Posts Tagged With: Devotion

Why Don’t My Kids Believe?

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Pieter Stok

“Why don’t my kids believe?” was an anguished cry that I heard too many times in my years as a pastor. The pain that parents suffer when they see their adult children leave faith and church can be unbearable. This is heightened when believing grandparents see their grandchildren grow up in this faith-less environment.

I have to start by saying that there is a mystery to faith and this issue cannot be solved with a formula. Also, every individual has a personal responsibility to come to the Lord. Having said that, there are things parents can do to make Prov 22:6 (Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.) come aliive in the Christian home.

The big danger of our age is inoculating our kids against faith through small doses. Our pluralist, post modern age ridicules the absolutism of Christianity. So there is a temptation to water down the Christian faith to make it more appealing to the world. Sadly, as our children grow up, this watered down faith seems irrelevant and tokenistic. Why? Because it is. Our watering down has indeed made the message irrelevant and empty.

Some possible solutions:

1. Parents must begin by living the word – not just mouthing it. Children can spot hypocrisy. Faith has to mean everything to you. No, you do not have to be perfect. If you stumble you also have a perfect opportunity to practise confession, forgiveness and grace in front of, and if it involves them, with, your children.

2. Faith teaching needs to be regular and solid. From the youngest age, regular devotional readings, Bible stories and later, Bible study should be part of the family culture. (Again a culture that is lived out and acted upon). The caveat is that this should not be done in a legalistic fashion, in a cold ritual, but as a living core value that is as normal as eating meals. Link the lessons and prayers with events, crises and the journey of the family. In other words, show that God is part of the family journey – ever present. The key thing I learned from observing my my dad when I was a child, was that in all his struggles with the lessons of Scripture, he was in a conversation with God. God was always real. He never doubted God even though he struggled with understanding all that God was saying to him. This observation taught me that God was real and present and someone I could talk to.

3. I must repeat myself. The faith practice of the family should not be conducted out of custom and superstition. Rather, it should relate to the activities, beliefs and and values of the family. God’s Word must shape the values and identity of the family from day one.

This does not take away from the child the need to make a commitment to the Lord. In fact, it lays a foundation upon which the child can make a faith filled, intelligent commitment. Will every child come to the Lord? Experience tells us that even in the most Godly families some children may chose to rebel. The truth that Proverbs 22:6 tells us is the wayward child is the exception. Fail to build the foundation, and the exception will be the child who does come to the Lord.

Categories: christian, Christianity, Church, Devotional | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

The Christmas Story seen from Refreshed Eyes – Part two

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Pieter Stok

The Divine

For the believer, the divine in Christmas is obvious. The magnificent prophecies of the Old Testament from Genesis 3 onward, all find their fulfilment in the crib at Bethlehem. All God’s purposes are discovered and revealed in Jesus.

But just stop and reflect for a moment. Take the place of a shepherd, wise man or inn keeper. What is it that occurs at this point in history? What do you see? What are you part of in these events? This isn’t arid theology, but rather, it is the true creator God revealing Himself in a way that no other (man made) god had ever imagined bringing hope and salvation to humanity. The birth of the Christ in the person of baby Jesus defies our human imagination.

In this act of grace and hope. We see God’s timing. This man/God was born at a pivotal point in history. A point when the word of hope could spread rapidly and effectively along the trade and military routes of the Roman Empire.

A meticulous God planned for this moment so that His creation would be renewed though His son. Nothing was left to chance. The choice of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, even Herod himself was part of his program of hope, salvation and the restoration of the kingdom.

For me, the most amazing truth is that God chose to intervene. The creator of the universe could just as easily have destroyed us all and started afresh. It is not as though we deserved anything. Salvation isn’t due to us. We are not owed grace. Yet He has extended that to us. For me, that is the divine, the inexplicable … the amazing and true!

If the people around the crib exemplify humanity. God’s planned and purposeful intervention of amazing grace, is the divine.

For the first half see Part 1 The Christmas Story seen from Refreshed Eyes

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The Christmas Story seen from Refreshed Eyes

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Pieter Stok

When re-reading the Christmas story it is easy to come with preconceived images. “Packaged” concepts of what the story is about. Over the last few weeks I have tried to re-read these stories with a fresh set of eyes.

The two over-riding words that struck me were: 1. Humanity and 2. Divinity.

In these Gospel stories we are confronted with the raw humanity of Mary; a young, frightened girl who has to deal with the consequences of God’s decision. There would the rumours, the gossip and the caring for a baby to deal with. There is the quiet dignified humanity  of Joseph, who having behaved properly towards his betrothed, is flung into a situation beyond his will and his making. Joseph takes this all in and behaves true to his gentle, caring, character.

There are the rough shepherds, vulnerable and open. They are the least of men but are some of the first to see God incarnate. You can imagine these rough men, embarrassed, awed and awkward, but overjoyed, wondering what to say or do next when they meet the young mother with her new baby. They don’t meet too many people – especially young mums and babies.

The wise men are different again. They followed their learning and instincts, but most of all the leading of the Holy Spirit. These were men whose hearts were open to God even though they came from outside the Jewish culture. These men were a portent of the millions to come to Christ over the next 2000 plus year from many different places and cultures.

God in the midst of humanity, God coming to us and dwelling among us, God as one of us. How amazing!

Next time: The Divinity.

Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Jesus | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Report Writing Day

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Pieter Stok

Today is Report Writing Day. We started the day with a staff breakfast of croissants, fruit salad, bacon … I digress!  Every semester the staff is given a day to write reports on all the students under their charge. Teachers trawl through their markbooks, revisit the behaviour comments they’ve made and then reflect on what they should write about the students.

Teachers don’t use the sarcastic comments they have filed away. “Johnny is trying, very trying.” “If Billy’s brains were gunpowder he wouldn’t have enough to blow is hair off”. And so forth. It is tempting to use these phrases at times but we want to keep our jobs.

Report writing, or its equivalent has become an integral part of modern day business. There are evaluations going on on all the time; productivity, efficiency, health and safety, profitability and a myriad of others.

Somehow they all pale into insignificance when we read about God’s Report Writing Day – often described in Scripture as the “Day of the Lord”. Matthew chapters 24 & 25 give us some of the most graphic, maybe even, chilling, accounts of this day. Here we read of the image of sheep and goats being separated, of wise and foolish virgins. They are all pointed metaphors/parables reminding us of the ultimate reality of the day.

We also discover that being righteous, that is, having come to faith in Christ and being covered by his righteousness, is not simply an action of the mouth. Being righteous is a lifestyle. It is exemplified by the person who helps the poor, the prisoner, the hungry and thirsty. This person does it because of the new life they are living in Christ. Christ, in fact, takes it one step further when he says, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matt25:40).

Jesus is not describing a “works salvation” but he is saying that a person’s new life in him will be reflected in a radically new life style.

Well, today is Report Writing Day, but will we be ready when God’s final “Report Writing Day” arrives?

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Immanuel

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Pieter Stok

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  Matt 1:23

Immanuel
God with us.
From Zion to earth
and birth to death,
the eternal to the temporal,
Holiness to sin.
 
Immanuel
in my daily work
and rest,
my highs
and lows,
the good and bad.
 
Emmanuel
when we wage war
and quarrel.
Personally and communally.
When we help or hinder.
When a child lives
or dies.
When nations and empires
rage
and fall.
 
Emmanuel
on my journey
by day or
by life,
my eyes open
or closed.
My life open or closed.
 
Emmanuel,
“I will never leave you or fosake you.”
 
Emmanuel,
will I leave you or forget you?
will we stumble
with our eyes shut to the light?
 
Emmanuel,
“Are you there?”
 
“God with us” 
You are!
Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Poem, poetry, The Christmas Poems | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Yahweh’s Fifth Word

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Pieter Stok

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your GHonor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.od is giving you. Deut 5:16

Half a lifetime ago I wrote a thesis on the Fifth Commandment. It was entitled, Yahweh’s Fifth Word. Its contention was that the Fifth Commandment is the foundational commandment for all human authority. In its unique position in the commandments it connects God’s vertical relationship with us, with our horizontal relationships with each other here on earth.

This pivotal word starts with parents. The family is the heart of God’s plan for authority. It must be taught, shown and practised in this setting. In God’s plan, the family then becomes the nursery for the exercise, including responsibility and submission, of Godly authority.

The challenge for the church in this rebellious age, is to reveal, declare and show what the healthy exercise of authority looks like. Our parents, teachers, employers and employees, and especially our  politicians need to see it in practice. Your family, your church is called to be a living representation of the way God exercises and wants us to exercise healthy authority. I believe, from a social perspective, that is a key challenge of our age.

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Is Anybody Listening?

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Pieter Stok

“… so that no one will malign the word of God.” Titus 2:5

When Paul encourages Titus, a friend and helper, he urges him to instruct the people of Crete to live in a way that honours the word of God that they profess. In the midst of the heathen culture of the day it was important that the representatives of Christ were seen to be different; following different values and living according to a different world view.

If we cast our eyes around and observe the people who call themselves representatives of Christ, today, what strikes us is that, often, too often, the world is shaping the values of the Christian and the Church. The world’s music, the world’s entertainment, even the world’s priorities (entertainment, pleasure, self importance et al.) too often form the shape of the church, rather than the opposite. Sadly we see it in some leaders of mega churches, T.V. evangelists, Christian media stars and … ourselves.

For the church to be an effective witness to, and alternative from, the world, it needs to reveal a radically alternate way of living, loving, marrying, raising families, working and doing business. In other words, what is required is a people who do not malign the word of God but live it intentionally and intently. We need to be an alternative, not more of the same. I find that Paul’s challenge to Titus resonates today. It is a word for 2011. But is anybody listening?

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The Shepherds – a narrative

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Pieter Stok
It was like any other night in winter.
We were alert.
The predators are always hungry in these months.
Lamb is always on their menu.
The cold, froze our words.
We were shivering
and then
we were still shivering
but now in fear.
Out of nowhere, 
well, the sky really,
this amazing light shone.
Day, in the middle of the night!
Shivering, trembling, cowering.
Paralysed.
Nothing to hide behind –
except sheep.
Even Big Jacob was jelly!
 
The bright being declared,
“Don’t be afraid,
I’ve come to give you news
of the Christ – the Messiah.”
 
It’s a baby!
In Bethlehem! 
 
So we bolted for Bethlehem,
The sheep could look after themselves,
for a while.
This news was too good to miss!
 
We found a mum, dad and baby,
by a feed trough,
and somehow,
as the mum, Mary
showed the baby to us,
we just knew, what the angel said was true.
She held God in her hands!
And our lives, and the world,
Would never be the same
again.
 

From the series: The Christmas Poems that I am working on at present.

 
Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Poem, poetry, The Christmas Poems | Tags: , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Where is Your Future?

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Pieter Stok

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Do You Ever Feel Like a Clutz?

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Pieter Stok

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Psalm 119:15

The Weaver

Weaving has a long tradition in the Bible. In Exodus we are told that the Tabernacle curtains were woven, in Psalm 139 the psalmist writes of God weaving us together in the depths of the earth and, of course, Jesus’ tunic at the time of his crucifixion was woven, seamlessly .

Why am I writing about weaving? Well, my wife of many talents is adding this skill to her list of craft abilities. Every time she expands her skills I feel like more of a clutz, but it also reminds me that God has made us all unique and special. Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory reminds us that we all have areas of gifting/smarts/intelligence. Really, however, God has been telling us that all along in His Word.

In the Psalms, David tells us that we have been wonderfully  made. In fact, much of Psalm 139 reminds us that we are special to God. There are echoes in this Psalm of the fact that we were made in God’s own image. We are not rubbish to be thrown away. Even though we have rebelled and sinned against God, the God of Psalm 119 sent His son to die on the cross in our place.

Like me, you may at times feel like a clutz, or a failure or unworthy – supply your own put down, but as God’s creation and with the possibility, in Christ, of being His renewed creation, there is not no need for any of these feelings. So when you feel like a clutz, return to Psalm 119 and be reminded by the Psalmist how special you are.

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