Love...

 If you are old enough you will remember the song: "Love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage, this I tell you brother, you can't have one without the other" and marriage of course, is giving yourself to the one you love. This was certainly true for Audrey and me: we fell in love and then got married so we could share our entire way of living and that is why we took those vows in church that we would "look after each other, for better for worse, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live". (incidentally, that isn't us in the buggy, we had a two-wheeled sulky, for around the farm, and the family still have it). Taking that marriage vow though, wan an outward and binding expression of our love, pledged before God and our friends. Marriages can fail, but that was never in God's plan, and ours succeeded until Audrey died at 84.

The Greeks had, (and many still have, for all I know), five different words for love that in the English language we just "lump together" into that one word "Love". So we say we love a cup of tea, we love our husband or wife, we love the picture on the wall, we love our children and so on, and when we use the word like that we know what we mean, and so do those that hear us. At Christmas, which has just passed, we loved the lights and the decorations on the houses and in shop windows, we loved the feeling of expectancy that was in the air. Many of us just loved the thought that we would be seeing our friends and relations again, little children were thrilled to see "Santy" and loved telling him what they wanted for Christmas, and people were searching for the gift that would be just right for someone they loved.

How come that we were so willing to part with our hard earned money like that? Well, it was simply because "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35) and that is one of the truths that God has implanted in our Soul. The Apostle John puts it like this: "He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is Love" (1 John 4:8) and if we love we automatically want to demonstrate that love in a practical way by giving.

That of course is why this atmosphere of love is so apparent at Christmas. You see it was commenced by God Himself: "God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son..." (John 3:16). Love and giving go together.

In the Good Old Days Horses were used by people and went well together too. That is Audrey there going to muster sheep, and just as horses and carriages were designed for each other, so loving and giving are an inseparable part of each other.  The New Testament book of 1 Corinthians devotes the whole of chapter 13 to the value of love and concludes: "and now abideth faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" And when in Galatians 5:22 the "fruit of the Holy Spirit" is listed, Love is the first attribute mentioned and is followed by Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. We are told that even if we had such faith that we could move mountains, a faith like that, without love, profits us nothing.

If we are going to reap the full benefit of Christmas then, we should accept the gift that God offers to those who "believe" in Jesus,  which is the forgiveness of sin, and is the greatest gift a loving God could give us. (We obtain that forgiveness by repenting and asking for it in prayer). That way we become "righteous" in His sight and therefore can also ask that God's Holy Spirit will use our bodies as His temple, so that the "fruit" mentioned above will become evident in our lives. Thus, for us the spirit of Christmas will not only be in December each year, but will control our behaviour for each of the 365 days. Therefore, our entry into Heaven, when our days here are concluded, will be very comfortable as we will find ourselves in the Kingdom where the God of love reigns, and there is no more selfishness, sickness or unhappiness.

Wine: a discussion

Some people tell me that because Jesus turned water into wine that shows us that He approves of wine as a drink. Well does it? Let us not jump to conclusions, but look at the facts.

Fact 1: Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and His Mother was there, so we can assume they were good friends of the family of the bride or groom. Here we need to also remember that after Jesus stayed back at the Temple when He was 12 years old, it is recorded in Luke 2:51 that he was subject unto his parents from then on (in other words He obeyed them).

Fact 2: At the wedding they had run out of wine, and that would have been an embarrassing tragedy for the families as they would want everything to go smoothly. Mary told Jesus that "they have no wine", Jesus answer "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hours has not yet come" in effect, he was saying that it wasn't His problem, and He wasn't yet ready. (John 2: 4) However, he obeyed His mother when she ignored him and told the servants to do whatever He said to do. So they filled pots with water (as He said to do) and drew out the liquid, and the water had turned into good quality wine. Let us be honest: this merely proves that His mother knew His capabilities and that He was an obedient son. It says nothing about His attitude to wine, He didn't even taste it at that point.

Something else: When I was sent to an Asian country some 30 years ago, my doctor (a specialist friend in Sydney) told me not to drink the water unless it was boiled, and when I saw the hygiene in the streets with their open sewers etc... I realised why. Fortunately, they kept me supplied with freshly made tea, otherwise I would have had to either die of thirst, or drink wine which was sterilised by its alcohol content. (All that was only 30 years ago). I am quite sure that 2,000 years ago, when Jesus was traveling about, he would have been faced with a similar problem when in heavily populated areas, the people would have realised that the water made them sick, and as tea and coffee were not yet known, the drinking water was not boiled. When Jesus came to Jacob's well, out in the country, he was happy to ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water, as that was not contaminated. However, when in a populated area, the choice was either wine or contaminated water. Yes, it is true that because of who He was he could have drunk the contaminated water and overcame the germs in it, but he seldom used his Godly-power for his own benefit, when in human company. For example, He could have always crossed the Sea of Galilee on foot, but chose to take a boat, because that way He was able to be a good example in the storm when it arose.

Another Thought: Did it worry Jesus that the people at the wedding were drinking too much? If not, why would it worry Him if people drink too much at a wedding today? Well, let me just take one possibility; after the wedding in Cana in Galilee, the people either walked home, or if they had a fair way to go, rode a donkey. Now, even if the donkey drivers were drunk and flogged the donkeys so they broke into a trot, it is unlikely they would have a serious collision on the corner of Isaiah and Moses Streets. However, even if they did, it is unlikely that one of them would have been killed and the other end up in hospital with life threatening injuries. However, after today's weddings, it is a different story; if two men who have  had a lot to drink, decided to drive home and have a collision at the roundabout, at high speed, there is every likelihood that one may be killed and the other end up in hospital with life threatening injuries.

Consequently, these last two men should have observed Ephesians 5:18: "be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit" In Australia, we are very fortunate to have clean water and other non-alcoholic drinks that satisfy our thirst, without impairing our judgement in any way.

Having had 70 years experience as a Christian, I am happy to discuss topics with anyone. Not to have an argument, but to clarify a point of Scripture.  Tom.

My Brother's Keeper

This is a letter of advice that I have sent to all my children and grandchildren. None were singled out, and now I am sending it to anyone who is prepared to read it, so please don't be offended by anything in it. The quotes below are from God's word and as we ultimately have to answer to Him, I hope you will pass this message on to all your friends, even if you don't like it all that much yourself.

Subject: Our example

The bible says that "Whoever causes one of these little ones, who believes in me, to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea" Jesus' words in Mark 9:42.

It also says that "if you eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble or made weak" you are responsible (Romans 14:21). (The meat referred to in that quote is meat offered to the idols, so that doesn't apply to us today, but the rest does).

The bible implies that you are your brother's keeper and therefore have a responsibility for him.

What am I driving at? Well, a couple of things;

Firstly: everything you do sets an example

If we drink alcoholic drinks, will our example cause our children, or others who look up to us, to stumble? Even if we drink in moderation, who knows what amount they will drink in time to come, and what the consequences will be? It may cause them to have an accident, or break up their marriage, or take drugs, or have an unplanned pregnancy, or get killed because their judgement was impaired, and we would be the one responsible (according to God's word), and will not only have to bear the heartbreak, but will be answerable to God for not heeding His instructions as outlined above.

My parents never drank alcoholic beverages, and because of their example, I don't drink either, thank God, as on many occasions I have needed to "hold my tongue", and if my judgement had been impaired due to drink, (as the police say it would), I may have said and or done things that I couldn't undo and would have regretted saying or doing.

When I was Grazers' Chairman in Nyngan, we used to go to the Overlander Hotel for a drink after the meetings. I went along to be friendly and only had a squash, until one of the boys from my scripture class said "I saw you going into the pub on Saturday afternoon". Consequently, I never went there again as I was acutely aware of a true story that goes like this:

A convicted murderer in America was waiting on "Death Row" to to to the Electric Chair. he asked to see a priest and when the priest entered the murderer said "You! You are the reason I am here!" The priest said "What do you mean?" and the man said; "I used to go to your youth club and I revered you, then one day I saw you drinking and assumed it was alright to drink. I became an alcoholic and under the influence, I killed a man, so now I am going to be put to death".

The priest had devoted his entire life to help people and now he realised that, by his example, he had caused one person to be killed, and another put to death. 

The Bible says; "Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit". (Ephesians 5:18) That means the Holy Spirit, of course. 

The Bible says: "Bring up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it". (Proverbs 22:6) (My kids don't drink). I have met many lovely people who have become alcoholics though. One called at our property on the Kidman Way wanting work. Dad gave him a job building a shed, it turned out he had been the Foreman for the construction of one of the biggest factories in Melbourne at the time but now, when Dad paid his wages, he just went to Bourke and drank the lot. I often wonder who it was, that by their example, had set him on that path. 

Secondly: what you say is important too

A teacher was instructing children in the road rules; she showed them a red light signal and said "what does that mean?" Young Margaret said "It means stop". "Very good" said the teacher and asked "What does this one mean", showing a green light. "That means go" said Billy. "Very good" said the teacher and held up an amber light and asked "what does this one mean?" George jumped up and said "That means go go go!" Now, where did he learn that and how do you think he will behave when he gets his "P" plates?

I knew a man who was a Communist. He had a nice family but in front of them he was always criticising business men who had money. His son heard all this and went and robbed a local business and was shot and killed by the police! the question I ask is "who was really responsible for the boy's death?"

I know that in today's society this letter opens a "can of worms", for some nevertheless I am hopeful that, if passed around, it might save a life, or a vehicle accident, or a fine, or a falling out between a husband and a wife, or other unhappiness, and even make you feel more comfortable when you have to ultimately appear before Jesus. We can pray and ask for God's forgiveness and intervention for past mistakes, and the future is ours to plan, with God's help.   Best wishes with that, Tom.

Why Christmas? Why Easter? Why Baptism?

If you had gone down to the "Sandy Beach" which is a few hundred metres south of the L.H. Ford Bridge in Dubbo on 22 December 2019 at 12 noon, you would have seen three people being baptised by immersion in the Macquarie River whilst children played in the water nearby.

It is, of course, quite normal for Christian people to be baptised with water, although not all Christian churches consider that total immersion is necessary.

Baptism has been part of the Christian tradition for a very long time. Indeed, John the Baptist was baptising people for the "remission of sins" in the Jordan River when Jesus came along and asked to be baptised. John, recognising who Jesus was, hesitated and suggested the Jesus should be baptising him. However, he did as Jesus requested. After that, Jesus show His approval and the importance of Baptism by telling His followers to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit". (Matthew 28:19). And in Mark He said "go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptised shall be saved". (Mark 16:6)

If you are going to symbolise washing away a person's sins, I see total immersion to be more logical than just placing a small amount of water on a person's forehead. Also, if we are going to symbolise the dying and rising again with Jesus (as stated in Romans 6:4), a complete immersion seems more symbolic of that event, and that also applied to being "cleansed from all unrighteousness". (1 John 1:9)

So much for Baptism. But, as baptism is closely linked to Christmas and Easter, let us consider Christmas and Easter: The birth of Jesus Christ came about because of God's great love for us (His children). Originally, when He created people, they were perfect as was everything else He made. However, they soon sinned and the scriptures tell us that "the Soul that sinneth, it shall die"(Ezekiel 18:4);  which really means that eternal separation from God in Hell. But "God so loved the world" (us) "that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have Everlasting Life". (John 3:16)

However, in order to achieve this outcome, God had to send His Son into the world as a bay. Thus, Jesus grew up as an ordinary human being and as tempted on all points as we are. Nevertheless, He did not sin, and being Divine also, was able to allow Himself to die and pay our debt that He didn't owe, so we could all be freed from the debt that we owed, but couldn't pay. Of course, we celebrate that action of His saving Grace at Easter time, but if He hadn't come as a human baby at Christmas there would never have been that Easter blessing for us, and therefore no value in baptism either.

Some people tell me that they are not sinners as they always treat others with kindness, therefore, they don't see that all the above has any relevance to them as they have nothing to be saved from.

At one stage I felt like that too, after all I had lived a reasonable life; I hadn't killed anyone, hadn't committed adultery, hadn't robbed anyone so I thought that I was OK really. However, it was pointed out to me that the Bible said that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:3). Sin is actually much subtler than we think, Jesus confirmed this when He said that even to hate someone is sin, and too look on someone with lustful thoughts in our mind, is sin, to be resentful is sin, and so on.

In Ephesians we are told, in no uncertain manner, that "it is by Grace you are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the Gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them". (Ephesians 2:9-10) Consequently, you see God made us to do good works and seeing that is what we were designed  to do by God, we really don't get any "Brownie Points' for doing them. Therefore, those good works do nothing to help delete the consequences of our sin. So, we are left with the realisation that our only hope of forgiveness of any sin we have committed during our stay here on Earth (so we can go to Heaven), is to ask God for the forgiveness that Jesus earned for us when he died for us on the cross at Calvary. Indeed, Jesus Himself summed it up when He said: "I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". (John 14:6)

How blessed we are to be able to avail ourselves of this wonderful gift of eternal life by accepting this free offer.   Best wishes, Tom