Paihia

Paihia (At the filleting bench)

Paihia

Paihia and Russell in the Bay of Islands.

“I talk to people everywhere I go and they make comments like, ‘you are an evangelist.’ My response? ‘No, I just love Jesus,'” writes Todd White in the article called “Possessed by Love.” (The NZ Baptist Magazine, v. 131, no. 4)

My destination yesterday was Russell in the Bay of Islands. Before 1844 Russell was called Kororareka. Captain Cook counted 144 magnificent islands.

The legend of Kororareka:

Korora is in Maori the blue penguin and reka is sweet. “Ka reka te korora,” said a Mari chief after drinking the broth of a penguin. He was wounded in a battle.

Arriving in Paihia I had to jump  on a passenger ferry to Russell, because there is quite a bit of water between the two places. A return ticket is $12.00.

The highlight of the trip was actually meeting a German again in Paihia and talking to him again about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Russell

Russell

Russell

THE CROSS

Notes taken from Alfred Christlieb’s book, “Deine Zeugnisse – mein ewiges Erbe,” page 262.

We find the story of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts in chapter five.

Ananias and Sapphira did three things the Lord does not like in his church:

A. THEY WERE CLINGING TO EARTHLY POSSESSIONS.

a. THE WIFE OF LOT

Just as the wife of Lot was clinging to Sodom and became a pillar of salt, Ananias and Sapphira were clinging to a small sum of  money.

b. PHARAOH

Is it not true that Pharaoh died because he was clinging to earthly things? He did not want to let the slaves go.

c. SHIMEI (First Kings 2:36)

Shimei lost his life, because he did not let go of two run-away slaves.

B. THEY WERE LOOKING FOR PRAISE FROM PEOPLE

What does it say in John 5:44?

C. THEY WERE DISHONEST

People who are after money and praise from people soon stray also from the truth.

Ananias and Sapphira were judged because they could not let go of earthly possessions, because they were looking for praise from people and because they were dishonest.

Only faith is missing, I am thinking.

Within a short time I had seen written “HOPE” and “LOVE” on upper garments and a placard with “LOVE” written on it in  a shop window on this beautiful day while enjoying a walk through Kaitaia.

First Corinthians 13:13 comes to my mind, where it says at the end, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Reading at home the beginning of First Corinthians 13 I am finding that it says there that love always TRUSTS and that love always HOPES. (The NLT says, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” – First Corinthians 13:7)

I hope you see also that FAITH (trust) is not missing. With other words it is included.

POWER

“Keep calm and carry on,” says a sign you can see high up on the wall in a coffee shop in Kerikeri.

“Keep calm and carry on,” is on my mind while I am writing this, and this is the reason why:

Our power is off, but before it was off I charged the battery of my laptop and can
“keep calm and carry on” writing this.

But that is not all.

The power went off before I had a shave this morning, but I was able to “keep calm and carry on” on battery power. And on the shaver I am reading that there are still 53 minutes battery power left for shaving.

Yes, I “keep calm and carry on,” but am I also thankful? That is the important question. It is so easy to take things for granted.

The BIBLE says: “AND BE THANKFUL.” (Colossians 3:15)

I have two devotional treasuries in German. That are daily Readings, but I am reading as many a day as I can.

The two Devotional Treasuries

“We are searching for a way out of our dilemma, and the universal sign we see is ‘no exit’. But the cross presents itself in the midst of our dilemma as our only hope.” – Billy Graham

“All fruitfulness is touched with the cross.” – Oswald Sanders