Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
Arua. If you tried to search that name on “google” five years ago you would be auto corrected and taken to “Aurora” or “Aruba”. Not any more! As a matter of fact this little town tucked in the North Eastern corner of Uganda is becoming a bustling hub of activity. Uganda recently came back into the spotlight when it won its second ever Olympic gold medal. No, that was not the most recent. Um, was it the Joseph Kony 2012 video? No, that was just a celebrity stunt involving Uganda. Yes, the president stood and repented of personal and national sins of the country and dedicated the country to God during celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of its independence from Britain. (I will blog about that another time) Speaking of which before I digress, are there any blogs on Arua? Yup, actually several. One blogger recounts how he travelled to Arua and dined in an Ethiopian “hole in the wall restaurant” and slept in a bed laid side ways (I’m still trying to figure that out)!
There are many people in the world, alas, who are interested in religion, who talk about it and are always ready to have a debate about it. Many of them read books about religion and listen to lectures on the radio about it: perhaps they even listen to sermons in church about religion and are tremendously interested. But it is purely a detached, intellectual interest, something that they like to play with in their minds and to talk about to others. So the point I am making is this: Surely, this is infinitely worse than the position of people who say there is no God. Indeed, is there anything more terrible than a purely theoretical and academic interest in God and in religion and in the godly life? ~Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Funny one this but a little canine just leaped into archeology history. Or so did he?
He never studied archeology and knows more about bones than about antiquities, but he is probably the first dog in history to uncover a major archeological site. It all began five years ago when Zach, a mongrel, took a walk at Jerusalem’s Ramot Forest with his owner, Shaul Yona. As he was joyfully running around the forest, Zach suddenly fell into a hole in the ground. Yona managed to get his dog out safe and sounds. As he took a deep breath following the drama, he peeked into the hole and realized that it was not just a random pit. He alerted archeologists, who checked the hole and discovered that it had been used as a grape pressing area during the First Temple period. The sensational discovery led to an extensive excavation, which exposed additional pits, pottery pieces and bronze coins from the Second Temple period. The dig was orchestrated by Prof. Amihai Mazar, who was awarded the Israel Prize in archaeology in 2009.
HT Jim West (who incidentally loves cats!)
Pieter Stok has been married for well over thirty years. Apart from being nuts over Lego (who wouldn’t be?) he is passionate about his Christian faith, marriage and family. He looks back to pressure points in his marriage with thoughtfulness and candidly recounts:
A recently married person asked me the other day what the pressure points were in our 38+ years of married life. Things have been so calm for a number of years ( apart from a moment on an Italian motorway), I had to think. Yes, there had been times when we had to work hard to love each other. Or as an old Dutchman once said, “I never, absolutely never, ever thought of divorce – it never entered my mind, never, … but murder, quite a few times.”
For every couple those pressure points will be different. Their personalities, character traits and circumstances will mean unique pressures on their marriage. Here are some that I struggled with. (Continued here)
I love the final bit where he adds that most of all in a marriage we share a journey with God. He is the third strand (Eccl 4:12). If there were times when we were weak, we had to rely on Him even more. So even when we let each other down He has never let us down.
Excerpt from Travels from Ur.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have
drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3There are but few upon whom God bestows His saving love.
Tell me, are not the gifts which Christ has given you—rare
gifts? What would you have been—if Christ had not made
a difference between you and others—by those glorious gifts
which He has conferred upon you? You look upon some, and
see they are very ignorant of spiritual truth. O! What would
you have been—if God had not bestowed saving knowledge
upon you? You look upon others who are unclean, profane,
and filthy. Why! such a wretch you would have been—if
the Lord had not made a difference between you and them,
by bestowing Himself, His grace, and Spirit upon you.
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom
of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers
nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what
some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by
the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ~ Thomas Brooks
Excerpt from The Unsearchable Riches of Christ.
Andrea Ferrari is a Reformed pastor in Italy. He opens up to the challenges faced by him, the church and his mission field.
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Well, Rome has always been associated with a lot of mischief but I think the gospel is changing the hearts of some. Daniel Ventura writes about the effects of the Reformation and gospel in Italy today:
The first thing I noticed when driving from the airport is that Italian drivers are crazy. No one is paying much attention to stop signs, speed limits, or any other traffic signs for that matter. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to get to and from wherever it is they are going, and there is not much acknowledgment of one another on the road unless you have an Italian flag hanging outside your window following the victory of an Italian soccer match (then you receive a flood of honks every corner you turn!).
It seems Italian driving indicates something about the Italian cultural mindset in general. Both in the car, walking down the street, in café’s and supermarkets, everyone is focused simply on what is going on right in front of them. There are not many friendly hellos’, warm smiles, conversations on the corner, or any real human acknowledgement of one another for that matter. And in such a difficult economic time for Italy, it makes a lot of sense that there is this sense of depression and gloom wherever you go. In many ways, people are forced into this kind of lifestyle because the pressures are so great to meet financial obligations; so only an individualized fast paced life keeps one enduring each day.
Studying The Heidelberg Catechism has helped me come to understand the Sovereignty of God. First published in 1563, this is a document of the Reformed Christian faith which is used by many churches. Many people especially if you are like me (from a Word of Faith and Charismatic background with bits and pieces of gleaned aberrant theology) come to find a lot of theological depth in the different questions and answers with scriptural references in this Reformed document. I for one would get worried that the devil would ‘make me backslide’ or come against me on a vengeance trip and cause me to fearfully ‘lose my salvation’. What if a generational curse pursued me all my life and couldn’t be broken by my pastor? What if I didn’t tithe enough or sow enough seed to guarantee a good standing with Jesus? What if…what if …what if? However starting with the first question of this Catechism one comes to learn the depth of the riches of the grace of God. I have come to learn that my comfort in life and death has a lot more to do with Jesus to whom I belong. Oh how comforting! How very comforting? One good study guide that I would recommend on The Heidelberg Catechism is this one by G.I Williamson. It has numerous scripture references and is well structured for either individual or family study. Now, the very first question of the Catechism causes me to smile with confidence not in myself or my ability but in my God and faithful Savior.
Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A. That I am not my Own,
but belong body and soul, in life and in death-
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
How little must the presence of God be felt in that place, where the high functions of the pulpit are degraded into a stipulated exchange of entertainment, on the one side, and of admiration, on the other! and surely it were a sight to make angels weep, when a weak and vapouring mortal, surrounded by his fellow-sinners, and hastening to the grave and the judgment along with them, finds it a dearer object to his bosom, to regale his hearers by the exhibition of himself, than to do, in plain earnest the work of his Master, and urge on the business of repentance and of faith, by the impressive simplicities of the gospel.-Thomas Chalmers
One book that I plan to read:
It’s amazing what youth will eat. I love sushi, but it’s quite different than eating a live goldfish. I sat near the back of the crowd and watched with a curious sea-sickness—gazing at the teenage wonder while keeping one eye on the nearest trash can! A loud unified chant shook the entire room: “Mar-cus, Mar-cus.” And down it went, to the praise of cheering youth. He was the envy of every guy and the disgust of every girl. The champion collected his prizes and walked off the stage with a hero-notch on his belt.
“So what can we do next week,” I thought to myself. “There’s no way I can top eating a live goldfish.” I was helping out with the youth program at the time, and we had been gradually escalating the “shock factor” to attract more youth. And, for all intents and purposes, it seemed to work. Every week, we saw new youth, who occasionally seemed to embody a little of the “shock factor” themselves… …Read More!
Monergism has a link to 36 free sermons by John Calvin. Click here.
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 