Hello everyone From the Editor

I am sure that you all realise that we live in very troubled times in this world. Every news report we see or hear contains scenes of war, violence and death.

How should we as Christians react to all this trouble? Well, we should all be concerned and pray to God for peace, and ask Him to watch over all His people and save those who are without Christ and are lost in sin.

But how should we feel in our own hearts? Does the Bible tell us how we should think and feel? Yes, it certainly does.

For example, the Lord tells us in Psalm 46 verse 10, “Be still and know that I am God.” This Psalm was written in very troubled times. The whole world seemed to be in turmoil. Everything appeared to be overturned. Wars raged and kingdoms were overthrown and people were greatly troubled.

This verse tells us to ‘be still’, that means to be quiet in our hearts. This does not mean to be still because we are ignorant or do not care, but because we trust in the Lord.

What does God say that should give us peace and comfort? He says that ‘He is God’, and in verse 7 we read that ‘God is with us and is our refuge’.

There have been some very dark and troubled times in the world’s history, but God’s people have trusted in Him in those times, and He has proved to be faithful and cared for them.

So we too should remember that God alone rules this world and that He will direct all that happens for the good of those who trust in Him and for His own praise and glory. This may be often very hard for us to see but we may trust in the Lord and ‘be still and know that He is God.’ Then we will have deep peace in our hearts.

Robert Moffat and Africaner the Hottentot

The missionary, Robert Moffat (1795-1885) was born at Ormiston, Scotland. He had a very poor education, and when he left school he was apprenticed as a gardener. While a teenager, Robert heard the gospel of Christ and became a true believer. Then he attended a missionary meeting and decided to go overseas as a missionary. Because of his poor education, the London Missionary Society was unwilling to accept him for a time. However in 1816 he set sail for South Africa. Two years later he married Mary Smith, his former employer’s daughter. She became his faithful helper for the next fifty years.

For a time Moffat worked in the Cape Town area, then he announced that he would move north and work among the Hottentot tribes people. (Hottentot was the name given these people by the early Dutch settlers) The Chief of these people was a savage leader named Africaner. He had been ill-treated by white men and so was filled with hatred and revenge. He killed his white boss and his wife and sought to shoot every white person he met. He not only killed people but made drum-heads out of their skins and drinking bowls out of their skulls.

At last the South African Government offered a reward of $500 for his capture, dead or alive - a great sum in those days.

When Moffat announced that he would go and preach to the Hottentots, his friends tried to plead with him not to go. Some even wept, saying that he would certainly be killed, but no one could convince him not to go.

Moffat set off without a bodyguard, guns or even a knife. He went to Africaner’s house and showed him love and told him of the great love of Christ towards lost sinners. In return Africaner learned to love Robert Moffat. He built him a grass hut next to his own. This savage chief came to know Christ as his Saviour. His heart was changed and he became as gentle and teachable as a child.

Africaner became Moffat’s best friend. At one time Moffat was alone and became very sick, but Africaner nursed him and provided him with the best food and milk he could find. When Moffat found it necessary to move to another part of the country, Africaner went with him and built him a new house in that area.

One day Robert Moffat told the chief that he was going to return to Cape Town, the capital, and asked him to go with him. Africaner was very troubled and alarmed. He had been a murderer, an outlaw, a thief, and a price was placed on his head. If he appeared among white men, they would kill him; but he decided to go.

The people in Cape Town believed that Moffat was dead, having been murdered by Africaner. One man claimed that he had seen Moffat’s bones. Then, to everyone’s amazement, one day Moffat returned, and Africaner was with him; now a Christian and civilized! A man whose uncle had been killed by the savage chief, looked closely at his face and said, “Yes, it is him. Lord, what cannot Thy grace do. What a miracle?”

In the city of Cape Town Africaner created a great stir among the people. Everyone wanted to see him. The Governor sent for him, and after hearing his testimony, the money that had been offered for his capture was spent in buying things that he needed. Africaner was now a new creature in Christ and everyone marvelled at what they saw of the grace of God in him.

The last thing Africaner did was to help Moffat settle into his new home, and he himself prepared to settle beside his friend and teacher, but before he could move, the Lord called

Africaner to Himself. He died, peacefully falling asleep in Jesus Christ his Saviour.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Smile a while

q Sheepy sleep: A man was advised by his friend that the way to go to sleep was to count sheep. The man agreed to try it. The next day he met his friend, “How did you go counting sheep?” he asked. “Not very good,” he replied. “I got to 39,578 then the alarm went off and I had to get up.”

q Poor judge: An old lady asked a boy, “What is the difference between a pumpkin and a tub of butter?” The lad pondered very carefully trying to find some catch. At last he said, “I don’t know.” Well”, replied the lady with a grin, “I will never send you to the supermarket.”

q Wrong way: As a rocket scientist was driving to work, his wife phoned him on the mobile; “I have just heard the traffic report. There is a lunatic driving the wrong way on the highway, so please be careful.” He replied, “I will, but let me tell you, there’s not just one lunatic, there are hundreds of them driving the wrong way on this highway.”

q Big Boy: An American tourist who visited a small Australian town asked, “Are there any big men born here?” “No” replied a man, “the best we can do around here are babies. I suppose it’s very different in the States!”

q Which way? Two people met in the foyer of a psychiatrist’s clinic. “Are you coming or going?” one asked. “If I knew the answer to that, I would not be visiting this place,” replied the other.

q Late flight: When a taxi was late, a man called the operator saying that he had to catch the 5am flight. “Never mind,” replied the operator, “that flight is usually late” “Well, it will be this morning, because I am the pilot,” snapped the man.

Drink or the New Testament

A man in Brazil, South America, who had a large family was sadly a drunkard. He was well able to work and had a good trade, but all the money he earned was spent on strong drink. His poor family hardly had enough to eat.

One day he was craving for some alcohol, but he had no money to buy any. He tried to think of something that he could sell to get some money. He remembered that there was an old trunk, so he searched in it. The only thing he could find was an old copy of the New Testament that his mother had given him. He lay down on the floor and opened the New Testament and said, “I wonder what this book is all about?” The first words he read were from Matthew 8:22, “Let the dead bury their dead.” He laughed aloud and said; “that is the most foolish thing I have ever heard of; a corpse burying a corpse.” He did not know that the Lord was speaking about spiritually dead people burying those who were physically dead.

He laid the book down and laughed to his heart’s content. The thought of a dead body burying another body really amused him. But he could not get away from the book and decided to read more. As he continued to read, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart. He now realised that he was a lost sinner and that Christ was the only Saviour and deliverer from evil.

The man attended a gospel service and heard the message of the Lord’s grace and mercy. He came to Christ and was gloriously saved. Not only did he believe and his life was changed, but those of his whole family. Their hearts were cleansed from sin and outwardly their lives were transformed. Everyone in the village saw the great change that the Lord had made in their lives. No longer did he crave for alcohol; his great desire was to live for the Lord and serve Him.

The Catacombs in Rome

The catacombs are really underground tunnels like a honeycomb, in some of the hills near Rome. These tunnels were for two main purposes, to bury people and to hide in times of trouble and persecution.

These tunnels are many kilometres long and have branches leading in many directions. In earlier times, people have been known to have lost their way and died in these tunnels.

In times of great trouble people took refuge in these tunnels, and when Christians were slain, they were buried in a small hole dug at the side of the main tunnel. During the reign of the Roman Emperor, Diocletian (284-305AD), Christians fled to these catacombs to escape persecution and lived there for a time. They even held their church services in the larger areas, with their own guards watching for the Roman soldiers. When persecution ceased in 313 AD the catacombs were abandoned. Unfortunately some people raided them and took many items of value they could find. In 1535 AD they were cleared of rubbish and lights were installed so that people could visit them.

The Christians who hid in the catacombs had secret signs to show to one another that they were believers. They drew a ‘fish’ that in Greek is spelt IXTHUS. The first letters stood for ‘Jesus Christ God’s Son is Saviour’. Or the first two letters in Christ (XP) written together.

The Christians also drew many things in the soft rock that speak of the Lord; a Lamb, a Dove, an Anchor, a Shepherd etc. When someone died they wrote a little about them and drew one of the symbols that expressed their faith and hope in the Lord. Some examples are included below.

There are many other graves in the catacombs of non-Christian people, but the messages they left contain no hope or peace in their death.

Broad-minded Captain

When Major Liebenhood of England, sailed on the ocean liner ‘Megantic’, from Quebec in Canada to Liverpool, he had some very interesting conversations with other passengers about God’s ways. His cabin was on the upper deck, near to the place where people gathered to talk.

One morning as a number of people were chatting with him a ship’s Officer said to him, “Major, you will be glad to hear that on Sunday morning we shall have a church service in the saloon. It will be conducted by a leading minister.” (whom he named)

The Major replied, “I hope that he is a sound preacher.”

“Oh, yes” replied the Officer, “You will be sure to like him; he is so broad-minded.”

“Is he really? But what do you mean by broad-minded?”

“Well” the Officer continued, “he takes a cheerful view of life. He does not mind a little gambling; he does not condemn us all to hell if we do not agree with his religious opinions, or if we do not accept the ancient creeds.”

When the Officer had finished his light-hearted remarks, there was a brief pause in the conversation. The Major said:

“May I give you an illustration that has just occurred to me?” “Suppose one of you met me just before we sailed from Quebec, and you ask me, ‘Where are you going and on which ship?’ I reply, “To Liverpool on the Megantic.” You ask me, “Would it be safe to do so?” “Certainly, why not? Is there anything wrong with the ship?” you reply. “No, the ship is alright; but what about the captain? I have no confidence in him.” “Indeed! But why do you distrust him?” I demand.

“Well” you reply, “I will tell you. As a captain he claims to be broad-minded; he has his own ideas about navigation, he refuses to take any notice of the opinions or experiences of any other captain. Sometimes he takes one route and sometimes another just as he wishes to do. He pays no attention to the compass, but sails just by his own devising.

He seldom, if ever steers from the navigation charts, and indeed spends much of his time mocking the charts, saying that they are full of blunders and are therefore unreliable.”

The Major then turned to the Officer, “Now, Sir, what would be your advice. Should a captain like that be trusted?”

The Officer realising the meaning of the illustration, replied, “I think you are rather hard on me Major.” The Major waited for a reply, then one man said, “I would not go to sea in that ship.”

The truth that the Major explained was that we all have a journey to take, from time to eternity. The Lord Jesus is our Captain to guide us safely, and He has provided a chart to guide us – His holy word, the Bible. Faithful preachers are His servants to tell us those things the Lord has commanded and taught.

But some pilots and captains (preachers) are disloyal to the Lord. They boast that they are not narrow minded, but are broad-minded. They believe the Bible, our spiritual chart, has many mistakes and that they know better; that the warnings of dangers of God’s judgment and hell as stated in the Bible are not to be taken seriously because they are out of date and unreliable.

Many people who would never risk their lives by sailing with such a broad-minded captain, risk their eternal salvation by following preachers who disregard the Bible and teach their own ideas. Following such men and their ideas will certainly lead to eternal ruin.

But the Bible is God’s word; it is the only sure guide to tell us about Christ, salvation and what God requires of us. Those who believe and follow that word will be guided safely in this life and will be forever with the Lord in the life to come.

Preacher to the Pirates

A man who lived in Sweden gradually became convinced that the Bible was not true and if there was a God, we could never know Him.

This man wished to sail over the Baltic sea to another land. But when he arrived at the wharf, he found that the ship had already sailed. On making inquiries, he found that a fishing boat was going to the same place, so he went on board with the several large trunks he had. After they had sailed for some time, he noticed the men looking at his trunks. Then he heard them talking, saying that he must be very rich and that they should throw him overboard. The man was filled with fear, however, he decided to open one of his trunks that was full of books, so that they could see what was in them.

When the men saw the books, he heard them whispering that it was not worth throwing him into the sea as they did not want the books. The men asked him if he were a priest? He hardly knew how to answer this question, but thinking that it might spare his life, he said that he was. The men seemed very pleased and said that they would like to have a sermon the next day as it was Sunday.

The man’s anxiety now was greatly increased. He knew that he was not capable of preaching a sermon as he knew little or nothing about the Bible, and also he did not believe that the Bible was true.

After some time, they came to a small island, where were a company of pirates. This island was the place where the pirates stored the treasures they had robbed from other ships and people. The man was taken to a cave, and introduced to all the pirates, to whom the men remarked that they were to have a sermon preached the next day.

The man was deeply perplexed; preach he must, yet he knew nothing about preaching. If he refused to preach, he thought that he would be killed by the pirates. With these thoughts in his mind, he could not sleep at all; the next morning he still could not think of anything to say. He could not call on God in whom he did not believe. He could not think of any way out of his situation. He walked to and fro, striving to think of something to say, but he could not think of a single sentence to say.

When the appointed time for the service came, he entered into the cave, where he found the men gathered. There was a table with a Bible on it and a seat for him. He sat down and remained completely silent for half an hour, the men anxiously waiting for the sermon. His anguish of heart and mind were almost too much to bear.

Then suddenly the words came to his mind that he had heard long ago, “Verily, there is a reward for the righteous: verily He is a God that judges in the earth.” Psalm 58:11. He arose and quoted these words, then other words came to his mind, then others and others. He then seemed to understand the words he spoke and felt his heart become warmed. This astounded him. He spoke on the subjects, ‘the reward of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked’, ‘the necessity of repentance, and the importance of a change of life’. As he mentioned the matchless love of God to the children of men, and the death of Christ, some of the men wept openly.

This man was amazed at the goodness of Almighty God to him. His heart became filled with thankfulness and praise to God.

The next morning the men prepared one of their boats and sailed the man to the place he wished to visit. From that time he was a changed man. He no longer doubted that the Bible was true. Now he loved and served the lord with all his heart.

Habits grow: An Indian had a tiny lion cub. It was weak and harmless. The man played with it and never tried to control or discipline it. Every day the lion grew stronger, until one day the lion became exited with rage, and pounced upon its owner and tore him to pieces. Evil habits grow too and become strong and eventually control and ruin our lives. So we must resist them and pray to the Lord for deliverance from all evil.

The Shorter Catechism ~ Question 2

Q: What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him?

A: The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.

Life is full of rules and regulations! One of the first things we become aware in this life is that we have to live within certain guidelines. We need to be taught to do all sorts of things from tying our laces to riding a bike. Parents and teachers, books and instruction manuals all show us what to do and how to do it.

But when it comes to glorifying and enjoying God, we must use what God has given us: the Bible. That is the only rule, as our Catechism puts it, by which we are to be guided in how to be what God wants us to be. The problems is, far too many boys and girls, just like adults, fail to live up to the Bible’s instructions. We can afford some mistakes in learning worldly things, but however difficult it might be, mistakes should be avoided when we are trying to please God.

Some people suggest that only the New Testament is necessary for our instruction in godly things. But our Catechism reminds us we need the whole Bible for our guide. In any case, boys and girls shouldn’t run away with the idea that glorifying and enjoying God is restricted to activities like reading the Bible and going to church. The entire compass of our lives should be included in this challenge. Schoolwork, hobbies, pastimes, ambitions, general interests and daily occupation must be in harmony with God’s standards taught in the Bible.

There are so many ways by which we live daily life that should reflect our respect, love and devotion to the God we are obliged to glorify. Remember what the Psalmist said in Psalm 84: I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. That is the mindset that both glorifies and enjoys God.

Southern Presbyterian Church, 48 Abbott St, Launceston. Tas. 7250.