Christianity

Rulers Beware

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling. Psalm 2:10 & 11

While reading Psalm 2 this morning I was overcome with an overwhelming conviction of the foolishness of leadership in many of our democratic countries.

Currently we have a Humanist/Christian and a Mormon battling it out for the Presidency of the USA. I would suggest that neither position can uphold or honour a Biblical framework. We see the values that are held seep through when one party debates whether God should be mentioned and the other treats the poor as dirt. In the UK God hardly gets a mention. Whereas in Australia the Prime Minister is an atheist and her opponent, a Catholic whose faith does not inform his policies or manner to any large degree.

Biblical wisdom is in short supply or politicians fear to reveal it because it is politically unpopular. Either way, Godly wisdom isn’t used to inform the momentous issues, social, economic and ethical, of our age.

Psalm 2 reminds us who is really sovereign and in control. It also reminds us of the consequences if we fail to recognise God’s sovereignty. Read it and be reminded – it is, frankly, chilling. In the meantime most Christian politicians tiptoe around the controversial issues or limit their ethics to those acceptable to the party – the standard model being, for right wing parties, personal ethics such as abortion and homosexuality, and for left wing parties, social issues such as injustice and the poor. Both ends of the spectrum require an informed input from Christian leaders – not just those that the party deems as acceptable.

The decline of faith and Biblical literacy in the West has a lot to do with the current diabolical state. For many believers the “personalisation” of faith stifles their voice and prevents them speaking out on the big issues.

What is the answer? A beginning, I believe is for pastors to teach Biblical truths – personal and social. They need to speak out for God – not parties. Christians need to be equipped to declare the truth and consequences of Psalm 2. A failure to recognise God’s sovereignty over all things leads to human arrogance, pride and ultimately, judgement. The Christian voice should be a prophetic one. This will seldom be popular (which is a clue as to why we don’t hear it from our politicians). I am not saying the Christian should impose his or her will on an unbelieving society but he or she must declare the consequences and suggest Godly alternatives.

Psalm 2 also speaks of blessing. This was true in King David’s day and was fulfilled in Jesus. For those who have the courage and faith to celebrate God’s claims there is blessing, both now and forever. “Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.”

If ever there was a time for Christians to call out to their societies to take refuge in God and His Word, it is now.

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Flowers and Faith

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Pieter Stok

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The Tough Times

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Pieter Stok

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

The Road Will Not Always Be Easy

I find this one of the most confronting passages in Scripture because it tells me that rough and tough times are part of the Christian’s journey. There will be sadness, sorrow and pain on our pilgrimage through this world. Worst still, we can’t expect a bed of roses as a matter of course. In fact, easy times will be the exception rather than the rule.

This truth was brought home to me recently through a number of circumstances: a young child fighting cancer, another with leukemia and a parent with a fatal illness. Three families – three battles – three pictures of overwhelming sadness; good people going through exceptionally difficult struggles.

But there is also the promise of this text. Through these struggles, God’s love upholds us – enables us to bear these griefs – but even greater, they enable Christ to be revealed in our lives. Tough love!

Christ is also the ultimate hope. The struggles won’t last. The grief will not remain. After the pilgrimage is ended there is a place of completion and perfection awaiting God’s children. Joy and fullness will be the result. That is worth holding out for!

In the meantime, the journey may get very rough at times.

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Why Does Creation Matter?

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Pieter Stok

In his thought provoking book Seven Days That Divide The World Dr. John Lennox concludes in an appendix challenging Theistic Evolution:

And why does it matter anyway? Is this not a case of Christians getting involved in an irrelevant sideshow? I do not think so, especially in light of the current insistence on the part of many atheists that there is nothing special about human beings, since they have been produced by precisely the same blind and unguided process as any other species. The status of human beings is no small matter.

Zondervan. Seven Days That Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science (p. 166). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Dr. Lennox reminds us that if we compromise the truth of Scripture we leave fissures that others will exploit in their attempt to destroy God’s truth.

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Be Holy

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Pieter Stok

In 1 Peter 1:15 & 16 he writes:

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

This is a direct reference to Leviticus 11:44 &45. Holiness is such a foreign concept for our age. The spirit of our times is, “if it feels good, do it!” Principles, values and consequences have very little place in our Western lifestyle. It would be easy to drag out a litany of examples but sadly I don’t need to because we are all fully aware of what I mean. It is pervasive.

But the biggest tragedy is that God’s children are not immune. We too are tainted by our age. Statistics show that lifestyle choices in the church are not radically different from the rest of the world.

God’s command is an immensely important one. We are to be holy because we are called to reflect the one who redeemed us. Our lives are to be witnesses of God and what he has done in Christ. Our lives are called to be living examples of the power of the gospel.

When we fail to grow in holiness our lives mock God. By not growing in holiness our lives say to the world, “Really, the gospel is not that influential. The power that Paul speaks of is not that life changing.”

The most powerful witness that the body of Christ has, is to live the radical life changing power of the gospel! All our words,sermons and pamphlets will come to naught if our neighbours do not see the change the gospel has wrought in us.

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From: A Meal With Jesus

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Pieter Stok

The following comes from the fabulous book, A Meal With Jesus.

What are the Christian community’s meals for? They achieve many things. They express so much of God’s grace. They provide a glimpse of what it’s like to live under God’s reign. They express and reinforce the community that Christ has created through the cross. They’re a foretaste of the new creation. They’re a great context in which to invite unbelievers so they encounter the reality of God among us. But they’re not “for” any of these things. It’s a trick question. Everything else—creation, redemption, mission—is “for” this: that we might eat together in the presence of God. God created the world so we might eat with him. The food we consume, the table around which we sit, and the companions gathered with us have as their end our communion with one another and with God. The Israelites were redeemed to eat with God on the mountain, and we’re redeemed for the great messianic banquet that we anticipate when we eat together as a Christian community. We proclaim Christ in mission so that others might hear the invitation to join the feast.

Chester, Tim A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table, Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.

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Proper Daylight Saving

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Pieter Stok

So the sun stood still,

and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. Joshua 10:13

Now that was daylight saving!

Daylight saving starts in some parts of Australia today. God did it years ago – properly.

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50 Things We Learnt …

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Pieter Stok

50 Things We Learnt From Our Father

One of my favourite possessions is a framed poster made by two of my daughters when I turned 50 … that is, a long time ago. This poster has hung in my study ever since. They called it, “50 Things We Learnt From Our Father.” It contains a whole range of ideas from the humorous to the serious. Some of the lessons came from their own experience and some are dated. An example, “Don’t dance near the record player.”

My favourites include:

“You can’t have enough of a good cheese”
“Horizontal and vertical stripes do go together” (A dig a their father’s lack of fashion sense)
“How to make toasted cheese sandwiches”
“Breadboards make the best plates”
“All meals can be prepared … and eaten, with a frying pan and a fork”
“There is always room for another book in your collection”
“Anything can be turned into a sermon illustration”

But there are others which are more serious:

“Girls can do anything”
“Don’t be afraid to try something new”
“Lookout for your sisters”

My favourites, which bring a lump to my throat are:

The joy of living for Christ”
Faith in the Living God”

Family life is a treasure of the big and small, the mundane and spectacular. All of it is a wonderful stage to grow a family. If you are starting out with your children remember that everything you do is being observed, from your fashion sense to your faith!

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A Quote: What We Owe God

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Pieter Stok

For, until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by his paternal care, and that he is the author of all their blessings, so that nothing is to be looked for away from him, they will never submit to him in voluntary obedience; nay, unless they place their entire happiness in him, they will never yield up their whole selves to him in truth and sincerity.