Hidden Strength

This sloping roadway is part of the improvements to the Orana Mall in Dubbo. The whole extension work is world class and cost some 23 million dollars. Hundreds of cars make use of this up ramp that leads to roof top parking from where the shoppers can go down into the Mall via a lift or escalator.

Probably most people driving up this incline don’t give a thought to the work that went into its construction but as you can see in these two photos it didn’t “just happen”; tons of steel reinforcement were used in the concrete and the bracings underneath held it in position until it was strong enough to stand alone. None of this was guesswork either, as Architects and Engineers have worked out what is necessary and the information is all contained in books relating to the “Building Requirements Code”. Building Engineers, although trained in University still have to refer to these books to refresh their memories and keep in-touch with the Architect who planned it all as the work progresses, because they cannot remember every detail. This is the very reason that we also need to continually refer to the “Requirements Code” book for living (called the Bible) because guesswork is not good enough.  Circumstances are continually changing for us and without a daily “refresher course” we are bound to make some dreadful mistakes. Therefore, keeping in-touch with God (the “Architect” who designed us) is essential.

 If we are parents we need to look at the second photo and lay reinforcement in our children’s lives as directed in the scriptures, thus we will “Bring up a child in the way he shall go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”. The support shown in the third photo is the equivalent of the support that a child will receive in Sunday School, Church and Christian Youth Clubs, and just as support is absolutely necessary until concrete sets, so it is absolutely necessary for the child and young person as they “rub Shoulders” with unacceptable behaviour in the community and in the electronic media.

Of course we must also set a good example ourselves or we may place a “stumbling block” in their path. Jesus said if we do “it would be better if we had never been born”. Therefore, if we have done this we must repent. The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy Chapter 11 and Verse 18 (written several thousand years ago) says “Commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine….teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” When I was young there was a plaque on our kitchen wall that read “Christ is the head of this house, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation”. Which was a sobering thought that complied with the above, and interestingly I remember it 70 years later.

To put this into context for to-day Proverbs 13:24 says “Those who love their children care enough to discipline them”. (New Living Bible). One of these disciplines is to take them to church from the week they are born. Another is to pray with them before they leave for school each day and read the 23^rd or 91^st Psalm with them. Then obtain a book of bible stories and read a story to them at bed time as you pray with them. Then when you are out and see a tree, a flower or an animal, point out how wonderfully God made it. You will also have to “text” God continually with prayer to help you. This may sound a lot, but Audrey and I did everything in this last paragraph and it worked. So I can highly recommend it. Best wishes with that, Tom.

Did I hear you say “I’m not a parent?” Well one day you might be, but if that is not likely or possible then please pass this on to someone who is, or might be.

Remarkable Workmanship

This remarkable web was constructed in one night by the spider that you can almost see in the centre. The web is about 1 meter in diameter and its main anchor points are the top of a gate nearly 2 meters from the ground (on the left) and the top of the building on the right (about 3 meters from the ground) both these points are about 4 meters apart so it would have had to fasten the web at one point (say, the gate) then drop to the ground and run to the other post, climb it and then pull the thread tight before it could begin construction. On the other hand the spider may have climbed the tall post, attached a wad of web to its thread and let the wind float it across to the gate, either way it had to have a good engineering plan in mind and also had to have anchor points at the bottom of the web to fasten the “spokes” to. Those “spokes” look like pizza slices they radiate from the centre like the bracings in an umbrella and are made of non sticky thread which enables the spider to move around on the web without getting caught itself (it also has an oily substance on its skin to help prevent the sticky web from being a problem). You see the spider has 2 spinnerets, one producing sticky silk which it uses in the circular part of the web to catch insects and the other producing ordinary silken thread. Which simply means that it has a very well designed laboratory in its tiny body manufacturing all that web and making either type available upon demand.

The question that arises is: “How can this little creature be so wonderfully designed and how can a little brain the size of a pinhead have such engineering ability?”  Obviously God designed it and programmed its little “microchip” brain.  Our God is incredible; Jesus spoke about this sort of thing with statements like: Consider the lilies of the field ” and pointed out that King Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these”, and went on to say that if God does that for the lilies, how much more will He care for you and me if we have faith in Him. He also mentioned the birds and how our Heavenly Father feeds them.   Indeed wherever we look we see evidence of God’s handiwork and care. However we often overlook the fact that He made you and me in “His image and likeness. He didn’t “program” us to act as robots, but fitted us out with wonderful brains and a free will in the hope that we would fellowship with Him by “texting” Him constantly with prayer. The Apostle Paul says “see that none render evil for evil unto anyone; but ever follow that which is good, both among your-selves, and to all people. Rejoice ever more. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 15, in the New Testament).

And 1 John 4:19 points out that “we love God because He first loved us” and that is logical when we think about it. He gave us wonderful brains to think with; sent Jesus to be crucified in order to pay the debt we couldn’t pay for having sinned (a debt that would keep us out of Heaven); and He wants us to communicate with Him so he can guide our lives. That sounds to me to be a good reason for loving our God and spending time sharing with Him. What do you think?  Isn’t that a terrific privilege?     Best wishes, Tom.

 

 

 

Born Again

The Jacaranda trees on this semi –trailer take up its full length and have a girth as thick as my thigh so they are very advanced trees. They are being given a new home in a park in Dubbo, having been transported from Brisbane in Queensland. They will now have a new life in nice surroundings where they will be kept well watered and cared for as they develop a new root system and start to draw their sustenance from rich

healthy soil. Thus they will develop to their full potential and have lovely shade, like this one on the right that is already established in the same street. When they are in flower they will be admired by thousands of people passing by. The transition has not been, and will not be, easy for them. However, as you can see they must have been grown in poor soil under difficult conditions, therefore the end result of all this transplanting will make it all very worthwhile for them.

There are lots of people in this city (and in Australia generally) who are undergoing a similar transition, having been uprooted and “transplanted” from the country where they were born to settle in this new land. That can be difficult too as Australia is based on Christian teaching which many new comers don’t understand. But like the trees as they put their roots down in this new land and enjoy its freedom with all the possibilities for them and their families, they too will find it all very rewarding.  My Dad did this when he came here because he ignored “Multiculturalism” (which divides people into groups) and adopted assimilation. He learnt the language, married an Aussie and refused to even teach us children the Russian or Polish languages, whilst adopting the attitude that the past is past, and it is the future that matters.

This is very much like what happens when we become a Christian. The Bible puts it like this: “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold all things have become new”. The very thought of this transition often holds people back from making a commitment to Christ because we don’t like change.  I suppose if trees could think, those Jacarandas might have held back when they realised they were being offered a completely new environment. The migrants and refugees mentioned earlier could have been apprehensive too. However we know that they both now have a wonderful future ahead of them, just as Christians look to an Eternal future. You see, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life”. Now that is good news! Certainly there will be changes for the person who has been living a life to please himself without reference to God, but they are ‘automatic’ changes, because when we suddenly realise that we are sinners in God’s sight and are on our own, (having Hell as our eternal destination), we feel completely lost, and rightly so, because we are lost. However when we also realise that God sent Jesus to be deliberately crucified to pay the price of all our sin and has also sent His Holy Spirit to be our “helper” and guide, it is a normal response for us to be overwhelmed with gratitude, A change then takes place in our life so that we want to co-operate with this loving God and do his will which is clearly set out in His instruction book called the New Testament. In there we find statements like Ephesians 3:17 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith: that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” Now this is just a snippet from this great love letter from God to you and me; we need to read it all in order to grasp the unbelievable riches that are ours for the accepting.          Best wishes,  Tom.

 

 

Positions Vacant

 

I just couldn’t resist taking a photo of this lovely Lilly growing in amongst these ferns in my daughter’s garden, it was a dull day so the ferns didn’t show up as brightly in the background as they did some weeks later when I took the second photo of the lilies seed pods. It is hard for you to see here, but only 2 of the flowers set seeds, each pod having about 3 seeds. I think 9 flowers actually opened so from the plants point of view that was a disappointing result. Why the poor result? Well the trouble is that in the part of Dubbo City where they are growing there are just not enough bees to cater for all the flowers. I have titled this article “Positions Vacant” partly because if there are any bees out of work anywhere there is a job available here.

2000 years ago Jesus pointed out that He had “Positions Vacant” too and from what He said, He probably had in mind a better result than the lilies had with their 2 out of 9. You see He was looking at the crowds of people and they reminded Him of a wheat field ready for harvest, so He told the handful of disciples following Him to pray to “The Lord of the harvest (God) to send workers into the field.” Now whether they took Him seriously and prayed I cannot tell but my guess is that they were not really dedicated regarding that, because there are still millions of people who have not had the Gospel of the saving grace of Jesus explained to them; Oh yes people may have heard that there is a “religion” called Christianity but it hasn’t been explained to them that Christianity is not a religion in the ordinary sense of the word, but is simply a personal relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ. You see, “Religion” implies obeying a set of rules in order to earn approval, but in this situation Jesus has done it all for us; what we have to do is “believe on Him”, love him and God for their forgiving grace, and love our “brothers and sisters” (neighbours). After all “It was whilst we were yet sinners that Christ died for us”: He didn’t criticise us or show resentment, instead He just paid the price for our sin. Therefore, we ought to follow His example and stop criticising and judging others. The woman taken “in the very act” of adultery is a good example. Jesus told those who wanted to stone her to death: “Let him who is without sin throw the first stone”. And after they all went away without doing so, He said to the woman: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”. Jesus never asked for volunteers to throw stones at others (or blow them up). On the contrary, He wants volunteers who will be willing to explain His loving grace that I have highlighted above, but volunteers to do this seem to be as scarce as hen’s teeth, or the bees I mentioned, which is part of the reason that Jesus said: Narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it, whilst broad is the way that leads to destruction and many go in there at”; because if there were more bees more flowers would be pollinated, if there were more volunteers explaining the Gospel more people would be going down that “narrow way that leads to life”. Why the lack of  volunteers? Isn’t the job important?  Oh yes! It is the most important job there is, but we “pass the buck” hoping someone else will do it. Well then, if we don’t feel up to it we should then encourage and support those keen to do it, e.g. there are qualified, gifted people who want to teach Scripture in our schools on a full time basis but require financial support to do so. Such as Dubbo & District Special Religious Education – BSB 062-534, A/c 10390641 for Primary School or Dubbo Secondary Christian Education Association Inc. PO Box 1795 Dubbo N.S.W. dsceai@gmail.com for High School. Regarding this Paul said: “The workman is worthy of his hire” and pointed out that “We all have gifts differing according to the grace given unto us”. Paul had the same problem in Rome 2000 years ago and in chapter 10 and verse 14 of his letter to the Romans said: “How can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? So this is a legitimate option as students will then learn of God’s love for them: “bring up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he shall not depart from it”. Even the smallest contribution like “a widow’s mite” pleases God.      Best wishes, Tom.

 

Achievements

The photos here are part of the “wonders of the world” that attract thousands of visitors who marvel at the incredible artistry or engineering efficiency of the people of these bygone civilisations; I personally had the privilege of visiting the museum of Chinese art in Taiwan where priceless treasures like those from the Ming Dynasty are displayed; the workmanship is incredible. When we look at the Pyramids of Cheops we find it hard to imagine how such an engineering feat could have been accomplished, but when we examine the treasures found in the tombs like the features of Nefertiti, the ability of that civilisation staggers the imagination. Then there was the Roman Empire with the Colosseum, military equipment and finely woven clothing. We could mention the Ancient Greek Civilisation with its achievements and even the Incas of Peru with their well-built houses, the walls of which still survive to-day.

From an examination of all this, one question arises: “Why did those advanced civilisations collapse?” The answer can be found in 1 Kings Chapter 9 in the Old Testament: King Solomon had just finished building the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem and had been praying a prayer of dedication to God when God replied and said that whilst Solomon and his people worshipped God and obeyed His commandments they would be under His care and therefore prosper, but if they decided to go it alone and worship other “gods” they would no longer have His support and He would allow them to be conquered.

The people in those ancient civilisations were people just like us; even atheistic scientists and anthropologists agree that all people have a common ancestry. They don’t know who that original parent was but think she lived somewhere in Africa, whereas the bible tells us her name was Eve and she lived with her husband Adam just above Africa in a place called Eden near the Tigris and Euphrates river valley. The exact location is of little importance, but the fact that we all have a common ancestry is very important as it confirms that God is the Heavenly Father of all of us and expects all His children to recognise and worship Him, and Him alone, so that He can bless us all in the way He wanted to bless King Solomon and his people. Therefore, we need to see our relationship with God in the correct perspective: we are His children and He owns the world and everything in it and being a good parent He wants us to operate this “business” that He has setup for us. We should make a good team too as we all have different talents and abilities and should enjoy working together. To make sure that this arrangement could work out successfully He even gave us a set of rules to follow; Jesus condensed these rules into just 2 commandments: “Love God and love your neighbour as yourself”. Whilst we live in accordance with those rules we will succeed. On the other hand, if those rules are ignored we will fail because greed and selfishness start to prevail and the worship of “other gods” takes over. That is why these ancient civilisations collapsed and of course, when a father sees his children ignoring his instructions, he withdraws his backing as he doesn’t want to support what he knows is wrong and will disadvantage his children in the long term.

History repeats itself: Australia is an advanced civilisation and has a constitution based on Christian ethics as outlined in the New Testament and until about 60 years ago the majority of people were endeavouring to follow those ethics so the country was prospering. Since then I have noticed an ever increasing decline with atheism influencing our education system and Government with business treating employees as expendable whilst Law and Order is deteriorating. The inevitable outcome is what God told Solomon. Therefore, we are fast becoming nothing more than a retail outlet for China and a few other countries. This is very sad because we were once independent, having industries like the B.H.P. steel works, and we made Chamberlain tractors, Holstrom, Silent Knight and Electrolux refrigerators, Electrolux vacuum cleaners, A.W.A. radios, car and truck tyres, Onkaparinga blankets, Actil sheets, Bonds clothing, Mc Murtrie’s shoes, we canned all our own fruit and vegetables, owned our own cattle feed lots, cotton and dairy farms, Ports and electricity, and had Australian based oil refineries; these businesses, and hundreds more, created jobs and apprenticeships and helped our balance of payments. Now all these including car manufacturing have either gone, are going, or are taken over by outsiders and we have accumulated a debt of 2.7 Trillion dollars. Wisdom comes from God so if we don’t soon turn back to Him and follow His instructions future generations will wonder why our civilisation collapsed leaving only a rusty old Harbour bridge as an emblem of our achievements. If this concerns you, then be part of the answer by asking God’s forgiveness now and seek to follow His instructions. Change has to start somewhere so why not with you and me?  Best wishes, Tom.