Bible Stories For Big Kids - Blog

ARE YOU A VISUAL LEARNER?

2/14/2020

A friend shared with me the other day, an illustration which a counsellor gave her when she was not in a good space. The counsellor told her to visualise a green grassy area in the distance, but getting there required a walk through some mud and rocky areas. To me, a very good illustration of persevering through life's bad patches, but something/Someone was missing.

This immediately made me think of Psalm 23 - ".even thought I walk through the deepest darkness I will not be afraid Lord, for you are with me - your shepherd's rod and staff protect me." What a wonderful promise! We are not alone in those darkest hours.

However, not only did this illustration remind me of Psalm 23, but it gave me insight into the reading of the Psalms, and so I have just checked out some of them again, this time visualising the situation referred to in the Psalm and what a difference that has made to my understanding of the Psalm.

Take Psalm 2 for example. "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed....." I immediately see a modern day setting of the political leaders sitting around a huge table, discussing their plans. Now that may be far from the correct setting when the Psalm was written but is sure gives me a greater understanding of the meaning of the Psalm.

Another aspect I have adopted in reading the Psalms is looking at the text from God's point of view. I imagine God looking down at that table of people plotting together and laughing at their stupidity and the futility of their plans. Once again, that is not in the text but for a visual learner like me, it gives me a better insight into the sovereignty of God and that he really is still in control even though it may not always seem that way.

According to Google 65% of people are visual learners ( Google is always correct??????) so if this includes you, try visualising the Psalms and see what wonderful illustrations come to your mind.

REAL ESTATE ADVERTISEMENT FOR HEAVEN

1/24/2020

HEAVEN

I am interested in that land, because I have held a clear title to a bit of property there for ........years. I did not buy it. It was given to me without money and without price. The donor purchased it for me at tremendous sacrifice.

I am not holding it for speculation since the title is not transferable. It is not a vacant lot. For more than half a century I have been sending materials out of which the greatest Architect and Builder of the universe has been building a home for me, which will never need to be remodelled or repaired because it will suit me perfectly and will never grow old.

Termites cannot undermine its foundations for they rest upon the Rock of Ages. Floods cannot wash it away. No locks or bolts will ever be needed for no vicious persons can even enter that land where my dwelling stands, now almost completed and almost ready for me to enter in and abide in peace eternally without fear of being evicted.

Attributed to Dr Harry Rimmer (1890 - 1952)

LIFE CAN BE MESSY

12/3/2019

Some time ago a friend of mine said that when her husband retired the following year, they were going to do this and that, then other things, and I thought at the time, that I would not be so pedantic about planning that far ahead, and that is coming from a person who likes to know ahead of time, what is likely to be happening. I always preface my plans with " I hope to be doing....." because we do not know what the future brings - just as well sometimes! Unfortunately, the husband of this couple, was killed in a car accident a few weeks later.

Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year especially for Christians, yet the trials and tribulations for Mary and Joseph were enormous and are easily overlooked. They were getting ready to be married and setting up house, which is a big enough event in itself, but overnight everything changed. Mary was to be the mother of the Messiah - that was 'wow' in itself - then when all was settled and the baby was due any day, they had to travel to Bethlehem, about 3 days journey.

After Jesus was born, they set up home in Bethlehem, then had to flee to Egypt, leaving in the middle of the night, a journey of nearly 700 klm, then a few years later, God told them it was safe to return home, but now it was Nazareth in Galilee. No air conditioned cars in those days. And that was just the physical challenges.

What about the emotional aspect?

Joseph must have been so disappointed when Mary told him she was pregnant and not surprisingly, God had to tell him in a dream that Mary had not been unfaithful, but was to be the mother of the long promised Messiah. Imagine having a perfectly behaved child when, later, there were other children.

Then there was the disappointment of no suitable accommodation in Bethlehem at the end of a 3 day journey, with a baby due to be born. It can be frustrating enough looking for a motel at the end of a day's drive, but that is nothing compared to how Mary would have felt.

But the amusing part of this story for me, is the visit by the shepherds during the night. I imagine Mary and Joseph just getting settled after a harrowing journey, makeshift accommodation and the birth of a baby, when there is a loud knock at the stable door. Who could that be? The shepherds knew about the baby and wanted to see for themselves - hadn't the angel told them to do this? Who needed a mobile phone when there were angels to announce the birth of the Messiah? How that story must have surprised Mary and Joseph - what else was God up to?

A year or so later, along the narrow lanes of Bethlehem came the Wise Men with their camels. How people must have come out to stare at these magnificently adorned animals and their passengers. Once again Mary must have been amazed at their story of the star and the men's assumption that a special king had been born. The fact that these non Jewish men were overjoyed at meeting this very special king must also have had a profound effect on Mary and Joseph.

But let's look a little behind the story of the Wise Men. At King Herod's palace, despite his charm to the Wise Men, Herod planned to kill this child whom he perceived as a threat to his dynasty; the religious leaders who checked out the prophecy of a Messiah being born in Bethlehem showed no interest in the Messiah, yet it was the foreigners or Gentiles who recognised the significance of this child, even bringing gifts which represented the life which this child Messiah would live.

Christmas is a wonderful time of celebration, but the real meaning of God coming to earth - the incarnation- requires a response:

Reject - King Herod's response

Neglect - the religious leaders' response

Accept - the Wise Men's response.

A LIGHTBULB MOMENT

11/19/2019

I always find it exciting (in my senior years) to resolve a long standing question and yesterday that happened. There was a very good article on Facebook about God's judgement on Canaan ( in particular) and whether it was genocide. The Old Testament stories seem to depict one war after another, with God often telling the Israelites to wipe out all the people when they took over a city, a horrific idea by today's standards. But was it genocide? That has always puzzled me.

I decided to reply to the article which accentuated the wickedness of the Canaanite people and God's judgement on them and as I did, it was like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle suddenly fitting together to show the big picture. This is my reasoning:-

God loves everyone and wants everyone to be saved - that was made quite clear from the beginning of time.

Noah spent 120 years building the ark and this must have caused a sensation during that time, with many people wanting an explanation of what he was doing, yet despite the many warnings Noah must have given the people, no-one believed and wanted to be saved. God gave the people plenty of opportunities to repent of their wickedness, but no-one took up his offer, hence the judgement of the flood.

When God devastated Egypt at the time of Moses, Pharaoh's bloodymindedness was not lost on all of the Egyptian people, for when the Israelites fled Egypt, many Egyptians accompanied them. God had given them ample opportunity to recognise that he was the true God and some believed, while others chose to reject him, despite the display of God's warnings in the form of the 10 plagues.

As the Israelites progressed towards the Promised Land - the land of Canaan- word had gone before them of God's devastation of Egypt and the miracle of the Red Sea crossing on dry land, ( to name but a few miracles) so these people had the opportunity to think about the God of the Israelites and whether they wanted to believe in him. The first city to be conquered was Jericho and the story of Rahab and the spies shows that she at least believed in this God. For seven days, the Israelite army marched around the city before an earthquake destroyed it (just at the appointed time) so once again, God was giving the people an opportunity to change their attitude towards him, but they chose not to believe. This was not genocide.

But why was God's punishment on these people so severe? Taking a closer look at the lifestyle of the Canaanite people, although they had a conscience like everyone else, their moral standards really were shocking, probably the worst being child sacrifice. I cannot believe that no-one in Canaan had explored the beliefs and ethics of the Israelite God yet like the people in the time of Noah, they chose to continue living the way they wanted.

In the time of Abraham, he pleaded with God not to destroy the city of Sodom if even 10 innocent people could be found, but only Lot, his wife and 2 daughters were saved. On the other hand, Jonah gave the the people on Nineveh the opportunity to turn from their wicked ways, and they did, much to his annoyance!

As I took a closer look at the 'massacres' of the Old Testament, I realised that the people whom God judged, really were given an opportunity to turn from their wickedness but many chose not to.

The other fact was and still is, that God's standards are for real, and he does and will judge evil. Even if we do not see it in our lifetime, God will be the ultimate judge. He makes this quite clear all through the Old and New Testaments.

So, was God being unfair or unreasonable when whole cities were wiped out? At long last I can say 'no'.

WISE WORDS FOR TODAY

11/18/2019

With all the recent and current activism in so many countries, and the extremists shouting their views and silencing those who disagree, I nearly burst out laughing when reading 2 Peter 1:5-7
"....you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love." How counter cultural in today's society and yet how necessary as a Christian value in respecting others and showing Christ's love.

Another saying resonated with me "Evangelism by Attraction". It reminded me of the phrase " In preaching the Gospel, sometimes we have to use words."

Did you know that "the tongue is the only blunt instrument which grows sharper with constant use?"

Charles Kettering ( 1876-1958) said "Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice."

Teresa of Avila ( 1515-1582) " Christ has no body now but yours; no hands no feet on earth but yours; yours are the eyes through which Christ looks with compassion into the world; yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good; yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world."

Wisdom truly is timeless.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

10/28/2019

SELF AWARENESS: Luke 12:6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet none of them are forgotten in God's sight".
I think of this each day now as the sparrows come for bird seed which I put out for the doves, but of course the greedy cockatoos make sure they get their fair share.

GRATEFULNESS: John 3:8 "The wind blows where it chooses......so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit".
My desk is close to the balcony door and the cool breeze which is so refreshing is a constant reminder that God is with me, even though I cannot see him.

CONFIDENCE: LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning great is your faithfulness".
Need I say any more except that the hymn 'Great is Your Faithfulness' is one of my favourites.

PRIORITIES: Matthew 6:33 " Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well".
When we first moved to the Whitsundays, we looked at buying a block of land on this estate where we now live, but what we thought was a good block of land, was not available. Fortunately, God had a better block for us, the one where we now live and each day, I thank God for the view, sometimes even saying to God 'have you looked at the view today?' as some days are magnificent - just check my Facebook page for photos!

SERENITY: 1 Peter 5:7 " Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you".
In 1978 I believed it was the right time for us to move from Sydney to the Whitsundays, yet the lease of the building in which we were to start a Chinese restaurant, did not work out. Once again, God had other ideas, and the building became available for us to purchase the freehold, a much better financial proposition. I am certainly not into prosperity gospel, but this is just one of the examples where God has looked after our financial interests.

These are just a few examples of how I relate to God, or how he relates to me, which ever way you look at it, and it was with these convictions that I could write the last sentence on the first page of 'Bible Stories For Big Kids'....
" At the same time God was preparing his plan of reconciliation, as he still loved the people he had created".

A THOROUGH GRIPE

9/12/2019

If you are feeling particularly negative or even slightly depressed, read no further, for, although I have not written the end of this blog, it may not have a happy ending.

In a recent commentary on Nehemiah, the author referred to 'religious nominalism', meaning, people who believe in God, but never attend church except for maybe Easter and Christmas, thus creating problems for Christian leaders. The emphasis was on the people not being committed to attending church, but I would reverse the argument and say the problem was on the church not being committed to the people.

Let me explain my position ( this is where the gripe comes in!). As a child, I really loved Sunday School and going to church afterwards, but looking back, it really was rather boring compared to today's standards. The bishop rarely prepared a sermon - you could tell when he did for he was a good teacher - and the Sunday School lessons were dull, but God loved me there and then and has kept loving me since. Later, the youth group was really good, with great activities and Bible studies, but there was a lot of conforming to be done. Just don't behave outside the accepted guidelines. When I moved to another part of Sydney, I was quite shocked at the lifestyle of the people on my Beach Mission team - so very liberal to what I had known, but they were great Christians. I had a lot of learning to do.

When we moved to the Whitsundays 40 years ago, our region was thinly populated, so all the Christian churches worked together. I ran the Lutheran Sunday School, played the organ at the Uniting Church and later Lutheran service, then the Anglican service and helped out at the Baptist church when needed. I even gave a children's talk at the Catholic Christmas service. However, over time things changed and as more churches became Pentecostal, they withdrew into their own groups. As ministers became younger, so they became more arrogant - no idea why - and the congregations, more conservative and withdrawn as well. Unfortunately, as for new ideas....... One denomination did a lot of very good fundraising, so I suggested this be used as outreach as the community loved those functions. How about a short prayer by the minister or a one sentence invitation to learn more about Christianity - I heard that done in the most loving and inviting way at St Paul's Cathedral London- but no! not appropriate for a function like this. And so went the way of new ideas.

I started 'Carols By Candlelight' soon after coming here, and it was later taken over and expanded by the churches, but now it is organised by Rotary and is a secular event. The church in the Whitsundays is now invisible to the community. Last Christmas, the combined churches had an ecumenical Christmas service, but did not invite the community - so much for outreach and mission. The last church meeting I attended, ( a number of years ago) I commented that I was concerned that the government was taking over so many roles which the church had traditionally undertaken, so should we not make a renewed commitment to ministry in our community? Shock horror. Again, so much for new ideas.

I could recount many more negative examples and not just about churches from this area, but even I am becoming melancholy dredging up things best forgotten. What I am observing in the churches in which I have been 'involved' is that they become Christian clubs where new members should conform to the attitudes of the group, and please don't dare suggest anything new. Now, for a committed Christian, God is always teaching us new ways of relating to him and to others, so why would the church not do the same? I could make some suggestions but they would not be pretty.

Churches, like all organisations/businesses, must relate to the people to whom they are trying to reach and that takes a lot of energy and can even make some people feel quite uncomfortable. Just look at how Jesus interacted with the religious leaders of his day. But if the church is to grow, it must fulfill Jesus' commission to 'go.....' even if that world is not a comfortable place to be.

But the most depressing thought of all, I now realise, is, if I did find the perfect church, I would be the first to contaminate it, for I am a sinner, just like all the other people who go to church.

But wouldn't it be great to be wanted for what I can contribute, and not be limited to what I am told to contribute. At least I have many happy and satisfying memories!!!!! Praise God for that!

A SIGN OF THE TIMES

9/3/2019

I am appalled at what is happening in Britain at this very time, as regards Brexit. The majority of British people voted to leave the European Union but those who do not want this to happen have tried every which way to stop this happening. And with Boris Johnson's latest move, those opposed to the exit are now accusing him of being undemocratic, yet these same people are denying the majority of their democratic right to exit the EU. So what's new!

Check out Nehemiah when he visited the returning exiled Jews in Jerusalem. After three days in Jerusalem, ( he had been travelling 1450 klm over 14 weeks) Nehemiah decided to check out the walls of the city for himself but at night, telling no-one of his plans till he had seen the devastation for himself. He told the people of God's hand in the planning of this visit, and how God wanted the people to rebuild the walls of the city. The people's response? "Let us start building"!

No sooner had they started than Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem commenced their opposition to the project, for if the building of the walls succeeded, their positions of authority would be reduced. They did not want the walls to be built and they tried every which way to stop the project. Sound familiar? Because Nehemiah's relationship with God was so cemented in prayer, Nehemiah was able to respond to the opposition and criticism from these officials with confidence, stating,"The God of heaven is the one who will give us success..." They did succeed but it wasn't easy, working with a sword in one hand and tools in the other.

As I read the story of Nehemiah yet again, I am reminded of his total dependence on God, a result of his time spent in God's presence. His confident and common sense approach to this daunting task is so refreshing after all the political correctness of today's society and the effort to offend no-one, resulting in many words but little action. Nehemiah knew that God wanted the walls to be rebuilt and nothing was going to stop that happening.

" The joy of the Lord is your strength" and " You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (from Nehemiah chapters 8 and 9) are just two of the wonderful verses found in this book which is such a great reflection of Nehemiah's deep and trusting relationship with God.

This was how Nehemiah succeeded in the face of fierce opposition.

FREEDOM!!!!!!!

7/27/2019

The story of Martin Luther, that great initiator of the Reformation, makes for interesting and refreshing reading. Although the book I am reading by Thomas Lindsay was first published in 1900, the style of writing is easy to understand ( even for me who now has a problem understanding the Kings James version of the Bible, even after having been brought up with it) but the topic which has had the most impact on me is Luther's simple explanation of the Gospel, or the theology of Christianity.

Martin Luther rebelled against the corruption of the then Roman Catholic Church after having read the scriptures for himself. Having discovered the good news of forgiveness through the Cross, instead of trying to find forgiveness through the rules and regulation of the Catholic teachings, he then set about writing his sermons and thoughts so the people of Germany, his home country, could understand this for themselves.

In contrast to the superiority of the priests and the Pope, Luther defines himself " A Christian is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone, or as St Paul puts it 'Though I be free from all, yet have I made myself servant of all".

I particularly liked one of the small booklets he wrote, where he included the contrasting lives of Christ and the then Pope. "The contrasts were: Christ washing the disciples' feet and the Pope holding out his toe to be kissed; Christ bending under His cross and the Pope carried in state on men's shoulders; Christ driving out the money-changers out of the temple and the Pope and his servants turning a church into an Indulgence mart, and sitting, surrounded with piles of money and strong boxes; and so on. 'It was a good book for the laity' Luther said."

I am finding Luther's teachings so refreshing bearing in mind that his life was in constant danger. He wrote for the ordinary person and peasant so they could understand for themselves the wonderful news and the freedom of the Gospel - I am not sure I would really appreciate his theological discourses as much!

This all happened over 500 years ago, yet in last week's national newspaper ( The Australian) there was an article about a contemporary issue, and the article contained a paragraph "This repugnant statement summed up what is the first and last commandment of the ideology of political correctness: 'We love and accept everyone. Except any we disagree with. We hate those people and we will destroy them".

That was just the thinking of the Roman Catholic Church towards Martin Luther and indeed many of the Christians of his time - destroy those with whom you disagree, instead of opening your mind and analysing what they have to say to see if maybe they might be correct.

Much has been said lately about the perils of political correctness in our universities and work places, and indeed a number of prominent Christians have been brought before the authorities for quoting/teaching certain 'touchy' subjects from the Bible. The religious authorities of Luther's time did not like was he was saying, but he maintained his stance against them and look what eventuated - the Reformation and freedom of Christians from the ( usually corrupt) rules and regulations of the then Church authorities.

When Josiah of Old Testament times became King, he read the writings of the Law then set about to implement them. "He did not turn aside to the right or to the left", and this would have not been easy as the people of Judah had not bothered about God for some time.

When the teachings of the Bible are neglected, especially in Christian circles, it is so easy for rules and regulations to replace the freedom of the Christian and the work of the Holy Spirit in a person's life. The life of Martin Luther is such a glaring example of this. The scriptures were available to only the most educated so gradually the Christian life became corrupted with rules and regulations. Martin Luther preached freedom through the Cross of Christ, the true Gospel message, and suddenly all those rules and regulations became redundent.

As King Josiah refused to turn aside from what the Law said for his time, so it is important for Christians to keep learning from the Bible - the freedom we have in Christ.

Rules, as well intentioned as they may be, will never replace the freedom we have in Christ.

FOR WHAT PURPOSE?

6/14/2019

King Hezekiah was in a pickle. How to respond to Sennacherib, that mighty warrior from Assyria? Sennacherib had conquered many of the small fortified cities of Judah and now surrounded Jerusalem. The might of the Assyrians was well known, and now Sennacherib set about to woo King Hezekiah and the people of Judah.

"Why bother taking any notice of King Hezekiah? You know he won't be able to deliver you from the might of Assyria. Make peace with Assyria and come and live in prosperity, in a land which is just waiting for you. You really don't know what you are missing out on by remaining here". At a time of such uncertainty, one could not be blamed for considering the options and taking the easy way out, but King Hezekiah held his nerve. And the basis for this? "So now O Lord our God, save us, I pray you, from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone"
( 2 Kings 19:19).

From the time of Abraham, this was God's purpose for what would become the Hebrew nation, the people whom God had chosen. Their mission was to worship him and only him, and God's part of this agreement was to bless them so that other nations would see that the Hebrew God was the true God.

The New Testament version of this is not so very different in that Jesus told his disciples to 'go and make disciples of all nations'. Christianity is not a self indulgent religion, but one to be shared with the whole world and in today's world, that can be just a difficult for many people as it was for King Hezekiah.

But with Jesus command to 'go', he provided that wonderful promise " and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age". ( Matthew 28:20)