Australia Date????

A rose by any other name...

Australia Date????

Australia Day celebration on the 26th January has come under dispute because Australian indigenous people are offended that this day is celebrated on the day that Captain Arthur Phillip sailed into what he called Sydney Cove on this date in 1788.
I am not in favour of changing the day. Would Jan 27th be appropriate or Sept 8th? I don't think the date is the problem, there would always be someone who would be offended. It has been a long time since 1788 and a lot has changed for all people.
As I have said in another post, the French were just behind the British and this would have been a French colony. Maybe the Dutch or Spanish would have come close behind also. My point is that the land after 1788 was going to change. I also think that indigenous people have benefited from Australian tax dollars for a long time.
I am going to be facetious but don't shouldn't we be offended that given all the help that Aboriginals are getting (although many of them have taken advantage of funding and advantages only reserved for them) some of them still complain: still turn local councils into political outlets by banning Australia Day; still take millions and millions of tax dollars for their communities and only the elders benefit and never seem to improve their people's situation; that the schools in Aboriginal communities are not used properly and most children don't even turn up; that the NT is a used car yard of cars used up and just dumped, not looked after. That people try to help them with housing and the house only lasts as long as the need for the bits inside last i.e. they make a fire with the floor boards, this happened in my street so I have firsthand knowledge.
I understand that Aboriginals have a completely different culture to Western, but can't they use some of the tax dollars and mark out land in the middle of a territory and designate it for their culture and can walk about in it, but surrounding this land build communities that at least assimilate into civilization. The elders should allow towns with houses; schools and infrastructure that they build and maintain. Aboriginals really need to be more pro-active.
Nothing is the way we want it to be for the most part, you just have to take what is good and be glad. I like that we have a rich history, good and bad, and we can celebrate all people groups that call Australia home now on the 26th of January.

Civil War

Civil War

We are in the middle of this Civil War, not just this country but all countries. It is an ideological battle “liberal” verses conservative. We don’t seem to be able to live comfortably side by side anymore. There was a time when you didn’t speak about: sex, politics and religion, now we talk of nothing else and it is divisive.

The latest is a dis-endorsement of Australian Conservative leader, Cory Bernardi’s playlist by Spotify. The musicians also on the playlist have shown displeasure that a Conservative would use their music on an Australia Day playlist. The controversy arising because Australian Aborigines do not want Australia to celebrate Australia Day on the anniversary of when Captain Arthur Phillip’s ships sailed into what he named Sydney Cove in 1788. The country was never going to be the same, the French also were sailing around this area. Western civilization was on its way. Australia celebrates its history – good and bad – on this day, the coming together of indigenous, immigrants and citizens, the making of Australia. Do these musicians who put their music out to the public i.e. the internet, have a right to who can play it and for what reason? Are only liberals allowed to use, listen and enjoy their music? Conservatives have to be mindful who they support. It is apparent that the musicians dictate the politics of their fans.

Why are we so divided? There was a huge battle over Same Sex Marriage (SSM) redefining what traditional values have held for millennia that a man shall leave his mother and father and be united with his wife (Gen 2:24; Matt 19:1-12; Mark 10:7; Eph 5:31). The Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 has been amended to accommodate “both parties to the marriage” and “2 people” instead of one man and one woman.

Anna Brown, the Equality Campaign  is not going to stop at marriage redefinition, there are more frontiers her campaign. They intend to rectify that transgenders must divorce first before they can change their gender on their birth certificates. MarriageAlliance said they were right to state the SSM was not the end game, it is just the beginning.

Raising concerns and going against this tidal wave of liberal activism has its costs. A contractor lost her job during the same sex marriage debate. Right wing commentators such as Ann Coulter has been banned from speaking at Universities and Milo Yiannopoulos also is banned from social media. He is proud of it, because he is an advocate of free speech and the banning illustrates profoundly with violence that the left wing or liberals do not like dissent.

President Trump who is the most powerful conservative at present is being ridiculed and slandered, the latest regarding his competency and mental capacity by the Main Stream Media (MSM). It doesn’t matter that the doctor who also looked after Obama and Bush has given Trump a “widely respected and difficult mental acuity test” and Trump scored 30 out of 30. Trump is not perfect, but who is, and conservatives should be encouraged to look further than the MSM for information.

The conservatives in this world better agree with the politics and just stop whining or we should be getting together and find common ground in all our diversity or else we will be existing in a world that does not tolerate dissension or freedom of speech. We will all be happy and agree with each other – finally World Peace. Peace at the cost of our humanity, dignity and individuality and the right to freedom of speech within the parameters of common humanity. We are at war so we have to fight for what we believe in or have it taken away by default because we thought we had too much too lose.

Does God use natural disasters to punish sin?

Image from The Year the Earth Went Wild - Natural Disasters

Does God use natural disasters to punish sin?

God is capable of destroying every living thing as He did when the wickedness, corruption and violence of humans was too great and His heart was troubled. So He wiped the earth clean except for eight people, Noah and his family and the living creatures that came with him on the Ark (Genesis 6 – 9). God said He would not destroy the world like that again.

Now it is the time of grace from the New Testament. Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid for all sin, for all time and God’s wrath was poured on Jesus Christ (Romans 3:25) so that if we accept His sacrifice on our behalf then we will have the right to be His children (Galatians 3:26-29). God is love and wants to give us good things so if we look to Him he will provide for us (1 Corinthians 2:9). Be holy for He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). And we have not been left orphans, God provides the Spirit of truth to help His children (John 14:15-21). If Jesus has already absorbed God's wrath on the Cross then why would He continue to punish sin with calamity?

God wants to protect us and our nation (Psalm 91; 2 Chronicles 7:14). He provides a wall of protection against calamity for His people (Ezra 9:9). But if nations choose to do actions and promote laws that are not holy according to Scripture then he has no choice but to move away and take His protection with Him (Deuteronomy 23:14). 

We don’t talk about the adversary to God and our souls much but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t one. This being and his followers take advantage of EVERY time humans go against God because when we use our free will to disobey, that gives him the legal right to move in because he is the prince of this world (John 12:31).  Got Questions writes, “Ultimately, these false teachers/thieves are carrying out Satan’s intentions. Rather than bring life, they bring death. Rather than give, they steal. Rather than build up, they destroy” (John 10:10; John 8:44).

God provides protection and prosperity for nations (how this looks in the natural for individuals is another topic). He is holy and cannot bless the nations that practice evil. He withdraws Himself from evil and takes the prosperity and protection with Him. How else will we know that He is the giver of this goodness, if we claim we are brilliant on our own, and continue to do things that He says are evil? We make the choices that allow God to bless us or not. We as a nation make the choices to allow Him to prosper and protect us. If calamity and destruction come upon us, it is because we pushed God away with our choices and tied his hands so that He cannot protect us.

Natural disasters will happen, but if we invite God to be in our lives then we are in His care and protection. If you are a Christian pray that God will protect and heal our land. If you are not a believer then I pray that you will see that allowing God to be a presence in our nation is to your advantage overall as you will also benefit from the prosperity. Traditional values and morals have their roots in the Bible and should be encouraged to have influence over our country once again. 

What is our worth or value?

I feel intrinsically precious and valued, I think everyone does, but people’s response to me doesn’t always measure up. I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14 NIV). People’s motives for being kind, supportive, insensitive, cruel and manipulative are many and varied. How do I reconcile my self-worth with the sphere of influence I live in?

The Bible says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Also: Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose. (Philipians 2:12-13).

I am in the Kingdom of God, by virtue of Jesus Christ my Saviour. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer (Titus 2:11-14). We were all uncut diamonds, all valuable, but unaware of our purpose. Then Jesus bought us back to the Father with His precious sacrifice and we are fashioned for His purpose to do good.

Our Daily Bread succinctly shows that the Bible says to take one day at a time.

The thread of living “one day at a time” is woven throughout the fabric of Scripture. God supplied the Israelites with manna daily (Ex. 16:4). Our heavenly Father’s mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23). Jesus taught His followers to ask for their “daily bread” (Mt. 6:11) and to refuse to worry about tomorrow (v.34). It’s a lesson we seem to learn with difficulty, but one that holds the key to life and peace.

We work out our salvation? Are we saved or not? I believe that everyone can be saved if they want to be, and at any given time we can opt out of our salvation, so I am not a believer in once saved always saved. I do believe that if we stay humble before the Lord and trust Him in all circumstances even the ones that is unfathomable to understand, He will not leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:1-6).

Our Daily Bread finishes with a hymn called Day by day, and with each passing moment by Skoog and Sandell, 1865. The Hymnary has the full text.

1 Day by day and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,

I've no cause for worry or for fear.

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure

Gives unto each day what He deems best--

Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

2 Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me …

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,

E'er to take, as from a father's hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,

Till I reach the Promised Land.

Maybe it is a daily struggle. I hold in one hand that I am loved and valued by God and in the other, His purpose for me, in the Kingdom may elicit different reactions from people. I just keep on going day by day trusting that God has all things in His control. I can take offenses and be gracious so that God can use me for His purpose for my tiny part for the whole scheme of salvation for all people. I can keep my self-esteem to myself and experience joy and endure trouble until I reach the Promised Land.