Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Japan,  Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Niger, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Korea, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the USA, Vietnam, and Wales.

These statistics reveal not only the power of the Internet to connect people around the world, but also the amazing opportunity that lies before us to fulfill our mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and helping believers to grow in their relationship with Christ.

Image Credit: Master isolated images

Praise the Lord for a sizable growth of interest in the work of the Aletheia Project.  Our goal is not to build a name for ourselves, but rather, to glorify God by offering ourselves as tools in His global mission of evangelism and discipleship.  In order to reach our potential and fulfill God’s calling on us as an organization, we depend on the help of independent, fundamental Baptists worldwide.

If you have a passion for spreading the Gospel and are a faithful member of an independent, fundamental Baptist church,  would you consider helping us?  By means of the Internet, no matter where you live, you can join in our efforts.  Here are a few of the several ways in which you can help:

1) Pray (Luke 10:2)

Prayer is indispensable to biblical missions work.  Pray that God would impact multitudes of souls through the Bible and other resources on our sites.  Ask that God would raise up more partners for us worldwide, to further His work of impacting lives through the Internet.

2) Promote 

You, as a viewer of our site, can be one of our best promoters of the site.  Tell your friends, family, and acquaintances about the sites.  Even with the numerous technologically advances of recent years, word of mouth has proven to be one of the most effective means of promotion.  Also, take advantage of social networks.  Subscribe to our Google+ and Twitter pages.  Post a link to our site on your pages on Facebook and any other social networks you use.

3) Partner 

Every person has a sphere of influence.  You may know missionaries, pastors, family, and friends who could benefit from our sites.   Contact missionaries supported by your local church and let them know about the Project.  These missionaries (or others you know) may have evangelistic and Christian growth resources  in digital format which they could email to you for  you to pass along to us.  Or perhaps you are techno-savvy and have worked with graphics, photo editing, or HTML coding.

If you would like to become involved in helping spread the truth of God’s Word  through the Internet, we would love to get to know you!  Simply send an email to resources@aletheiaproject.com, including a picture of yourself and a brief introduction stating your name, where you live, and  the name of your church.

Image Credit:  Master isolated images (http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1962)

It’s Christmas! Throughout this country, and across the world, the hearts of old and young unite to celebrate this holiday. Some find satisfaction in the lights and decorations, and some in the warm attitude encouraged by the season: “the Christmas spirit.” Some find fulfillment in the parties and get-togethers of family and friends, while others feast their eyes on, well, feasts! (I was just recently introduced to real “fruit cake,” and I’m hooked.) The children, especially, become taut with excitement as that pile of colorfully-wrapped presents under the lighted tree grows higher and higher, pushing up the lowest branches and spilling out into the room. Though these things are all a cause for joy, let us remember the most precious Gift ever given – the Gift that truly never leaves off giving. This Gift is described in Philippians 2, in verses 6 through 11.

This One was “in the form of God.” I remember my very first semester as a student at Ambassador Baptist College. It seemed that everywhere I went, people said, “You said that just like your older brother, Steve.” On more than one occasion, upon meeting a professor or staff member, they would say, “You’re a Stockton, aren’t you!?”  I even had someone tell me that the way I leaned against a post was just like my brother!  (Random, I know.)  The reason was because I was in the same form as my brother.  We look alike, sometimes act alike, and therefore, in many ways, are alike!  That Gift was very much like the God of the universe – interesting, because, as a member of the Tri-partite Godhead, He was God!  The Bible says that He “thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”  This Person had no qualms about being viewed as God.  In fact, it was natural to Him!  Imagine it!  Equal with God!  For the average Jewish person living in this time, the idea of someone calling himself God was not only ludicrous, but it was also illegal!  No average Jewish person in their right mind would even begin to elevate themselves to deity.  Yet, this One felt quite at home with that position.  He was God.  John tells us that He was “in the beginning with God,” and that “all things were made by him.” [John 1:2-3] Paul describes the Gift this way: “by him all things consist.” [Colossians 1:17]  Oh, that humanity would grasp the significance of this truth: that a little baby born in a barn in the village of Bethlehem, was the God who sendeth wind and rain and snow.

The description of this Gift does not end there – verse 7 begins with the word “but.”  In complete denial of every positional benefit, of His form as Deity, and of his place as Master and King, the Gift “made Himself of no reputation.”  Unbelievable!  The One who possesses all power became as one whom people would pity.  The word in Greek is “kenosis,” which means “to empty.”  He made Himself of no interest, of no consequence, and void of any importance.  “Emptied Himself of all but love, and bled for Adam’s helpless race! ‘Tis mercy all immense and free! For O my God! It found out me!”  [a line from the hymn “And Can It Be?” by Charles Wesley] He took upon Him the form of a servant!”  The most precious Gift of all personally demoted Himself from the form of God to the form of a slave.  He was God; now He is come in human form.

If we would dwell on this truth for a few moments, all self-righteous and entitlement attitudes would soon dissipate.  “When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” [from “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts]  The Bible tells us that He “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”  To what was He obedient? The Gift was obedient to the eternal plan of God the Father– the plan that would cause the Gift to suffer beyond human measure, and to die, not a natural death, but the death of a cruel rugged cross.  He actively put Himself into this suffering state, for His creation.  The Father gave His only Begotten Son, and the Son willingly died for those who reject Him. What wondrous love is this!

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name!”  As far as I can tell, the only place in Scripture where the word translated “highly exalted” is used is right here.  The Gift lowered Himself to the lowest depth, and now God the Father has raised Him to the pinnacle of honor.  He has been raised to the loftiest height, and none is else stands higher.  From the stature of a slave, He is become Master of all.

The name by which the Gift is called is a point for meditation.  Names are important – they give identification and uniqueness to each individual.  Names bring honor or shame, depending on the reputation they hold.  Proverbs 22:1a says, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.”  For instance, the name of Winston Churchill gives us the picture of a great orator.  The name Jezebel brings to mind a wicked and violent woman.  The name Hitler causes us to think of unspeakable atrocities.  The name of Mary gives us an image of simple purity.  The names Ken, Stephen, Daniel, and Brooke, all have special significance to me, and bring warmth to my heart, as these are the names of my siblings.

The Gift has a different name, though.  This name is God-given – it is above every name.  This Name signifies the redemption and salvation of all who claim it.  This Name has caused many to be tortured, maimed, and burned.  This Name has so often been derided and ill-used.  This Name has been sufficient comfort to those in unimaginable sorrow.  This Name is that which God has exalted above every name!  And now we hear the Name: “That at the Name of JESUS.”  The Name of JESUS!  ”My heart is stirred, when e’er I think of Jesus! That precious Name, which sets the captive free – the only Name through which I find salvation – no Name on earth has meant so much to me!” [the chorus of “A Name I Highly Treasure” by Oscar  C. Eliason]  And it is at this Name that “every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.”  This is the only proper response to the exalted Name of Jesus!

As John the Revelator saw Him, His countenance as bright as the noon-day sun, he reports that he could do nothing but fall at His feet “as dead.” [Revelation 1:17]  “At the Name of Jesus bowing, falling prostrate at His feet, King of kings in Heaven we’ll crown Him.”  [from “Take the Name of Jesus with You” by Lydia O. Baxter] And it is every knee that will bow. It matters not whether they be celestial beings, whether on earth they be kings or peasants, or be they even Satan and his minions.  Every knee shall bow.  And though during this Christmas season, the world at large may forget and curse His Name, there will come a day when “every tongue” shall “confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.”  It will not be a muddled consent, or a muttered concession – it will be a public, verbal confession of the Lordship of Jesus, from those who believed on Him, and from those who rejected Him.

What about you?  What has been your focus this Christmas season?  Has it been those festive events we mentioned at the outset?  What about the rest of the year?  Have you given the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place in your life? What needs to be changed in our lives in order to give our Jesus first place? Let’s determine now to make this Christmas not a commerce-filled Christmas, but a Christ-filled Christmas; not a gift-filled Christmas, but a God-filled Christmas. And, going back to Philippians 2, in a verse we didn’t discuss – verse 5: Be mindful of Jesus this Christmas, and “let this (HIS) mind be in you!”

After that, we will be able to launch three new sites in quick succession: www.therussianbible.com, www.dasranantongobijbel.com, and www.slovenskabiblija.si.
We praise God for bringing across our path a visionary such as Mr. Rodriguez to help the Aletheia Project move forward with search engine-optimized websites. With the Lord’s help, the Aletheia Project’s sites will be more effective tools for the spread of the Gospel worldwide.

The first task to start our work for a Bengali site is to extract the text from the PDF to be able to use it in our Bible program and to have it in Word format as well.

Having a faithful translation of the Bible provides us an open door to creating a website for those who speak Bengali. Bengali is the sixth most spoken language in the world. 300 million people speak Bengali, 181 million of whom are native speakers.

1. A native speaker of Slovenian to proofread the Slovenian translations of two gospel tracts
2. Culture-specific graphics to be designed for the site
3. The Monte & Krista Barlow family, the only known fundamental, independent Baptist missionary in Slovenia (Website: www.sloveniamissions.com).
4. Pray for their new work in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital (population 255,000)
5. God to work in the hearts of Slovenian-speaking people.  Most are atheists or devout Catholics.