Dogs and Tuckerboxes

 

There is an old song that I used to sing 70 years ago which goes like this: “My Mabel

waits for me, underneath the bright blue sky, where the dog sits on the Tucker Box five miles from Gundagai.” Well, Mabel must have become impatient and “shot through,” because last week I went down to Gundagai and Mabel was nowhere to be seen, however a replica of the dog was there. It is strange really as the dog was extremely unpopular with his owner for doing what he was doing at the time. You see, his owner was a bullock-wagon driver named Bill and in the 1850s he was trying to cross a creek, five miles from Gundagai with a wagon like the one pictured, only his one was heavily laden with supplies and became hopelessly bogged to the extent that the yoke joining the wagon to the bullock team snapped under the weight. Being worn out, tired and depressed, Bill decided to have his lunch before he endeavoured to fix the problem but found the dog sitting on the lunch-box. For some reason, (not documented), this didn’t cheer Bill up at all, and his fellow bullockies wrote a poem about it, immortalising the dog.

I find it very interesting that we often preserve old buildings and old equipment like this old wagon, and even a dog, but think very little about the pioneers who were involved with them. I am very pleased to say though, that the servicemen and women who fought and died to keep our country free and also helped others to maintain their freedom as well, are not forgotten on A.N.Z.A.C. day and other services yearly, because it is people who are the important part of our civilisation, not machines and infrastructure, (not that those things don’t have their place) but comparatively speaking their value is very limited).

I have great respect for the pioneers like Bill, who opened up this country of ours by clearing tracks across the mountains, making roads and building slab huts to house supplies for travellers at the various “staging posts” along these tracks. They had no comforts supplied, but just the very basic needs, and had to suffer the most difficult situations with no doctors or dentists or the modern cons that we all take for granted.   I “roughed it” in a cabin at Gundagai the other day with a comfortable bed, electric blanket, television, refrigeration, air conditioning, electric stove and microwave, not to mention the mobile phone. I can’t imagine what Bill would have said if he had suddenly appeared. Which begs the question: Where is Bill? Well I can tell you this much, there are only two possibilities: He is either living it up in one of the “mansions” Jesus went to prepare for us, and is enjoying more luxury than I had at Gundagai the other night, or else he is in “outer darkness in Hell” which was the only other option that Jesus said was available. The next question is “did Bill realise that there were those two options?” Well it would be someone’s dreadful neglect if he didn’t know, because Jesus said that His followers were to go into all the world and preach the good news, of His saving grace, to everyone. And “everyone” means exactly that: there isn’t a person in the entire world (irrespective of their education or up bringing) who isn’t eligible to claim Jesus saving Grace, for “Jesus came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” and “world” there means “people” like you and me and Bill, who make up the world. (John chapter 3 and verse 17).

 I enjoy talking about old times, so I hope that I will catch up with Bill in Heaven one day and be able to “compare notes” with him. Don’t be embarrassed to join us, if you want to, when you get there. That is assuming you also make the right choice and get there yourself. If not, don’t look for me in the other place because I won’t be there as I have already claimed the Passport to heaven, that Jesus made available for each one of us. Personally, I reckon that a free gift like that is too good an offer to pass up.

Besides, I don’t like excessive heat.

Best wishes, Tom.

Who made God?

A friend of mine who lives in England came to Australia last week and her baby had difficulty sleeping at first. Now that could be “Jet Lag” or could it be that she and her mother are now upside down, which for us who dwell “down under” is perfectly normal, (as you can see if you look at this Globe of the world). I know we are held on to this big ball by gravity but no matter how you look at it we are in a ridiculous position compared with Europeans up on top. Aren’t we? It’s a weird universe, Isn’t it?

Another thing, Scientists who explore space with all types of telescopes say that there is no end to space. Consequently, even if we could travel at colossal speed out there to examine the Galaxies, we would go on for ever and ever. Can your mind also absorb that? I hope it can because Jesus said that our lives are like that too. In 10,000,000,000 years (after we have left our human bodies behind), we will still be enjoying life in good healthy bodies and our future will be likewise limitless. You will note that I said “enjoying life”, well that is not necessarily so, as it only applies to us if we accepted the forgiveness that Jesus earned for us at the cross of Calvary, otherwise we will be spending all that time in a Hell of a place.   When we consider Eternity, our life here is just the equivalent of one tick of a clock (or even less), so we must make sure we have sorted that out. Because “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

We have a free will, God won’t “gate crash” our lives, but the Holy Spirit is waiting to help and we have a guardian angel standing by too. Some “Smart Alec” might tell you that they are not there, simply because he can’t see them.

Well of course they can’t be seen, they are in a different dimension so are not visible to our eyes, unless they want to be. Really it is to our advantage that we can’t hear and see everything that is around us in those different dimensions. If we could, our lives would be unbearable because there are millions of phone calls, text messages, scores of television pictures, and information going and coming to i phones and tablets through the room where we are standing and if we suddenly became aware of it all, we wouldn’t be able to stand the “din,” and we couldn’t see through it to the wall opposite either. Life is fascinating, most of what we enjoy is invisible to our eyes: Air and electricity can’t be seen but we enjoy using them constantly, Love is invisible but we all appreciate it, as we also appreciate beauty and friendship, contentment and the lovely taste of things. We don’t even understand our remarkable bodies: For example, our heart pumps 70 Millilitres of blood per beat which means 7,200 Litres per day or 2,628,000 litres per year, and it is cleaned and re-oxygenised constantly. What sort of scientific mind organised all that?  Well the same incredible mind that arranged all that, also designed and programmed the Dinosaurs, Lizards, Platypus, and Fowls to be able to lay eggs that contain all the ingredients necessary to reproduce their kind. This same God made us. Why? Well it seems that it was so He would have a family to love and be loved by. Consequently, He made a world for us to enjoy with every imaginable item that we would require, including lovely things to eat and look at.

“But we are only here for a short time”. That is true, but it is beside the point: for example, my daughter grows these lilies which only flower for a couple of weeks each

year, but she feels that it is worthwhile to have their beauty even if it is short lived, and don’t forget, that If we love God in return for what He has done, and accept His forgiveness for wrong doing, He will take us to be in His family for ever in Heaven.  We don’t understand how most things work so don’t expect to understand God either, just trust Him, He loves you.

Now to answer the question that a man asked me recently: “Who made God?” My answer is that “nobody made God, He always was”. If your logic cannot handle that statement, then go back and look at all I have written here and explain it, (particularly about space being endless) and when your mind can grasp all that, you shouldn’t have any difficulty about believing God’s origin.  Best wishes with this tantalising and frightfully important subject.  Tom.

Commonwealth Games

 

The Commonwealth Games that recently concluded in Queensland, on the Gold

Coast, were quite spectacular. In these photos we see the end result of years of effort and determination with the athlete’s minds focused on the final goal to achieve first place in their particular discipline. Of course we rejoice with those Aussies who won 80 Gold, 59 Silver and 59 Bronze medals but our hearts also go out to those of all nations who

failed to achieve the top honours, and we recognise that in representing their countries they were part of what made the games a success as they kept their nations name before millions of people who watched the Television screens and other electronic media worldwide.

Indeed, in life, generally speaking, there are only a small proportion of the

population who actually achieve the top positions and this is how God meant it to be because if we are in an organisation that has “too many Chiefs and not enough Indians” (as the saying goes), we will soon find ourselves in a mess. For example, we could argue that the most important people at the Commonwealth Games were the Organisers, but I challenge that, as in the final analysis I believe that the cleaners and caterers are more important: they get no medals, but without them there would be no medals for anyone and no games either. Bear in mind though, that they only got those jobs by studying to be very efficient at what they do.

What am I driving at here? Well just this: never under-estimate your value to God and the community in which you live. Each one of us was designed especially by God with particular abilities, thus no two of us are identical having our own D.N.A and finger prints etc. (except for identical twins perhaps). Consequently, we all have different positions to fill. The Bible confirms this when it says “We all have gifts differing according to the grace given unto us” this applies to Spiritual gifting of course, which we are supposed to use, but it applies equally to natural gifting too, thus we each are like parts of a Jigsaw Puzzle and, as you know, if one of those parts is missing it spoils the whole picture.  

You will notice that the participants in every discipline carried no excessive weight, wearing only that uniform that was necessary to maintain decency and keep them comfortable whilst competing. For example, you didn’t see anyone competing in the High Jump wearing a coat or heavy boots. The obvious reason being that the extra weight would have prevented them from achieving their best result, so over the years the coaches and organisers have agreed that any form of un-necessary weight should be avoided.

The same principle applies to our Spiritual lives: God never designed the world to be the mess we have made it. Just look at the Syrian problem at the moment: bombings, fighting’s, chemical warfare, etc. and here at home: Jails full of people who have in some way abused others. Jesus came to purchase our forgiveness, and anointed “coaches” like Paul to encourage us to abandon any “left over Baggage” we might be carrying (after we have accepted Christs forgiveness) and be as consistent as those sporting contestants when he says in his letter to the Hebrew Christians in Chapter 12 verse 1: “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” and in verse 14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no person shall see the Lord.”  So just as the games contestants have controlled their diet, sleep, and daily training exercises, we need to control our lives by following New Testament directions on how to behave as Christians in order to be ready for the eternal life Jesus earned for us and be able to say with Paul “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”. (2 Timothy 4:7) Best wishes, Tom.

Part of Closing ceremony

 

 

 

To Be or Not to Be

The first photo you see here is Princess Elizabeth as she was when I was at school.

Actually, she is 7 years older than I am and this photo of her was taken during the 2^nd World war when she was a teenager and being “home schooled” in England. Her father King George the 6^th was on the throne of England at that time. Elizabeth became Heir to the throne because her uncle (the Duke of Windsor) abdicated his right to it and her father had therefore become King.

Elizabeth married Phillip Mountbatten and became Queen much sooner than she expected because her father died suddenly whilst she and Phillip were visiting South

Africa.  In 1954 the young Queen and her husband; (now the Duke of Edinburgh), visited Australia and as a soldier I had the privilege of being one of their Guard of Honour as they toured Sydney in an open car.                   For ceremonial purposes I carried a rifle with bayonet attached. But we carried no bullets because in those days Australians were Christians, and Christianity is all about love and kindness so there was no thought that any harm could possibly come to our Queen, and it didn’t.

 Queen Elizabeth is elderly now and has been a very sincere Monarch, much respected by most people, and both she and her husband have been good examples as husband and wife. When the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury placed the crown on the

Queen’s head he gave her to understand that if Jesus returned during her reign it was rightfully His. So you see the queen’s royalty is looked on by the Church of England as a type of “caretaker position” and even if Jesus does not come back in her lifetime her special royal status will end when she dies as it is a “man- made appointment,” and normally her son would take over. Some people would say “It must be good to be royalty, with everything laid out for you.” Certainly it would have its advantages, but there are a lot of responsibilities and limitations too, e.g. the Duke of Windsor had to turn down the top position so he could marry a Mrs Simpson, a divorced woman (which a King was not permitted to do then). But that was his choice.

 Interestingly, you and I were born to live as part of God’s Kingdom of Heaven family. Did you realise that?  You see, our Heavenly Father is ruler of that Kingdom, but sin has divorced us from Him. However, our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He made arrangements for us to be forgiven and reinstated as His Children, “and if Children, then heirs of God and joint Heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:14-17) and bear in mind that Jesus Christ is described as “The King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (1 Timothy 6: 15). Which implies an interesting relationship for us. Doesn’t it? If we become joint heirs with Him.

The question that arises from our consideration of the above is simply this: Did you know that you are eligible for reinstatement as a Child of God? If so, have you asked God in prayer for your reinstatement? The only alternate option is for us to live a few years here ignoring God, doing as we please, abdicating our right to Heaven, and then spend eternity in Hell?  Of course, we are free to make that “choice” if we like, just as the Duke of Windsor chose not to be King of England. However, the choice we do make is much more important than the choice he made, isn’t it?  Because (on the surface) his choice only affected his earthly life, whilst the choice we have to make affects our Spiritual life now and forever. (and “forever” is a very long time, no matter how you look at it).

To become eligible, we need to “repent”, as the bible puts it, which means a change of heart and direction, but in the light of what Jesus did on our behalf that is not too much to ask. Romans 12:1 says “It is our Reasonable service”. After all, He did suffer a dreadful death by substituting himself for you and me, He is the sinless Son of God and died so our sin would be forgiven (we owed a debt we couldn’t pay so He paid our debt that He didn’t owe) in order that you and I could be reinstated as Children of God and be freed from the consequences of our sin, and regain our “Passport to Heaven”. Now that is Love!

This necessitates believing in Jesus and asking God in prayer for the forgiveness Jesus earned on our behalf. We also need to examine the way we live, and may have to change the company we keep, as well as change the way we think and behave. If we are not sure what that entails, then we need to read the New Testament and find out. Please do check this out, (if you haven’t already done so), because It is the most important thing you will ever have to decide and it won’t go away, because in the end we all have to “stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ, and give an account”. (Romans 14:10).       Regards, Tom.

Obviously God did it- Who else could have

At Easter time I gave one of these “chickens,” sitting in a half “egg shell,” to each of

my great Grandchildren to remind them that Easter eggs represented the “new life” that Jesus revealed when He rose out of the tomb, and if we repent and believe in Him our sins are forgiven, (because He allowed himself to be crucified to delete our sins). By accepting His forgiveness, we are “born Again” into newness of life. Unfortunately, there are people out there who teach that there is no God and that everything we see just happened. Well, the egg on its own makes nonsense of that theory. Let us look at it:

In this next photo I have just broken a real egg into my frying-pan, the shell is real so let us imagine that the toy chicken is real also. We all know that the egg was made by a chook, inside herself. She collected all those ingredients that you see in the pan,

placed a membrane around them and then covered the membrane with a shell to hold it together and keep the contents safe (and she did all that without looking). If the egg was fertilised before she sealed it up, all she has to do then is keep it warm at her body temperature for 21 days by sitting on it, and “bingo” out pops a chicken which is a baby fowl, complete in every detail. Similar to our toy above.

“So what?” asks the Atheist. Just this, there isn’t a Scientist in the whole world (with all their equipment and know how), who could make an egg, and yet a “bird-brain” chook can do it without looking! Furthermore, what you see there in the pan are all the ingredients necessary to make the complete chicken: body, feathers, beak, legs, eyes, brain, heart, stomach, wings, the lot, nothing left out and nothing surplus. Now, as fowls only reproduce themselves in this manner, the first fowl had to get this exactly right or the species would have died out right then, because they couldn’t have perfected this idea over a long period of time could they? That also raises another impossible question for non-believers: Where did the first fowl capable of doing this come from? The only logical answer has to be, as the Bible says: God designed and created the first fowl complete and programmed it to be able to reproduce “after its kind” on the 5^th day of creation. (Genesis 1: 22) Those who refuse to believe in the designing mind of God, that is evident all around them, defy logic and lose credibility.  

Of course it is not only egg laying that witnesses to the mighty mind of God: look at the caterpillars that seal themselves in a chrysalis and in a very short time emerge as a butterfly. If you don’t believe in God then please explain how the caterpillar happens to have, in its body, exactly all the elements to make a butterfly, and how does it do that without a degree in Science?  Rather clever, don’t you think?

 

 

More food for thought,   Tom.

Our wants may change but never our needs

This picture depicts my brother John on the horse and me in the wagon with the kelpie dog “Bully” droving a mob of merino sheep from a property west of Cobar on the Wilcannia road to an additional property known as the “Cowls,” on the Sandy creek road, that Dad had acquired as an “additional” when the large property known as “Springfield” (owned by Australian Estates on a 99-year lease) was cut up by the Western Lands Commission, after the lease had expired.

John and I were both in our late teens and as the trip took several days we had the thrill of camping under the stars and cooking our meals over a small fire (there was plenty of bare ground so there was no fear of starting a bush fire). Lying on our backs looking up at the stars we talked about our hopes and dreams. Foremost in those dreams was the hope that we would each one day have a piece of grazing land of our own and, I think we both felt that if we achieved that, we would then establish lasting contentment and happiness by each of us finding a lovely wife to share our life. It is no wonder we slept well with thoughts like that.

I am sure God wants us all to think and plan along those lines. Of course we don’t all want grazing properties or farms, but the same principle applies no matter what your gifts or opportunities are as we are all seeking happiness and contentment. However, we need to take into account that we are Spiritual Beings designed by God to live forever. Thus we should not just cater for the bodies we live in at the moment, but consider our Souls as well, because they will out-live our bodies.

I heard a story once of a young man who gave his girl- friend a beautiful pearl ring which was placed in a little box that the jeweller threw in for nothing. How

disappointed he was when the girl got all excited about the box and said “Oh darling what a lovely little box, I will treasure it for ever” and showed very little interest in the ring. Ridiculous, isn’t it? But many of us do that with our Souls. If we could separate our Souls and Bodies (sitting them side by side) we would be ashamed of our poorly cared for starved Souls that had been fed very little spiritual food, sitting beside our bodies that were in many cases over-fed. Actually, our Souls deserve more consideration than our bodies do, because our bodies are just the “box” we live in, whilst our Soul (the real “us”) lives for ever.

 I guess I am one of the most fortunate persons in the world though, because about a month or so after that droving trip, mentioned above, it was explained to me the reason Jesus allowed himself to be crucified: It was so that He could pay any debt that we humans owe because of our sin. To me this was “Mind Boggling” so I read and re-read the New Testament to grasp the full significance of what this meant for me personally, and came to realise that having accepted His Forgiveness He then wanted me to accept the fellowship and guidance of The Holy Spirit and keep in-touch constantly by prayer. The outcome of all this was that I looked in the right places to “locate” the right girl to share my life in marriage, and I was able to find guidance in my life’s work too. (in case you are wondering, that didn’t mean that I became a millionaire or something like that). On the contrary, although I did acquire a grazing property my desires changed and I just wanted to do what God would have me do. That certainly meant that I had to make an honest living and look after my family, but (whilst doing that), I needed to set a goal (high on the list of my priorities) of helping people understand more about Jesus saving grace. That is why I write these articles pointing out that although some wealthy people seem to be content knowing they can afford a gold plated coffin for their dead body, whilst their Soul goes “into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” for eternity. (Matthew 8: 12). I want to be sure that the people I know realise there is a mansion prepared for their Soul in Heaven by Jesus if they repent and believe in Him. (John chapter 14 verse 2 in conjunction with John chapter 3 and verse 16 and so on). My friends and acquaintances probably already know all that, but I just want to be sure that they do, because there is nothing more important.

 Best wishes. Tom.  

 

The Easter Question....Have you any Room for Jesus

There is a hymn that “spells out” the Easter message like this:

“On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross the emblem of suffering and shame, and I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain. I will cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown”.

How awesome it is that Jesus was willing to pay the price of our sins, as recorded in John chapter 3 and verse 16, so that we can go free, (provided we are willing to repent and “believe” in Him). Jesus, referring to the door of our heart says: “Behold I stand at the door and knock If any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me”. (Revelation 3: 20). The artist, Holman Hunt, illustrated that statement Jesus made, as we see in his painting here, where the Risen Saviour is bringing with Him our pardon from sin and the light of life, what a challenge that is for us because as God’s children we are all included as beneficiaries in Jesus “Last Will and Testament”. (Called the “New Testament”) This begs the question: “Have you any room for Jesus? He who bore your load of sin, as He knocks and asks admission, loved one won’t you let Him in? Room for Jesus, King of Glory, hasten now His word obey, swing your heart’s door widely open, bid Him enter whilst you may?” You see, it is up to us to decide because God can do no more without removing our freedom of choice. As the beneficiaries we have to decide whether or not to claim our inheritance. How about you then? Have you told God yet that you want to claim your inheritance?  which amounts to the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life shared by Jesus plus fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

A friend of Holman Hunt (the man who painted that picture) said to Holman “you forgot to put a handle on the door”. Holman Hunt replied: “No I didn’t forget. The handle to open our heart’s door is on the inside; Therefore, we are the only ones who can open the door and invite Jesus in”. Now, if we do that, (or have already done so), then we will have a happy Easter and the words of the following hymn become relevant to us as a prayer: “Into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart Lord Jesus, come in to-day, come in to stay, come into my heart Lord Jesus. Out of my heart, out of my heart, shine out of my heart Lord Jesus, shine out to-day, shine out alway, shine out of my heart Lord Jesus”.

 In that way we obey Jesus instruction as recorded in Matthew 5:16, where He says “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify my Father who is in Heaven”. We will then be very comfortable singing “I serve a risen Saviour, He’s in this world to-day, and I shall always serve Him no matter what men say, I see His hand of mercy, I feel His tender care, and every time I need Him He’s always there. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives to-day, He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way, He lives, He lives salvation to impart, you ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart”.  Easter is the Pivotal point in all our lives, whether we are an Atheist, a Christian, or whatever, because how we respond to Jesus death and resurrection determines how our life on earth will “pan out” and where we will spend Eternity! “Neither is there Salvation in any other name” (Acts 4:12).

The “Easter Bunny” is merely a commercial gimmick and has absolutely no religious significance.  Not so the Easter egg though, as it symbolises the “new birth,” mentioned to us above, which is available to us through Jesus crucifixion and resurrection (if we repent of past sin and ask for forgiveness).  If you buy an unlabelled egg make sure you tell others that it is an “EASTER” egg, and that it represents NEW LIFE.       

Have a happy Easter. Best wishes, Tom.