HOPE CHRISTIAN CENTRE IN KAITAIA

“HOPE CHRISTIAN CENTRE” NOT LONG AGO ON “WHITE RIBBON DAY”

A long time ago while working as a missionary in Kaikohe (United Maori Mission), I included a story in my sermon.

I had read the story before and reading the story made tears come to my eyes.

So I did not even endeavor  to read it myself, while delivering the sermon. Someone else read the true and very moving story for me.

I was reminded of what happened many years in Kaikohe, while attending TODAY A SERVICE AT HOPE CHRISTIAN CENTRE.

The service was already very moving and when the pastor came to the end of his sermon and was also almost moved to tears while quoting (reading) his final illustration, I was also in tears.

“The ‘light’ of the world has no ‘power’ shortage.”

I know for sure that that is a church sign and that it has been used as a church sign, but I have never seen it myself. Maybe you have.

POWER

Reading “Prepare for a Power Outage,” not long ago in our local paper (The Northland Age, Thursday, December 18, 2014), reminded me of that church sign.

The “LIGHT OF THE WORLD” has no power shortage, no power outage, no power failure.

In the Gospel of John the Lord Jesus Christ says, “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

AT THE BEACH

FOR MANY YEARS I have looked up words in The Collins Concise Dictionary without reading the  “Guide to the Use of the Dictionary.”

“Increased guidance on good usage,” I read only recently on the front cover of the Dictionary and that made me look up the front pages of the book, where I not only found the “Guide to the Use of the Dictionary,” but also the “Pronunciation Key”.

Thinking about that reminded me of another book, namely THE BOOK OF BOOKS, the Bible.

FOR A LONG TIME I have been acquainted with the Bible, without knowing the author of the Bible. How much reading of the Word of God I did during that time I cannot tell.

The author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the cardinal theme of the Bible. The Lord Jesus Christ is also the  key to understanding the Scriptures.

I believe that for people who don’t know the author of the Word of God, who don’t know the third Person of the Trinity, Scripture is just like any other book on the book shelf.

But for people  who know the Holy Spirit, who are born again, the Bible is alive. Hallelujah!

As yet I am still looking up words in The Collins Concise Dictionary without having read the “Guide to the Use of the Dictionary,” but I rejoice that I don’t read the Scriptures any longer without knowing the author of the Bible, the Holy Spirit, who guides every believer into all truth.

Just as I have heard people talk about “keep up with the Joneses,” you have probably heard people talk as well.

I was not only a little bit surprised (perhaps I should not have been), but I enjoyed finding “keep up with the Joneses” under “keep up” in The Collins Concise Dictionary. And I did not only find the phrase in the dictionary, but also the meaning of the saying in the same dictionary. The meaning is “to compete with one’s neighbour in material possessions, etc.” (But I did not really need to tell you that!)

To “keep up with the Joneses” is actually really quite easy at the present time.

Reading “GET IT NOW” on a poster stuck to one of the shop windows here in town and telling me that finance is available, reminded me again how easy it is “to compete with one’s neighbours in material possessions.”

But I remember a time, when it was not easy at all, and I am glad that it was not easy.

I was a little kid at that time. We had fled during WW II from the east of Germany to the west and found refuge on a farm not too far from the danish border.

We possessed a very simple radio, but I noticed that my school mate had a better radio. It had some kind of a light in the front, ours did not.

I am not quite sure, but my mother (from what I know my father was fighting in the war at that time), must have given me a good hiding after telling her about my mate’s beautiful radio day after day.

What else could she do?

I remember that incident from my childhood quite well and I think I learned to forget to be greedy and to “keep up with the Joneses”.

“Forever”

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” – Second Chronicles 16:9

BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL WHO READ THIS!

BLESSED CHRISTMAS