I have here the book A brief history of time  by Stephen Hawking before me. I borrowed it from the library.

So far I have only read a bit at the beginning and a bit at the end of the book, and I noticed four things:

1. We are asking: “Why are we living on this earth?”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”  Read also Hebrews 11:6!

2. We are asking: “Why is there an earth at all?”

Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

3. To find the answer to those two questions “would be the ultimate triumph of human reason,” I am told in the book.

Here is a quote by Blaise Pascal: “The supreme achievement of reason is to bring us to see that there is a limit to reason.”

4. I read also in the book that if we would know the two answers, “we would know the mind of God.”

Paul is writing in First Corinthians 2:16, “‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

I will now begin to read the book!

Notes taken from the Exposition of Chapter 1, “The Gospel of God ROMANS,” by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

WHAT IS THE TEACHING OF PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS?

Analysis, classification, bird’s-eye view.

I. Chapters  1-11 doctrinal

II. Chapters 12-16 practical

I. Chapters 1-11 doctrinal

A. 1:1-15

a preliminary salutation and a general introduction of the theme:

THE GOSPEL OF GOD

To be continued …

“I’m doing time to stop youth crime”

“I’m doing time to STOP youth crime!”

That’s what the prominent citizens of Kaitaia can say who are willing participants in the fundraising stunt coming Saturday, May 23, 2015.

They will be imprisoned in a makeshift jail inside The Warehouse here in Kaitaia. How quickly they get out, depends on how much the people of Kaitaia are willing to give for their release.

All donations to the bail fund are used to send young people to life skills camps.

Now I am asking myself, “What am I doing to stop crime?” Please read more posts on his blog!

Let me tell you what surprised me today.

I picked up another book, only a small slender volume.

The following thoughts went through my mind, before I really looked at it: Another book, I read it and then I forget what I have read.

The little booklet

I asked myself questions: What will I learn from reading the book? Will the reading of the book influence my life? How will it change my life? There are more questions of course.

But when I opened the book I was surprised to find questions at the end of the first reading. There were in fact two really good questions and the reader is encouraged to tell the answer.

I actually believe that answering questions like that is changing the life of people, also mine.