A special end of fiscal year message and appeal from ABR Executive Director, Scott Lanser.
'Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.' - 1 Kings 19:18
Dear Friend of ABR,
How grateful I am for your prayers and support for ABR. As each day goes by I am humbled by the love, encouragement, and support we receive here in our ongoing efforts to inform and educate the body of Christ, and to answer the questions of sincere seekers of truth. Your gifts, your prayers and your encouragement mean so much! Thank you from all of us here at ABR.
I was reflecting today on the great, and important work that we are all engaged in together, and the unique role that ABR plays as we use archaeology and apologetics as tools to reach our culture: Buried in the ground all across the Middle East we find the remains of what ancient cultures believed and practiced. The material culture we uncover often tells a story of idolatry, depravity, and the shattered remains of human pride and self-will. We would like to believe that such fallen human corruption was buried in the sand and soil of time, but we all know too well that such depravity is still alive and well across the world today.
Indeed, a powerful wave of militant atheism and deadening skepticism has engulfed western civilization and would gladly sweep all our children away and leave them spiritually destitute and our culture without a witness of God's light and truth. We are slowly being buried by those who hate God and who want to drive Him out of every vestige of our culture. But praise be to God, he has raised up His army that has not bowed the knee to Baal.
As you stand with ABR, we will stand as a witness to Christ's light and to testify to God's power and sovereignty in this decadent culture. Our battle is against the spiritual forces of wickedness that have arisen to destroy this generation, and to steal away the hearts of our children and grand-children. Together, with your prayers and support we will see this generation impacted dramatically with the gospel and with the truth. The lies that are being spread through human philosophy….naturalism, historical revisionism, and evolutionary dogma….will be undone by the truth as the authority of the word of God is honored.
How has ABR been involved in this battle? Here are just a few of the many ways God is working through ABR and working through your prayers and financial support:
· Biblical and archaeological scholarship. ABR staff members write and publish articles in both scholarly journals and popular publications. Our careful scholarship is a powerful weapon to off-set distortion and outright lies about the Bible, and about the archaeological evidences that support the Bible.
· Leadership and Involvement in national conferences and educational institutions. ABR staff speak at conferences, churches, and universities across the United States. They provide strategic leadership in the Near East Archaeological Society, teach classes at various colleges, and give presentations at the meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society. These important activities reflect our important engagement with and among our colleagues in realms of biblical and archaeological scholarship.
· Interaction with the culture through our website, social networking sites, and electronic media. ABR's website contains hundreds of articles written for seekers and for scholars. This powerful tool touches lives every day. Recently we had our one-millionth visitor to our website! We are on Facebook and we send out a free electronic newsletter each month for those who request it. We are engaged with our culture answering scores of biblical, historical, and archaeological questions.
· ABR conducts original research. Our dig at Khirbet el-Maqatir is providing enormous insights in our search for the ancient biblical city of Ai. Our work continues in uncovering and documenting important discoveries and in providing evidence for the Conquest of Canaan by the Israelites.
These are just a few of the many ways in which God is using ABR to reach our culture with the message of His truth in the word of God, and to use our scientific efforts in archaeology to uphold the Scriptures. Our newest endeavor has been to create a unique biblical/archaeological curriculum that would creatively engage the minds of young people and use the extraordinary discoveries in archaeology to display the authority of Scripture. Needless to say we are excited to see the vision for this curriculum come to reality! And we believe it will happen as individuals like you come along side ABR to pray and to give as the Lord leads you.
All of these things are possible when you partner with us. As we draw near to the close of our fiscal year and the lean summer months ahead, we would greatly appreciate your help. Any gift, large or small will help us close the gap on fully meeting our responsibilities for this fiscal year, and will set us on solid ground for the year ahead. Most importantly, we want to move ahead strongly in our continuing work to develop our new curriculum. Thank you for responding generously to these needs!
May the Lord help all of us who name Christ as Savior and Lord to never bow the knee to Baal, and to strongly battle in the spiritual war before us. We know already who has the victory! God bless you as you serve our mighty King.
For His Glory,
Scott Lanser
Director
Associates for Biblical Research
