall”, he was expressing concern for our nation, and many share that fear today.

We obviously do live in a nation that is politically divided, but is that a bad thing? I’m not so sure.

Before the flood, God saw that all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth, and He would have blotted out mankind if He hadn’t found one righteous man. After sparing Noah and his family, He told them to fill the earth. But his descendants didn’t want to be scattered over the face of the earth, so they built a city that would bring glory to themselves. God could see where that was going, so He divided them into nations, speaking different languages.

It seems that when everyone in a fallen world is united as one, they always head away from God. Apparently nations were created to keep sinful men divided, and to contain the spread of rebellion against God within smaller units.

Being divided into nations also makes it possible for God to work through one nation to bless or discipline another, and this He has done throughout history. He even divided Israel into two countries in the hopes that one would influence the other. But when they both failed to obey Him, He used other countries to discipline and to eventually destroy them both.

The founders of our country were good students of history. They recognized the need for checks and balances, and even recognized that political parties were a necessary evil if we were to survive. In spite of the rhetoric and lying, parties serve a good purpose because they give us the opportunity to choose a platform that is more in keeping with our God-given values.

With that in mind, I encourage you to vote for a platform instead of a person. If you feel the stated goals and objectives of a particular party are more in line with God’s will, please vote for the lesser of two evils.

God Bless, Rick