Another beautiful flower

“When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” – Acts 13:48 

A good place to stay for people who visit Auckland / New Zealand is the New Haven Motel.

New Haven Motel in New Lynn, Auckland / New Zealand

 We stayed there recently and the service is excellent.

New Haven Motel in New Lynn, Auckland / New Zealand

“God’s Word: open for all,” is a regular feature in our local newspaper, THE NORTHLAND AGE.

“The Lord is my shepherd …”

Not long ago I read there Psalm 40:1-3. I really love the beginning of Psalm 40, where it says:

“I waited patiently for the LORD, he turned to me and heard my cry.”

What a promise!

“God’s Word: open for all,” is only one of the three regular items I really like very much in our paper and look forward to twice a week.

Another one is the NORTHERN WEATHER, the Northland Forecast, which is not surprising.

I am always glad to see the picture of the sun in the squares in front of the different days of the week.

But I know that not everybody is glad. It’s rather good that we don’t have control over the weather.

The third regular item I am eager to look at is always at the top of page five and is called: “THIS IS OUR PLACE”.

The regular item is a photo. Readers of the paper are invited to take pictures of the special places in the Far North of New Zealand and send them to the editor of the paper. I have done that several times and had my pictures in the paper.

“”This is our Place

Lately I have been asking myself, “Which regular item I am reading first, when I buy a paper on Tuesday and Thursday? Is it the Weather page, is it page five (This is our Place), or is it the page with the Bible verse?”

Should I not look at the page first, where I find the verse from the Word of God? The verses from the Bible are also the easiest to find, because they are on the last page of the paper!

I am asking myself also, “Are there people who don’t read the Bible verses at all?”

And I know that there are people who spend more time over their newspapers than over their Bibles. Matthew 24:35 says:

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

“‘I’m excited. I’m looking forward to recognition,'” are the words of a former doctor, who is hosting his first art exhibition at the age of 92. I am coming across that news in an old newspaper cutting, that turned up in our home.

Reading that inspired me to look up the word “recognition” in the Bible and here is what I find in the Bible:

At the end of his first letter to the church in Corinth the apostle Paul is mentioning three people and the names are Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus.

At the beach in AHIPARA

And this is what he says about them:

STEPHANAS

The Bible says about Stephanas that he devoted himself to the service of the Lord’s people. He also helped the apostle and refreshed his spirit.

FORTUNATUS

He helped the apostle Paul. The Bible says also that he has been a wonderful encouragement to Paul.

ACHAICUS

He also helped the apostle. The Bible tells us also that he has been a wonderful encouragement to Paul.

I don’t know if the doctor received the recognition he was looking forward to, but I believe that Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus received the recognition they were looking forward to.

Paul says that they deserve recognition.