The true meaning of Christmas

In this age of commercialism, it is easy to miss the true meaning of Christmas. It comes down to a simple truth that brought hope to all people in this world. In this short clip, Linus explains to Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about...

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:8-14)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

In the footsteps of Jan Hus in Prague

This past week, I had the chance of attending a seminar on the functioning of the European System of Central Banks, which was held in Prague. It was my first visit to the city and I really enjoyed seeing all the old historical buildings there.

Prague is also the city of Jan Hus (aka "John Huss"), one of the early leaders of the Reformation, a man I had heard a bit about but did not really know too much about. So I was interested in learning more about him during my time in Prague.

Jan Hus was born in 1369 and became a Catholic priest and then also a professor at the University of Prague. He was so prominent that he even became the head of the whole university. However, Hus went against the religious establishment of his day by seeking to preach the Word of God in the Czech language and not in Latin as the Roman Catholic Church prescribed. Hus was appointed preacher at Bethlehem Chapel in Prague (see photo above), where he was able to preach God's Word in the heart language of the Czech people.

For him, the Word of God was the ultimate authority in life, not the teachings and traditions of the Church. Thus, he spoke out against the Church's practice of selling indulgences which supposedly granted forgiveness of sins. It was these beliefs that earned him persecution from the Chruch. Jan Hus was excommunicated by the pope, tried as a heretic and, since he refused to recant his beliefs, sentenced to death. On 6 July 1415, he was burned at the stake in Constance, Germany. Hus prayed that God would forgive his enemies and died while singing a hymn to God.

(Photos from the Jan Hus exhibition in Bethlehem chapel)

Although most Czech people today are Catholic or non-religious, Jan Hus remains their national hero and his death is honoured with a public holiday on 6 July, aka "Jan Hus Day".

Jan Hus memorial in Prague city centre

If you're interested in learning more about Jan Hus, have a look at the following websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Hus
http://www.johnhuss.org/
http://www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org/john-huss-faq.htm

Better than football

What's better than being the best football player in the world?

According to Brasil and AC Milan star Kaká, the highest calling in this world is to preach the Word of God. As I read today, this is what he himself wants to do when he retires from football (click here to see the article I read on the website of the International Herald Tribune).

Kaká is certainly one of the best football players of today and may well be named both the best player in Europe and the best player in the world in the next few weeks.

Now I am a Liverpool supporter and was 100% behind Liverpool when they played AC Milan in this year's Champions League final. Unfortunately, Liverpool couldn't repeat their success of 2005 and lost 1-2. But it was great to see what happened after the final whistle. While all other Milan players started celebrating like crazy, Kaká pulled off his jersey to reveal a shirt that said "I belong to Jesus" and he fell on his knees and gave thanks to God.

Bill Shankly, one of Liverpool's greatest managers is reported to have said: "Football isn't a matter of life and death - it's much more important than that." With all due respect for Shanks - that's just pure nonsense.

I join Kaká in saying: "Football is great, but Jesus is so much better!" Football can never give me anything of any eternal value. Only Jesus can give eternal life and only Jesus can give meaning and fulfilment in this life. Jesus said: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

I wish Kaká all the best for his future footballing career, hope he will play for Liverpool some day, and pray that God will use him as a servant of Christ in football and after football.

Christians and Halloween

I've always wondered why any Christian would want to celebrate Halloween. And yet there are many Christians who do. But being a Christian means being rescued from the powers of darkness and living in fellowship with Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13). So how should Christians respond to Halloween? The following is an excerpt from an article by John MacArthur that addresses this issue.

The Christian Response to Halloween

Today Halloween is almost exclusively an American secular holiday, but many who celebrate have no concept of its religious origins or pagan heritage. That's not to say Halloween has become more wholesome. Children dress up in entertaining costumes, wander the neighborhood in search of candy, and tell each other scary ghost stories; but adults often engage in shameful acts of drunkenness and debauchery.

So, how should Christians respond?

First, Christians should not respond to Halloween like superstitious pagans. Pagans are superstitious; Christians are enlightened by the truth of God's Word. Evil spirits are no more active and sinister on Halloween than they are on any other day of the year; in fact, any day is a good day for Satan to prowl about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). But "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). God has forever "disarmed principalities and powers" through the cross Christ and "made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through [Christ]" (Colossians 2:15).

Second, Christians should respond to Halloween with cautionary wisdom. Some people fear the activity of Satanists or pagan witches, but the actual incidents of satanic-associated crime are very low. The real threat on Halloween is from the social problems that attend sinful behavior--drunk driving, pranksters and vandals, and unsupervised children.

Like any other day of the year, Christians should exercise caution as wise stewards of their possessions and protectors of their families. Christian young people should stay away from secular Halloween parties since those are breeding grounds for trouble. Christian parents can protect their children by keeping them well-supervised and restricting treat consumption to those goodies received from trusted sources.

Third, Christians should respond to Halloween with gospel compassion. The unbelieving, Christ-rejecting world lives in perpetual fear of death. It isn't just the experience of death, but rather what the Bible calls "a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume [God's] adversaries" (Hebrews 10:27). Witches, ghosts, and evil spirits are not terrifying; God's wrath unleashed on the unforgiven sinner--now that is truly terrifying.

Christians should use Halloween and all that it brings to the imagination--death imagery, superstition, expressions of debauched revelry--as an opportunity to engage the unbelieving world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. God has given everyone a conscience that responds to His truth (Romans 2:14-16), and the conscience is the Christian's ally in the evangelistic enterprise. Christians should take time to inform the consciences of friends and family with biblical truth regarding God, the Bible, sin, Christ, future judgment, and the hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ for the repentant sinner.

Copyright 2007, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The full version of this article originally appeared here at Grace to You.

PNG photos - odd bits

This is the last set of PNG photos I will be posting - enjoy! =)

Small boy, big knife


Big boy, small knife (It's Puxi!)




Smile!


Wanna drive across this bridge?



Sit back and relax in the cow recliner!

Stephen playing machette ping-pong!


Bee on a stick

Goroka airport security

PNG photos - animals

PNG photos - tribal visit

On our last weekend in PNG, we made two day trips to a people group that is following in the ways of Jesus Christ. It was a pleasure to spend some time with these believers and take part in their church service on Sunday morning. They have a desire to bring the good news of Christ to other people belonging to their people group. They even made a direct appeal to us that we would come back to PNG. On the Saturday, the highlight was another mumu, and on the Sunday, the highlight was the church service. They sang songs both in Pidgin English and in their native language. There was a striking difference in the way they sang their own songs in their own language.

Peeling the kaukau for the mumu

A chicken loses its head

An indoor mumu!

Lots of smoke!

Scraping out the coconuts

Sunday morning church service (front)

Church service (back)

PNG photos - sikmun

One day, we went to visit the village, and there were two dead cows lying on their back with their feet sticking up in the air and being taken apart by the men of the village. It was in preparation for another mumu on the occasion of three girls coming of age, i.e. old enough to be married. The ceremony is called "sikmun". It was to take place on the next day and the girls would be wearing traditional dress. All of us students were invited to attend the ceremony and have some of the mumu...

Men preparing the cow meat for the mumu
The mumu ground oven

Unloading more food for the mumu

On the day of the mumu: the roasted pig is brought onto the scene

Kaukau na pik

The three girls at the sikmun




Students enjoy some of the mumu

PNG photos - village life

There are three little villages close to the campus. In the afternoons, we would often take the opportunity to visit the villages and talk with the people there and play with the kids. The people in the villages were very friendly and always happy to see us. Thankfully, many of them also spoke some English, so we weren't totally dependent on our limited knowledge of Pidgin English!

Village life

Great photo that I can't take credit for because someone else on our team took it
(probably Kristen - nice shot!)

PNG Bible Church in one of the villages

Another church further away out in the bush

Stem shows us his slingshot skills

Sister and brother (I think)

Play merion - a game we learned from the kids

The local school

Classroom

The 10 commandments hanging in the classroom

Grade 6 covenant

Down by the riverside

The kids loved having their picture taken...

...here in front of an election poster...

...and they really liked seeing their picture on the digital camara!

Or on the camcorder!

Photo from our last visit to the villages