Where is the glory of Christmas?

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, NKJV)

In this verse, we find what is perhaps the shortest description of Christmas: "the Word became flesh". Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God (here called "the Word"), became a human being of flesh and bones just like us and was born as a baby in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago.

It is here that we also see the glory of Christmas - in the person of Jesus Christ. Those who lived with Jesus and saw Him tell us: "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

But what exactly is that - "the glory of Christ"? And how does one see it? Perhaps you are thinking of the bright light that shone around the angels as they proclaimed the Saviour's birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-9). That is certainly one expression of Christ's glory, but one that was rarely seen on the earth.

The glory of Christ that the gospel writer John is describing here is not a glory that is full of light but a glory that is "full of grace and truth". And that is how we see Christ's glory today. We see the portraits of Christ in Scripture and we see that He is beautiful and wonderful and glorious.

The glory of Christ is full of truth. Jesus came to earth to tell us the truth - about ourselves, about the world we live in, about our hearts, about our sin, and about God. He came to warn us that God is a righteous Judge who will give everyone a just punishment for their sins - eternal suffering in hell. That sounds shocking, but it should tell us just how great and terrible our sins really are in the sight of a holy God. Jesus was never afraid or ashamed of speaking the truth. He spoke about hell more than any other person in the Bible.

But the glory of Christ is also full of grace. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Romans 5:20). Grace is unmerited favour. It is God giving us something we don't deserve. What we deserve is hell. But God gave us His Son. He gave us His Son to act as our Substitute and take the punishment we deserve on Himself by dying on the cross. Jesus was born to die. Through His death, Jesus defeated sin and brings life to all those who believe in Him.

The glory of Christmas is the glory of Christ. Take a closer look at Christ this Christmas. Read about Him in the gospels. Also consider these words from the Puritan writer John Owen in his book The Glory of Christ:

How glorious the Lord Jesus Christ is in the eyes of believers!

When Adam sinned, he stood ashamed, afraid, trembling, as one ready to perish for ever under the severe displeasure of God. Death was what he deserved, and he fully expected the sentence to be immediately carried out.

In this state, the Lord Jesus Christ in the promise comes to him, and says, ‘Poor creature! How terrible is your condition! How deformed you are now! What has become of the beauty, the glory of that image of God in which you were created? See how you have taken upon yourself the monstrous shape and image of Satan? And yet your present sorrow, your physical return to dust and darkness, is in no way to be compared with what is to follow. Eternal distress lies before you. But now, look up and behold me, and you will have a glimpse of what infinite wisdom, love and grace have purposed for you. Do not continue to hide from me. I will take your place. I will bear your guilt and suffer that punishment which would sink you eternally into the hideous depths of hell. I will pay for what I never took. I will be made a curse for you so that you may be eternally blessed.’

In the same vein the Lord Jesus speaks to all convicted sinners when he invites them to come to him.


If you don't see any glory in this, you have not yet seen Christ properly. Ask God to open your eyes to behold the glory and beauty of Christ - it will change your life!



There is no greater truth, no greater grace and no greater glory than in Jesus Christ.

Santa Claus = bad news

You better watch out

You better not cry

You better not pout

I'm telling you why

Santa Claus is coming to town

Now here's a good reason to be thankful that Santa Claus does not exist! According to this song, he would be out to get you...

Listen to John Piper explain why Santa is bad news and what the good news of Christmas really is:


Because we are all bad and sinful, Santa Claus would be bad news for us. But thankfully, Santa has nothing to do with the true meaning of Christmas. There is much better news...

Because we are all bad and sinful, Jesus Christ is good news for us. Jesus came to earth to save us from the bad news. The bad news is that we have all sinned and rebelled against God and deserve His eternal judgment. And there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. We were hopelessly lost and condemned to an eternal hell as the just punishment for our sins against an infinitely holy and righteous God.

But it was on that starry night in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago that the good news of Christmas was proclaimed by the angels to the shepherds:

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. (Luke 2:10-11)

Jesus Himself is the good news of Christmas. The Son of God became a man. He did not come to judge us for our sins. He came to save us from our sins. How? By dying on a cross and taking God's divine wrath on sin on Himself as our substitute.

Because of His sacrifice made once and for all, Jesus Christ now offers you the free gift of salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)

This is the good news. This is the gospel. This is why we celebrate Christmas.

What is linguistics?

Since September, I have been studying Applied Linguistics at North Cotes College. Many of you may be aware of that, but really have no clue what linguistics really is. The reason I know that is that I myself sometimes have no clue what I am doing here… ;-)

So let me try to briefly explain linguistics as best as I can. Simply put, linguistics is the scientific study of a language. This is what would be necessary for learning an unwritten language and creating an alphabet for such a language. Among other things, linguistics involves the study of sounds (phonetics), sound systems (phonemics/phonology), structures of words (morphology), structures of sentences (syntax) and meanings (semantics).

We started in September with phonology and then moved on to advanced phonology in October where we studied such fascinating (or not!) subjects such as archiphonemes, portmanteau, bi-directional partial fusion and displaced contrast. Please don’t ask me to explain any of these – I just about made it through those by the skin of my teeth! ;-)

Now we are studying grammar (morphology) where we are making lovely little charts and “tagmemic formulas” such as this:

N = +	NUC	nrt	±	MAR	dual compl redup	±	MAR	pl high tone
	It			Dual	#1		Pl	#1

I wonder how much more fun this can get...



See below for some more photos from my class and from my work ...

... and let me know if you spot some mistakes. :-)

Halloween or Reformation Day?

Today is 31 October 2011. What do you call this day?

My assumption would be that many of you know this day as "Halloween".

However, I prefer to call 31 October by its less known designation: "Reformation Day".

On this day, many Christians remember the historical period in the 16th century known as the Reformation and, in particular, Martin Luther's nailing of his "95 Theses" to the door of the church in Wittenberg on 31 October 1517. This event sparked the Reformation, in which Luther and other reformers such as John Calvin and John Knox spoke out against false doctrines and practices of the church in an attempt to reform it.

The reformers pointed to the Bible as the inspired Word of God and the sole authority for religious faith and practice (sola scriptura). They confirmed the biblical teaching that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man - there is no other way of salvation (solus Christus). Furthermore, as God's Word says in Ephesians 2:8-9, salvation is a gift of God given by grace alone (sola gratia) and through faith alone (sola fide) - it cannot be earned or achieved by good works. Therefore, since salvation is totally a work and a gift of God, all the glory belongs to God (soli Deo gloria). These beliefs have become known as "the five solas."

So do we remember today as Reformation Day or Halloween? Shall we think about Luther and the Reformation or about the devil his doings? Who is the winner?

Actually, I don't mind what name you want to give for this day. Although I prefer the designation "Reformation Day", I have no problem with people who refer to today as "Halloween", as that is what it is most commonly known as. I'm not interested in a "name game" or in scoring points in favour of one name over the other or the like.

But I do want to get address this symbolic "fight" between Martin Luther and the devil... Although symbolic by way of the names "Reformation Day" and "Halloween", there was and is also a real fight going on between the devil on one side and Luther and every other human being on the other side.

 Room in Wartburg Castle where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German
and where he is said to have thrown an inkwell at the devil

As much as I greatly admire Martin Luther, I readily admit that he is no match for the devil. The devil is real and evil and far more powerful than Luther, or than any of us human beings for that matter. Indeed, that is precisely what Luther wrote in the first stanza of his most famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God:

For still our ancient foe

Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow'r are great,

And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

So there is no hope for anyone to stand a chance against the devil.

However, neither Luther nor any of us are the devil's greatest enemy. The devil's greatest enemy is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And although we are no match for the devil, the devil is no match for Jesus Christ.

These are the next two stanzas of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God:

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,

The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth is His name,

From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And tho' this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim --

We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,

For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

If you do not have Jesus Christ, you will most certainly lose the battle against the devil and will remain forever under his bondage and, like him, suffer eternal punishment. Jesus Christ is your only hope to be freed from the devil and from sin, death and hell. When Jesus Christ is at your side, you can know that the devil is no match for Him and you need no longer fear him.

How is this possible?

When Jesus, the perfect and holy Son of God, came to this earth as a sinless man, He came to die and to provide eternal life. Although He had done no wrong, He died on the cross to bear God's just wrath against the sins of all who put their faith and trust in Him. By doing this and by rising from the dead after three days, Jesus destroyed the power the devil had over sinful beings like Martin Luther and you and me. And He provided a way for us to escape.

In Hebrews 2:14-15, we read:

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Anybody who believes on Christ and calls out to Him for salvation in faith and repentance, will be saved (Rom. 10:13). Who or what are you trusting in today? Yourself and your own strength? A church? A religion? Good works? None of this will be able to save you! Run to Christ - He alone can save! (Acts 4:12)

This morning, I read the following lines in a book called The Valley of Vision:

Jesus strides forth as the victor, conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing might;
He bursts the bands of death, tramples the powers of darkness down, and lives for ever.
He, my gracious surety, apprehended for payment of my debt, comes forth from the prison house of the grave free, and triumphant over sin, Satan, and death.

May you have the same assurance that Martin Luther expressed in the words of this prayer:

O Lord, I do not deserve a glimpse of heaven, and I am unable with my works to redeem myself from sin, death, the devil, and hell. Nevertheless, you have given me your Son, Jesus Christ, who is far more precious and dear than heaven, and much stronger than sin, death, the devil, and hell. For this I rejoice, praise, and thank you, O God. Without cost and out of pure grace you have given me this boundless blessing in your dear Son. Through him you take sin, death, and hell from me, and do grant me all that belongs to him. Amen.

Bibles for the London Olympics

Here are three interesting facts about London:

1) It is the city with the most international visitors of any city in the world.
2) London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers.
3) Next year, it will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.

Needless to say, London will be bursting at its seems when the Olympic Games are held there from 27 July to 12 August 2012. It is expected that over 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will be coming to London in those weeks, not to mention all the spectators and regular tourists!

London has been preparing for the Olympics not only by building stadiums and other sports venues, but also by building new hotels. And the Gideons International in the British Isles have been preparing for the Olympics by seeking to provide Bibles for all hotels and guest houses in and around London.

Last month, I had the opportunity to join around 180 other Gideons from the British Isles to visit these hotels and guest houses and offer them free Bibles for every room.

I went along with a Gideon couple to visit hotels and guesthouses at Heathrow airport and the surrounding area. We enquired whether all their rooms were equipped with Gideon Bibles or whether they had Bibles that needed replacing. Many hotels were already equipped with Gideon Bibles. Of course, there were also those that did not want Bibles. In those cases and in cases where they already had Bibles, we were able to offer a New Testament to the manager or the staff which was well received in most cases, even where the manager/staff may well have been from another religious background. The greatest joy was to come to hotels/guesthouses that did not have any Bibles but whose managers were eager to receive them. In the space of the four days that the Gideons were in London, more than 50,000 Bibles were given away free of charge.

For more than a century, God has blessed the ministry of the Gideons International with its unique business model - giving away its main product free of charge! In the last year, more than 78 million copies of God's Word were distributed worldwide by the Gideons.

God still uses His Word today to change lives. Take a look at this video with a testimony from a man who intended to commit suicide in a motel room but instead had an encounter with God's Word and was given a new life:

Scenes of Lincolnshire

During our five weeks of field training, we also went on two hikes within the county of Lincolnshire. Below are some photos from those hikes and the beauty of God's creation that we were able to enjoy.

Learning Palaka

When my classmates and I were living in tents for the last 5 weeks, the vast majority of our time was spent learning a foreign language and culture. For me and 3 other students, this has meant studying the language and culture of the Palaka people in the Ivory Coast. As our "language helpers", we had a couple who lived and worked among the Palaka for several years. It was a lot more difficult than I expected and at times quite frustrating, but it was a good experience for me.

Recording my language helper as he explains in Palaka how to make a fire

Listening and editing the sound files

Phonetic transcription of the recordings

Entering transcriptions and translations into the computer

Taking part in a "cultural event" (meeting a group of women on their way to fetch water)

During this time, we learned a Christian song that was written by the Palaka people. It was extemely hard to memorise at first, but now I can't get it out of my head. A phonetic transcription of the song might look something like this:

jɛˈsax pəˈtɛŋɡɛ ˈzʲɛzuˌkɾi nɨŋˈɡ͡be wǔˈsɛɾɛˌna

no̞ˈtɛ w̤aˈpɔ̃ weˈpɔ̃nˌkitiˈkʷɔ̃ jeˈnajo̞

zʲeˈzu wuˈkujo̞ wɔkaˈpɛlɛ kame̞ˈna

jɛˈsax pəˈtɛŋɡɛ ˈzʲɛzuˌkɾi nɨŋˈɡ͡be wǔˈsɛɾɛˌna

Here is the English translation:

You must believe on Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.

Otherwise, when He comes, you will be judged.

Jesus died for our sins.

You must believe on Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.

Living in tents

For the past five weeks, I was able to experience what it would be like living in tents with much simpler living conditions, learning a completely foreign language and culture, and being almost totally cut off from communication to the outside world. This part of a special field training and although it is not really an accurate simulation of what life is like for many cross-cultural workers today, it was nevertheless a good experience for me to adjust to different living conditions and different methods of learning a language and culture.



The first set of pictures I am posting below are just to do with life in the tents and on the campsite. All quite self-explanatory, except maybe for the two different kinds of little blue "houses" - one with a bucket as a toilet and the other with a bucket to use for taking a shower...