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The Tough Times

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  2 Corinthians 12:9

The Road Will Not Always Be Easy

I find this one of the most confronting passages in Scripture because it tells me that rough and tough times are part of the Christian’s journey. There will be sadness, sorrow and pain on our pilgrimage through this world. Worst still, we can’t expect a bed of roses as a matter of course. In fact, easy times will be the exception rather than the rule.

This truth was brought home to me recently through a number of circumstances: a young child fighting cancer, another with leukemia and a parent with a fatal illness. Three families – three battles – three pictures of overwhelming sadness; good people going through exceptionally difficult struggles.

But there is also the promise of this text. Through these struggles, God’s love upholds us – enables us to bear these griefs – but even greater, they enable Christ to be revealed in our lives. Tough love!

Christ is also the ultimate hope. The struggles won’t last. The grief will not remain. After the pilgrimage is ended there is a place of completion and perfection awaiting God’s children. Joy and fullness will be the result. That is worth holding out for!

In the meantime, the journey may get very rough at times.

Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Reflections, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 8 Comments

Why Does Creation Matter?

In his thought provoking book Seven Days That Divide The World Dr. John Lennox concludes in an appendix challenging Theistic Evolution:

And why does it matter anyway? Is this not a case of Christians getting involved in an irrelevant sideshow? I do not think so, especially in light of the current insistence on the part of many atheists that there is nothing special about human beings, since they have been produced by precisely the same blind and unguided process as any other species. The status of human beings is no small matter.

Zondervan. Seven Days That Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science (p. 166). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Dr. Lennox reminds us that if we compromise the truth of Scripture we leave fissures that others will exploit in their attempt to destroy God’s truth.

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Be Holy

In 1 Peter 1:15 & 16 he writes:

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;  for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

This is a direct reference to Leviticus 11:44 &45. Holiness is such a foreign concept for our age. The spirit of our times is, “if it feels good, do it!”  Principles, values and consequences have very little place in our Western lifestyle. It would be easy to drag out a litany of examples but sadly I don’t need to because we are all fully aware of what I mean. It is pervasive.

But the biggest tragedy is that God’s children are not immune. We too are tainted by our age. Statistics show that lifestyle choices in the church are not radically different from the rest of the world.

God’s command is an immensely important one. We are to be holy because we are called to reflect the one who redeemed us. Our lives are to be witnesses of God and what he has done in Christ. Our lives are called to be living examples of the power of the gospel.

When we fail to grow in holiness our lives mock God. By not growing in holiness our lives say to the world, “Really, the gospel is not that influential. The power that Paul speaks of is not that life changing.”

The most powerful witness that the body of Christ has, is to live the radical life changing power of the gospel! All our words,sermons and pamphlets will come to naught if our neighbours do not see the change the gospel has wrought in us.

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The Life Livers

A new term begins.
The same faces
struggling up the final incline of
the school year.
 
What new skills,
knowledge or values
will be grasped?
Will visions and aspirations grow,
future possibilities emerge,
self awareness refine?
The work ethic,
for some, will be blindly poor,
but others see challenge and work
as a personal test
and a means of gaining
mental weight and stamina –
muscles for living life fully and well.
 
The future is hard,
for some, to glimpse.
Even tomorrow is vague –
too far distant.
Then there are the
“Life livers” for whom
tomorrow means
unknown but exciting
possibilities and potential
to be chased down
and grasped
with both passionate hands!
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Wilpena Panorama

It are the unexpected joys that one encounters on a trip that are often the highlights. We encountered one this morning. (In fact I wrote this two days ago but we were wireless less)

In the small South Australian town of Hawker, just south of the Flinders Ranges is a beautiful panorama of Wilpena Pound. Painted by local artist, Jeff Morgan, it is a picture of the area from St. Mary’s Peak. It is well worth visiting the website and Jeff’s own page. If you are ever in the area a visit to the actual panorama is a must!

http://m.wilpenapanorama.com/Wilpena-Panorama.html

One sign declared, “Creation, God’s First Missionary.”

That about says it all.

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We Find It Everywhere

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:26

A Cemetery in Alesund Norway

One of my more macabre pastimes is to visit cemeteries. They are a fount of history and stories. We can learn much about places and people from headstones.

But the point is, they are everywhere. There is no escaping them. Towns, villages, cities and rural areas all have them. They can be found on the outskirts of town, next to churches, in churches and even in prisons. I have found these sober reminders of our mortality in all sorts of places. Simply put, millions have gone before us.

Why is it that so many of us live as though death doesn’t exist, or that it doesn’t matter?

A Pilgrims’ Cemetery on the Camino to Santiago

1 Corinthians 15 is the Apostle Paul’s wonderful exploration and apologetic for the reality of the resurrection. He declares that for the believer “death has lost its sting”. Sadly, for many, the sting hasn’t been removed from death because they refuse to rely on Christ – the sting remover.

Cemeteries are a constant reminder for me of what Christ has done but also a challenge to seek and find the lost before it is too late.

Burial Mounds at Gamla Uppsala Sweden

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With all the trivia available for iPhones and iPads, here is an app that has lasting value!

The Cidrìe's avatarA Twisted Crown of Thorns ®

There’s an iPhone and iPad app (there’s an android version too) called the “Fighter Verse App” that many Christian parents are finding helpful in aiding to memorise Scripture. The Paquettes have used it and here is their conclusion:

In order for us to be intentional about our kids memorizing Scripture this year, James and I have sat down and made a plan through December. During carpool to school each morning, (approx. 8 minutes), we use this time to have our girls memorize Scripture. For 3 years now, they have memorized over 50 verses. After we made the plan, I thought, why not post it on my blog so others can follow along too, or ask me about it to make sure we are keeping up [also see video above]!

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The Already and Not Yet

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus … Ephesians 2:6

Image courtesy: Nadeau’s Auctions. 

When I was five years old we lived in a small country town where phone numbers were between one and one hundred and everybody knew everybody. There was a General Store that supplied all our needs from cereal to rakes.

As we were recent immigrants, money was scarce and every penny (pre-decimal days) had to be turned over twice. On a high shelf of the General Store was the “toy department”. It had cars, dolls and games. But there was also one big red Tonka tow truck. It was every young boy’s dream. I left my mother in no doubt that I liked this truck. However the answer was always the same. We can’t afford it.

So each time we went shopping, as my mother stood at the counter I would wander off and stare wistfully at the red truck. Then horror! One day it was gone. I was shattered. All my dreams had disappeared in one cruel blow. That was it!

A few days later I was trawling through a cupboard looking for something when I noticed a brown paper parcel. On closer inspection the contents had torn one small corner open and I noticed the hook end of a red tow truck.

Mum had bought the truck! I knew it was mine. My brother had not been born and my dad was too old. It was mine! Oh the joy!. There was one problem. My birthday was not for another few months. So I had to wait to receive the present. But the truck was mine!

In some ways our place in heaven is like that. As Ephesians tells us, we are already seated with Christ in heavenly realms. Because Jesus is there, we are there. That is a reality. On the other hand we have not seen it or received it clearly yet. We are still waiting for God’s call. In the meantime we can rejoice at the reality and the anticipation.

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Of all the posts I have made over the last twelve months, it is the post above that has been read the most. I am intrigued to know what motivates people to search this topic. Why is “Christian Education” such a regular search phrase?

Pieter Stok's avatarTravels from Ur

  1. Sound Christian Education takes the Bible seriously.
  2. Truth is seen as absolute.
  3. Christian Education believes a Christian worldview can make a positive difference.
  4. It gives students a strong foundation in a world of shifting values and morals.
  5. Christian Education recognizes God’s sovereignty and Christ’s Kingship, and …
  6. therefore God’s claims over all of creation are taken seriously.
  7. No subject or curriculum is outside the orbit of God.
  8. Students are recognised for who they are: sinners in need of God’s grace in Christ.
  9. Also students are given a vision of God’s Kingdom and their place in it.
  10. Good Christian education recognises the unique, God given gifts and talents of the students and
  11. challenges them to achieve their amazing potential.
  12. It assists parents in their God given mandate.
  13. Sound Christian Education treats the student as a whole person whose aim is to grow in Christ-likeness..
  14. A foundation in God and His world…

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Obituary of Gabriel Antoine Vahanian

The name in the title may not ring a bell but for those who are my age and older the debate he and his colleagues started will. In 1961 he wrote The Death of God: The Culture of Our Post-Christian Era. This started, the poorly named, “God is dead debate”. We may not have always liked the answers but many of the questions he and his colleagues raised are still important and in a real sense were a portent of the era in which we now live.

The following is his obituary from the NY Times (via The Age):

Gabriel Antoine Vahanian 1927-2012.

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