Church

Peter’s Second Letter and the Church Today

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Today I want to begin an occasional series on Peter’s second letter. In my personal studies I have spent a lot of time looking at the church in Acts and Second Peter seems a natural development of that. At the time the letter was written the church had been in existence for over 30 years and issues were beginning to arise. In 1 Peter we read about persecution in and in 2 Peter the serious issue of false teachers arises – specifically false teachers from within the church.

However, let me start with a story. A friend was telling me about an issue within a church: should the pastor marry a believer with an unbeliever? The arguments have been flying thick and fast. Some say that 2 Cor 6:14 which warns against believers being yoked to unbelievers summarises what God’s intention is. Others suggest that if the two people love each other the church should be loving and gracious and see the marriage as a possibility for evangelism and outreach.

I’ll be up front. Without going into detail (which I could do very easily) I believe the Bible in the OT and NT reminds us that marriage is an institution (from a Christian’s perspective) which God has instituted and needs to be done in a way that honours His Word. In other words, believers should not marry an unbeliever. (I can sense many hackles rising). Maybe I’ll expand on this on another occasion.

One of the reasons why we need to be careful with this issue is that the reasons that people give for agreeing to these marriages (such as the need to be loving and gracious) can also be applied to same sex marriages. So if we agree to the first we will also need agree to the second.

My point is that when we begin to unpack the Word of God we also need to be aware of what that means in practice. Many good intentions e.g. we need to be “loving and gracious” can have consequences. False teaching can arise because we have good intentions but have failed to understand the full impact of the Word of God.

In the first 10 verses of 2 Peter 1 the word “knowledge” is mentioned: knowledge of God (vs 2), knowledge (vs5) and knowledge of Jesus (vs8). The healthy Christian life is underpinned by an understanding of God and His will. To stand firm against false teaching we need to know what God intends.

Will this stop arguments? Not at all. But at least our common reference point will be God’s Word in all its fullness and not human opinion and variable feelings. In Peter’s words. we will be “established in the truth” (vs 12).

Lord willing. I will have an opportunity to unpack this further in the future.

So on to Peter.

Categories: christian, Christianity, Church, Faith, Second Peter, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

The Grubby Book

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1&2

In a previous vocation I had the privilege of officiating at the funerals of many older saints. Quite a few of these had gone through wartime experiences in Europe or Indonesia. They had been through the worst that humanity can inflict upon their brothers and sisters.

A Psalm that was often requested at their funerals was Psalm 91. It encapsulates both the horror of war and the beauty of God’s grace. These people were able to declare in life and in death, “The Lord is my refuge.” They had the confidence, in a bombing raid or in a Japanese prisoner  of war camp, that nothing could remove them from their place in the eternal family of God. Incidentally, it was this solid expression of  faith that was lived by the Moravians in the face of danger that impressed and impacted John Wesley so deeply a few centuries earlier.

One story I remember clearly: on a visit to an elderly white-haired saint, I noticed a small grubby book, in an otherwise immaculate bookcase. I commented on its incongruity. This elderly man, while holding his wife’s hand, told me its story. This was the Bible he kept in a tropical  Japanese prison camp. His wife and children were in a separate camp. He kept it closely wherever he went.It was his constant companion. He would have been severely punished, even killed, if he had been found with it. The worst moments were snap inspections. So when an inspection was called he quickly scratched a hole in the dirt and stood on the book. It was a precious memento that had pride of place in his bookcase. It was a reminder of God’s centrality in his and his family’s life. And he added with a wink, “I could always say I stood firmly on the Word of God.”

May we also dwell in the Most High by “standing” firmly on the Word of God.

Categories: Christianity, Church, Devotional, Faith, Reflections, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Community Around A Meal

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Time Chester explores Christian community in his book A Meal with Jesus:

“We think we’re enacting grace if we provide for the poor. But we’re only halfway there. We’ve missed the social dynamics. What we communicate is that we’re able and you’re unable. “I can do something for you, but you can do nothing for me. I’m superior to you.” We cloak our superiority in compassion, but superiority cloaked in compassion is patronizing.

Think how different the dynamic is when we sit and eat with someone. We meet as equals. We share together. We affirm one another and enjoy one another. A woman once told me: “I know people do a lot to help me. But what I want is for someone to be my friend.” People don’t want to be projects. The poor need a welcome to replace their marginalization, inclusion to replace their exclusion, a place where they matter to replace their powerlessness. They need community. They need the Christian community.”

Chester, Tim (2011-04-05). A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table (RE: Lit) (pp. 82-83). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.
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Blessing Our Children – continued

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Pieter Stok
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly   and to love mercy  and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

Another blogger, Christine Sine at Godspace, alerted me to a message by Dr. Rowan Williams the Archbishop Canterbury for a Conference on Sustainable Development. (Follow link if you wish to hear the message). Unusually (seeing it was Dr. Williams), I agreed wholeheartedly with the essence of the message – as far as it went. Dr. Williams’ question: what legacy, environmental, social and religious are we leaving our children? It echoed Micah 6:8. But like Micah 6:8, something else was needed – a sharper gospel perspective. In other words, Micah 6:8 comes alive in the person and ministry of Christ.

One of the failures of Evangelicalism is that it has simply personalised faith: faith, it tells us, is a personal matter between us and God. What it fails to recognize is that Christ, in fact, came to redeem all creation – and  point to a new Kingdom: A new heaven and Earth. By personalising Jesus and forgetting the Kingdom, we have given people permission to rape and pillage the earth. After all, when it is all finished Jesus will come and take me away – game over. Isn’t that the case? Not really.

The first Adam was made a steward by God. His task was to tend the garden God had lovingly created (Gen 1:28). Dealing with our sin, the second Adam (Jesus)  recreated his body – us/the church – into redeemed stewards. When we fail to care for our environment we are discounting and minimising what Jesus came to do. Our sin impacts not just us but also our world. A redeemed child of God is called to live out this new life (by the power of the Spirit) but that new life also involves the world in which we live.

How can we bless our children? We can bless them by showing in our lives how big the Kingdom is. As heralds of that new creation, Christians are called to reveal the way we steward and care for our environment. Which, sadly, has too seldom been the case. It is a practical way of showing love and appreciation to God the creator and loving our neighbour.

So in short, we bless our kids by showing them that Christ’s death and resurrection is real because it shapes the very way we live, not just our “spiritual” lives but also our everyday, social, economic and environmental existence. If we did this of course, our environment would be blessed – because we care as Jesus did.

Categories: Bible, christian, Christianity, Church, Devotional, Environment, Family | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

An Appreciation for Walking

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Pieter Stok
Walking is time to be refreshed
and renewed.
The steps allow the mind
to wonder and plan,
ponder and create.
 
Every day is renewed with
fresh paces
for the feet
and the mind.
 
There is time alone with God,
self and creation.
 
When the journey ends
and the day begins,
renewal has begun.
 
I’m ready for anything!
 
Categories: Christianity, Church, Devotional, Poem, poetry, Reflections | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Church Bells In Orebro

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Pieter Stok

I can hear the morning church bells in Orebro, central Sweden. This doesn’t signify as much as one would hope. Christianity is now a fringe activity – relegated to the quaint customs department.

When we were in the Ostersunde museum a few days ago, one of the Swedes with us, an older man, constantly reminded the guide that Christianity was a living religion in Sweden, because she tended to speak of it in historical terms.

This morning Hetty and I read Psalm 37. This Psalm is a powerful reminder that the people of faith will be victorious, even though the enemy may seem strong. Here in Sweden, secularism and Islam seem to be the strong “faiths”.

In every church I have entered I have prayed for the leadership and congregation. May the time come again, when the bells ring out a vibrant and living “Hallelujah” to a faith in Christ that is widely embraced. Now it may seem a dream, but Psalm 37 reminds us of the victor and victory.

Categories: christian, Christianity, Church, Devotional, Faith | 2 Comments

A Quiet English Weekend

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Pieter Stok

This weekend we have had a quiet, by our standards, few days. We visited the Cowper Newton Museum in Olney on Saturday. This is a brilliant little museum celebrating the lives of two Christian men – a poet and a reformed sea captain turned Anglican minister. This museum pictures their lives and the era in which they lived.

That evening we dropped in unannounced at our friends Heather and Keith and their two daughters. The following morning, after walking through Bletchley, we attended Spurgeon’s Baptist church and renewed old relationships. In the afternoon, after a detour to the Eleanor Cross in Geddington (which included an unexpected guide by the local historian) we stayed with our friends John and Lin. They made us feel at home so we stayed an extra night. We also attended their delightful church in the evening – Baptist again. The music was warm and celebratory; the message to the point.

On Monday we did the tourist thing in London: the Eye, the Tower, a trip down the stone steps which badly bruised my thumb, the British Library with its amazing manuscripts, and the Museum of London – chasing Charles Dickens. We continued our Dickens research on Tuesday in Rochester.

Insights? Not too many. I was too relaxed. However, French and German student groups are ruder than any I have ever come across! The Tower of London with screaming German students may be a just cause for a … I think I am going to far.

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Past Glories

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Pieter Stok

After the heights of Calvinism in Geneva, we went to the Abbey of Cluny today. It is a magnificent complex of buildings whose influence ranged over the pre reformational world. This abbey was the mother from which many others were set up, in England and France. It was an amazing picture of medieval devotion. Today its zeal was muted by tourists and bored French school groups. From there we went to the magnificent Cathedral at Orleans whose patron saint is Joan of Arc – a martyr of the French nation. Like many Cathedrals there are beggars at the door. The question as to what to what to do bothers me.

Yesterday we passed an accident on a country road. There were police cars and emergency vehicles. Cars were being redirected around the accident. On the side of the road was a body bag with a body in it. For me this was a stark reminder of the calling we have to represent Christ. Death may come at any moment (especially on French and Spanish roads) but we need to have a relationship with Christ – nothing is more important than that!

Tomorrow we plan to go to Chartres Cathedral and from their to Belgium to see family.

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Moor and Christian

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Pieter Stok

I’m sitting in a restaurant in Cuenca, Spain writing this blog. We have had a most amazing four days. After traveling through Portugal we visited Sevilla, Granada, Cadiz and Cordoba. We travelled though Moor -Catholic history. The Real in Seville revealed a Moorish palace taken back by the Spanish. The Alhambra was rife with Moorish influence. However, the place that showed that intersection the most was the Mesquita in Cordoba. Here a Cathedral sits in the the heart of a Mosque. The beautiful cool Islamic mosque courtyard has been filled with a Cathedral. Very incongruous. It does reveal he relationship between Muslim and Christian over the centuries.

The Islamic influence is still clear to see in southern Spain.

A side point. If the Spanish government wants to reduce its debt, it should set up speed cameras. For most Spanish drivers, speed signs are suggestions. I am the slowest person on the roads.
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Easter Sunday in Santiago

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Today was Easter Sunday and we were in Santiago witnessing how the Catholic Church firing on all cylinders does it. Many words can describe it: spectacular, rich, all involving. The ritual was dramatic and beautifully presented. The robes were rich, the processional figures spectacular and the story well told. People of all ages were involved. The Bible story was told in detail.

With my very limited knowledge of Spanish, it was obvious that the gospel was proclaimed. But something was missing. I’ll write more about that later.

Then we started for the south via Portugal. We camped north of Lisbon.

Today, Monday, we marched on south as we want to see the southern cities of Seville, Cordoba, Cadiz and Granada. We went via a town in Portugal called ” Elvas” with a most amazing viaduct. We have arrived in Seville after finding a camping ground. The gps worked well but the camping grounds didn’t exist with our first two tries. Tomorrow we will visit Seville.

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Categories: Camino, christian, Christianity, Church, Faith | 6 Comments

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