Faith

Commit Your Ways to The Lord

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Pieter Stok
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this. Psalm 37 Verse 5

This verse sits above a building in the Stortorget in Stockholm’s Gamla Stan. As people were sipping their coffee outside the cafes with Ikea blankets on their knees (it was Stockholm in early May after all) this verse spoke silently.

The reason this verse struck me was that it confronts C21st sensibilities. The verse does not say trust in: your popularity, your money, your intelligence, your good looks, your broker etc. It calls us to humble ourselves before God and to acknowledge him as Creator and Ruler over all things.

Psalm 37 reminds us that evil is a real force for destruction and corruption in the world. Evil desires to destroy all that is godly. For many today this is an alien concept, but is real none the same. We do not have took far to see evil eating away at government, business, families, relationships and more.

The antidote lies in the verse that a person in Stockholm put above the front door in 1620. “Trust in the Lord”. That is, trust in God’s solution, which simply put, is a faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. The message is so simple, but sadly, not heeded by many in today’s society whose “sophistication” puts such a faith beneath their dignity .

As I stood in the Stortorget I wondered, “How do we return to a time and attitude where we would be proud to place a verse above our house in the town square, for all to see, that declares what we know and believe to be truth?”

Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

A Unique Archaeological Experience

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Pieter Stok

I want to stay in Calvin’s town of Geneva for another post. While visiting Geneva, which included trips to the Reformation Wall  and the Reformation Museum, I also came across a most unique archaeological experience – a visit under  Saint-Pierre Cathedral (St Peter’s Cathedral).

The archaeology under the Cathedral has unearthed infromation going back millenia. It tells us a story of Geneva from early times, through the Roman period and into the arrival and development of Christianity.

The uniqueness of this site is that it is under the Cathedral. The Cathedral has been structurally underpinned so that the visitor can explore the history underneath. It is beautifully presented and the information is extensive and yet presented in an easily accessible manner.

Their own website can be accessed at: http://www.site-archeologique.ch/contenu.php?id-node=2  Any visit to Geneva will not be complete with out encountering this unique experience.

The most exciting aspect for me, a Christian, was to see the development of Christianity and some of its practices (e.g. baptism) develop and mutate over time. A more sobering reminder was how in Western countries in general, the accepted faith in Christ which grew over many years has been diluted in such a short space of time in recent generatiuons.

The site under St Pierre is a reminder that history and archaeology need not be dry and dusty. In fact it proves that it can be aesthetic, immediate and enticing.

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The Legacy of John Calvin

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Reformation Wall – Geneva

Recently I achieved a long held aim to visit the Reformation memorial in Geneva. This memorial celebrates the key men of the Reformation in Geneva and beyond. On reflection, I asked myself why I was so keen to see it.

The answer lies in the messages I heard as I grew up.  The message that the Word of God – Scripture, is God’s word to us and the basis for our knowledge of Him as well His will for our lives, was drummed into me from an early age. In time, this truth was one that I grew to believe for myself.

It was John Calvin, also known as the “Reformer of the Holy Spirit”, who struggled to return people to that message at the time of the Reformation. Church tradition, our own mystical and rebellious beliefs, then as now,  must be confronted by and conformed to the Word of God.

Calvin was unrelenting in his views. One of the great cries of the Reformation was Sola

The Word in Hand

Scriptura – Scripture alone. In our post modern age where everybody’s opinion, no matter how bizarre, “has value” Calvin’s words may well be the antidote.

Calvin, like us, wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes. But his legacy to us is that we need to know God’s Word and apply it to our lives with passion and vigour – and without excuse.

At a time when the fabric of society is unravelling, when relationships are fleeting and absolutes are being diluted, in effect when our solutions haven’t worked, a return to “Sola Scriptura” may just be the way to go!

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

A Pilgrim Was I …

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. Psalm 84:5

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles … 1 Peter 2:11

A pilgrim was I, and a wandering,
In the cold night of sin I did roam,
When Jesus the kind Shepherd found me,
And now I am on my way home.
Chorus:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life;
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever,
And I shall feast at the table spread for me;
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life.
Verse 2:
He restoreth my soul when I’m weary,
He giveth me strength day by day;
He leads me beside the still waters,
He guards me each step of the way.
Verse 3:
When I walk through the dark lonesome valley,
My savior will walk with me there;
And safely His great hand will lead me
To the mansions He’s gone to prepare.

John W. Peterson & Alfred B. Smith

Categories: Bible, Camino, christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Larsson and Sorolla: A Study in Priorities

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Pieter Stok

From the Sorolla Museum, Madrid

Let me begin by saying that I am not art expert. I belong to the “I know what I like” school of art. A school that many critics would deride.

Through my wife’s influence I have encountered two artists who impress me. The first is Joaquín Sorolla (27 February 1863 – 10 August 1923) and the other is Carl Larsson (May 28, 1853 – January 22, 1919). The first Spanish and the second a Swede. I doubt if they ever met.

What impresses me about these two men, is that what is important in their lives permeates their art. They cannot stop their passions being predominant in their work. And in both cases, the recurring theme is wife and family. Both men have so many works that celebrate family life – both formal and informal. The children, celebrations, family life, sadness and happiness are all revealed unapologetically in their art.

Breakfast Under the Big Birch Tree

You can visit the homes of both men in Madrid and Sundborn, and nearly a century later, family warmth still exudes from these places.

Both artists also reveal a connection with faith; Catholic and Lutheran. I cannot judge their hearts but it is clear that faith and its expression was a core part of each family.

Matt 6:21 states: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

From the Sorolla Museum, Madrid

In a century’s time, if people were to explore and research our lives what would they deduce about our passions and priorities? Would it be obvious or vague? Distilled or ravelled? Would they find an example of C21st ego-centrism or someone unique and special, whose character defied the spirits of the age.

If anyone were (foolish enough) to look for a trace of me in years to come, I hope their conclusion would be that I was an imperfect man who had a passion for faith and family.

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It Was a Good Idea At The Time …

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Pieter Stok

On the 10th of August 1628 the pride of the Swedish navy, the Vasa, glided magnificently from its berth in Stockhom into the harbour. The dignitaries and royalty on board were impressed as the sails billowed out and this brand new ship sped forth. After 1300 metres a gust of wind caught it. The ship rolled, water rushed into the open gun ports and the Vasa plummeted to the bottom of Stockholm harbour, not to see the sky again until it was dredged up in 1961.

Today it can be seen in the beautiful Vasa Museum in Stockholm. The wonderful craftsmanship, the carved figures and the ornate stern are there for us to wonder at.

The story goes, that the king was so eager to show off his ship that it was not properly equipped with ballast. Hence things went awry. The Swedes, at the time, were so ashamed, the ship was not spoken of again.

It is such a human story. Pride, carelessness, impetuousness, lack of foresight and so on. I am sure we have all been guilty of some or all of these at some time. In the Vasa case it cost lives, national pride and of course, one brand new warship. (Today, however, it is making money as the top tourist attraction in Stockholm.)

For me, this story reminds me that God is aware of my human frailty. He is aware of my failures and stumbles. Yet, he still loves me. Even my worst failures have been dealt with by his son. He has even forgiven the disasters that my brokenness has caused.  That is a comfort beyond words.

Back to the Vasa. I wonder what the ship builders and artisans thought when the boat they had lovingly crafted for months, disappeared under the waves? Their work was irredeemable. Lost, they thought, for ever. They had little idea that it would become a money making tourist attraction.

We too, need not be hopeless. Christ can take us, you and me, and make us new again.

Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Getting a Perspective

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Pieter Stok

When we were near Tarifa in Spain, my wife got very excited by the fact she could see Africa – namely, Morocco.

20120517-220454.jpg

She got that excited that later she lost her glasses in the sea. (That, of course, would hamper her perspective!)

Perspective is a wonderful thing. It opens up vistas and horizons. We look beyond ourselves. We look with a framework, a plan or map and we see how various things, places and etc. fit together. It saddens me how many people I meet who have no perspective. They are focused on the here and now, in a very limited and temporal sense.

When we looked across the straits, we got out a map (on the iPad) to make sure it was Africa we were peering at and not just across the bay to another part of Spain. We needed a sense of direction to give our perspective an anchor or starting point.

My map, the anchor or starting point that enables me to have direction in my life is the Bible – the Word of God. Without it I would be stumbling in the dark in every facet of my life. It enables me to get a perspective on the past, present and future. The temporal and spiritual also also find their focus point in the Word of God.

It never ceases to amaze and encourage me that people with this perspective seem able to withstand amazing tragedies and traumas in their lives. Their view of what life is, and means, is not tied to the moment, but to eternity and God.

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Jesus in Bubblewrap

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Jesus in Bubble-Wrap

In the magnificent Cathedral/Mosque, the Mesquita in Cordoba, we came across a bizarre sight in one of the alcoves.

Large representations of Jesus and Mary, which had obviously been used for the Easter festivals, were wrapped in bubble-wrap protecting them until next year’s celebration.

Being an English teacher, I see metaphors in most things, but this metaphor was screaming at me!

For me it was a picture of how Jesus is so often treated: the Jesus of Christmas and Easter or the Jesus who comes out at hard times and forgotten about when things are OK. The token Jesus. The aspirin Jesus.

Even those of us who profess a strong faith have times when we remember to pray with a passion, only, because there is an issue that needs to be dealt with in our lives. At other times we have placed Jesus in “bubble-wrap”.

The image in Cordoba was a reminder for me personally, to be aware of how I treat our Lord. I am his child, He is not at my beck and call. Jesus is my 24/7 Lord, not my occasional remedy.

So from now on, whenever I see this picture from Cordoba I will be asking myself some hard questions. Maybe I should hang it on my study wall …

Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Jesus | Tags: , , , | 6 Comments

Public Statuary and Remembrance

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Pieter Stok

A Part of the Battle of Britain Memorial

I will always remember the “Battle of Britain” memorial on the Embankment along the Thames in London. As I was looking for it, I slipped and fell down a set of stone steps and, as I have just found out, broke my my thumb.

Putting my thumb aside, my question is this, “How effective will this memorial be in reminding Britons of their “finest hour”? I ask this because in a different arena, Europe is saturated in Christian  statuary but the Christian message is in decline. Statues and crosses, or even church buildings are not necessarily effective means of keeping the gospel alive.

Memorials are only as effective as the message that is attached to them remains fresh and alive. The 12 stones that Israel took from the middle of the Jordan as they crossed into the Promised land, didn’t stop their slide into rebellion. The Jews needed to keep their relationship with God real and personal.

Christians, the “living stones”, have the challenge of living out the gospel message and drawing people to it with our words and lives. At best, memorials are only teaching aids – never a substitute.

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As the Travels Draw To A Close

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Six weeks of travel are drawing to a close. In that time we have walked part of the Camino, traveled to the Arctic Circle, and visited friends and family. We have driven, and flown, thousands of kilometres. But there have been other journeys. Our marriage has reached 38 years and we still discover more about each other every day – especially in the tense traveling moments! There are the journeys of family and friends; the illnesses, the ethical dilemmas, the faith questions and so on. Each of these becomes a mirror we can hold up to ourselves and ask, “How would I respond? How would I deal with the issues and problems?” Often times there are no simple answers and no black and white truths.

Our lives have intersected with others: sometimes fleetingly – the grumpy Spanish waiter, the traffic police who caught me using a bus lane, fellow campers and many others. Even that fleeting moment can leave an impression. How did we respond to the grumpy waiter or the unhelpful garage attendant – especially when we were lost or seemingly helpless?

Our lives are enriched by experiences and our responses to them. So as I fly home on the last leg from Kuala Lumpur, the question I must wrestle with is: how will, or can this accumulation of experiences and events make me a better person, or more importantly, more Christlike.

The range of questions is as varied as the people we met and situations we encountered. For example, there are fellow evangelicals to support in Barcelona. Or, how should I respond to the beggars at nearly every door of the large churches across much of Europe? Are there ways my view of the world can assist my own society at home grapple with its demons. And how has all this advanced my understanding of God?

Now the busy-ness is over, and life returns to normal, there is much to reflect, and act, upon.

Categories: Devotional, Faith, Reflections, Travel | Leave a comment

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