“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” – Erich Hoffer

“Count your blessings, name them one by one;

count your blessings, see what God hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

count your blessings, see what God hath done.”

Johnson J. Oatman Jr.

Johnson J. Oatman Jr. was a Methodist lay preacher of the past century.

In one of our local papers, the DOUBTLESS BAY TIMES (Wednesday, 19 May 2010), I am reading about how people would like to improve their local community.

The front page of the paper has an article and a picture of a competition winner.

“Entrants in the competition were asked to write a 500 word essay on how they would like to improve their local community,” says the paper.

KAITAIA, in the north of New Zealand

(Click on picture to enlarge it.)

In “The World’s Most Popular Restaurant Publication”, the COFFEE NEWS (Vol 110:2) is a New Zealand Police advertisement that starts with “Safer Communities Together”.

You can see that also written on the police cars: “Safer Communities Together”.

The ad carries on giving advice on how to “Avoid Car Theft”.

The people living in one locality are called community.

And those people need to hear the GOSPEL!

The safety of a community will improve, when the Gospel is preached; when people come out of darkness into light, from death into life.

The apostle Paul says in Romans 1:16:

“I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, BECAUSE IT IS THE POWER OF GOD FOR SALVATION OF EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES.”

That is the cover story of the April 2010 magazine called “goodreading.” “Fiona McIntosh, famous for her fantasies and and crime novels, looked to her family history to write her first historical saga, FIELDS OF GOLD, as she tells Sarah Minns.”

Both grandfathers of Fiona McIntosh  were actually gold-miners in India.

You can find lots of people these days mining family history.

I am not so much interested in finding out about my ancestors, but I am very much interested in mining the Bible, the Word of the Living God.

There are many people who are mining the Bible. Treasures are to be found in the Bible. What is the tool we need to discover them? PRAYER! Ernest and consistent prayer!

Do you belong to the people , who are mining the Bible?

The BIBLE is an exciting book for those people, who have a living relationship with God. If you don’t have a living relationship with God, the Bible is just like any other book in your library!

“Seek & defend the truth.” What a message!

(When I read that, verses from the Bible, the Word of the Living God, came to my mind straight away.)

I saw the words written on a bus, a minibus. They were actually part of a coat of arms. The heraldic bearings of a person, family, or corporation are called coat of arms. KAITAIA COLLEGE was also written on the minibus.

I was in fact on my way to the local library here in Kaitaia and that was just the place to find out more about the coat of arms and the Kaitaia College.

All I could find at the library was the 2007 Kaitaia College book, a slender volume. But that was enough information  for me. The Kaitaia coat of arms was on the front-page and underneath was written:

“SEEK & DEFEND THE TRUTH.”

I mentioned already, that verses from the Bible, the Word of the Living God are coming to my mind, when I read that.

In John 14:6, the Lord Jesus says that he is not only the TRUTH, but that he is “the way and the truth.”

Listen also to what the Bible says in Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Let us rejoice together!

And what does the apostle Paul say in his letter to the Philippians? Philippians 1:16 “The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the GOSPEL.”

“I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.”- Ecclesiastes 10:7

“Upstarts frequently usurp the highest places, while the truly great pine in obscurity.”

– C. H. Spurgeon