Faith

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

Activate Sim

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Pieter Stok
Insert Sim in device.
Change access point
Modify settings.
Ensure carrier selected.
Switch data roaming “on”.
Go to website.
Enter code
… and personal details.
Test settings.
 
Congratulations
Your Sim is activated.
You are now connected.
 
But life
is not that straight forward.
The number is sometimes smudged
on its plastic case
and the code hard to enter.
Testing the settings,
and activating
Life
and achieving high data rates
and clear reception is not always 
that easy,
or clear.
 
But Lord,
thankfully
your “helpline”
is always available!
 
 
 
 

 

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Every New Day … God

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail … Zephaniah 3:5

We may be fickle at times but God isn’t.

This text is both uncomfortable and comforting. It tells us that God will not let sin go unpunished. His eyes are “too pure to look on evil” (Hab 1:13). Sin must be dealt with as it is rebellion against God but also the cause of death and decay.

The comforting side is that on one of the “new days” a Saviour would come to deal with our sin, and therefore the consequences.

So what what makes this text either comforting or disturbing? Simply, our relationship with God. Have we come to him in faith so He can take great delight in us and sing over us (Zeph 3:17) or, like many in Israel at the time of our text, plus their surrounding neighbours, are we living in rebellion and denial of Him?

Is this text a comfort or confrontation? Your choice.

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

Answers

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Pieter Stok
There was a time
I had an answer for everything.
Theology, Life,
the “right” thing to do,
and I had an
“informed” opinion.
I was quick,
(now I say, hasty)
to bless others with
my astute and “learned” mind.
And then life came.
Real life.
With dilemmas and conundrums
grey areas,
tough and impossible choices.
And life came with
death, and pain,
sorrow and grief,
parting and separation.
My earlier answers didn’t fit,
or work
or fulfill.
The words just added to the
emptiness.
Now I find that
faith and hope
contentment and security
family and friends
outweigh
past certainties.
Childlike faith
outshines
adult arrogance.
Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Poem, poetry, Uncategorized | 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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Shout for Joy

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Psalm 100:1

This is a familiar refrain in the Psalms. It is obviously important.

Where should this expression of joy begin? I would suggest it begins with the people of God. “Joy” should be the Christian’s signature – his or her defining quality. I know in my own life this isn’t regularly true and when I look around me at the Christians I know, for most, this seems to be a struggle. Some brothers and sisters seem to have the gift of “joy” but most of us are, if not Sad Sacks, not the poster children of a glorious God either.

But what a challenge! What an amazing witness it would be if we lived the challenge of Psalm 100:1. In the New Testament Philippians 4:4 echoes a similar thought: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Whatever our circumstances our relationship with God is greater and overcomes any circumstance that life may throw at us.

I have also noticed that genuinely joyful people are infectious. Are we living in such a way that when our neighbours see us they want what we have?

So are you shouting with joy and rejoicing? If not, why not start now?

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

It’s Windy Today!

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Pieter Stok
It’s windy today.
Very windy.
Trees are buffeted,
with branches flailing about.
Leaves scurrying. 
 
Walking home
(I’m on a fitness binge)
I was thrown about
by its punchy fury
feeling like a rag doll
in the hands of an angry child.
 
It is strange
how
the wind
causes unease and discomfort.
Not just physical
but also emotional.
Dare I say,
“Spiritual?”
For no apparent reason
uncertainty
and paranoia
creep about
in my heart and mind.
 
Wild winds
like wild waves
make me feel small
and frail in the world.
 
But then I remember a wind
and flames
that said,
“God is here!”
It calms me
once again.
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Model Trains and Life

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Pieter Stok

I did something yesterday that I hadn’t done before. I went to a model train exhibition. Shaun’s “Pop” had created a model railway in an old suitcase. He had another in a briefcase – even finer and smaller. It was very impressive. Many of the exhibitions were amazing to behold: a combination of hobby, craft, technology and imagination.

These people obviously had a passion for model trains that far outweighed any simple curiosity I had. Once again I see a lesson in this and it relates back to the posts I have written on family. If only we put the same time, energy, enthusiasm and care into the nurturing of our kids. I am sure that each individual who built the layouts, the engines and the trains didn’t learn their skills over night. They worked and worked until they got it right.

Our families deserve the same passion and endurance, and more.

P.S. I loved the way that dads and their children were mutually mesmerised by the exhibition. You could see father and child enjoying its wonder together. This too, is another lesson!

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The Church in the 21st Century

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Pieter Stok

In this post I want to reflect on two books that I read over the summer holiday break – one from the UK and one from Australia. They both tackle the same issue: the relevance and mission of the church today.

Everyday Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis (IVP, 2011) continues on from an earlier book Total Church . The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and  Tony Payne (Matthais Media 2009) looks at how churches are often busy maitaining the trellis upon which the vine should live but forget about nurturing the very plant that should grow upon it. The metaphor suggests that we are so involved in institution and organisation, we lose sight of the mission of the church.

I am not going to summarise the books, rather, if you are interested in the health of the church I encourage you to read these challenging and practical books for yourself.

Everyday church is a study of 1 Peter and applies these lessons to us today. It asks, what should characterise church, how should it appear to the world in which we live and how do we the live the gospel in that world? It urges followers of Christ to be an active leaven in the environment in which God has placed us. Whereas the Everyday Church comes from more of a “home church” background, The Trellis and the Vine confronts the church as most of us would know it. It suggests a paradigm shift for those in pastoral and leadership roles which emphasises “equipping the saints” rather  being the “service providing” clergyman.

The reason that I don’t want to précis these books is because both are valuable and have many practical lessons. They need to be read, studied and digested, if not by every church member, certainly by every church leader and person interested in the health of the church.

My challenge: read these books and ask, how the health, vision and impact of your part of the body of Christ can be invigorated?

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