Lyrics - Shine, Jesus, shine

Lord, the light of your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness, shining
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us
Set us free by the truth you now bring us
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

Lord, I come to your awesome presence
From the shadows into your radiance
By the blood I may enter your brightness
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness
Shine on me, shine on me

As we gaze on your kingly brightness
So our faces display your likeness
Ever changing from glory to glory
Mirrored here may our lives tell your story
Shine on me, shine on me

 

The fascinating story behind the candy cane ...

The fascinating story behind the candy cane ...
The birth, ministry, and death of
Jesus Christ are signified through
the elements of the candy cane ~

JESUS CHRIST is ....
our Good Shepherd (staff shape) ~ 1 Pt. 5:4
our Rock (hard candy) ~ 1 Cor. 10:4
our Sinless Savior (white) ~ 2 Cor. 5:21
our Sacrifical Lamb (red) ~ Eph. 1:7

The STRIPES symbolize pain inflicted upon
Jesus before his death on the cross and a bold
stripe to represent the blood he shed for
mankind. The three stripes can also represent
the power and presence of the Trinity
(the Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

The smell and taste of PEPPERMINT relate
to the herb hyssop. Psalm 51:7 states,
"Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean,
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

The candy cane is meant to be shared --
broken into pieces for all to share. That
reminds us of Jesus' words, "This is my body
which is broken for you" (1 Cor. 11:24).
What a sweet way to share the Gospel !

Different versions of the Candy Cane Story

 

 

EXCUSE ME, ARE YOU JESUS?

 

As you read this think about what you would do!

 

"Excuse me, Are you Jesus?" This is really powerful and makes one think!!!! A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago . They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.

 

ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

 

He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.

 

He was glad he did.

 

The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

 

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

 

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."

 

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"

 

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?" Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.

 

If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would.

 

Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church.

 

It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.

 

You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.

 

 

 

Please share this,,,, Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing what we know...Thanks

 

GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

 

 

Powerpoint Presentations

• For Sons and Daughters
  

June 17, 2007 - First Service Seventh Day Adventist Church

Background Notes on the Book of Acts

Introduction

 

Before reading any book, it is helpful to ask the question: when and why did the author bother to write all this?  Normally, an author has a specific goal in mind, and Luke was no exception.   He appears to have had a number of reasons for writing Luke-Acts.

 

While Luke addressed his book to Theophilus (literally means lover of God), it is evident that he anticipated his writing having a far wider circulation.  Indeed, he tells us that others had set about writing an account of all that Jesus had done (Luke 1:1ff).  But Luke had taken the time to carefully research these things and produce Luke - Acts.  One would not normally go to so much trouble to write something if it were intended purely for one private individual.  It appears that Luke had a very wide audience in mind - including Roman officials, since parts of his writings seem to be specifically intended for Roman officials.

 

Firstly he wrote as a historian.

He himself had not been an eyewitness to the various events surrounding the ministry of Jesus, and even some of what is written in Acts (Note how he changes from "they" to "we" at times. )  So when Luke spent time (at least 2 years - see Acts 21:7 and 27:1) in Palestine he took the opportunity to become familiar with Jewish cultural matters and to research the things he had been taught.  As a medical doctor he had undergone rigorous scientific training, and was in an excellent position to interview the key players in the drama - people like Jesus' mother .   But it was not just an academic exercise for Luke:  He wrote so that  you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. 

Luke records for us the first 30 or so years of the church.

 

Secondly he wrote as a diplomat  (to give a defence)

As Luke writes he develops a quite powerful political apologetic.   With Paul in prison, he no doubt was concerned about the attitude of some of the Roman officials towards Christianity.   He goes out of his way to show:

•     That the Romans officials were mostly friendly to Christianity, and that some even had become Christians - like the centurion at the cross, the centurion Cornelius, and Serius Paulus.

•     That the Roman authorities could find no fault in either Jesus or his apostles.   Jesus had been accused of serious offences, but neither Herod nor Pilate had found him guilty.  Similarly, Luke tells us that Felix, Festus and Agrippa all failed to convict Paul of any offence.

•     That the Roman authorities agreed that Christianity was a licensed religion, because it was really a form of Judaism.  Hence Luke is at pains to show that the church community had a direct continuity with the OT people of God.

 

Writing as a diplomat, Luke wrote not only a political apologetic, but he also wrote as  a peacemaker in the church.   His writings set forth the picture that by God's providence the early church had remained a united church, despite the problems of trying to keep Jews and Samaritan and Gentile Christians in the one church!

He does this by showing that Peter, James and Paul were in agreement about the basics of the gospel message.   He shows their ministries to be parallel, rather than divergent

 

Thirdly Luke wrote as the Theologian- Evangelist (to provide a guide)

Three basic truths reoccur time and time again in Luke's writings:

•     Salvation has been prepared by God.   It was not an afterthought, or something that "just happened".

•     Salvation is given by Christ. (e.g. Acts 2:38-39)

•     Salvation is offered to all peoples (e.g. by showing how Paul's ministry turned to the Gentiles)  In his writing he shows us that despite all kinds of opposition, the Christian faith triumphed in reaching the centre of the then known world (Rome),  thus showing us that believers empowered by the Holy Spirit had indeed been able to spread the gospel far and wide (Acts 1:8)

 

 

In understanding Acts we need to realise that it is written as a follow on volume to the Gospel of Luke, as is clear from Acts 1:1  (It is generally accepted that Luke wrote Acts about 63AD - very soon after the last event recorded in the book.  Had Luke known the outcome of Paul's trial, he would almost certainly have told us about it).   Often people think  that Luke's Gospel is about the ministry of Jesus Christ, while Acts is about the Church of Jesus Christ from its birth in Jerusalem to the time it makes an impact in Rome.  Rather, Luke presents both books as being about what Jesus Christ did.  The gospel recounts what Jesus did until his ascension, while the second book tells us what Jesus did after the ascension.   Thus we could say that Luke is about Jesus' earthly ministry, while Acts is about his heavenly ministry.

 

It is interesting to note how Luke records for us that Jesus was not taken up to heaven until he had given clear instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen (Acts 1:2)  Thus we see that Jesus deliberately made provision for the continuation of his ministry on earth by means of the apostles, directed from heaven through the Holy Spirit.

 

Luke shows us that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a key event in redemptive history.  It seems that Luke sees history in 3 phases:  the period of Israel (up to the last prophet, John); the period of Jesus (beginning at his baptism and going through to his ascension) and the period between the ascension and the parousia (coming again).  This latter period was marked by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to all men.

 

Relevance of Acts for today

 In a sense, the book of Acts is an unfinished book.   The theme of the book is mission - how the gospel spread from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and then to the ends of the world.  More and more chapters will be added to that story of the spread of the gospel until the day of Jesus' return.  The challenge to us is to be open to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit, so that we will be effective instruments in the spread of the gospel.  

 

Acts contains many ageless principles which all of God's children do well to heed, and to model their mission work on.  It is also a book of great comfort - for we see that Jesus through the working of His Spirit, ensures that the mission of the church will be accomplished.

 

 May the sermons on Acts over the coming months be a blessing to you.

 

Pastor Peter

 

June 2007

 

Tapestry - True story

GOD IS GREAT!

 

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve .

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rain storm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, hand made, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

 

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet.. "Pastor," she asked, " Where did you get that tablecloth?"

The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The

woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and she never saw her husband or her home again.

 

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth, but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he had got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike. He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

 

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

 

Who says God does not work in mysterious ways. So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best..

When there is nothing! left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

 

Father, God, bless all my friends and family in what ever it is that You know they may be needing this

day! May their life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a

closer relationship with you. Amen.

 

 

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THIS COURT CASE?

In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no holiday to celebrate.

The case was brought before a wise judge. After listening to the long passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and declared  "Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss  this case? The Christians have Christmas,  Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom
Kippur and Hanukkah...yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!"  

The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, "Obviously your client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate his own atheists' holiday!"

The lawyer pompously said, "Your Honor,  we are unaware of any such holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be, your Honor?"

The judge said, "Well it comes every year on exactly the same date---April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as  'April Fools Day,' consider that Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no
God.' Thus, in my  opinion, if your client says there is no God, then by scripture he is a fool,  thus April 1st is his holiday! Get it?"

PRAY THAT SOME DAY OUR COURTS WILL BE FULL OF THESE KIND OF JUDGES...... MAYBE THEN, WE CAN PUT GOD BACK WHERE HE BELONGS --- IN EVERYTHING WE DO...  

Way to go, Judge!

Grandma's Hands

I'll never look at my hands the same way again!

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands. When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear strong voice. 'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained to her.

'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at your hands?' I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story: 'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. 'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.

'They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents
and spouse.

'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. 'They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest
of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life. But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.'

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and
husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.
I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.

When you receive this, say a prayer for the person who sent it to you and watch God's answer to prayer work in your life. Let's continue praying for one another. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both. Passing this on to one not yet considered a friend is something Christ would do.

CLUB 99

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.
One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy.

The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?"
The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies."
The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of "The 99 Club."

"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what "The 99 Club" is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep."

When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins!

He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, "What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins! “
He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.
From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked.
 
Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined "The 99 Club.”

He continued, "The 99 Club" is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra ONE, telling to themselves: "Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life."

We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires. That's what joining "The 99 Club" is
 all about."

                 

Bible vs Mobile Phone

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our mobile phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we used it to receive messages?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it as we travelled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

What if we upgraded it to get the latest version?

This is something to make you go...hmmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our mobiles we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!

 

 

June 10th 2007 - a significant day in the life of our church

Today is a significant day in the life of our church: it is our last service at the Perth Bible College, before moving to the SDA church at North Beach. It was on Nov 21, 2004 that we held the first service in the chapel of the Perth Bible College. Forty two people (including the children) attended that first service. Among the congregation were a significant number of supporters from the

Willetton congregation. From memory, the families Melvill, Conradie, Holmes, Pelser, Somerville, Voogd and van Rooyen, who are still with us, all pledged their support to help develop Grace CRC. (There were others present who have moved on, including the Family Fouche who moved to Queensland)

For the first year of the life of Grace CRC (till end 2005), I was still full time at Willetton CRC, and so was only able to devote a day or so a week to the church, besides taking the service and running a fortnightly home group. It was through the hard work, commitment and determination of those pioneer families, who invited friends to come along, and the website which Basie van Rooyen set up, that brought a steady flow of visitors. Under the guiding hand of God the church

has continued to grow.

On October 16th 2005, we held our first Membership Sunday, where we formally welcomed into membership all those who had committed themselves to being members of the Grace CRC by signing the membership covenant. The document that everyone signed read in part: “We have covenanted together to work under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the leadership of our pastor, Rev Peter Abetz, to build a self supporting Christian Reformed Church congregation, for the purpose of wining the lost to Christ, building believers to maturity in Christ, sending them out into Kingdom service.”

God in His grace has allowed us to grow not only in numbers, but also in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has given us 3 elders and a pastoral care assistant. He has also given us people with generous hearts, who give of their time by serving in various ways and give of their financial resources, so that we are getting very close to being financially self supporting.

We are deeply appreciative of the wonderful way in which the board and staff at the PBC have welcomed us. There have been some great synergies of having our services in a Bible College. I wonder how many of our people would have considered doing courses at PBC, had we not met in the PBC? The very reasonable rent made it financially possible for us to get started, and also helped the finances of the college. We will miss that close connection with PBC once we move to

the SDA church, but I trust that the good contact will continue through the on going involvement  of some of the staff as members of our congregation. As we move to our new venue, which will allow us to accommodate more people in our services, let us keep in mind our vision: “To build a healthy, mission minded, self supporting church, that is open to everyone, but has a special calling to reach the migrant communities in the northern suburbs who are of Reformed  background. “

Next Sunday we commence a new series of sermons in the book of Acts. Acts is in many ways a book on missions. While Acts is largely descriptive, telling us what the early church did, and how they did things, we can learn much from it to help us in our mission task. It is my prayer that this series of sermons will help to motivate and equip us in our calling to make Christ known.

Pastor Peter

 

A Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so tha t I can hear from You.

Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing it w ith others. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly..

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Why men lie - this is good

One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above river,  
his axe fell into the river. 

When he cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "Why are you  crying?"  
                                                                         
The woodcutter replied that his axe has fallen into water, and he needed the axe to make his living.                                                  
                                                                         
The Lord went down in the water and reappeared with a golden axe.  "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.                                              
                                                                         
The woodcutter replied, "No."                                            
                                                                        
The Lord again went down and came up with a silver axe. "Is this  your axe?"the Lord asked.                                                    
                                                                         
 Again, the woodcutter replied, "No."                                    
                                                                         
 The Lord went down again and came up with an iron axe. "Is this  your  axe?"the Lord asked.                                                    
                                                                         
 "Yes", he replied.                                                      
                                                                         
The Lord was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all three axes to keep, and the woodcutter went home happy.                                
                                                                         
 Some time later the woodcutter was walking with his wife along  the      
 riverbank, and his wife fell into the river.                            
                                                                         
 When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked  him,  "Why are you crying?"                                                                
                                                                         
 "Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!"                            
                                                                         
 The Lord went down into the water and came up with Jennifer  Lopez.      
 "Is this your wife?" the Lord asked.                                    
                                                                         
 "Yes," cried the woodcutter.                                            
                                                                         
 The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!"                    
                                                                         
 The woodcutter fell to his knees and cried, "Oh, forgive me, Lord. It is
 a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to Jennifer  Lopez, You    
 would  have come up with Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Then if  I also said 'no' to    
 her, you would have come up with my wife. Had I then said  'yes,' you would  
 have given me all three. Lord, I am a poor man, and am not able to take care  
 of all three wives, and  I love my wife such that I don't want her to share
 me  with anyone, so THAT'S why I said yes to Jennifer Lopez."                
                                                                         
 The moral of this story is: Whenever a man lies, it is for a good  and  
 honourable reason, and for the benefit of others.. MOSTLY his  wife!    
                                                                         
 That's our story, and we're sticking to it..                            
                                                                         
 THE GUYS. 

 

 

Teaching Values today

How often have you endeavoured to teach your children values such as vision, boundaries, authenticity, listening and empathy? Timothy Smith in a book called, The Danger of Raising

NICE Kids, suggests that many parents struggle to teach such values. Consider where most of our time goes. We live in a very competitive society where we know that if we work hard we’ll be able to beat the crowd. That usually means we’re busy making a successful living and don’t often enough take time to consider the long term values of God’s Word for ourselves or our children. We want our kids to have good manners, and rightly so. But it takes more than good manners to make a difference for God. What if a young person has social skills but lacks internal strength and courage? What if they too easily give in to peer and cultural pressures?

How do we teach those deeper values? Our first need is to keep monitoring our own lives. If we’re under stress, we may want our children to grow up too fast, packing in lots of activities, but not paying attention to their spiritual and emotional growth and particular needs at each stage of their lives. Instead, let’s remind ourselves that as trainers we ask, “How can I train her for life; how can I develop his character; how do we grow our children from the inside out?”

Consider the following examples:

*They need more than self esteem and a competitive edge. Help them to be able to take criticism without falling apart. When they fail, help them to try again without blaming others for their failure.

*Help them develop an accurate, Biblical view of themselves, knowing their strengths and weaknesses rather than unrealistic expectations.

*Help them feel good about themselves without thinking of themselves as gods. It’s really about discipling our children. And at the same time, it’s about letting God shape and train us.

Produced by Helen Vanderbom; Children’s Work Coordinator;

CRCA:childrens@crca.org.au