News
Why I know the Bible to be true
reporter: Jonathan, 17.5.04
I was thinking to myself the other day, cos I have no friends, and I thought. The basics of the bible is actually quite easy. You believe and trust in God and you live forever. And I was thinking to myself... am I being sucked into this thing. Really being a christian there is no bad outcome to life. If I have lived my life showing Christ like qualities then I when I die if I simply cease to exist, then that's not a bad thing, I would have lived well. If however the bible is true then of course there's eternal life in Glory with the God and people that I love. There doesn't seem to be a bad outcome. I don't know of any religious groups that state that if you live a good moral life you will suffer eternal punishment.So in my ramblings to myself I thought... what if this is just a joke? In a sencs it seems so obvious to me that when I die nothing bad will happen to me if I live as a Christian. So what if someone made it up as a safe guard for people to keep them happy while they're alive?
But then it dawned on me. If it was so obvious... as it is obvious to me... why isn't everyone a christian?... The Bible is only obvious to me because I am a christian, not the other way around. It's not obvious to others because their souls are dead to it's message. Mine was made alive to the message, through the Holy Spirit, and now it makes sense to me.
Praise the Lord
reporter: Jonathan, 13.5.04
Good Morning All,I'm going to write a post.
Well, I've been thinking lately. And I'm getting concerned for our country. I would like Parents in this country to take a stand for their children. I'm sick of our government making parents feel that they're not reponsible for their kids anymore.
Parents are responsible for their kids education - not the government
Parents are responsible for raising their kids - not Child, Youth and Family Service
Parents are responsible for their kids sex education - not the Family Planning Clinic
Parents,
Your Childrens lives are shaped by 4 things;
God
Their DNA
Their Environment
Their Choices
God and DNA... no one has control over.
Environment - until the age of 16 - 18 is completely controlled by the parents
Choices - until the age of 8 - 10 is completely controlled by the parents and after that parents still have a huge input into the things children choose.
Parents have a huge reposiblility to their kids and before God to make sure their kids grow up to be of benefit to our society.
Things like abortion and homosexuality are now considered right in our society.
Kids are allowed hormone replacement at the age of 13 to change their gender.
Girl now can have abortions without parents consent.
Parents need to train their kids from an early age that these things aren't right so they don't make stupid mistakes.
People often say teaching kids from a christian perspective from a young age is brainwashing them. Yet they send them into an education system that brainwashes them with statements like "Be true to yourself" - how does a 13 year old know what being true to themselves mean? - and "Sex is ok, as long as you use a Condom" - Is all of a sudden being pregnant the worst thing that can happen to you?.
New Zealand Needs GOD!
reporter: Jonathan, 10.5.04
[ Song Lyrics ]Traded in my ticket... I grew up and traded it in
Can't do it again, can't go back, it's time now, can't do it again
I can't go back, this time has come
Across the sea, I see you but you don't see me, train leaves at 9p. It's only memories now of the days that past so quickly, remember the days I used to sing those songs, the days on the other end of the track seem so far away, and now, in this Alcatraz of the city, I've traded in my ticket, traded it in. Forget all that, train leaves at 9p
Whispers heard so clearly in this wild night, rain that never seems to stop even when the grey has gone. See a lady in a white dress singing "I was lost but now I'm found"? Yeah, well I traded in my ticket. She led me into it really, the concrete girl with her fine eyes and wild hair, I ripped a piece off and gave it to the man on the door, it wasn't much, just the corner, and I traded it in, followed her in there so many times, each time just a little more
gave it to the man as I walked in the door
Never the less, I make my way to the station, tears fall from the darkened sky, sit on the wet bench, watch the people board. Regret hits like the train in front of me, stranded now. And what for? Because I traded in my only way home, for the company of this... concrete city
There is a shuffle beside me, I look up to see a face I don't know. "Lost your ticket son?" I look away, can't handle this shame. He pulled something white from his pocket, "this is my one."... my eyes start to fill as he turns and walks away... whistle's blowing now, everything's gone
My hand touched something as I clutched the wetted wood bench, he'd left it there, his own ticket, perfect and white. His name had been scratched out, mine in place, I know who he was now, it's easier to see from this side of the tracks. He died out there, alone in that concrete prison, so I could be here, across the sea.
(Soda - Concrete City)
reporter: Jonathan, 6.5.04
[ I am Amused ]I'd just had a little chuckle to myself the other day. I was just thinking about the whole Forebed and seashore thing, and was amused by the fact that Don Brash, who opened this huge can of worms, is now sitting back (quite smuggly, i would imagine) out of the media's spotlight, watching the labour party self destruct because of it.
reporter: Jonathan, 5.5.04
[ Birthday ]Yay! It's Scott's birthday today!
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday dear Scott
Happy Birthday to You
reporter: Jonathan, 4.5.04
[ Psalm 1 ]Blessed is the man
who does not
walk in the counsel of the wicked
or
stand in the way of sinners
or
sit in the seat of mockers
But
his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and
on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
That brings forth fruit in season
and whose leaf does not withers.
Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like the chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
reporter: Jonathan, 3.5.04
[ THE BIBLE ]What is the Bible?
I think as Christians we underestimate the Bible.
To us it seems to be a book of laws, a book of dos and don’ts.
The Bible is a story.
A true story.
As Christians it should be our story.
We’re told that no one can add to the Bible.
In a sense this is true.
But I think this causes us to distance ourselves from it.
Because it is our story I think we can add to it. And we must add to it.
We need to continue to write the story.
We have to live our lives as part of this story.
How do we do that?
N T Wright asks us to think of the Bible as a 5 act play.
Act 1 – Creation
Act 2 – The Fall
Act 3 – The life of Israel
Act 4 – Jesus
Act 5 – The Church
Now Act 5, The Church, has not been completed. Only Scene 1 has been written.
To perform this play it needs to be completed.
How best would we finish this play?
To do justice to the message the Author is trying to give we must first read what has been written so far.
To live our lives as part of the Bible story we need to READ the bible!
Wow!
Nothing new you say!
But! We need to read it as a story. A whole true story. Our story. Not pick out pieces of the Bible as we need them. Not taking parts of it and saying “you can” or “you can’t”.
When we take it as our story, and read it as a whole. We find out that Joshua (for example) was not some mystical guy that did some magical and heroic things, some old codger who did things back in the weird old days.
Joshua was just like us. Our Ancestor. Someone trying to please his God. Our God.
He was part of our story.
A story that we must continue.
Not in blindness.
But with direction -
The knowledge of the story that has already happened.
