Tuesday 30th March 2010 - In the news.

I was reading the ABC news just now. And this article entitled "China ties questioned after 'harsh' Hu sentence" Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says, and I quote: "Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith has described Hu's 10-year jail sentence as harsh by any one's measure but says it will not affect the bilateral relationship."
I could not disagree more. In view of some of the questions raised, I for one, would not do business in China. One would not know where one stood or what laws one is likely to break. From my understanding, the "gifts" that were passed around, was quite common when doing business in that country. Further more, if I owned a company that had been doing business in China, I would be winding up my business interests very rapidly.
My work colleague said this morning that ignorance is no excuse. Correct. But how do we find out their law. Where is the cross over point between custom and practice and law breaking.
I find it interesting that we know do some much business with China. Indeed, if we examine the labels on our clothing, most of this is manufactured in China. We have, and are becoming increasingly more so, dependant on China for much of what we consume. From clothing to foot wear to cars to electrical goods. China is an importer of our goods. Yet in doing business with China we may be leaving ourselves open to breaking laws that we are unaware of/don't understand fully.
Finally, I really think it is good to think on the relationship between, and differences between, mercy, grace, condoning, repentance and forgiveness.
Also, where do we want our enemy? I want mine where I can see them.

Sunday 21st March 2010 My Testimony

This evening/afternoon we, that is my family, went to Connect 4 Families at St Luke's Anglican Church in down town Frankston. This evening I was asked for my testimony. Here it is.

Simply this: I can't and only Jesus can.

My early years where nothing to write home about. As one of five children life had no joy and no meaning. As a 12 year old boy I had spent most of my life in trouble. I had no confidence in my own ability. I could do no right and had long since given up trying. For 12 years I existed in a kind of void. I had no friends. I ate, I washed, I slept, I endured. I was forced to endure Scripture lessons and at 12 years of age I had enough of this "religious crap" that I was forced to learn and so told the Anglican minister, whose lot it was to teach us, exactly I thought of his non existent God, what he could do with his God and where he could shove Him.

To my utter amazement I didn't get the thrashing I deserved. In fact I didn't even get into trouble. The minister simply told me that Jesus had died to forgive me all my sins and that He was just waiting to be my friend. Having no friends this was just what I needed. A friend, a friend who would accept just as I was, warts and all.

Years past and at age 19 having walked away from God. I met a man in Perth, West Australia, who questioned my constant use of bad language. He seemed different. He had a peace that passed all understanding. He wasn't angry with me, just merely asked the question. Again I was impressed. I wanted what he had and asked him about it. He told me his secret to life was to be found in, none other than Christ Himself. Christ was his life. Without Christ he was nothing.

More time past. I went my own way and did some things I am not proud of. My friend kept writing to me regarding the state of my life. By this time I had long since decided that God would by now have given up on me and so there was no sense in even trying. I wrote my friend along these lines. I reckon that must have been the fastest answer I ever got from any one. The post office really out did itself in getting his answer to me. Far from giving up, he told me, God was just waiting for me to come back to Him. All I had to do was ask and forgiveness was mine. I did. You bet I did. I thought, I have been given another chance and I aren't going to blow it this time. I asked Jesus right there and then to forgive me all my sins and to save me from death.

But, I still had to learn about life. Christ's life. After having been forgiven my sin I thought all would be roses in the garden. Wrong! With the roses are thorns. I fondly imagined that now I was saved I would no longer sin. Wrong Again! It was about this time that I read a book called the Saving Life of Christ by Major W. Ian Thomas. In there I discovered that not only could I not live the Christian life in my own strength, but that God was merely waiting for me to discover it and then make the biggest discovery of my life, both before and since. You see I found that not only could I not live the Christian life, but that only Christ could, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in me. You see I had to surrender my life to Christ and let Him live in and through me. Wow! What a miracle. My part? Willingness and surrender. No more, no less. Like I said, what a miracle.

Now, I am not saying life has been without its pit falls. I have made many mistakes over the last 20 years or so. But this I do know, God is faithful. He has been faithful to me all these years. But He has been my life. I cannot live without Him. I could not imagine life with out Him. For me, Christ is life. All else is death. People are unreliable and cannot be depended on. Jesus can. Christ is life and is utterly dependable. I am totally convinced without a shadow of doubt, that nothing can keep me from His love, save only me. He will never leave me. No, not ever. For me to live is Christ, all else is death.

In Him alone do I trust. There is only my death and His life. I owe, quite literally, my life to Him.

Stanley J. Mitchell

It is some time since I penned that testimony. I can now affirm that testimony even more. Both in my own life, and in the lives of some others I know who are still trying to do it on their own - we can't, they can't, you can't. They can try to clean up their act, but at the end of the day it takes Christ.

Saturday 20th March 2010 It occurs to me

The Birthday Girl

That it has been a while since I posted in my blog. That is what happens when one has Facebook. Anyway I am here just for now.
Today we went walkabout to Kananook Creek Boulevard redevelopment. It was one of those been there done that. Actually it was disappointing. There was quite a build up and the stuff we had read led us to believe that it was really very good, lots of restaurants and the like. Well, that lost something in the translation. The sides of the creek as been concreted. And now it gets flushed out. But that is about it. Absolutely nothing to write home about. I don't think we will be going there any time soon.
Since I posted seriously, our little angel has turned 3. I have included a picture or two. The drawing is from Michele. In the photo the birthday girl is standing and wearing all the cloths. There are many layers.
Now to a subject dear to me. Bible interpretation. How to do. Well, I have always accepted what I read at face value. It always seem to me that when something was allegorical it was fairly obvious. So for example. If God said the earth was created in six days, as far as I was concerned it was. No big deal. So university degree required to understand that. Pretty straight forward. Various Christian friends of mine had, over the years, tried to muddy the waters and make it more complicated than it needed to be. I just went quiet and said nothing. But lately I have tended to be a tad for forthright in my views. You see I have been listening to some podcasts from Faithroots Radio. They are over here at Good News For Israell. In a recent podcast they addressed the issue of Bible interpretation. There attitude is like my own. Read and interpret the Bible at literally unless otherwise indicated. So, Jesus always made it obvious when he was telling a parable. So it is in some other places. For example, remember Nathan when he confronted King David over his misdemeanor with Bathsheba? But else where the Bible means what it says and says what it means. This morning at Triple M's we had a discussion on this. One of our number is a bit into "high criticism." He says we need to look at how it was written and all that. Way to complicated for a little boy like me. And most times when I go to the Greek or Hebrew dictionary for a meaning I find the KJV is very close in it accuracy of interpretation. As I said to him we should keep to the KISS principle where S = Stupid which I mostly am.

Monday 8th March 2010 John Rutter

But first I like this song.

But I also am a fan of John Rutter. He did songs like "For the Beauty of the Earth". Try this: All things Bright and Beautiful.