Hot Cross Buns Already

Christmas is just over and people celebrated the birth of Jesus in some wonderful ways: houses were decorated inside and out, families and friends came together for dinner or a BBQ and presents were exchanged, the spirit of love and fellowship was everywhere; even total strangers greeted each other with “Merry Christmas” as they passed. Shop keepers did very well too, so are now gearing up for the Easter celebration with Hot Cross buns. And Easter eggs that represent “new birth” will soon be everywhere. Some manufacturers lost the plot last year though, as chocolate eggs called “Angry birds” appeared on the shelves replacing many Easter Eggs, and “anger” has no place at Easter as it is forgiveness time. Also, Easter bunnies will be everywhere too and they are just a commercial gimmick representing nothing but a bit of entertainment for children. One may well ask “How come that the celebrations of Christmas and Easter are so close together anyway”? Well it is just that if you are going to celebrate each of them annually, you don’t have much choice. Actually these two events, happened over 30 years apart, but we don’t want to wait that long to commemorate something so important do we? And I’m sure the shops don’t want to wait 30 years either, (but, of course, they have other reasons).

God never does anything by halves: whatever He does, He does it well.  Therefore, when He created the first man and woman, He created them as fully grown adults: He had to of course, as they had no parents to look after them. Whereas when He decided to send Jesus to be crucified, (so that he could be our “substitute” and bear all our sin), there was quite a list of conditions that had to be observed: it was

necessary that Christ Jesus had to grow from a baby to an adult, as we did, in order to be “tempted on all points like as we are, (and be) yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15) so he could “represent us.” Now to achieve that it was necessary that Jesus should grow up in a home situation with a Mum and Dad and brothers and sisters, be educated the same as other children, live in an ordinary “working class” family, learn a trade, mix with other families, relate to the many workers in the district like shepherds, get to know the fishermen, watch the grapes being picked in the vineyards, take an interest in the Roman Occupation Forces and observe their behaviour and a lot more, as well as observing the Jewish religious traditions such as learning the Scriptures (Old Testament) with its history of Creation (which interestingly, he had been involved in as the Word of God). He had to also observe the Sabbath, and worship regularly at the Synagogue.

In addition to the usual temptations that he would have encountered, which cause us to sin, things like pride, jealousy, resentment, selfishness and so on, Jesus also had to contend with temptations that were unique to him because of who he was, (Matthew 4:1) and were placed before him by Satan (“the ruler of this world”) (John 12:31), who wanted to side track him into becoming famous in a “worldly” sense and thus render him useless to achieve our salvation. This must have really been a severe temptation, as Jesus knew the scriptures that predicted his life and death on earth. Indeed, he read some of it to the people in the Synagogue, and he therefore knew that to achieve our Salvation he would have to be crucified, and that was a dreadful way to die. Indeed, in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed to God and asked if it was possible for him to avoid being crucified, but nevertheless he said “Not my will but thine be done”. Oh how he loves us!

Because of his remarkable sacrifice, and because he was both a sinless human and Divine, he alone was able to act as a “substitute” for every one of us, and is now able to offer us forgiveness for any sin we have committed. Certainly if we have done something that broke the law of our land we will still have to accept what punishment our courts may impose, but as far as God is concerned, if we ask his forgiveness and repent, our “Passport” to Heaven is assured.

Do hope you have claimed your “Passport”.   Best wishes, Tom. 

Political Correctness or Stupidity

One of our Politicians recently commented that Australia is a Christian country and was immediately cried down by the Greens and some other very vocal groups because they considered that a statement like that could be offensive to some of the people who have recently migrated here and were of a different religion, as well as some other groups that already live here and do not embrace Christianity, or have no religion at all.

 Now, to object to his comment is just a load of garbage, because if a thing is true then it is true and, as they say “the proof of a pudding is in the eating”: The majority of Australians do claim Christianity as their religion and no matter what a person living here believes or doesn’t believe, they are nevertheless reaping the benefits of Christianity every minute they reside here.  Because when the British people settled in this country they brought Christianity with them and established a government with a constitution similar to the British Westminster model which was based on the New Testament values of love and concern for others. Such values are second to none, and that is why our treatment of people is so humane, with such good Social service assistance available to the elderly, to the unemployed or those unable to work, good medical services, free education to all, irrespective of sex, race or religion. And so on it goes; which simply means that our laws conform to Jesus second Commandment: “You shall love your neighbour as you love yourself”.

 The true Christian endeavours to achieve that way of living, and when you have millions of people endeavouring to live like that, then you have a good country to live in, and need not be ashamed to call it a “Christian Country”; indeed, we should be thrilled to do so. Other countries are not ashamed to call themselves “Buddhist”, “Muslim”, etc. or even Communist, so why should we bow to all this “Political Correctness” stupidity?

As I look around our country and observe all its freedoms I am so thankful to God for His guidance by showing us to love and be considerate to others instead of being hateful and selfish. “Not that I have already attained”, (perfection in the way God wants me to behave), “but I press on” (Philippians 3:12). This was the Apostle Paul’s statement to the Christians at Philippi, and I guess we all feel like that, but for all our imperfections in striving to do things the way Christ instructed us, we nevertheless have come a long way and have a country that is attractive to other people. Thus they want

to come and live here in amongst the trees and gardens with no fear of terrorism, because Christians are not terrorists. You see, Christ preached forgiveness and love, not terror or hate.

There is also an abundance of good schools, some are Church schools and some are Government controlled, but they all teach the same curriculum and accept children irrespective of what their creed or skin colour or who their parents

are.

So if you are a new comer to this country; enjoy it and make the most of the opportunities that Practical Christianity provides, and if you are a citizen then you can be justifiably proud of our Christian country.       Best wishes, Tom.

Christmas

When we mention Christmas we usually think of a Nativity scene similar to the one depicted here and don’t think about all the planning that God had to do for all this and its aftermaths to happen. For starters, it was well known that the Messiah, or Christ, would be born in Bethlehem, but Joseph and Mary didn’t live in Bethlehem, and their baby needed to be born in a primitive place like a stable, not a house or an Inn, that way no one could ever feel that Jesus got a better start in life than they did. God also knew that King Herod would try to kill the baby Jesus, because Herod would fear that Jesus would usurp his throne, so God needed to arrange for some financial help for Joseph, so that he, Mary, and the baby, could flee to Egypt where they would have to stay until Herod died, after which Joseph could come back and set up his carpentry business in Nazareth. God also knew that in later years, Jesus disciples would require “Diplomatic Immunity” and “International Passports” so they could travel to all the nations around the Mediterranean Sea in order to spread the Good News of God’s Saving Grace that was achieved through Jesus Death and Resurrection.  Quite a lot for God to sort out really.

The “three wise men from the East,” that are depicted in this photo, were guided to solve Joseph’s financial problem as they brought a quantity of Gold as part of their gifts for the baby, and of course gold is an international currency. (My God shall supply all your need) is a relevant text in this case. (Philippians 4:19).

The “Diplomatic immunity” problem was solved by God choosing a unique time in history for Jesus birth: it was a time when all that area, and right through to England, was part of the Roman Empire, so men like Paul had no problem travelling from country to country and were even able to call on the protection of Roman soldiers if they were bullied by the locals. Indeed, Paul even appealed for Caesar to personally hear his case when the Jewish leaders charged him with Blasphemy. As a result of this Paul was able to discuss his faith with leaders like King Agrippa and his wife Bernice as well as Roman Governors and Centurions.

Now how did God arrange for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem? No problem, He got Caesar Augustus to decree that there would be a Census so all people had to return to the town of their birth; so Joseph took his wife to Bethlehem. Only God  would have been able to arrange the exact timing, so that Mary was in Bethlehem on the day of Jesus delivery. And because of the crowds of visitors there was no room in the Inn, only a stable for the Christ child to be born in. Who but our all- knowing God could have sorted all that out to perfection?

The way God sorted all the above out is a “template” or pattern, for the way He also wants to help you and me. The actual bible quote for this is: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths”. Which clearly indicates that if we get our priorities right we will arrive at our “Bethlehem” and our needs will be supplied; it is a matter of trusting Him. (Proverbs 3:5).

Now it wouldn’t be Christmas without someone mentioning “Santa Claus”. Who then is this old man, and what is his significance?

His real name is Saint Nicholas and over the years it has just been pronounced incorrectly. Saint Nicholas was a devout Christian who lived in the Northern Hemisphere where there is plenty of Snow at Christmas, and people use Sleighs as a means of transport. Realising that Christmas is all about God’s love for us in sending Jesus to procure our Eternal Salvation, Nicholas decided to show love in a practical way by giving out presents. Children loved him then, and they probably love him more now as the “Santy” we now know has also taken on “magical” powers having Reindeer that fly and so on. This doesn’t worry me, (I believed in the “Tooth Fairy” too, when I was young, I loved the mystery of it, and even “Superman” delighted me as he did so much good).  The important thing is that children understand that Santy is just doing kind things because Jesus wants us to behave that way.  Have a happy and blessed Christmas, Tom and Audrey.

How to be Sure

That triangular construction in the middle of the photo is the Poppet Head at the New Occidental Gold Mine in Cobar as it was when I worked in the Survey office there in 1949. It doesn’t exist anymore but the underground workings will always be there. That Poppet Head stands over a shaft that is 1500 feet deep having 15 levels. A lift, like the lift in a tall building went up and down, from the surface to each of those levels. It is really just like a Skyscraper building that is upside down and carved out of the rock; each level being like one floor of the Skyscraper.

When there didn’t seem to be any more gold to mine on the level being mined, they started a new level below it because the seams went straight down, but before they abandoned a level they used Diamond drills to explore further into the rock face to see if there was more gold that they didn’t know about. The Diamond drill head is a metal cylinder a little larger than the cardboard cylinder inside a toilet roll; its end is made of metal thicker than that cardboard and the whole circle is embedded with industrial diamonds which are very hard and when rotated cut through the rock and a “core,” or sample, of the rock goes inside the cylinder. The drill is frequently withdrawn and the core is removed and examined and if it looks good is sent to the Assay office for testing.

 That all sounds simple but the drill is influenced by the softness or make up of the rock and may veer to the left or right or up or down. Therefore, although the sample of ore might be valuable, the way to reach it can be confusing, so frequently the diamond head was replaced by a head that had a compass in it with florescent tip and a piece of photo film, and beside it a vial (small bottle) half full of acid.  The drill with this head on it was pushed to the end of the hole and left for a while thus, the film when developed, indicated which way the drill hole was pointing and the bottle, marked by the acid, showed whether the hole was going up, down, or was horizontal. Crude compared to to-days equipment, I suppose, but it worked, highlighting how outside influences could prevent the miners reaching the Gold if they were not careful. This same principle is very evident in our lives; the “Gold” that we are aiming at could be a particular job, our marriage, the establishment of a business, or our Eternal life, and in each case we have to be aware of outside influences that could lead us in the wrong direction. On a number of occasions People have said to me about their life, “I don’t think God would mind if I did…………” so they go ahead and do what they are planning, and it may be quite all right too, on the other hand it may not be what God would approve of, and there is only one way to be sure and that is to see if it agrees with the New Testament, and that is why I am always advising people to read it for themselves so they can be guided by its directions.

Many years ago, before the Metric system of measures was introduced into Australia, I was driving on a back country road that connected two towns when I came to a railway level crossing, it was out on an open plain and you could see that there were no trains in either direction and the only other vehicle visible was a car a long way behind me, so I drove over the crossing at the normal road speed thinking that I had done no wrong. A short while later the car behind me which (wouldn’t you know it) just happened to be a police car, pulled me over. “Driver, you went over that railway crossing in excess of 15 miles per hour” the policeman said. “Yes I suppose I did” I replied, “but I didn’t know of that speed limit, and besides there were no trains visible so I considered it safe”. “Well” he said, “lack of knowledge of the law is no excuse, you are supposed to know the law, and whether there are trains visible or not, has nothing to do with it”. He was right, of course, and manmade rules like that change from time to time, but if we intend using the roads we have an obligation to keep abreast of those rules.

Thankfully, God’s rules don’t change and when you think of it from God’s perspective, anyone who is capable of reading, but cannot be bothered spending some time to familiarise themselves with His New Testament instruction book, (which is really a love story addressed to them), is forfeiting their right to partake of the wonderful gifts he offers, and their life is bound to veer off the straight path that leads to that “Gold”. (Like that drill when left uncontrolled).

Just a few thoughts that I felt might be helpful.  Best wishes, Tom.

Design or Accident

 Many Scientists, and a lot of their followers, are very upset because the newly elected President of the U.S.A. doesn’t believe in their model of “climate change” and therefore doesn’t want to continue giving the United Nations organisation millions of dollars that may achieve nothing. His thinking is that large sums of money like that would be better spent on something practical that we fully understand, like jobs and industries that are currently in crisis, and that has the backing of a lot of voters. Personally, I have no faith in many of those Scientists because they have been teaching that there is no sign of intelligent design in the universe, and that flowers, (like this one in the photo), were designed accidentally by brainless plants over millions of years. Such teaching contradicts the bible and is so ridiculous that it destroys their credibility.  I mean, if they cannot see that something so incredibly remarkable as a flower like that, was designed by a great mind, then how can we trust them on something less obvious and largely hypothetical like “Climate Change”?     

The truth of the matter is spelled out in the Bible for anyone to see, (God created), but of course if a person doesn’t believe in God then they won’t believe the bible either. However, God did make wood, peat, coal and gas for us to burn. So, for thousands of years, people all over the world, in their millions, have used at least one of these elements to heat their homes, cook their food heat their water and smelt metal and make glass etc. When I was young every house had at least 2 chimneys, coal powered steam ships crossed the oceans, and steam trains transported our people and produce, using the very cheap coal that God had provided.

Some people would be horrified by the amount of carbon or “green- house gasses” that they put into the atmosphere. But why should they be horrified? Well, because they don’t believe that God (the greatest “Scientist” in the universe) would have taken all this into consideration when He was planning the earth for us to inhabit. Obviously, God, who is all knowing, would have factored all this into His plan, so we must assume that there is a very good reason for that “Green-house” canopy, if there is one, maybe it helps to increase our rainfall so we can increase Agricultural production in order to feed the ever increasing population or some other such good reason like that. Or it may be a “non-event. But if we can’t cap volcanoes and can't stop bushfires,  then whatever "canopy" they create is here to stay and is acceptable to God, so just trust Him. Best wishes, Tom.

 

Hot or Cold

There is a shop in Orana Mall in Dubbo called “Bed Bath N Table” and they have delightful items on display including this Teapot and Cup and Saucer.

My wife, Audrey, loves this sort of quality china and was also very happy to use hers to entertain guests if they called in; she always had some scones made and some lovely cake so would greet the visitors with “The kettle is just about boiling, so come in and have a cuppa”. Freshly made Tea served black or with milk and sugar was always very popular at our house.

On the other hand, if Audrey had made the tea a half hour before and served it up luke- warm, I don’t think many of our visitors would have been as enthusiastic about coming in for a “cuppa” the next time they visited: Iced Tea, yes. Hot tea, yes, but half way between the two, no thank you. (I’m pleased to say that she never made that mistake).   

Apparently though, on some occasion during his time on earth Jesus must have come across such a situation, it probably wasn’t tea but whatever it was he really didn’t enjoy it luke-warm, because when he was sending a message to the Christian church at Laodicea, he told John to tell them that they were “neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot” He said “So then because thou art luke-warm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth”.  Very drastic words so we must be very careful to not live the way they were living and we had better find out what it was that they were doing that disappointed him so much, after all they represented Him by calling themselves a “Christian church”. Now, whatever religion you may be, or even if you are an atheist, you will have to agree that if you know something that would be of great help to your neighbour, and don’t tell him, or her, about it then your friendship isn’t worth much. When you consider that true Christians believe that Jesus action on their behalf is the greatest news that there is in the world, and these Laodiceans were half hearted about sharing that information, then you can see why Jesus was disappointed with them.

Well it comes down to this: God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to pay the price of our sin so we could inherit Eternal life in Heaven with him. You see “God was in Christ, reconciling the world (us) unto himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). These Laodicean people had gladly accepted that forgiveness and reconciliation for themselves, but made the mistake of not sharing the knowledge of its availability with others, and that action, or inaction, on their part, contravenes what Jesus said was the second most important commandment which is “to love your neighbour as you love yourself” (Matthew 22:39). And that is a commandment, not a suggestion.

This then should be a “wake up call” to all Christians so that we will get on with the privilege of sharing this Gospel with others. After all we have a unique and wonderful “experience” to promote and share: Christianity is a gospel of love. We love God for the forgiveness he has given us for free, we are helped by The Holy Spirit to love everyone (even our enemies) and we are to do good to those who treat us badly (Jesus is our example, he even asked God to forgive those who were crucifying him). If the whole world was truly Christian then we would all live in harmony, as it will be in Heaven.

The Lord’s Prayer to God says: “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven” so we can look forward to that day and should do our bit to make it happen where we are.

God will bless us as we do that.  Best wishes, Tom.

 

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Lost in the Crowd

I was standing on the median strip between the East bound and West bound traffic when I took these photos; there are two rows of different flowering plants here, both having very lovely flowers as you can see in the close up photos: As we drive past at 60 kilometres per hour we think “those flowers look nice” but unless we stop and take the time to examine them, we will never know how nice. This of course applies to our life generally; we look at a forest but don’t really see the individual trees that make the forest, or even notice that every one of them has its own different charistics.

The Dubbo “Photo news” Newspaper publishes the photos of the babies born in the hospital each week, and what a collection of delightful little faces they are; every one being different but beautiful, like those flowers above. People walking past you in the Mall or in the street were lovely babies too, some time ago, but in many cases are now showing the signs of “wear and tear”, which is natural as they may have been living in circumstances that haven’t always been ideal and caused them stress. Meanwhile, the sun and wind dry out their skin which also adds to that ageing appearance. However, most women combat that dry skin problem by using moisturising cream, but as good as that is, it only goes skin deep and unfortunately doesn’t solve those deeper problems of hurts and stress. I am pleased to say though that Jesus, who was brought up in a community like ours, recognised the needs we have and made some very helpful suggestions like: “Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Paul who had been through hard times himself said: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6). Now that is “Spiritual Moisturising Cream” and if applied daily will make a terrific difference to our “Dry Souls”. It is a universal cure, irrespective of what you have been through or who you are.

This is not some vague theory to me, as I have had my share of “difficulties” and regularly apply this “Spiritual Ointment”, without which I could not exist. However, I was fortunate that as a child I learned that we need complete commitment to whatever we take on, if we are to make the most of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

For example, in this photo (taken some time ago) that is me in the foreground testing the water temperature in our home dam, with my big toe, and that just doesn’t work. My brother John and sister Anita did right; they just ran straight in and immersed themselves.

Likewise, if we want to accept the benefits God is offering us in the New Testament we cannot first “test it with our toe”; we must make a full commitment to accept His forgiveness and do things His way. Best wishes, as you think that through (if you haven’t already done so). Tom.