Monthly Archives: May 2018

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“Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.” – Paul Tillich (1886-1965)

“THIS IS THE DAY …”

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At the Beach

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it,” we read in Psalm 118:24.

Looking up The Collins Concise Dictionary, I find that “rejoice” means “to be glad”.

The Bible not only tells us about the duty of rejoicing, but the Bible tells us also about instances of rejoicing.

A. IT IS OUR DUTY TO REJOICE

a.  First Thessalonians 5:16:

Here we are told to be ALWAYS joyful. Is that not quite a challenge for us?

b.  Philippians 4:4:

We are told to rejoice always. We are told to rejoice always in the Lord. The apostle repeats it. Why? It is very important and that we don’t forget. Rejoicing in the Lord should not be all that difficult.

c.  Romans 12:15:

THE FAR NORTH OF NEW ZEALAND: Coopers Beach on the East Coast.

Here we are commanded to “rejoice with those who rejoice” and “mourn with those who mourn”. What is easier to “rejoice with those who rejoice” or “mourn with those who mourn?”

d.  Luke 10:20:

Here the Lord Jesus Christ tells us that we are not to rejoice that the spirits submit to us, but that our names are written in heaven. A question: Can YOU rejoice that your name is written in heaven?

B. AND HERE ARE INSTANCES OF REJOICING WE FIND IN THE BIBLE.

a.  Romans 5:2:

The Apostle Paul is rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God. The saints in Rome are also rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God. I am also rejoicing in the hope of the Glory of God. What about YOU?

b.  Acts 8:39:

The second part of Acts chapter eight tells the story of Philip and the Ethiopian, and in verse 39 we are told that the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing”.

c. Acts 16:34:

I love the story of Paul and Silas in prison in Acts chapter 16, and who does not? And why was the jailer full of joy? Because he had come out of darkness into light with his whole family.

d. Luke 1:47:

Here Mary is rejoicing in God her Savior. From verse 48 in Luke chapter one you can read why.

e. Matthew 2;10:

Magi from the east rejoiced. Why were the overjoyed? Because they saw the star.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who lived from 1749-1832 said, “Nothing is worth more than this day.”

“That Way”

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THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY: John 14:6!

“That Way”, you should go. The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking.

“All the way my Savior leads me,” is a hymn by Fanny J. Crosby, and Dr. Lowry, who lived from 1826-1899, set it to music.

Somehow the signpost “That Way” brought that hymn to my mind.

In Psalm 32:8 we read, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

On “That way” the Lord will do several things:

  • instructing,
  • teaching,
  • counselling and
  • watching.

The Lord has instructed, taught, counselled and watched over me in the past, He is doing that now, and He will be doing that in the future.

How do I know that?

Because it says in Psalm 48:14, “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be your guide even to the end.”

Books, books, and “The Book of Books”

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TAKE TIME TO READ THE BIBLE:  The Bible is “The Book of Books.”

He called it the second flood.

I don’t know why, but something like that I remember him saying. The man was talking about the many books everywhere, and that was long ago.

And it is just like a flood.

The first second-hand shop we visited in Kerikeri, about 100 km from Kaitaia, yesterday, had even lots of good and expensive books for FREE outside. (It was a really beautiful day!) I love books and we have a good number of books at our home. I see many books in second-hand shops, and I would like to buy them and take them home; but then I remember the many books at home I have not read properly.

“SO MANY BOOKS SO LITTLE TIME”, it says on the bookmarks I picked up today at our local library.

And then I am also thinking, what about all those many, many books all over the places? The fact is that we only need one book! Is not everything summarized in the Bible, “The Book of Books?” The Bible is also called “GOOD BOOK”.

In the Bible it says in Ecclesiastes 12:12, easy to remember, “Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.”

Did I not read long ago and remember something like this that someone went  to preach the Gospel abroad and discarded all other books he had and only kept the Bible?