Pastor's Blog

Spring has Sprung!

Sat, 12 Sep 2020 12:32:00 GMT

Spring has Sprung!

It is that time of the year when the days are getting longer and the sun beats more warmly on our backs. It’s the time when trees begin their budding and the buzzing of bees and the singing of birds fills the air. There is a freshness in the air, the weather is more changeable with calm, blue sky days regularly interrupted by vigorous weather changes with wind and showers of rain.

In the high country the snow begins to melt and streams flow with sparkling, cold water which flows into bigger streams and our reservoirs begin filling. The home gardener begins turning the sods of soil preparing the ground for planting some vegetables and flowers and people on the land note that pasture and crops begin growing with renewed vigour.

It was the blue skies, budding of a fruit tree and buzzing of bees that got my attention just the other day. We have been hearing how world bee numbers have decreased rapidly in some countries because of disease so it was reassuring to hear the buzzing of countless bees around the budding plum tree. It was Professor Stuart Burgess, visiting lecturer and engineer from Bristol University, England who asked 250 of us at a seminar, “How many visits to flowers by honeybees to collect nectar are needed to make 450 grams of honey?” Answers from the audience ranged from several hundred to several thousand. Professor Burgess told us around two million visits are needed! Amazing. No wonder the bee is so busy!

Now a little about the life of the bee. Imagine that you are a honeybee. You leave your hive one fine autumn morning – your wings are flapping at 200 times per second and your cruising speed is 25 km per hour and suddenly you notice a patch of flowers. You have found a new nectar supply for your hive – flowers in a front yard. Twenty thousand bees in your colony are trying to build up food supplies for the coming season. So you fill your special pouch with nectar and fly the 500 metres back to your hive. Up to this point none of the other bees in your home hive know about this exciting find which you have made. How do you communicate this good news to the other bees so they too can access this food source?

The world owes much to the pioneering work of the Austrian scientist Dr Karl von Frisch as far as understanding the communication skills of the bee is concerned. He spent over 25 years performing countless observations discovering much fascinating information. In fact he won the Nobel prize for Physiology in 1973 for his work. Dr Frisch discovered that to communicate the location of a food source too distant from the hive to be smelled or seen by the other bees, the scout bee uses the “language of the bees”. This involves performing a complex figure eight dance. The dance waggle direction done in relation to the position of the sun communicates very clearly to other bees all details they need as far as direction is concerned and intensity of the waggle determines the distance. Bees travel with minimum fuel load to a nectar collection spot so that they can have maximum payload on the return flight. Occasionally you see a bee struggling along the ground. It has probably run out of fuel and is grounded. Let it sip some sugared water from an eye droplet and it may well be able to fly again!

When we consider the complexity of the honey bee “figure eight dance” and the detailed information conveyed to observing honey bees, we can see incredibly complex design. Professor Stuart Burgess says, “The staggering complexity of honeybee behaviour shows the mind of an engineering genius behind such skills which involve sophisticated communication and mapping systems. Truly we should give God the glory and exclaim ‘O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep’ Psalm 92:5.

We need to be grateful for the amazing achievements of the hard working bees. Researchers tell us it takes approximately 556 worker bees visiting 2 million flowers to produce 450 grams of honey. One teaspoon full of honey is the lifetime work of 14 bees! Enjoy your honey! Be grateful our Creator has endowed us with many blessings – the honey bee is one of them.

Bruce Stewart.

Persevering against Adversity

Tue, 26 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Persevering against Adversity

In this COVID-19 period many businesses have struggled and some have become insolvent. Lockdown restrictions have been stressful on many business owners and also employees. Let me pass onto you a story of overcoming adversity as two brothers worked together against great odds. One of these brothers was named George Cadbury – yes, the George Cadbury of Cadbury chocolates fame.

Writers tell us that George was born in England in 1839. When just 14 years of age his mum died and naturally this impacted him hugely. He had dreams of becoming a surgeon and worked hard at school to achieve this. But at age 15 he had another disappointment. His father took him out of school and set him to work in the family business. The business was going badly especially since his mother’s death. There were great difficulties to over come but by 22 years of age George and his brother Richard ran the business which by now had 12 employees. The workers and the bosses were on very low remuneration but with perseverance and determination they set out to make the business successful. They developed a new cocoa that was better than any other product on the market. People laughed at them and said it would never sell, but Bournville cocoa soon became a household name all over the world.

In 1893, when the premises became too small, George decided to build a factory in the country. They called this new site “Bournville”. On this site the brothers provided football and cricket fields, a huge playground for children, swings and even an open air swimming pool! Utterly unheard of at the time!

The company continued to prosper with the cocoa and Cadbury chocolates. Did George get spoilt with wealth? No. He became well known for his work amongst the poor. He built houses for his employees and set up gardens around the homes – unheard of. He set up social security programs way ahead of their time. George also became involved in Sunday school teaching in the Birmingham slums. He took people who were very poor and taught them to read and write as well as teaching them stories from the Bible about Jesus Christ. George built thousands of additional houses for the poor as well as setting up libraries & schools and a hospital too. Right up to the end of his life he never stopped sharing the good news of Jesus and helping his neighbor. He died in 1922 and 16,000 people attended his funeral.

This is briefly some of the story of a young boy who lost his mum at age 14, had to leave school and let go his ambition to become a surgeon. He and his brother struggled for years to help the business become viable. He could have asked - “Why God why”? But by setting up the famous Cadbury cocoa and chocolates company he used the wealth generated to God’s glory and benefited thousands of people.

Next time you enjoy some Cadbury chocolates be reminded of this story and be grateful for those of earlier generations who have left behind wonderful legacy’s. George had much adversity to overcome – especially earlier in life. All of us face adversity at different times too. The Bible says… “persevere with the journey set out before us – looking unto Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1,2). A good verse for George – and for each of us too as we journey through life.

Bruce Stewart.

A Pilot for the Journey of Life

Tue, 19 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT

A Pilot for the Journey of Life

A while ago we visited the “Rip” on a pleasant day, the sun was shining and the seas were calm. The “Rip” is the 3.2 kilometre-wide body of water between Point Nepean and Point Lonsdale in Victoria - said by some authorities to be the most treacherous stretch of ocean in Australia. Since 1840, the Rip has sunk 30 ships, badly damaged many others and several hundred lives have been lost in its turbulent waters.

This narrow body of water connects Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay and is the only entrance for shipping into Melbourne. Tidal flows run at up to 15km/h through a narrow channel between reefs and over a rock shelf. On this fine day I could hear the throb of huge marine diesels as they eased ships through a passage just several hundred metres wide. I watched the 75,000 tonne container ship the “Ali Bahai” head north from Bass Strait and enter Port Philip Bay via “The Rip”… The length of this ship is 306 m – near 1/3^rd of a kilometre and the width is 40 m. It’s engines develop around 84,000 h.p. A pilot had boarded this ship several kilometres out into Bass Strait.

The dangers are real, the sea is unforgiving and the ships traverse a very narrow channel so it is essential (by law) for ships to be under the control of a “pilot” as they traverse the Rip. I found it fascinating watching the pilot boat (see photo) based at nearby Queenscliffe, navigate the Rip and then head out into Bass Strait to rendezvous with a large ship requiring the pilots navigational and shipping skills and local knowledge to guide the large ship to a safe anchorage in the port. At the point of rendezvous a ladder drops from the deck of the ship high overhead to the pilot boat below. The pilot then climbs this swaying ladder and takes over responsibility from the captain for navigating the ship.

As it is essential for a ship to engage the help of a pilot for navigating the Rip and other dangerous waterways around the world it is essential for us to have a “Pilot” as we navigate the journey of life. The dangers are real, the challenges are unforgiving and we need to traverse a very narrow “channel” under the control of the “Pilot” as we live the journey of life. Rick Lewers writes how he heard an old man praying recently and it went something like this: "Dear God we have seen drought and fire across our land in recent times and now we are confronted by this Covid-19 virus. Are You trying to tell us something?" When viruses so microscopic we can't see them and can't control them can disrupt the world there is a reminder to a proud humanity that thinks it has no need of God. How small we are and how great our need.

Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6. Jesus is saying that if we follow Him He can be the “Pilot” of our lives – guiding and helping us through the joys and challenges of life and leading us to a safe harbor. An old sailor near the end of his life wrote on the edge of his Bible, “I have cast my anchor into a safe harbour – thank God”. A question for each of us: Who is the Pilot of my life journey? Am I “doing it my way” (leads to ultimate “shipwreck”) or admitting in humility that I need the guidance and help of the “Pilot” (Jesus) in my journey of life? A question for us all to consider.

Bruce Stewart.

Mother's Day - a Time to Express Gratitude

Sat, 09 May 2020 12:04:00 GMT

Mother's Day – a Time to Express Gratitude.

The celebration of Mothers Day began back in 1908…encouraged by Anna Jarvis of West Virginia, USA. It became an official holiday in the United States in 1914. It started in honour of Anna Jarvis' mother and took the form of a simple church service. The idea spread around the world. As we come to the 2020 Mother’s Day celebration my memories go back to my own mother. She “passed on” near four years ago and I have many good memories for which I am grateful.

I am reminded of an incident back when I was pre-teen boy. I “back chatted” my mother. I demonstrated “lack of respect”. There were 5 of us kids and when I (being the eldest) started to “test the boundaries” my mother needed a little help. When my father returned home from work later that day I soon felt “the board of education applied to the seat of learning”. I never “back chatted” my mother again. When I look back now I am grateful I had a dad and mum who loved me enough to discipline me. It was not abuse. It was tough love. I had tested the boundaries and found that the consequence was painful. I did not repeat my misdemeanour.

Us kid’s were given plenty of chores. I remember complaining at times but I look back now with gratitude for these tasks. With seven of us in the family there were many dirty dishes to clean. Not only did we wash and dry dishes daily but mum had the audacity to give me spelling quizzes and times table reviews while drying the dishes! Talk about multi-tasking! Yes, 9 times 9 = 81! Funny how I used to do well in the spelling tests at school and still remember all my times tables! Thankyou to my mum!

I remember as the school term began the TV would always be switched off by 7.30pm. It was a bit tough missing “Bonanza” during school weeks – especially when most other kids watched it! 7.30pm onwards was time to do homework and reading. We did look forward to those favourite TV programs during school holidays but mum (and dad) wanted us to have a good education. Later on, imposed discipline (from my parents) became self discipline. I learned to love reading and gain education. Thankyou to my mum.

Other chores put on my schedule beginning at the age of 6 included gathering sticks daily for lighting the wood fire in the morning and chopping wood for this same fire. My brother assisted with this as he got older. At the age of 8 I was given the task of milking the house cow every evening – 7 days a week! A bit onerous but as I got older I could see that there was money to be made if I milked both cows and separated the milk and sold the cream. I had paid for my first bike by the age of 15. Thankyou to my dad and mum.

The faithfulness of mum is amazing when I look back – thousands of meals prepared, vegetables and meat served up, we didn’t go hungry. Clothes were washed – in the old copper in earlier times before electricity came to the western district soldier settler farm we were raised on. Thankyou to my mum and dad for the daily routine of hard work looking after us. Financially things were tough in the earlier times – one wool cheque for the year, a farm to be paid off and our grocery bill at the local shop in Wickliffe was enormous!

Mum was a woman of faith. She insisted we “give thanks” for our food before each meal. She took the lead in taking us to church – we never missed. It might have been tedious at times but I still remember how important the Sunday school lessons became to me – Mrs. Prust, Miss Grimmer and John Butler (it was special that John was a good footballer with the local “Magpies” team – I played with them too) taught us many truths from the Bible. I needed to hear them. At the age of 5 I was afraid of dying. I am eternally grateful that I heard about Jesus Christ – His amazing life and then death on the cross as a sacrifice for each of us and His rising again. In knowing and following Jesus I found the answers to the big questions of life – Where have I come from? Why am I Here? (the purpose of life) Where do we go after we die? I have gained peace within, forgiveness of sin, purpose in life and a wonderful hope for today and eternity in the midst of the challenges and joys of life. Thankyou to my mum again.

Mum would be the first to admit she was not perfect – but I have much to be grateful for. So on this coming Mother’s Day I aim to be part of a local church service (via the church website because of coronavirus restrictions) where I can give thanks to our Creator for my memories of mum – the tradition started by Anna Jarvis 112 years ago. Mothers Day – a day for all of us to pause and express gratitude.

Bruce Stewart.

Forgiveness Sets Us Free

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 07:00:00 GMT

Forgiveness Sets us Free.

It was at the top of the Cape Bryon Bay Lighthouse – the most easterly point of Australia – when I met some YWAMer’s (Youth with a Mission). One of these was a young woman who I discovered was from Holland. Her name was Trish and after some conversation I asked – “Have you heard of Corrie ten Boon?” She had and we talked further about Corrie.

Corrie was a courageous Dutch citizen who along with her father and other family members, helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during the Second World War. She was imprisoned for her actions. Her most well known book was “The Hiding Place” and formed the basis for a cinema released film and the telling of one of the stories I shared with Trish.

This is that story in Corrie’s words: Betsie (Corrie’s sister) and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland; this man had been a guard at Ravensbrück concentration camp where we were sent. Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: “A fine message, fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!” And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course–how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women?

But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. It was the first time since my release that I had been face to face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.“You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk,” he was saying. “I was a guard in there.” No, he did not remember me. “But since that time,” he went on, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein”–again the hand came out–“will you forgive me?”

Betsie had died in that place–could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do. For I had to do it–I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. “If you do not forgive men their trespasses,” Jesus says, “neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:15).

I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that.

And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion–I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. “Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.”

And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

“I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!”

Forgiveness is a difficult thing to offer to people around us but the rewards are eternal – and it makes this world a much better place to live in. Unforgiveness leads to bitterness and imprisons us. Forgiveness sets us free. 2000 years ago Jesus said: “If you hold to My teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32. Jesus is saying that in committing ourselves to obey Him and being willing to forgive where necessary we can be set free. There is no better way to live.

Bruce Stewart.

Lest We Forget

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Lest we forget.

Sir William Deane, while Governor-General of Australia said these words in an ANZAC Day address: "Anzac is not merely about loss. It is about courage and endurance and duty and love of country and mateship, and good humour and the survival of a sense of self-worth and decency in the face of dreadful odds”.

One of the most incredible battles that Australian soldiers have ever fought in was the World War 1 calvary charge which took place in 1917 at Beersheba in Israel. The final phase of this battle was the mounted charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade. Two motion films have been made about this amazing event in the First World War.

Beersheba is steeped in history. It means “well of the oath”, so named by Abraham and recorded in the Biblical book of Genesis (21:31). The wells had provided water not only to Abraham, but to Moses and David. Now on the evening of October 31^st 1917 the Allied army desperately needed access to this water. They needed 1.7 million litres of water for thirsty men and horses.

Australian historian Kelvin Crombie records: “On October 31st, 1917 the war hung in the balance. 50,000 British Infantry had fought bravely (earlier in the day) but were driven back” by the Ottoman forces consisting of German and Turkish soldiers. As the sun began to set and defeat likely, the Australians attacked Beersheba with 800 men on horseback.

The Australian Light Horse Commander, Sir General Chauvel had received orders to storm Beersheba and it had to be won before nightfall at all costs. History tells us the Light Horse Brigade charged through the desert for 5 km towards Beersheba under the guns of the Ottoman force holding their bayonets in their hands like swords. “Brutal hand-to-hand combat followed and 31 Australians were killed but the 4th Light Horse Brigade prevailed. They had defeated an Ottoman force five times their size, and captured Beersheba and its vital water supply”.

At the 100^th anniversary celebrations three years ago Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recounted: “Anzac soldiers went on to capture Jerusalem, then continued northwards. They were actually retracing the footsteps of the heroes of the Bible, they were stepping on the verses of the Bible and they knew it.” It was said of the Australian Light Horse Brigade leader, Sir General Chauvel, that “He carried with him on all of his campaigns a copy of the Bible which he regularly read and from which he drew inspiration. He was an active member of his local church in Australia”. He and a number of the Light Horsemen, as revealed by letters sent home to loved ones were very aware of the Biblical significance of where they were and what they were doing. Just weeks later, the Australians marched with General Allenby into Jerusalem, while in London the Balfour Declaration was signed, paving the way for the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948.

On Anzac day we pause to remember “Lest we forget”. Thank God for soldiers who died in wars to give us partial freedom. We rightly remember them on Anzac Day. But thank God all the more for Jesus who died in the greatest peace initiative of all time to give us eternal freedom – true freedom. He laid down His life so that sinful people can be reconciled with our Holy God – our Creator, if we so choose to repent of our sin and put our trust in Jesus. For the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45.

On ANZAC day and indeed every day we can pause, remember and with gratitude give thanks - LEST WE FORGET

Bruce Stewart

The Most Significant Moment in My Life

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT

The most Significant Moment in my Life

Back on June 26^th 2000 one of the world’s great scientists stood alongside the U.S. President at the White House as the announcement was made informing the world that the first survey of the Human Genome Project was 90% complete. That scientist was Dr Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Centre – a brilliant scientist and man of faith.

“Are faith and science in conflict?” is a question many people ask. Interviewer, Nigel Bowen, asked Dr. Collins about his faith. He replied “I wasn’t raised in a faith tradition. As a child I was vaguely aware of the concept of God” . Later Francis became a student at Yale and there - “I was surrounded by people in science who largely ignored any spiritual aspect of life, so I just ran with the crowd. I was convinced that everything in the Universe could be explained by equations and physical principles. No thinking scientist, I concluded, could seriously entertain the possibility of God without committing intellectual suicide. (Source: “War Cry” as are quotes below)

Thankfully the story does not end there. Dr Francis continued: “But then I changed direction and went to medical school, and I started to encounter the reality of suffering and death in a much more up-close-and-personal way. One afternoon an elderly patient with a terminal illness shared her faith with me and explained why this gave her comfort and peace as she saw the end of her life approaching. She turned to me and said: ‘Doctor, I’ve told you about my faith but you haven’t said anything. What do you believe?’” The brilliant scientist and medical doctor was unable to answer the question. He knew he needed to check out the Christian faith. Was it true?

Francis began his investigation by visiting a Methodist minister who lent him the book “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis, an Oxford Professor who himself had previously been an atheist. As Francis read the book he realised his arguments against the rationality of faith were those of a “schoolboy”. Francis found Lewis’s case for faith extremely compelling. “I fought it. I didn’t want it to be true. I was reading the book to shore up my atheism, not to become a believer. But, as Lewis puts it, the ‘Hound of Heaven’ was after me. I fought the evidence for almost two years”.

“It became clear that I had to make a decision not only about whether to believe in God but also about what kind of God He was. I encountered the person of Jesus Christ as this remarkable figure in history who clearly was different from any other figure in any other faith. Jesus claimed not only to know God but also to be God and to forgive sins, and He died on a cross in a way that took me a long time to understand. Eventually it made the most beautiful, perfect spiritual sense. I realised that this was not just a story to walk away from. I had to reach my own verdict based on the evidence”.

‘My moment of commitment came one autumn day while I was hiking in the Cascade Mountains. It was a beautiful afternoon and as I rounded a corner I unexpectedly saw a frozen waterfall, hundreds of feet high. The remarkable beauty of creation was overwhelming. I could no longer resist. I fell on my knees and asked Christ to be my Saviour. My days of wilful blindness towards God were gone. The search was over. Dr Collins went onto say "I was 27. I've never turned back. That was the most significant moment in my life” (Source: “The Question of God”).

I finish with a quote from C.S. Lewis: Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. Dr Collins found the Christian faith of “infinite importance” and fell on his knees and received Christ. What about you and me? We have just finished Easter celebrations when we especially remember and celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic with thousands of lives being taken daily around the world many people are having their belief foundations shaken. We need to be reminded of the words of Jesus Christ who said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no-one comes to the Father but by Me” John 14:6.

May each of us keep seeking and then believe, repent and receive Christ and that will be the most significant moment of our lives too. .

Bruce Stewart.

An Easter Message - "Life in the Blood"

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT

An Easter Message - “Life in the Blood”

A text message came from the Australian Red Cross Blood Service a while ago reminding me I had an appointment with the a blood donor centre. I am grateful for the privilege to be able to give blood. Posters on the walls of the donor centre remind me that the giving of my blood will contribute to the saving of three lives.

On arrival a few necessary preliminaries take place – checking my blood pressure and haemaglobin level - and then I lie on the large, comfortable, layback chair. I watch the preparation process with fascination each time but avert my eyes as the Red Cross nurse (photo attached) inserts the rather large needle into my vein – there is a gentle prick and a few minutes later the plastic bag is full – containing 470 ml of my blood. The average adult male has around 5 litres of blood so there is still plenty left for me!

This reminds me of a little story. In his book Written In Blood, Robert Coleman tells the story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had the same disease the boy had recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type the boy was the ideal donor.

"Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister." Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room--Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny's smile faded. He watched the blood flow through the tube. With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence. "Doctor, when do I die?' Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had trembled when he'd agreed to donate his blood. He thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he'd made his great decision. Johnny, fortunately, didn't have to die to save his sister.

Each of us, however, has a condition more serious than Mary's – we all have a sin condition. It is terminal. There is only one remedy “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God”. 1 Peter 3:18... Jesus blood was shed for us on the cross on which He died. The central message of Easter is that Christ gave His life and died as a perfect sacrifice for each of us – taking the punishment we deserve for the things we have done wrong. Jesus was then raised from the dead – the resurrection - on the third day and is alive for evermore.

Christ paid the debt He did not owe to satisfy the debt we could not pay. In response to this amazing gift we need to: Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.. If we want forgiveness and empowerment for living it’s truly found in the crucified and risen Jesus. Have a blessed Easter.

Bruce Stewart

Fact or Fiction?

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Fact or Fiction?

I spent some time a while ago attempting to observe the elusive platypus in a stream in the Atherton tablelands of Queensland. Finally after much waiting while standing motionless I observed and photographed this amazing little creature.

Seeing the platypus reminded me of some of the early story of the platypus as recorded by Dr Ross Clifford. Back in the 1790’s European zoologists were sceptical when they first heard of this little creature described as furry, rabbit sized, web footed, had a duck bill and had a reproductive system like a reptile and lived in rivers. It was an impossibility and an Australian hoax said many – including George Shaw who produced the first description of the animal in the Naturalist's Miscellany in 1799. He stated that it was “impossible not to entertain doubts as to its genuine nature” . Then the astonishing reports about the platypus were verified and the red faced zoologists became believers!

Since then scientists have found out much more about this amazing creature. Its duck-like bill is actually a sensitive muzzle that allows the platypus to find tiny food morsels at the bottom of murky lakes and rivers and under rocks using highly developed electro-receptors. When it submerges, it has a fold of skin that closes over its eyes and ears

Just like so many people in earlier times could not believe that such a creature as the platypus existed so there are many people now who can’t believe the death and resurrection of Jesus really took place. Don’t let your questions about the miracle of the resurrection stand in the way of honestly looking at the miracles of Jesus – including His resurrection. The platypus does exist - and Jesus Christ did die a sacrificial death for us and rose again.

Are the Gospels that record the death and resurrection of Jesus reliable? Ross Clifford records a statement by the former Chief Justice of NSW, Sir Leslie Herron, who stated about the Bible after much careful examination that the “substance and the weight of the narration are true”.

The Gospels in the Bible are direct eyewitness accounts… The Gospel of Mark was written within 30 years of the resurrection of Jesus. There are more than 24,000 pieces of ancient manuscript found so far substantiating the historicity and accuracy of the Bible eg the Dead Sea Scrolls (“Evidence Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell)
Evidence from outside the Bible speaks of the existence of Jesus, eg Josephus (Romans historian) who wrote in A.D. 90 about Jesus and His “surprising works” as did Tacitus in A.D. 115.
Archaelogical evidence supports the Bible account eg the Pool of Siloam (John 9:7 – site of a miracle of Jesus) was found by archaeologists in 2004 confirming the accuracy of the Scriptures when the pool’s existence had previously been doubted.
The tomb was empty – the dead body of Jesus was never found – and Jesus was seen alive after His resurrection by over 500 eye witnesses (1 Corinthians `5:3,4) – supported by solid evidence circulating just 15 or so years after Jesus’s resurrection.
The changed lives of the disciples of Jesus and of thousands of people since point clearly to the resurrected Christ… eg the British journalist, Malcolm Muggeridge.

Check out the evidence yourself. It was Jesus who said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me” John 14:6. To follow Jesus or reject Him – the most important question of our lives. Skeptics will one day find that Jesus Christ is reality. Turn to Him now when He can be our Saviour and Lord or one day we face Him as our Judge.

Bruce Stewart.