The Northland Age is our local paper and readers are invited to submit photos depicting the Far North’s special qualities to the editor for “THIS IS OUR PLACE”. I submitted the photo below and it was printed  in The Northland Age on Tuesday, March 26, 2013.

“TOP PERCH: A bird’s eye view of Kaitaia’s 125th A&P show, courtesy of Top Energy’s cherry picker.”

“Reach for the World.” I find that message written on bookmarks I picked up at our  library here in Kaitaia.

And that’s exactly what I did when I was a kid. I read books to “reach the world”. I read the books about foreign countries in order to go there one day.

BOOKMARKS

The day came when the Bible became for me “The Book of Books” and I read in Matthew 16:26:

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Here the Lord Jesus Christ speaks about the world and the soul.  He does not underrate the world. He made the world. He knows the price of souls. He redeemed souls. The Lord Jesus Christ says that one soul is worth more than all the world.

Now I am reaching souls. At the same time I am also “reaching the world.” I was born in Germany, worked as a missionary in Thailand and I am now here in New Zealand.

“25% of all home fires begin in the kitchen. And one third of all fire deaths are caused by unattended cooking.

The lesson is simple. Protect your family and yourself. If you are cooking you must never leave it unattended. Even for a short time.

Stop fires starting. Keep looking when you’re cooking,” – New Zealand Fire Service

“ONE THIRD OF ALL FIRE DEATHS IN NEW ZEALAND ARE CAUSED BY UNATTENDED COOKING.” – New Zealand Fire Service

Whenever I read or hear the word “relationship” I am thinking about my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Now I am finding the article called

“Keeping the relationship with horse intact”

in our local paper, The Northland Age (Tuesday, March 19, 2013), and I am not only wide awake, but very interested indeed. One paragraph in the article says, “All participants have a chance to win ribbons and prizes if they complete their respective games in time and with their relationship with their horses intact.”

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How do I keep my relationship with the Lord intact?

Let me just mention three things:

1. By praying.

2. By reading the Bible.

3. By acknowledging the Lord before men.

The Christian hymn “Because He Lives” by William J. Gaither reminds me of Paki, a brother in Christ.

I remember when he sang the hymn many years ago in Kaikohe, where we worked as missionaries (United Maori Mission).

EASTER 2013

“Because He lives I can face tomorrow; because He lives all fear is gone;

because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”

Easter is an annual festival. Christians celebrating the Resurrection of Christ at Easter.

The outstanding characteristic of Christianity is that it is the only religion with a living originator. Buddha is no longer alive. Brahma (Hinduism) is no longer alive. Mohammed is no longer alive and Marx (Communism) is dead. 104 times is the resurrection mentioned in the New Testament.

There is evidence of the resurrection. We read about the evidence in the Bible. The empty tomb, the testimony of angels, etcetera.

And there is the evidence of the resurrection by the testimony of millions who have proved the Lord Jesus Christ to be a living Saviour.

I believe Paki belongs to the millions, I know that I belong to the millions.

You can also belong to the millions by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.