Adventures in Paradise Continued

Rilke: Wrenching!

2012-01-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

Rainer Maria Rilke was a Bohemian-Austrian born poet, writing mostly in the early part of the last Century.

Some of his writings have entered popular culture ("The Panther"), but others, especially his earlier religious poems, are little known.

Rilke writes with such linguistic potency (mainly in German, but occasionally in French) that it is like a blow to the solar plexis! A couple of examples:

================================
It seems
our own impermanence is concealed from us.
The trees stand firm, the houses we live in
are still there. We alone
flow past it all, an exchange of air.

Everything conspires to silence us,
partly with shame,
partly with unspeakable hope.
Second Duino Elegy

================================
All will come again into its strength:
the fields undivided, the waters undammed,
the trees towering and the walls built low.
And in the valleys, people as strong
and varied as the land.

And no churches where God
is imprisoned and lamented
like a trapped and wounded animal.
"Das Standen Buch -Book of Hours" collection of religious poems.

================================

As Mr Tumnus says of Aslan, the Christ figure lion in C.S. Lewis's "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe":

"He is not a tame lion"

Wisdom from the Front: Evangelical Missions Quarterly

2011-12-08T17:12:00.001-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

For decades the Readers Digest size Evangelical Missions Quarterly has provided practical wisdom and insights from practitioners the world over. I have subscribed since about 1973 and would not miss it.

EMQ is indispensable reading for missions staff, church planters, short-termers, missions-minded local church leaders, and just about anyone interested in the progress of the Gospel around the world. Pentecostal writers get regular inclusion, and there is always an number of excellent book reviews to keep you alert to what is happening in contemporary missions.

Articles are always practical, in accessible language, and often deeply challenging.

For instance in the current Oct 2011 issue:

Rice Farming and Church Planting
Fruitful Practice: How God is working in the Muslim World
What Muslims Really believe
Injustice and Women in Families

And more! If you love Jesus and want to progress the Kingdom of God, take a look at EMQ. Give a subscription to someone you know on the frontline - It will encourage them enormously.

Check out the EMQ website here: http://www.emisdirect.com/

Drinking from a fire Hydrant!

2011-07-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaSomeone likened listening to Kenneth Bailey to trying to drink from a fire hydrant. It certainly feels like it at times. Leonie and I with several dozen others, including a contingent of women church leaders from Iraq, are spending 3 days with Dr Bailey in a magisterial journey through the book of 1 Corinthains from a 1st century perspective.

Bailey is a prolific author with a lifetime of experience living and working in the Middle East from his childhood days with his missionary parents in Southern Egypt in the 1930's.

Dr Bailey has specialised in rhetorical analysis of the New Testament documents in the light of Middle Eastern writings, especially those of the early Arabic speaking church.. This rhetorical approach to the literary patterns of the time helps the reader see the Biblical writings in a very different light compared to approaching it with linear Greek patterned logic.

Samples of his work can be seen on his website below, and a soon to be released rhetorical commentary on the OT book of Isaiah will be available here for download.

http://www.shenango.org/Bailey/

We are having a feast - (or is it a drenching?!) Pursue and enjoy.

Kenn

Graduation at Arab Baptist Theol. Seminary

2011-06-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

Nine new graduates released to make a difference in the world. The latest ABTS newsletter gives an update.

Check it out Here:

Enjoy

Kenn

PS booked to arrive home in Sydney Sep 4th. Looking forward to seeing YOU!

Kenn & Leonie

Crazy pricing for Bible Software!

2011-05-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Strange pricing for Bible Software! Inter Varsity press released a very fine basic commentary series some time ago entitled The IVP New Testament Commentary. Volumes are written by such luminaries as I H Marshall, Craig Keener, Darryl Bock, Grant Osborne, Gordon Fee and others. Cost of the full print set from Christian Books is USD $135.99

But here’s the curious thing, from three Bible Software companies – all of which I use – The prices vary wildly! And none of them seem to take into account the elimination of paper and print costs for the series! Is someone gouging here? This highest price is almost three times more than the cheapest.

Laridian Pocket Bible $129.99

Logos $257.73

PC Study Bible $384.95

Ten Great Quotes from John Wesley

2011-04-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

“Every one, though born of God in an instant, yet undoubtedly grows by slow degrees.”—from a letter in the Works of John Wesley
“No circumstances can make it necessary for a man to burst in sunder all the ties of humanity. It can never be necessary for a rational being to sink himself below a brute.”—from Thoughts upon Slavery in the Works of John Wesley
“When I was young I was sure of everything. In a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before. At present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me.”—from a letter in the Works of John Wesley
“Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.”—from a letter in the Works of John Wesley
“Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.”—from a sermon in the Works of John Wesley
“Passion and prejudice govern the world; only under the name of reason. It is our part, by religion and reason joined, to counteract them all we can.”—from a letter in the Works of John Wesley
“Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences.”—from a sermon in the Works of John Wesley
“Never dream of forcing men into the ways of God. Think yourself, and let think. Use no constraint in matters of religion. Even those who are farthest out of the way never compel to come in by any other means than reason, truth, and love.”—from a sermon in the Works of John Wesley
“Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth.”—from a letter in the Works of John Wesley
“It cannot be that the people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people.”—from a letter in the Works of John Wesley

Reading Marathon - Barth Blowout!

2011-03-08T04:10:00.000-08:00

I have just discovered several on-line groups committed to reading right through Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics! Dan Kirk at Fuller Seminary http://www.jrdkirk.com/karl-barth-reading/ or http://afistfuloffarthings.wordpress.com/karl-barth/ or http://readingchurchdogmatics.wordpress.com/.

People are crazy enough to try, and I am thinking - maybe I am also! Fifteen pages a day will do it in 2 years (with Sunday's off!)

The Dogmatics (original T&T Clark edition) amazingly are available in hardcover reprint for only US $130 (shipping will take it up to about $200.) You can order here from Christian Books in the USA
http://www.christianbook.com/church-dogmatics-14-volumes/karl-barth/9781598564426/pd/564426?item_code=WW&netp_id=795708&event=ESRCN&view=details

I have a set waiting for me in Sydney, as yet unopened! I need some motivational system to plough on in!

(Just discovered the same Hendrikson reprint at Koorong books for AUD $199! No waiting:
http://orders.koorong.com/search/product/view.jhtml;jsessionid=FEEAB81B9BC1D546C6BA5ACE74C6D6D2?code=9781598564426)

The majority of the Church Dogmatics is also available online. Someone has gone to all the trouble of locating the individual volumes, and putting the list online here: http://greatcloud.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/barths-church-dogmatics-on-google-books/

Want to join me to read daily and discuss weekly the entire Barth CD corpus? At 15 pages a day with a weekly online forum to discuss for those who wish. Commencing say Dec 1? Reply to me: kenn(at)iskov.com (Replace the "(at)" with "@").

Or else someone call for the men in white coats!

Free Simple Bible software - Excellent

2010-12-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

For a while now I have had a copy of free BerBible installed. It's not my main Bible Program, but is quite surprisingly powerful for some purposes.

BerBible is a no-frills Bibles only (ie no dictionaries, commentaries) program. In one download you get the software, plus ESV, NASB, NKJV, plus KJV, God's Word and the NET Bible - Free! Some other translations are available for separate download.

There are three possible display windows: Minimal is just a window with your selected Bible, Standard gives your selected Bible with a few tabs and Reference gives a dual window view with your main Bible at the top and a tabbed window below with all the other versions for comparison plus a number of shortcut buttons.

Loading, navigating and searching are all virtually instantaneous. If you want some quality translations and simplicity, this is it!

You can get it here: http://www.berbible.org/

Life changing Books -4 Navigators "Studies in Christian Living" Course

2010-11-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

Not really a book, but a series of "fill-in-the-blanks" booklets - 10 in all covering the basics of the Christian Life: Salvation, Fellowship, Discipleship, Character, Basic doctrine, and concluding with 10th Volume "Search the Scripture on your own". This taught basic principles of good Bible study: Observe, Summarise/interpret, Apply.

The course was originally produced by the Navigators discipleship organisation for use among military personnel, and in student groups. I diligently worked through all 10 books over about a number of months, and it took me further in my Christian walk than all my later academic studies, I think.

Noel Jenkin gave me the first book, with the encouragement to work through it and send it back to him for comment. (We lived on different sides of the city of Melbourne - later we shared a flat together). Noel would send back the marked booklet with the next in the series, and away I would go again! I sill have the booklets in a slightyl rusted set of A5 ring binders, complete with Noel's perceptive and helpful comments in red!

The series (in updated form) is still available! http://orders.koorong.com/search/product/view.jhtml?code=0891090770

Life changing stuff!

Thanks Noel! Thanks Jesus!

John Wesley's 12 rules for Preachers remix!

2010-11-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

John Wesley is my hero from church history. I have read his (abridged) journals several times! He was a great leader and organiser of an army of lay preachers who tramped the length and breadth of Great Britain bringing thousands to Christ. He wrote 12 rules for his preachers. I was challenged by Ps Richard Green to put them in contemporary language - so here is: Wesleys 12 Rules for Preachers - REMIX (the original version is at the bottom)

John Wesley’s Twelve Rules for Preachers - REMIX

1. 1. Pay attention to your work, never be without something to do. Don’t waste time, and don’t hang around any place longer than you need to – move on to the next thing!

2. 2. Be serious. Let your motto be “Holy to the Lord”. Avoid silly talk, off-colour jokes and empty conversations.

3. 3. Be careful in the amount of deep conversation you have with the opposite sex, especially those much younger than you.

4. 4. Don’t make plans for marriage without lots of prayer and discussion with your mentors.

5. 5. Disregard any negative talk about others unless there is hard evidence. Be careful how you listen: put the best possible construction on everything you hear.

6. 6. Speak evil of no one, otherwise your words will be like grubs that breed and spoil fruit.

7. 7. If you have a problem with someone, be frank in raising the issue with them. Do so lovingly and promptly. Otherwise your thoughts will fester in your own heart.

8. 8. Don’t act the bigshot! A preacher of the gospel is the servant of all.

9. 9. Be ashamed of nothing except sin, clean up your own messes when needed – be willing to get your hands dirty!

10 10. Be punctual. Do things on time. Get to appointments 5 min early!

11 11. You have nothing to do but save souls. So pour your heart into it. Be ready to go, not only to those who want you, but also those who need you!

12 12. In everything relinquish your own will, and live as a child of God, working in harmony with you co-workers. Stick to these principles, preach, visit, read, meditate, pray. Be prepared to serve where asked by your supervisors, as they think best for the glory of God.

Note this: it is not enough simply to minister here and there as asked and feel you have done enough. Your role is to save as many people as possible - to do all in your power to bring as many as you can to repentance, and disciple them into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

And remember, pay attention to detail as you serve the Lord. You will need all the grace and wisdom you have, and work be on top of everything that is happening around you.

John Wesley’s Twelve Rules for Preachers - ORIGINAL

1. Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never while away time, nor spend more time at any place than is strictly necessary.

2. Be serious. Let your motto be, ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ Avoid all lightness, jesting, and foolish talking.

3. Converse sparingly and cautiously with women, particularly with young women.

4. Take no step towards marriage without solemn prayer to God and consulting with your brethren.

5. Believe evil of no one unless fully proved; take heed how you credit it. Put the best construction you can on everything. You know the judge is always sup posed to be on the prisoner’s side.

6. Speak evil of no one, else your word, especially, would eat as doth a canker; keep your thoughts within your own breast till you come to the person concerned.

7. Tell every one what you think wrong in him, lovingly and plainly, and as soon as may be, else it will fester in your own heart. Make all haste to cast the fire out of your bosom.

8. Do not affect the gentleman. A preacher of the Gospel is the servant of alL

9. Be ashamed of nothing but sin; no, not of clean ing your own shoes when necessary.

10. Be punctual. Do everything exactly at the time. And do not mend our rules, but keep them, and that for conscience’ sake.

11. You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those who want you, but to those who want you most.

12. Act in all things, not according to your own will,but as a son in the Gospel, and in union with your brethren. As such, it is your part to employ your time as our rules direct: partly in preaching and visiting from i house to house, partly in reading, meditation, and prayer. Above all, if you labour with us in our Lord’s vineyard, it is needful you should do that part of the work which the Conference shall advise, at those times and places which they shall judge most for His glory.

“Observe, it is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care merely of this or that Society, but to save as many souls as you can, to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance, and, with all• your power, to build them up in that holiness without which they cannot see the Lord. And, remember, a Methodist preacher is to mind every point, great and small, in the Methodist discipline. Therefore you will need all the grace and sense you have, and to have all your wits about you.”

Life Changing Books - 3: The NBC & NBD

2010-11-10T22:40:00.000-08:00

New Bible Dictionary and New Bible Commentary - IVP

I think is was flat mate Noel Jenkin who first introduced me to his copy of New Bible Commentary (2nd Ed) in about 1967 when we were sharing a flat together with Frank and Trev at 97 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn in Victoria, Australia.

(Ah memories! - I shared the room with the topmost window with Frank Dyall - Noel and Trev coped with the Melbourne trams running about 3 metres from the window of their room at the front! - Our landlord, who operated an antique shop on the ground floor, was Mrs Ingamells, widow of Australian Poet Rex Ingamells, founder of the "Jindyworobaks" poets collective).

I soon acquired the NBC and the companion volume New Bible Dictionary (for my 21st as a gift?). My newly established practice of a daily "quiet time" to pray and read the Bible took wings with these aids. I loved to browse the Dictionary, often straying off the track for for long periods because of some new fascinating line of thought concerning the things of God.

The NBC and NBD have been continuously updated since and are still, in my mind, the "gold standard" for tools to be on the shelf of any serious follower of Christ who wants to get to know God's word better.

These two exceptional works were the result of flowering of evangelical scholarship in the UK in the early post WWII years. JD Douglas, John Stott, J I Packer, John Prior, Donald Guthrie, Alec Motyer, AM Stibbs and others associated with the InterVarsity Fellowship and Tyndale House shook of the anti-intellectualism of fundamentalism and applied themselves to serious scholarship of the Scriptures from a deeply committed high view of the Bible and a love for Jesus Christ.

We are the beneficiaries, and we are in their debt.

And, amazingly, both the NBC and NBC can be had in print editions for only AUD $25 each at Koorong Books in Australia at present.

Rearrange Your Email!

2010-11-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaWe are moving to Beirut 23 Nov (read all about it: click link below-)

Makes me think of rearranging contact details So glad I am on gmail! Get rid of your old ISP based account You can't take it with you; you lose it if you change ISP provider. Get a gmail account and you can easily set it up as a POP mail server to send mail to your favourite desktop client - Outlook, Thunderbird, etc. My gmail account integrates my all my accounts: hotmail gmail, kenn@iskov.com into one accuont online, then sends it all down to my desktop.

My desktops sends it all out via gmail too, so online at gmail I have complete storage, backup, and access to all my incoming and outgoing emails from any browser anywhere in the world. Brilliant!

https://sites.google.com/site/iskovslebanon/home

Life Changing Books - 2

2010-11-07T00:09:00.000-07:00

We were newly married, at Bible College, and took a fews days off to camp at Wyperfield National Park in Victoria's desert region. With college friend Russ Nicholson, we sat around the campfire and talked long into the night about the things of God.

We both were devouring chapter by chapter the writings of A W Tozer, Chicago pastor and longtime editor of "The Alliance Witness". Tozer almost single handedly introduced the evangelical Christian community to the wealth of riches in the medieval mystical tradition: St John of the Cross, Teresa of Alvira, the Cloud of Unknowing and more.

The conservative evangelical world in the US was deeply suspicious of any romanising tendencies, but Tozer was able to reveal the deep love for Christ and the passion for God in many of these writers.

For me as a young Christian, Tozer was strong meat and drink, dizzying at times in the possibly of the Christian life he presented.

Cover of The Pursuit of God

Scanned slide from 1972 - Wyperfield National Park

The book we were reading was "The Root of the Righteous".
Later I read "The Knowledge of the Holy" (wonderful unfolding of the practical outworking of each of the attributes of God.) and "The Pursuit of God". These three books from the pen of Tozer will revolutionise your discipleship, if you will dare yourself to read them.

Some quotes from "The Root of the Righteous"

Chapter 1

One marked difference between the faith of our fathers as conceived by the fathers and the same faith as understood and lived by their children is that the fathers were concerned with the root of the matter, while their present-day descendants seem concerned only with the fruit.
This appears In our attitude toward certain great Christian souls whose names are honored among the churches, as, for instance, Augustine and Bernard in earlier times, or Luther and Wesley in times more recent. Today we write the biographies of such as these and celebrate their fruit, but the tendency is to ignore the root out of which the fruit sprang. "The root of the righteous yieldeth fruit," said the wise man in the Proverbs, Our fathers looked well to the root of the tree and were willing to wait with patience for the fruit to appear. We demand the fruit immediately even though the root may be weak and knobby or missing altogether. Impatient Christians today explain away the simple beliefs of the saints of other days and smile off their serious-minded approach to God and sacred things

Chapter 3

Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God. Certain sects, such as the Pharisees, while they held that God was stern and austere, yet managed to maintain a fairly high level of external morality; but their righteousness was only outward. Inwardly they were "whited sepulchers," as our lord Himself told them. Their wrong conception of God resulted in a wrong idea of worship. To a Pharisee, the service of God was a bondage which he did not love but from which he could not escape without a loss too great to bear. The God of the Pharisee was not a God easy to live with, so his religion became grim and hard and loveless. It had to be so, for our notion of God must always determine the quality of our religion.

Much Christianity since the days of Christ's flesh has also been grim and severe. And the cause has been the same - an unworthy or an inadequate view of God. Instinctively we try to be like our God, and if He is conceived to be stern and exacting, so will we ourselves be.

From a failure properly to understand God comes a world of unhappiness among good Christians even today. The Christian life is thought to be a glum, unrelieved cross-carrying under the eye of a stern Father who expects much and excuses nothing. He is austere, peevish, highly temperamental and extremely hard to please. The kind of life which springs out of such libelous notions must of necessity be but a parody on the true life in Christ.

It is most important to our spiritual welfare that we hold in our minds always a right conception of God. If we think of Him as cold and exacting we shall find it impossible to love Him, and our lives will be ridden with servile fear. If, again, we hold Him to be kind and understanding our whole inner life will mirror that idea.

The truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings and His service one of unspeakable pleasure. He is all love, and those who trust Him need never know anything but that love. He is just indeed, and He will not condone sin; but through the blood of the everlasting covenant He is able to act toward us exactly as if we had never sinned. Toward the trusting sons of men His mercy will always triumph over justice.

The fellowship of God is delightful beyond all telling. He communes with His redeemed ones in an easy, uninhibited fellowship that is restful and healing to the soul. He is not sensitive nor selfish nor temperamental. What He is today we shall and Him tomorrow and the next day and the next year. He Is not hard to please, though He may be hard to satisfy. He expects of us only what He has Himself first supplied. He is quick to mark every simple effort to please Him, and just as quick to overlook imperfections when He knows we meant to do His will. He loves us for ourselves and values our love more than galaxies of new created worlds.

You can read more online here:
http://lovestthoume.com/RighteousRootMenu.html

Life Changing Books - 1

2010-11-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

It would be obvious to start with the the Bible, but that is a given. What books have touched your life? There are several that have profoundly influenced me.

The first is a little known and modest sized book (104pg) originally published by Back to the Bible as "The Green Letters" by Miles J Stanford. Subsequently reprinted as "Principles of Spiritual Growth" which title, though somewhat prosiac, better describes the contents. (Still available on Amazon as "the Complete Green Letters" pub. Zondervan)

I first read it as a new Christian when about 18. It opened my eyes to the rest of my life. Stanford, in a series of one word chapter titles, introduced me to concepts of Faith, Purpose, Appropriation, Self-Denial, the Cross, Discipleship, Rest, and much more.

Every chapter is profusely illustrated with quotations from the greats: Peirson, Moody, Mueller, Taylor, Meyer, Murray, Havergal, McCheyne, Guyon.

Read, digest and underline - if you can get your hands on it!

Addendum!

I first heard Back to the Bible as a 10 year old on a little crystal radio I had made as a result of my first year at Tech in Wangaratta, Vic. I wound the coil on an old mustard can from Mum's cupboard, and it would only pick up one station, the local 3NE which carried Back to the Bible at 9.30pm every weeknight.

That was around my bedtime, so I would lay awake with my high impedance headphones, week by week and month by month listening to the Word of God expounded by the masterly Theodore Epp and others. The Word of God gets inside of you, if you let it!

Back to the Bible is still on the air! http://www.backtothebible.org/

Let us now praise Famous Men..

2010-10-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia...and the God who made them!
I was leafing through my Greek New Testament 4th Revised edition, conforming to the 27th ed of Novum Testamentum Graece this morning. I noted all the detailed scholarship that goes into the apparatus. (Apparatus is the footnotes indicating where there are differences in the hundreds of supporting manuscripts, and which the team of scholars finds to the strongest).
One of the scholarly team was Prof Bruce Metzger, professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary where I studied in the mid '80's.
Metzger was a gentlemanly, clearly spoken scholar of encyclopedic knowledge and a clear love for Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and with a great love for the church.
I was for a brief time Christian Education Director at the newly formed Princeton Alliance Church, and was able to secure Dr Metzger to teach an short adult Sunday School course on (I think!) the book of Galatians. We did not fully realise the treasure we had!

Church Planting! I love it!

2010-05-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

1. Today at a Sutherland Shire pastors & leaders lunch I met two Tabor College Graduates who are church planting: http://www.tabornsw.edu.au/

Matt Destry (a former Tabor student of mine) has started Vox in Paddington - very cool vision and website

http://vox.org.au/#/vox

and Mike Hardie (whom I have not met before) who has planted Thrive Community Church in Yowie Bay. (Love the name!)

http://www.thrivecommunity.com/#/home

I am greatly blessed to see the energy, creativity, boldness and commitment of these two. Thank you Jesus! Needed - More church planters - the most effective form of evangelism under the sun!

2. Just finished reading Viral Churches by Ed Stetzer and my old Alliance Seminary (Nyack NY) classmate Warren Bird. Subtitle "Helping church Planters become Movement Makers". Mind numbingly stimulating!

Great quote (requoted from Wayne Cordiero) "We teach what we know - We reproduce what we are! (p.203)

Another "...we hope to see church planters become church multipliers" (p.44)

And finally "The Church is not the centre of God's plan. Jesus is. But the church is central to God's plan." (p.206)

DROPBOX!

2010-02-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you come across something, so useful, simple, elegant, that your jaw drops! DROPBOX is such an item.

Dropbox allows you to say goodbye to USB drives, uploading files to web storage, and (if you still use them!) floppy disks forever. No more hassles with backups, no more working out which is the latest edit of your precious documents before copying onto a USB drive etc. No more getting it wrong, and overwriting your latest work with an old file! No more hassling with scheduled backups of key documents.

Dropbox creates a directory at a location of your choice on as many computers as you like: Your laptop, your home computer, your work computer, your Linux or Macintosh computers as well.

Any file you create or edit is within seconds updated on all your other computers. If a computer happens to be off, it will be updated as soon as it come on line again.

And if you happen to be away from any of your computers, you also have a dropbox online. You can access it via a web browser on any computer anywhere in the world! Instant backup!

In addition, you can invite a friend to collaborate and share a subdirectory in your Dropbox. Great for projects.

Brilliant!

You can get 2Mb of Dropbox for free. Larger sizes attract a fee. ( I have all my critical documents on dropbox, and only use about 1/3 of my free storage).

(Note I have no connection with this company - I just love this product!).

If you use this link to get free Dropbox, I will get another 250Mb of storage - (so there is an angle!)

https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTQxMjAxODA5

Otherwise use this link (and I won't!)

https://www.dropbox.com/install

Enjoy!

Kenn Iskov

Random Thoughts on Bible Software

2009-10-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have long been a user and tinkerer with a range of Bible Software. None have come close to being the perfect all-in-one solution, so I find myself using variously:

Libronix/Logos for scholarly purposes, having the best range of upto date resources, and a fairly logical interface. Hard to jump to an individual resource in a category though: - have to circulate on the carousel

I extensively use PC Study Bible for it's different range of resources including a lot of quality older "classic" resources, as well as some good modern resources that I have purchased. But it has distinctively quirky interface which has the feel of an old house with heaps of tacked on additions.

I regularly use Pocket Bible from Laridian as my main Bible for searches and Sermon Prep. Fast and elegant interface (except I wish it would not randomly shrink itself down to a postage stamp sized minimal window on startup).

I still occasionally use Quickverse v4, (at least 12 years old!) as it is the only software to date that allows easy construction of lists of Bible verses or indexes of Bible verses. How come no one else has picked up on that?

Also QV4 has by far the best implementation of links to maps of geographic locations (in the separate PC Bible Atlas). Right click a highlighted geographic location, and the map program would open to a selection of maps containing that location. Click on the place name on the map for a decent dictionary article about that location. Excellent! (apart from the garish colour of the maps!). Not even Libronix has some close! (Pocket Bible tries - thanks to Craig Rairdin probably!)

A good mention must go to the lightweight BerBible. Contains a good range of free Bibles (and bibles only) for searching and reading scripture. A well designed, fast program for its limited intentions.

Another good mention to E-Sword which is totally free with a large range of good (older) resources. Some modern resources are available for a charge. Good program for people first dipping their toe into the world of computer Bibles. Will tend to frustrate power users. Even modern version must be displayed in a verse by verse format - forget about paragraphs!

MEDIA RICH BIBLE SOFTWARE:

ILLUMINA and GLO, both frustratingly limiting, hard to navigate Bible and commentary resources. GLO is buggy, crashes and locks up on on-line updates. The rich media can be interesting but at times "corny". Probably fine for young families with kids.

THINGS I LOVE AND HATE ABOUT BIBLE SOFTWARE

MUST HAVES:

Flexible parsing of "goto" verse input. User should be able to use any common form: eg Matthew, Matt, Mt for the Bible book, and any chapter/verse format eg 33:15, 33.15, or 33 15 and have it parse correctly. Use should NOT have to tab from Book to chapter to Verse fields as in Zondervan ZRS and Pradis. (I provided customer feedback re this awful system in ZRS, and was told it would be improved in Pradis. It was not. And in fact it got worse in Pradis in that one now had to press "Ctrl+Shft+ G" to bring up the "goto" box)! Sadly just announced that Pradis os dead, and XZondervan resources will be available in Logos/Libronix format. Looks like wt will cost me whole lot more money after buing NIDNT NIDOT, EBT twice already for the two previous Zondervan formats! Zondervan, don't you love your customers!

Exellent: Lariadian Pocket Bible. No "goto" box needed. In normal view just type the verse (in pretty much any format) and the jump is instantaneous.

Terrible: Pradis

Chapter flow - At the end of a chapter, user should not have to move away from whatever scroll method is used in order to read to press a "new Chapter" button. One should be able to continuously scroll from chapter to chapter. (That's what you do reading a paper Bible!)

Good: Libronix, PC Study Bible. Pradis.

Bad : Quickverse, E-Sword.

OT-NT flow. Single volume commentaries should seamlessly track with you when you move from viewing an OT verse to an NT verse. You should not have to separately open the NT commentary before viewing it.

Bad: Quickverse. (oddly others who have used the STEP system have implemented it better than the key originator).

Good: Zondervan, Wordsearch, Libronix

Quick Topics. Clicking a key word should allow instant display of that topic in a designated Dictionary resource. Then dictionary resources should be available on a "carousel" to compare other similarly titled articles.

Good: Libronix (once keylinks are set up), Pocket Bible, E-Sword

Bad: PC Study Bible (But OK if "topics" is turned on)

Paragraphs versus new line for every verse. In general Bibles should be shown in the default format in which they are normally printed. e.g. KJV: New line for each verse, NIV: paragraphs. However there should be a user option to override the default.

Bad: E-sword (forces everything into new line for each verse. Ruins helpful paragraphing).

Pop up verse display when hovering over any scriptures in resources. No clicks should be needed.

EXCELLENT Logos/Libronix. Well implemented

POOR: PC Study Bible: Popups only lately implements, and only then in search results, and the popup window flashes and jumps around alarmingly.

POOR: Pocket Bible. The popup overlays the verse under consideration, and a specific non-natural mouse movement is required to close the box.

AWFUL: Quickverse. The popup does not resize to include the whole verse or passage. It does not go away automatically.

Bible Reference Links: Bible references in every resources should be a link that can both be hovered over for a pop-up display of that verse, or clicked on to go to that verse in location in a Bible. It is very frustrating having verses in books that have not been formated into links. It makes finding and reading that verse tedious. Consequently the effort may be too much and therefore avoided, to the detriment of the reader.

Links also should work with a single click, not an old fashoned double click.

BAD: PC Study Bible - too much double clicking where hover or single click would suffice.

GOOD most others.

Bible search by default should exclude Bible headings. If search is for "grace", I want the hits to come from the Bible itself, not a mix of Bible and editorial enhancements. However again this should be a user option to turn on if desired.

Bad: Laridian Pocket Bible

Commentaries should be shown as a continuous text steam so that one can read continuously the treatment of extended passages. It is unhelpful to have to scroll the linked bible or the commentary itself in order to view every verse individually. Bad: E-Sword Good Pradis, Libronix.

When there are multiple Bibles, movement from one to another should be speedy without having to slog through the whole carousel to find the one you wish to view.

Bad: Libronix.

Good: PC Study Bible,

Good: WordSearch

Parallel Bibles should be callable and dismissable instantly for quick comparisons.

Good: PCStudy Bible.

Bad Most others.

Easy library management system to find, sort, select and print the collection of books. Once you get over a hundred or so books it can become difficult to work out what you have, what you might purchase, etc. A collapsable tree structure is just not enough when there are many books.

Good: Libronix.

A flawed attempt: PC Study Bible.

Bad: Quickverse, Wordsearch,

Really Bad E-Sword, as all books show on masses of tabs that hog screen real estate. (They can be hidden but are not accessible unless displayed onscreen.)

To be avoided:

Complex licencing systems. Libronix borrowed heavily from the mindless Microsoft method of unwieldy lengthy stings of characters and numbers. At least they do offer management and storage tools to permit you to keep your list of licenced files backed up on computer and online. Also handles version updates gracefully.

Quickverse makes some attempts to include previously purchased books when upgrading but it is unwieldy and at times fails to include older books. (I have a licenced NIV and many other books from QV6 that I have no idea how to get into my QV2009).

Good licencing system: Laridian (by Craig Rairdin originator of the original and still very useful original Quickverse, up to v4). Laridian keeps a record of all your licenced books online which can be freely downloaded for reinstalls at any time. Also reminds you if you do not have the latest version of any file, AND permits you to install your purchased books simultaneously on a range of platforms. Well Done Craig!

DISTATEFUL: Companies who introduce entirely new products with entirely different interfaces and incompatible book formats, sometimes under exactly the same name.

Worst: Zondervan who went from Zondervan Resource Systems (ZRS) to Pradis, which itself is now to be abandoned. (Zondervan are now moving their products to the Logos/Libronix platform). Some small concessions for owners of expensive resources are provided, but basically resources have to be purchased all over again if you wish to retain access to them.

I paid for the excellent resources EBC, NIDNT and NIDOT in the ZRS system, again in the Pradis system (both of which were quite unwieldy to manage despite some innovative features).

Will I be prepared to do it all again?

EXCELLENT Logos/Libronix whose latest version Libroninix 3.0f still recognises resources from earlier Logos versions.

GOOD: Quickverse tried to do so but imperfectly implemented.

BAD: Wordsearch. The original Wordsearch had some good features - especially an excellent topic search. It also handled STEP books much better than the major STEP initiator Quickverse.

But Wordsearch current version is an entirely different program. At least Zondervan went through a name change with their migration from ZRS to Pradis. If the resources are incompatible, please give us a new name for a new product. Don't pretend it is the same!

BIBLIOGRAPHY Programs should allow clear and full bibliographic detials for books.

Excellent: Logos/Libronix. The Gold standard for Bibliographic detials which can easily be included into your documents.

FAIR ATTEMPT PC Study Bible. Allows bibliographic infomration to be viewed, but not easily incorporated into you own writings. You have to note it and retype it.

TERRIBLE: Illuimina It's resources are totally anonymous. Who wrote the Bible Dictionary, the Commentaries? Are they reliable evangelicals? - Take a guess! - Publishers Tyndale don't tell you - not anywhere! Not on the packaging, not in the help files, not in any menu choices. It appears that the Dictionary is the Tyndale Concise Bible Dictionary (Eds Phillip Comfort & Walter Elwell), and the small commentary is the Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary (Hughes & Laney). I know because I compared them to the same resources from Laridian that I have in my Palm Treo phone! Beyond that it is anyone's guess.

COMPUTERS IN MY LIFE

2009-10-14T19:30:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

COMPUTERS I HAVE OWNED OR WORKED ON

Kenn Iskov’s fond memories!

In Italics are machines I have used but not owned

(Don't know why the photos aren't visible - anyone have a clue?)

IBM 360 Series 4 Mainframe at SEC Vic, 1969, learned to program in Fortran
Tandy TRS 80, With mono TV screen, loaned by Bowling family New Jersey 1981, learned some Basic. Programs stored on cassette.
Timex Sinclair ZX81 1982 Built from USD $99 Kit, added 16K memory for another USD$99. Learned to program Basic on this machine. Small B&W TV for monitor. Programs stored on cassette

Franklin Ace 1000 Apple II clone, while working at Microcon computers in New Jersey. 1984-86
Kaypro II CPM luggable with Word Perfect, Perfect Writer and Wordstar (@ Microcon 1984-86)
DEC Rainbow 100 Digital Research OS, On loan for several months and possible staff purchase at Microcon, used Samna word processor. Beautifully engineered, but odd features, passed over in favour of IBM compatible Televideo.
AT&T PC Our first store IBM PC clone. We could not get hold of the IBM PC.
AT&T Unix PC First graphical Unix system I saw. Few sold.

Televideo TPC-II

(IBM clone), purchased at staff discount from Microcon with student loan, and used for several years in US and Australia, mainly using Word Perfect 4. Came with 256Kb. I increased to 512Kb while in USA.

Atari ST520

Purchased 1985 new from Microcon staff discount (for the kids!) with external single sided 3.5” drive, later swapped for double sided drive. Originally with OS on disk, Final version OS supplied later on about 6 ROM chips which the user had to install but which freed up user memory, and gave instant boot.

(Note all six above computers #5-#8, I retailed as part time sales staff at Microcon computers, Quakerbridge Mall, Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Commodore C64 Purchased second hand in US with monochrome monitor and 300 baud modem. First bulletin board experience. 1984, sold before returning to Australia
NEC 8201A

Early laptop. 16hrs on 4 x AA cells. Brilliant machine, used at Princeton for note taking in library. Downloaded files to TPC-II via serial connection. Still under the house!

Amstrad 1640 (IBM clone) Given s/hand from Jim Kuswadi approx 1990, Digital research GEM GUI and 20Mb h/d disk, doubled to 40Mb with DR disk doubler software. Strange modernised version of Wordstar bundled with it. Leonie used for much her nursing degree. I used it with Word Perfect 4 for my early part of my M Litt. Colour monitor with a single Power supply in the monitor – a standard cost cutting method from Amstrad.
TRS80 MODEL 16 Found (working condition) in the garbage, while in church office at Linfield Uniting. 2 x 8” floppy drives and Xenix operating system. No real use – so soon discarded.
Commodore Amiga Donated by one of the twin’s friends in 2006, played with for a while but returned, having no real use for it!
IBM clone Staff bonus from Amtex, 1993. Intel processor DX2-64, 4 Mb memory, 15” CRT Monitor. 13Mb hard disk which I payed for upgrade to 18Mb, later added another 10MB H/disk, and eventually upped memory to 32 Mb. Won free copy of Office v.6 from Sydney Morning Herald at the same time (on about 20 3.5” floppies!).
IBM Clone Purchased approx 1996 (or later?) from West Ryde. PIII 450MHz, 256 Memory, Hard Drive 18MB? 17” CRT monitor. Found offer of free promotional copy of Office 2000 direct from Microsoft ordered online and was delivered free of charge!
Twinhead P14 laptop. Purchased May 2003 in Chatswood, P4-M 1800MHz, 30GB, 384Mb, with combo drive. Purchased Office XP Professional. Later upgraded to 80Gb. Donated to Tim Page in Port Moresby, Nov 2008.
Toshiba TE6100 Purchased for Leonie from Neil Barnes at Toshiba refurbished 2003. Stolen out of office window in PNG 2005.
Home Built Sempron 2200, 160GB, 1Mb test machine, with 17” Mag LCD monitor. XP Pro plus 6 versions of Linux! Sold to Living Light Office for K1000.
Compaq Celeron (Leonie) purchased from Dick smith 2005 for Leonie after refurb Toshiba TE6100 had problems, which I later fixed and loaned to Living waters – eventually stolen through Leonie’s office window.
Toshiba A120 Laptop, purch. 2006 from Datanets in PNG by Living Waters to replace Leonie’s stolen Toshiba. Core Solo 1.8MHz, 60Gb. Super multi DVD. Upgraded to 1Mb memory. Purchased Windows 2003 Professional. Now Leonie’s main machine.
Toshiba M100. Laptop, for Leonie from Toshiba refurb. Pentium core duo 1.8 upgraded to 1Mb memory. Super Multi DVD. With Office 2003 student teacher edition. Currently spare and on loan to a friend.

Asus Nova P20 purch for AUS equiv $1000, mini desktop, 16” LCD, Dual core 2.4GHz Intel, 2Gb, 250Gb H/disk. Main desktop machine. Upgraded to Asus 22” LCD monitor. Replace 250Gb hard drive with 320 Gb after a meltdown. Reloaded all software! Running Vista Home premium with Media Centre, TV card.

Acer Aspire One notebook. Written off unit – new but not working. Revived after reflashing Rom, fixing touchpad, unable to revive XP from restore partition, so installed Windows 7 dual boot with Ubuntu netbook edition.

What’s next?

Things I would like to try!

Apple Mac

Suffering with Sufjan: Indie Theodicy

2009-10-12T03:33:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Sufjan Stevens is a thirty something Detroit born musician and songwriter. His minimalist musical style has been compared to Steve Reich. The songs on his 2005 album "...Feel the Illinois" explore a range of human and spiritual themes. Stevens writes from unconventional christian perspective.

His Casimir Polaski Day unfolds a bitter sweet tale of love and loss culminating in an unspeakably sad death of a close friend and lover on March the first - the holiday of a Polish born Revolutionary War hero.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdfiXdrmXA8

Through the vehicle of the unusual metre of the three line stanzas, Stevens takes us into the heart of (presumably) teenage exploration of the stirrings of sexual attraction between two young people who appear to be family friends and participants together in a Christian faith Community - presumably a local church. The opposing trajectories of the exploration of sexuality and the anguish of terminal illness confront us through the tentative explorations of life, sexuality and death and theodicy. Below are the stanzas of the song with some exploratory comments.

Stevens is an acute observer of life and of other people. I cannot but feel that he is writing out of his own lived experiences, even if not experienced in a continuum as in the song.

Golden rod and the 4-H stone
The things I brought you
When I found out you had cancer of the bone

A childlike attempt to assuage the confusing news of serious illness with mysterious gifts - Special objects of no particular monetary value, but of particular significance to the girl and boy entwined in this drama. Attempts have been made to identify the "4H stone" without much clarity.

Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car to the Navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry

Links between two families are expressed in the pain of the girl's father as he tearfully communicates his family's grief to their friends, and engages in strange behaviour to assuage his sense of responsiblity and guilt. Why do we take the responsibility for the tragedies that happen to those close to us?

In the morning through the window shade
When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade
I could see what you were reading

The attraction of young love, the "unbearable lightness of being" She is seen as an living individual, reader-thinker, bathed in light. (Why is she seen "through the window shade"? Is he so besotted as to gaze endlessly in hope at her (maybe next door) bedroom window - at the object of an emerging teenage obsession).

Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth

In the midst of the swirling confusion surrounding her medical condition the girl and boy explore the tender stirrings of young love. It is tinged with a sense of the creative mystery of God's glory manifest in human sexuality, (Shades of "Song of Solomon'), but also the double jeopardy of emotion commitment that may soon be truncated. Very complicated! But also Glorious!

Tuesday night at the bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens
G.E. Ladd in his Kingdom writings established the distinction between the present power of the Kingdom of God, and the future perfection of that Kingdom. There is a tension between the "now" and the "not yet". So sometimes prayer results in transformation and the miraculous - and sometimes the problems remain and even grow - as here. These are likely thorough-going evangelical christians here, whose small group meetings are often designated "Bible Studies" in preference over other possible descriptions.

I remember at Michael's house
In the living room when you kissed my neck
And I almost touched your blouse
In a setting away from the normal chaperoned homes of the young lovers (Michael's house), physical exploration continues. The agony and the ecstacy of young attaction! So near and so far!

In the morning at the top of the stairs
When your father found out what we did that night
And you told me you were scared
And the far has been attained! Presumably after a sleepover ("in the morning") the sexual exploration has culminated in sleeping together. Understandably the father is disturbed, - as a Christian parent, and as guardian of a terminally ill daughter - what if she becomes pregnant?; what if...?

She is afraid: Of what? Fathers ire? pregnacy? God's judgement? Impending death? Perhaps all of these? We feel the existential anguish of this precious young life.

Oh the glory when you ran outside
With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
And you told me not to follow you

And yet life will not be denied. This is a glorious moment of defiance of death, as in haste with some modesty (shirt tucked in, but shoes untied), she runs outside - into fresh air, into God's creation, into eternal life, embracing detachment from present life "..told me not to follow" c/f Jesus Jn 13:36 “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later"

Or is it running in fear - away from father, house and bodily defiler. No glory in that, so I tend to the first interpretation.

Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I find the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of your mother

The narrators house presumably (unless he were cleaning at his firend's house), and finds a note - perhaps a farewell note, with familiar pictures. This bears further thought.

On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom

The great divide! The Jordan River! The river Styx, Death is near! Our narrator, perhaps subconsciously, attempts to hold onto his beloved with an echo of her recent glorious actions (shirt and shoes). But his emerging manhood cannot cope with the surging emotions - he must hide them in the bathroom.

In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window
Other bloggers make much of the red cardinal and it's shed blood as a metaphor for death and Christ's redemption. Perhaps enough to see a sort of Jungian synchronicity here between the two events. The nurse, by her demeanor, reflects the heaviness of heart felt by all involved in the drama.

In the morning in the winter shade
On the first of March on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing
Casimir Polaski Day - her last! Hope lives in denial (c/f Elizabeth Kubler Ross On death and Dying) "I thought ...breathing" One stage in the grieving process is often the hope that it is all unreality - "she lives!" And yet in a Christian world view she indeed does live, if the cardinal has done His work!

Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications when I see his face
In the morning in the window
Complications! And Glory! Here and in an earlier verse. Life is full of them - even in Christian faith. We will see His face - the narrator affirms that knowing that he has matters that need to be settled with his maker. The window reflects (pun!) that mentioned in 1 Cor 13:12: Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.

Oh the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes

More glory in the recognition of the Biblical Doctrine of subsitutionary atonement, but the anguish of loss blurted out in the hurt of that which was SO special, now taken in premature death.
This is the anguish of theodicy - the ancient question of how can a God of love allow suffering? And the only answer to be found is in recognition that the Lord of Glory himself suffered - and died - in our place. This overcomes and overshadows every human hurt and question with the overwhelming grace of God.

The pain is felt, and it may be expressed. David, the Psalmist did - expressing his frustration with God's apparent inaction in the face of evil. [Ps 10:1] Why, * O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Yet David was declared to be one after God's own heart (Ac 13:22) - as are we all if we remain in union with Him - even when our emotions would have us rail against Him. May God have mercy on his world! Oh the Glory!

2009-10-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

11 Oct 2009 C3 South CHURCH

It’s dangerous living close to Koorong Books in West Ryde.

I spotted John Stott - The Cross of Christ- 20^th Anniversary Edition one of those seminal life-changing books.

Reminded me: I came into a Pentecostal experience after years in solid evangelical circles. I thank God for what I learned there. Central focus in Jesus and his work on Calvary – on the Cross.

Cross central to the Christian life. Cross is only a piece of wood. It is a symbol for the death of Jesus Christ in our place. But it is the hub, the heartbeat, the powerhouse for everything in the Christian life.

The most significant event in human history is not the first printing press, not the moon landing or air flight, not computers or the internet, or the discovery of penicillin.

God proved his love on the cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died it was God saying to the world-I love you.

Billy Graham (1918- )

First Hear the Gospel account from Mark Ch15:

21 The King on a Cross

Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. 22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. 24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

…….

33 Jesus Dies on the Cross

Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!" 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."

37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!" NKJV

How Does the Cross of Christ – the death of Jesus change things for us?

1. Christ died to bring us LIFE

(Rom 5:15 NASB) But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

(Rom 6:8 NASB) Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Jn 10:10b The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Dawkins: The God Delusion, Hitchens God is not Great – why religion poisons everything. Fail to distinguish between religion and relationship with Jesus

The world claims to offer life but mostly it offers bondage

Q. What does it mean that we have “died with Christ?” in order to live?

2. Christ died for people who didn’t deserve it – we who are ungodly

(Rom 5:6 NASB) For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

(Rom 5:8 NASB) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Q Why are we “Helpless” – What is it we cannot do?

3. Christ died, not to condemn us, but to intercede for us before the Father.

(Rom 8:34 NASB) who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

When someone had failed the human tendency is to dismiss them: Sacked, off the team, out of the uni. Jesus treated people so differently: Matthew the fraudulent money collector, the multi divorced women at the well, the woman taken in the act of adultery…

Q Who is it who condemns us?

4. Christ died to be Lord of your life.

(Rom 14:9 NASB) For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Q What does it mean for Jesus to be LORD of your life?

The Cross means an adjustment in allegiance. More than family, employer, ambition…

5. Christ died to make us aware of the needs of others

(Rom 14:15 NASB) For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

(1 Cor 8:11 NASB) For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.

Q Look at the surrounding verses of the two quotes above. What situations might YOU face where you would change your behaviour so you do not offend a “weaker brother”

Phil 2:[3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. [4] Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. [5] Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

So Sophie let the team to Sylvanvale yesterday…

6. Christ died in the prophetic plan of God

(1 Cor 15:3 NASB) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

Q Can you think of some Old Testament prophecies about Jesus? (see especially Is 53)

No accident of history, not the evil plans of evil men, but Jesus said: [17] The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.

7. Christ died so we could live a life of love – dead to the old ways.

(2 Cor 5:14 NASB) For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

Q What does it mean that (if Christ’s controls us), we have “all died”?

Our debt to sin is paid. Our death is incorporated into Christ’s death. Death has therefore lost it’s sting. Death is a doorway into the presence of God.

8. Christ died to set us free from all bondages – satanic, legalistic

(Col 2:20 NASB) If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, etc

Q What are some of the bondages people face today? Fashion, finance, recreational drugs ,fear, spiritual dondages. Are you fully free?

9. Christ Died to give us a new life linked to God

(Col 3:3 NASB) For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

New quiet strength – new sense of assurance, confidence that all will be well, knowing that “all things work together for those who love God…?

Q How can you strengthen you new life “in God”

10. Christ died to bring us to God – there’s no other way!

(1 Pet 3:18 NASB) For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

(Gal 2:21 NASB) "I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."

Q What other ways do people think will “bring them to God”? Why is Jesus the Only way (see John 14:6) Living a Good life, being Moral, being religious,

11. Jesus died to give us a home in heaven

The ONLY VERSE using the name Jesus when speaking of his dying; all other verses use the title Christ – his official messianic role.

(1 Th 4:14 NASB) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. ( A verse about the end-times)

Q for quiet thought: Are you SURE you are going to heaven, if not, what can you do about it?

If “Yes”, then thank God for his goodness to you

INVITATION

Officer Peter O'Hanlon was patrolling on night duty in northern England some years ago when he heard a quivering sob. Turning in the direction that it came from, he saw in the shadows a little boy sitting on a doorstep. With tears rolling down his cheeks, the child whimpered, "I'm lost. Take me home." The policeman began naming street after street, trying to help him remember where he lived. When that failed, he repeated the names of the shops and hotels in the area, but all without success. Then he remembered that in the center of the city was a well-known church with a large white cross towering high above the surrounding landscape. He pointed to it and said, "Do you live anywhere near that?" The boy's face immediately brightened. "Yes, take me to the cross. I can find my way home from there!"

-This is what Jesus did on the cross for you.

Are you following with all your heart today?

Thots on Schools: Public or Christian?

2009-08-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

I drove today behind a car with a bumper sticker reading " Support Public Education ; Free, compulsory, Secular"

That "secular" word started me thinking about all three of the descriptors: "Free", and "compulsory", I fully support. What about "secular"?

To the extent that it means "free from sectarian bias", I am comfortable. If taken to mean "anti religion" or "anti-christian", I am opposed to the notion.

Then I began to think about the rise of Independent Christian Schools in Australia and the reasons large numbers of Christian parents have abandoned the public school system. It seems to me that there are three main reasons:

1. Perceived anti-christian emphases in some subjects - notably in classes covering human origins.

2. Uncommitted and /or underperforming teaching staff

3. Children associating with socially disfunctional kids and potentially negatively affected by them.

So vast financial resources and parental effort and support has been channelled into the Christian school movement. And it has produced many wonderful students with christian values and high academic standards.

But I wonder is there another way to slice the pie? If even part of this vast resource of Christian parents and their ideals were to be directed into transforming the public school system, whether we could have a different outcome in that system?

Imagine if in response the the concerns listed above:

1. Christian communities motivated and supported their young people - especially young males - into seeing teaching as a noble profession with great potential to influence society for good. Imagine in 15 - 20 years, a vast cohort of Christian teachers who, rising through the ranks because of their hard work and commitment to their pupils, become department heads and school principals - imagine their influence on the way human origins might be taught in public schools. Embracing the various alternative views so as to not marginalise non-evolutionary perspectives.

2. Imagine the transformation in classrooms with Christian teachers seeing kids as having lives with great potential to be nurtured and questioning minds to be fostered. Imagine Christian parents engaging with the public school community and offering their services and skills to those communities - imagine their impact on other families as they become aware of the values and comittments of those strong value families - their positive influence on families who are struggling or confused by life in the modern world.

Imagine if but some of the funds and resources poured into non public education were to be returned to the public system by people with strong convictions and high moral standards, the positive effect in the public school system could be amazing! A mission field just down the street! We are called to be salt and light in the world (Matt 5:13)

3. Imagine if the vast transport efforts involved in getting kids to and from distant Christian schools were released. Kids would have time after school to engage their unsaved classmates, invite them home to play, watch great videos, (bought with money saved from all the transportation no longer needed!) Mums (or Dads) would be less stressed with extra hours available in their week from elimated driving to and from those distant schools - maybe now able to run an after-school kids club as an outreach to the friends of their own children.

A social and spiritual transformation might begin as millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours (person hours?) were stragetically released into the public school system. In that system are hundred of thousands of kids of overseas born-parents who may never have an opportunity to hear of the Love of God shown through Jesus unless we begin to engage them where they are.

Imagine if kids got to know and form community with their close neighbours who attend the same local public school. Social interactions would be greatly enhanced with a strong "after school friendship" culture as kids congregated and were welcomed into Christian homes to play, do homework, and experience the love of Jesus in that household.

Imagine the social benefit to kids in Christian families, no longer captive to parents ability and willingness to transport them on infrequent occasions to spend time with their best friend who lives five suburbs away. Rather, a houseful of kid's best friends on as many days of the week as you wish!

Maybe this is all hot air! Or maybe a proposal for revolution. What do you think?

Wrestling together with the stuff of life!

Kenn Iskov

Love your Bible!

2009-07-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

There's no other book like it!

A compilation of 66 documents, written by 40 different authors from all sort of backgrounds: Kings, scholars, farmers and fishermen!

Stretching over 1500 years of human history, and with an underlying purpose to reveal Gods gracious dealing with His wayward creation of human beings. And overarching the human authors is the heavenly author; the Holy Spirit of God who is guarantor of the life-changing value of the truths you will find within!

It is the description of supreme love, and supurb sacrificial commitment, for the greatest rescue mission ever - the mission that sent Jesus Christ, God incarnate, into our world to give his life on a Roman Cross (the "tree").

I Pet 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. [25] For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

I have been reading the Bible for over 40 years. And for most of those years I have read it right through every year, using Robert Murray McCheyne's 4 chapters a day reading plan. You can get your own copy here;

http://www.mountzion.org/text/DailyBibleReading.pdf

It will change your life!

Get an easy to read version (TNIV, NLT) and begin to love your Bible! Daily reading will be like regular meals: Keeps you nourished and healthy on the inside!

Love your Bible!

Pastor Kenn.

2009-07-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

I would like to share some pastoral insights with You!

This is a poem from the English Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins from the Victorian era.

The poem offers a wonderful insight into faithful pastoral ministry in a tragic situation.

FELIX RANDAL the farrier, O he is dead then? my duty all ended,
Who have watched his mould of man, big-boned and hardy-handsome
Pining, pining, till time when reason rambled in it and some
Fatal four disorders, fleshed there, all contended?

Sickness broke him. Impatient he cursed at first, but mended
Being anointed and all; though a heavenlier heart began some
Months earlier, since I had our sweet reprieve and ransom
Tendered to him. Ah well, God rest him all road ever he offended!

This seeing the sick endears them to us, us too it endears.
My tongue had taught thee comfort, touch had quenched thy tears,
Thy tears that touched my heart, child, Felix, poor Felix Randal;

How far from then forethought of, all thy more boisterous years,
When thou at the random grim forge, powerful amidst peers,
Didst fettle for the great grey drayhorse his bright and battering sandal!

G M Hopkins.

===================
Felix Randall, a mountain of a man, is the local blacksmith. He has succumbed to several lengthy and debilitating illnesses ('Fatal four disorders") that ultimately take his life.

Narrator Hopkins is in character as the parish priest. He recognises that the death of Felix Randall is the conclusion of an extended ministry ("duty") in providing pastoral support to this muscular workman.

Randall clearly was a central figure in the landscape of this English village: handsome, huge, and hard working, His illnesses left him weak and at times delirious when "reason rambled" in his weakened body.

As often happens, he felts anger at his circumstances and curses his situation, but God's grace is at work in him and he finds himself "mended" in certain ways. Though ultimately he succumbs to his ailments, spiritually he enters into salvation and comfort.

For simultaneous with his growing weakness is a growing faith. He experienced anointing for his sickness (presumably extreme unction in a Catholic context), and prior to that, months earlier, conversed with his pastor concerning "our sweet reprieve and ransom". Learning of Christ and his redemptive Easter work on the cross provides the transformational context for Felix Randall to negotiate the storms to come.

In Biblical terms he was "born again". The language of the poem also suggest a sacramental sharing in communion/mass as this redemption is "tendered" to him by his faithful priest and pastor. And he receives the pastoral absolution concerning "all road he ever offended". So Felix Randall is on a journey of faith, and a journey to an early death.

Ministry creates connections: Priest Hopkins and Farrier Randall are inxtricably intertwined in Christ: they are "endeared" to each other through the crisis in the blacksmith's health.

In that context of pastoral care, priest Hopkins has spoken words of comfort - a teaching role as he describes it, and he has employed that most powerful of ministry behaviours - "touch has quenched thy tears". Appropriate touch is surely a most powerful pastoral intervention, with extraordinary effects for good.

What a scene this conjures in the mind! The weakened hulk of a man - Felix Randall - shedding uncharacteristic tears, and ministered to so tenderly with touch and word by the (on all accounts) effeminate Jesuit.

And in this setting Grace flows! Tears and fears are "quenched". God can use the most unlikely people in the most unusual circumstances!

And those tears touched the pastoral heart too. "Thy tears had touched my heart ... Poor Felix" It is impossible to minister effectively without opening our hearts to the possibility of deep emotion tied to those in our care. There is a price to pay in pastoral ministry

The poem closes with one of English poetry's most potent images. In the pastors mind he sees Felix Randall as he was - and doubtless as he will be again: powerful, skillful, masterful in his world, forging shoes for the draught horse - its "bright and battering sandal" . Felix Randall will be whole again.

Enjoy the thoughts! If I get to teach pastoral theology again in the future I would like to try to use this as a teaching tool. (If I can get theology students to enjoy Hopkins!) I find the poetry of both Hopkins and Rilke powerful for provoking reflection on Christian themes.

Until next time!

Kenn

Patrick And Celtic Christianity

2009-07-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Long blog! What follows is Francis Cecil Alexander's translation into English of an ancient Celtic hymn attributed to St Patrick, english evangelist to Ireland in the 4thC.

Patrick was from a well to do Christian family in England but was himself careless of the things of God as a teenager. But that all changed!

He was kidnapped by Irish raiders and served as a slave to an Irish cheiftan for six years. He eventually miraculously escaped and returned to England. But he felt the call of God to return to pagan Ireland and carry the Good news about Jesus to the Irish. He trained as a priest, and returned to Ireland where he spend the rest of his days as a missionary.

These word below show a stong sense of the power of Jesus to withstand all spiritual attack waged against a person of faith. http://ref.ly/Eph6.10 Especially moving is the verse commencing Christ within me... There is scarcely a more Christ-focused confession in all devotional literature.

Patrick moved in pentecostal power against all manner of spiritual opposition. He belongs to the whole church!

Read slowly and savour!

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Wrestling Rilke

2009-07-02T15:05:00.001-07:00

Some years ago in an attempt on a PhD in the U.S., I had to learn reading German at a Princeton University Summer School. In an effort to keep the fragile seedling alive, I have found an interest in the German Poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

Over the years I have collected a number of his works, most in diglot form (German on one page, English translation on the facing page). This helps me to keep my German reading skills just alive. (Don't ask me to speak!)

There is a vast discussion, online and elsewhere, about just HOW Rilke should be translated. He strains and subverts his native German, so how to convey those subtlties in another language is quite a challenge for any translator.

I thoroughly enjoy reading both Rilke and the discussion that swirls around him. But when you have read a book three times and are dipping in for a fourth read - you know you are hooked. That book is "Reading Rillke - Reflections on the Problems of Translation" by William Gass. It is absolutely riveting (to me at least).

Gass himself has a quirky style, and in several chapters takes a line or two from Rilke, and gives the translation efforts of up to a dozen others (yes there are dozens of english translations of Rilke!)

He then proceeds, like a judge on American Idol, to evaluate and critique (and disparage!) some of these efforts. Fascinating stuff!

Rilke always writes with a deep insight into the human condition, and in his earlier years wrote a substantial body of poetry on Biblical themes. Even in those youthful times, his insights into the inner life of biblical characters is striking indeed.

Here is the German and English for one of his fairly well known shorter poems from his 1905 Book of Hours collection:

Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen

Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen,
die sich über die Dinge ziehn.
Ich werde den letzten vielleicht nicht vollbringen,
aber versuchen will ich ihn.

Ich kreise um Gott, um den uralten Turm,
und ich kreise jahrtausendelang;
und ich weiß noch nicht: bin ich ein Falke, ein Sturm
oder ein großer Gesang.

=============================

I live my life in ever widening circles
which spread over earth and sky.
I may not ever complete the last one,
but that is what I will try.

I circle around God: that primordial tower,
and I circle ten thousand years long;
And I still don't know if I'm a falcon,
a storm, or an unfinished song.

=============================

And I think of Simon McI. - aerobatic Sky Pilot extraordinaire who continues to bless us with his ever widening circles! Goodonya Simon!

Read Rilke and Ruminate!

Christ and Culture - Again

2009-06-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

I recently picked up a copy of D.A. Carson's 2008 book, Christ and Culture revisited. It is a reworking of H Richard Neibuhr's fifty year old classic, Christ and Culture.

Neibuhr posits five possible models of the relationship between "Christ" (meaning primarily Christianity) and "Culture" (meaning all those expressions of lived life that exclude Jesus Christ).

These are:

1 Christ Against Culture. The stance of the sect; Separated from and opposed to many elements in culture. e.g. the Amish in the US.

2. The Christ of Culture. Christianity seen as the best hope of society, often expressed in the liberal versions of the Christian Church and many post enlightenment figures: eg Ritschl.

3. Christ Above Culture. This is the position of Thomas Aquinas, seeing the Christian church as having full responsibility for the great social institutions of society.

4. Christ and Culture in Paradox. Here a great exponent is Martin Luther. The Christian citizen must give full allegiance to Christ, but also to the flawed and fallen state. We must therefore must "sin boldly" such that, for example, when the state orders the Christian citizen who serves as executioner to hang a condemned criminal, it is his christian duty to do so, even in the face of the commandment "Thou shalt not Kill".

5. Neibuhr's final category is "Christ the Transformer of Culture". This again holds a high view of Christ, and is a conversionist position, expecting the conversion of Culture itself, as the influence of Christ is propagated. This is Augustines "City of God". This is Calvin's Geneva.

Having restated the themes from Neibuhr, Carson goes on to evaluate these postitions in the light of the post-modern project interacting with Derrida, Lyotard and Foucault.

I have jumped ahead of myself beyond where I have read! But I am intrigued with the analytic possibilities of Carsons reworking of Neibuhr. Looking forward to the rest of the book!

Society is rapidly morphing around the bricollage of the Internet. How will Christ and his people relate to the emerging structures of society? D A Carson gives a great assist to christian leaders as we ponder these things, and seek to develop the Christ-honoring forms of his body, the church, that meet the demands of the hour.

PS anything by Carson, a top New Testament scholar is worth reading. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Carson

Enjoy your reading!

Simple Greatness

2009-06-18T00:18:00.000-07:00

The Gospel of Jesus Christ continually turns conventional wisdom on its head!

The first will be last (Mk 9:33)! The greatest among us should become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves (Lk 22:44)!

The model for aspiring greatness/leadership is Jesus himself, "though he was in the form of God, ... but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant." (Phil 2:6,7).

I spent lunchtime today in the presence of such a leader. This servant of Christ has planted and pastored churches, written dozens of helpful books ranging from children's works through to solid theology! He has founded a Christian tertiary collee with campuses around the nation, and though past the age when others might think of retirment, now pastors a vibrant congregation of hundreds of international people in the city centre of Sydney.

Image via Wikipedia

And all this without pyrotechnics or self promotion. I speak, of course, about Dr Barry Chant, founder of Tabor College and pastor of the International Congregation at Wesley Mission.

A true follower of Jesus Christ who does indeed "have this mind..." (Phil 2:5) in him. May God increase his tribe!

(This post was enhanced using Zemanta for the first time, and may have unexpected results!

Back to the Future

2009-06-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

After five and a half wonderful years of church ministry in Papua New Guinea, My wife Leonie and I have returned to "normal" life in Sydney Australia.

People moving to and fro internationally on assignement often experience "Culture Shock" on arrival in their new setting, and "Reverse Culture Shock" upon return. This can be quite debilitating.

We have been fortunate in experiencing very little "Shock" of either sort, for which we are very grateful.

Now comes the next step for me especially: How to integrate back into fruitful ministry for Jesus Christ in australia. I am very thankful for some adjunct teaching at Tabor College NSW, and for an exciting research projuct with a Pastor Colleague.