Right now he thought he was going to be presenting his own research, yet again, in a highly honored symposium at the University of Alabama. He has now been invited to present his research at an academic symposium twice, both for the two most liberal and secular departments of the school. Both papers were based on Scripture and both contained the faithfully shared, explicit Gospel message. The first time his research landed in the hands of people who decided it should be read, it was a paper he had written for his Jewish Christian Relations class…. a paper that he had written for his Jewish professor. In that paper he lovingly argued, based on the authority of Scripture, that Christians need to have a heart for evangelizing Jews because they are lost based on their rejection of Jesus, God’s Son. His Jewish professor, though he admittedly disagreed with the implications of Jordan’s arguments, passed that paper around to the right people, who passed it along to more of the right people, and it was ultimately selected to be presented.

This time Jordan was contacted because of a paper he wrote last year for one of his history classes. He wrote his paper on the book of Philippians in the context of the Roman Empire. Yet again, a group of people who are not evangelicals, not believers, and who are generally hostile to the Christian faith, chose his research to be presented. I see this as no coincidence. God has clearly orchestrated events and people and hearts….

“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
he turns it wherever he will.”
Proverbs 21:1

Jordan was blown away… completely floored … that this research was one of the few pieces to be selected for the symposium. We made crazy plans at work and at school here for him to be in Alabama today to present. We were understandably very discouraged when circumstances outside of our control prevented him from driving home in the middle of the night last night to present at the symposium as planned. We got word, though, that one of the heads of the history department will be reading Jordan’s research on his behalf today. Wow. The mouth of an unbeliever will be speaking the truth of the Gospel today. What a testimony.

“The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.”
Proverbs 16:9

We are trusting that God’s word will not return void and we are so thankful for the circumstances He orchestrated for His Word to be heard at this academic event.

“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
Isaiah 55:11-12