Church

Back in Santiago

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Back in Santiago. Due to 3G problems I’ll write some catch up blogs later. But for the moment there is free wifi in the bus station. We have walked up hill and down rocky dale for over 120 kms with our heavy backpacks. Finally we are here and have earned our Compostellas. But I have much to say about that in the future.

We went to the Cathedral which was having a service but it was inundated with tourists. As we were leaving there was a medieval procession coming down the street. White and black hooded people in bare feet dragging chains were in front of a Pieta like statue. It was somber and bleak.

Last night we stayed in a seminary. Hetty said it was like being an orphan at St. Augustine’s. It was a large dorm with rows of beds and vey noisy plumbing.

There is much I want to reflect on. The good, the bad and some of it down right ugly. However in the meantime, I want clean clothes and my own tent with my own bride next to me.

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Camino day 2

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Pieter Stok

I have come to the conclusion that Spaniards, although lovely and friendly people, have a national sleep apnea problem. Sleeping in the same room as 30 of them is proof enough. After a sleepless night Hetty and I crept out of the Alburgue at 6:00 waking up all the dogs as we went along. Quickly we were in a forest. The sun wasn’t going to rise for anther 21/2 hours. Slowly we saw the sun rise in the west. Hey, are we going in the wrong direction? No, the km posts were winding down. It didn’t help when we saw two pilgrims heading towards us.

Soon the strange phenomena was revealed. A genuine Spanish bush fire across our path. We couldn’t travel any further. So we sat freezing in a bus shelter with growing band of pilgrims. Cars, trucks and a couple of buses had to stop as well. When the fire was reduced, we piled on the local buses to the friendly welcome of the passengers and we escorted by the police through the remnants of the fire.

We continued to Portos, a small two house town. Hetty asked in the cafe if any one had rooms for hire. Which they did. So we stayed in and old Spanish farmhouse. It also gave us an opportunity to go on a side trip (5kms) to Vilar deDonas. A place where the headstones of the local,kings were preserved in an old romanesque church. Well worth the trip.

That night we have relief from snoring Spaniards

Categories: Camino, christian, Christianity, Church, Faith | 4 Comments

Two Images of God’s Unique Creation

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Pieter Stok

All God’s creatures are unique:

An Emu getting up close and personal. He was after my wife's bread roll.

Here is proof! A marsupial that doesn’t often drink and a bird that doesn’t fly.

A Koala drunk on eucalyptus leaves having a snooze.

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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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Rock Heart

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Pieter Stok
“The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”  Zeph 3:17
 
 
 
Cold, hard
fist clenched heart
wrapped in its dark self.
Closed.
 
Nothing can pry
open
the steely fingers.
Unprised,
unmoved,
unrelenting,
mute.
 
Your Word,
Your song,
soft,
calling
persistent,
love soaked.
 
The interior,
warmed,
moved,
spark kindled,
song filled.
 
Heart unwrapping,
unwrapped.
Opening, opened.
Eternal lifesong filled.
Christ bought.
 
 
 
Categories: Christianity, Church, Devotional, Faith, Poem, poetry, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sharing Knowledge and Understanding

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Pieter Stok

As I promised, yesterday, I have a second story. This one is based upon observation and conjecture. On our short camping trip, my wife and I stopped at a remote and isolated  town on a river. As there were picnic tables at the local jetty we thought this was a good place to stop for our cuppa.

I will just give you the details: What I observed was a caucasian lady, whose husband was minding the small children, teaching a group of people, of middle eastern appearance, how to fish: including how to bait the hook and cast the line into the water. This was done through example, teaching and lots of encouragement – especially when the casting of the line didn’t go as planned. There was also plenty of laughter and cajoling. It was obvious that there was joy in this mini learning community.

The conjecture is about the   origin of these middle eastern people and why they are in such a remote town. What I found heart warming was the scene where one person was sharing with others a knowledge they didn’t have: “How to fish”.

There are so many metaphors and lessons in this whimsical picture and it doesn’t require me to set them out. I’ll just finish by saying, I was mesmerised and challenged by the scene.

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Wondering Out Loud

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Pieter Stok

I think, (he says very carefully) that a number of the writers of blogs I follow and who follow me, are men of a certain age. (Apologies to the younger writers and the ladies). Why, I thought to myself, are these “men of a certain age” writing about faith, Christianity and the Bible?

I have one answer (there may be many more). But the one I posit is that these writers have been through quite a bit of what we call “life”. They have seen the good, bad and ugly and hope their readers can learn from, or, escape all together, the trials and pain that the past has taught them.

Thank you to all those bloggers, young and old, man and woman, who desire to teach, encourage and warn. There is much we can learn from each other. What is even better, is that we can do it from under the banner of a heavenly dad who cares much more than we do.

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

The Very Actions of God

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Pieter Stok

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:11

The words of God, spoken from lives that bring praise to God! That is Peter’s challenge to the church – to us.

The more I read Peter’s letter, the more I am convinced that this is not just a message for Christians 2000 years ago – but for us. Now. Our purpose in life is not about us, our egos and our success, but God.

The “if”, in “if any one serves”, should, in practical terms be translated “when”. “When anyone serves …” The Christian life cannot be lived without service. It is the mark of Christ and by direct inference, therefore, the mark of the Christian.

Why do I suggest Peter is writing to us? Apart from the fact that God’s word is timeless, it also strikes at the very heart of our self centred, self satisfied and complacent culture. The culture that we blend into so seamlessly. I get the impression that Christians often see this life in Christ as a burden. The tone of Peter’s letter, however, is one of passionate joy. He is passionate because he knows that following the example of Christ is the Christian’s protection against the onslaught of the world.

In stark terms, Peters commands us to fulfil our calling – that is, to imitate Christ.

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The Very Words of God

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Pieter Stok

St Martin in the Fields London

 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.  1 Peter 4:11a

When I was studying at a Theological College, the professors stressed that we, aspiring to be preachers, must preach God’s word and not our own pet theories. We were in the pulpit on God’s behalf – not our own.

In the passage above from 1 Peter, the apostle stresses that as the church approaches the end times it is essential that the church (i.e. each individual Christian) speaks God’s words. To be God’s mouth piece is not just a challenge for preachers, but in fact, for all who call themselves Christians.

We all have a prophetic call to the age in which we live.

This call requires two attributes. We must know God’s heart, that is, what grieves Him about ourselves and the world in which we live. Also we must know what it is that God wants us to say.

Both these require an intimate knowledge of the God’s Word. However, more than that, it also requires the courage to be a prophetic voice and living witness to our age. Rather than being chameleons blending into our age, we are called to be a vibrant, living alternative – speaking and being the words of God.

Categories: Bible, Christianity, Church, Devotional, Faith | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

Do You Feel the Wind?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Pieter Stok

When I ride my bike there are occasions when I have to battle a fierce breeze and I need to force myself to go on. Then I turn a corner and the breeze seems to have disappeared. In reality it hasn’t. I just happen to be going with the wind at wind speed.

In western churches I believe we need to feel more of the wind – the resistance of the world around us. Our problem, too often, is that we are traveling in the same direction and roughly, at the same speed, that the world is.

The task of the church is to be counter cultural. That is, it needs to critique the society in which it lives (and itself) against the standards that God has given us in His Word. The church is called to show and live what a Biblical family is, what a Biblical view of work is, how to love the other as Christ would and so. If we were really doing that, wouldn’t we feel more of a breeze blowing directly, and fiercely at us?

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