Christianity

The Night Sky

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Tonight my wife and I were looking at the night sky with the aid of the Night Sky app. We are in the country away from the city lights and pollution. The night sky is just brilliant with its display of stars. The Southern Cross, Orion, and big orange Betelgeuse were all set against the brilliance of the Milky Way.

Every time again it is a “wow!” moment.

Now I have two essential choices to make about the origins of this majestic picture. One, it is a giant accident with spectacular results or two, there is a divine hand behind all this.

In Psalm 147:4 we read, “He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name.” This reveals two incredible aspects of God: His omnipotence and His attention to small details. If the name of each of His stars is important to Him, then what about us, whom He made “a little lower than the angels?”

Psalm 8 tells me that I am important to God. Looking at the stars reminds me of this!

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Youth

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Pieter Stok

“Youth is wasted on the young” George Bernard Shaw

Energy to spend
on chasing, running and childishness.
To have passions that ignite.
Intoxicating dreams that abound
of worlds and hopes, futures
and possibilities.
To be young again!
To have time to wonder
and aspire,
fall and rise
without broken bones –
or bruised hearts.
To be a Jeremiah
– set apart,
Josiah
– doing what is right
David
– with a youthful love of God
or Mary
– with a humble heart.
The priceless, momentary
gift of being young
must not be chained or bound
in our past mistakes.
Free the young
to prophesy and envision,
thrive and grow
so our jaded hearts are gladdened
and God rejoices.
Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Poem, poetry, Reflections | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Seasons

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Pieter Stok

A few years ago we lived in the UK for 16 months. What struck us was the distinctiveness of the seasons – the warmth and humidity of the Summer, the cold of the Winter and either the coming to life or the dying of Spring and Autumn.

Below are two videos taken from either end of a local street made up of photos taken approximately once every week (or so) over a year. This was not a technically precise exercise. (Click on the photos to be taken to the videos).

Stanier Square

Stanier - Other end

Even in a suburban environment we have glimpses of God. We don’t have to go to the edge of the Grand Canyon or into the starry outback in Australia. The changes of the seasons, the springing into life of the trees, the blossoming of flowers, wherever we are, are all reminders of the divine hand of God.

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Vale, Encyclopaedia Britannica

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Pieter Stok

I read with resigned sadness that Encyclopaedia Britannica is ceasing its print production after starting its life in Scotland in 1768, 244 years ago. In this time it has grown from a modest three volumes to 32 volumes in the latest edition. In its heyday the Britannica commanded a great deal of respect as it was filled with many scholarly articles in a world craving for knowledge and understanding. Today, with the internet and the over abundance of resources, as well as the increased level of education, that honour has diminished somewhat.

Being a bibliophile, I love my Britannicas. I have three sets: A Replica of the first edition, the 9th edition (C19th – pictured) and the 15th edition (from 1975). The truth is, however, I use them very little nowadays. Just as a lot of my Bible study is done from behind the keyboard, with computer programmes and online resources, so is my research. The online Britannica gets more use than the print edition. More often than not, the volumes are used as weights for my wife’s paper making. Today I use my iPad for quick reference and to read books because the public library or book store is “too far away”. I am part of the blame for the printed Britannica’s demise.

But still my emotions stir with this news because I love the feel of a book and turning its pages. Then again, the Scribe might have said the same about unrolling the scroll, or the artisan about chipping into a stele.

As a Christian, it is amazing to reflect on this change in “technologies” over the years. The Bible, too, has been part of these changes. However the Holy Spirit has never been bound by technology. From word of mouth, to Kindles and iPads, the Word of God has continued to spread, inform, challenge and change people over the centuries.

Categories: Christianity, Devotional, Encyclopedia Brittanica, Uncategorized | Tags: | 1 Comment

The Bible in Graphs

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Pieter Stok

At our staff devotions this morning a colleague showed us a graph of the Bible references between the Old and New Testaments. It was a clever pictorial representation of which OT book and chapter connected with the New. In other words, all those references in your Bible have been connected visually. This doesn’t contradict what I said in yesterday’s post about looking for meaning where it is not warranted. In fact, it shows how the meaning and intent of Scripture is beautifully linked.  If you are a visual person, this could be a valuable representation  of the Word for you. It doesn’t remove the need to read Scripture, however it can add to our appreciation of it.

Chris Harrison has a variety of charts of various aspects of Scripture. http://www.chrisharrison.net/index.php/Visualizations/BibleViz

Categories: Bible, christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

William Shakespeare and Psalm 46

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Pieter Stok

William Shakespeare wrote the translation of Psalm 46 in the King James or Authorised Version on his 46th birthday. So the story goes. Forty six words in from the beginning of the Psalm and 46 words in from the end (leaving Selah alone) you find the the words “shake” and “spear.” (Melvyn Bragg, tongue in cheek, “The Book of Books.”) Keeping that in mind, I thought I might have written the translation of one of the Psalms in the NIV. Lo and behold, I went through Psalm 139, one of my favourites, and applied some clever counting, and surprise, surprise I found my name scattered through the Psalm. I must have a claim there somewhere.

I smile when I read stories like that, but it does hide a deeper issue. People seem to enjoy looking for truth in the patterns, letters and numbers rather than the words themselves. May I suggest that the Bible has many, many lifetimes’ worth of reading and studying its actual words in order for us to find, know and do God’s will, that looking for the trivial is not just a waste of time but counter productive.

In Psalm 119:105 we read: Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. The truth about the Bible doesn’t get much clearer than that!

Categories: Bible, christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Warning Signs

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Yesterday we were showing a friend along the Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles. There were signs alerting people to the dangers: steep cliffs, falling rocks and so forth. But many people blithely ignored the warnings. Some climbed on the fences to scream at friends way below. Others went to crumbly cliff faces to take a better picture.

What is it about human nature that we disregard clear warnings? We see it in all aspects of life: foolish driving, dangerous work practices, crazy stunts and more.

The saddest area of deafness is in human spirituality. The Bible has many warnings about foolishness. Eccl 4:13 “Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning” is just one. We think we can thumb our nose at our Creator.

The unique attribute of Scripture is that it both warns and guides. It tells us about the danger of human foolishness and blindness but it also gives us the antidote – the solution, and that is a relationship with God through Christ. This deals with the biggest danger – death. Eternal death.

Next time we see a warning sign, just remember that it is important. Past experience has been put to good use. More importantly, you can also see it as a metaphor for God’s warning and God’s solution.

Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Reflections | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

This Sunday – Give Thanks!

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Near Loch Ard, on the Great Ocean Road

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Learning to Walk

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Pieter Stok
I don’t remember
learning to walk.
But from what I’ve observed
it’s one faltering step –
Drop!
Another wavering step –
Drop again.
Slowly but surely
the art of walking
grows to
running and scampering.
New worlds beckon.
New mischief awaits.
… and then later,
we can’t even remember learning.
 
I don’t remember my first
faith steps.
I can’t remember grappling with
the ideas of God, and faith,
Bible and eternity,
Kingdom and Christ.
 
These parent guided steps
were fragile too.
The wonder, confusion
and doubt.
The stumbles and scraped knees.
 
How big is God?
Can he see me under concrete?
Will He be angry when …?
 
Now,
I run, jump
and rejoice in faith
even though
those first
important, crucial steps
long ago
can’t be remembered.
 
Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Poem, poetry, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Rise of Scoffing

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 2 Peter 3:3

Is it just my imagination, or are we living in age in which scoffers of God and His Word are in the ascendancy? Frankly, no, I don’t think it is just my imagination. The increase in miltant atheism, the admission by the head of the BBC that satirizing Christ is more acceptable than doing the same to Mohammed, the humanistic trends in education and the collapse of Christian values and ethics in the West are just glimpses of a far wider derision of the Christian faith.

The church, because of its foolish behaviour at times, may have deserved this ridicule but Christ, the gospel and Scripture, never. So we need to distinguish, is society mocking us or God? More precisely, is it mocking us for our foolishness and hypocrisy, or because we are dauntless in our faith? The former we deserve, the latter is an attack upon God himself.

Peter alerts us that this issue will increase in the last days. In other words the problem has been with us for 2000 years and it is not going to go away. So where does the challenge lie for people of faith? I believe the challenge lies in “walking the talk” – Christians need to live out the impact of the gospel on their lives. We need to be the aroma of Christ so that the scoffing and ridicule is shown to be empty and baseless.

Most importantly, our lives are to be a living witness revealing that we are convinced that the day will come, like a thief in the night, when Christ will return. Not only should we live in this expectation for our own spiritual health, but it is also a light to those who are searching. When they see that there are people living with hope in the truth, it is an encouragement to eschew the world and come to Christ.

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