Reading: Genesis 1:26-2:17 The Bible teaches us that we can know God in two ways. Through His revelation in nature (Romans 1:20), and through His Word, the Bible (Romans 10:14, 17). These revelations are not equal. It is through the Bible that we see God’s work in this creation. If God didn’t open our… Continue reading Meditation: How do we know God – God’s Image – Genesis 1:26-2:17
Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Peter 3:8-13 When God told Adam and Eve that they should not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, because on the day they ate of it they would surely die, then that was because God knew that mankind was not able to bear the absolutes… Continue reading Meditation: God created time (2) – 2 Peter 3:8-13
Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:8-12; 2 Peter 3:8-13 God created eternity, and God created time. On the first day, time was created. That was the first day of time. Time will last until the last day when Christ returns. Where eternity is the realm of absolutes and everything is either completely good or completely bad,… Continue reading Meditation: God created time (1) – 1 Corinthians 13:8-12
Reading: Psalm 90; 1 Corinthians 15:44-49 God exists from eternity and to eternity. There is no limit. The eternal God decided within eternity, that it was good to create. God created the heavens and the earth. The earth is created in the realm of time. The heavens are created in the realm of eternity.… Continue reading Meditation: God created eternity – Psalm 90
Reading: Isaiah 55:6-11; Psalm 139 God is subject to none and nothing and He is the source and origin of everything. God is good. God is the norm, He is the measurement of good. He is the Light and in Him, there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). With God is the… Continue reading Meditation: God Is Good – 1 John 1:5
Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-6; Deuteronomy 6:4-19 We believe that there is only one God, Who is the origin of everything that exists. With this, we differ from most religions. Many religions believe in many gods. If we believe in more than one god, then that means that there is something higher than the gods.… Continue reading Meditation: The Only God – 1 Corinthians 8:1-6
Reading: Acts 17:22-34; Romans 1:18-25 God Is (2) The words in verse 28: ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’ are probably from Epimenides of Crete, while ‘For we are also his offspring’ come from Aratus’s poem ‘Phainomena’. Paul argued that God has put it in our hearts to seek Him. The… Continue reading Meditation: Who is God? (2) – Acts 17:22-34
Reading: Acts 17:16-28 God Is (1) Almost as long as mankind exists, there is a discussion going on about ‘Who Is God?’ Or even: ‘Does God Exist?’ Adam and Eve fell in sin because they wanted to be like God. They wanted to be their own god. With that they rejected God. This all… Continue reading Meditation: Who is God? (1) – Acts 17:16-28
At synod Bunbury 2018, there were delegates present from three different church federations in Indonesia. Two brothers came on behalf of the GGRI, which are sister churches of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia. Two brothers were present who came from the GGRC, a federation with which the FRCA maintain contact, and which are sister… Continue reading Churches in Indonesia
In June of this year, after severing the ties with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, Synod Bunbury of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia (FRCA) decided to maintain contact with two small church federations in the Netherlands. These churches are usually referred to with the acronyms DGK and GKN. DGK stands for De Gereformeerde… Continue reading Attempt to church unity in the Netherlands
Some time ago, on this website in an article in November 2017, I raised the question if democracy may be on its way out. In that article I looked at the political situation in Australia, in a time that our government was struggling, still under then PM Mr. Malcolm Turnbull. I also described the situation in… Continue reading Democracy’s final crisis
Over the past couple of years, Political Correctness (PC) has run amok. What was common sense in the past or behaviour that was normally accepted even if not all agreed with it, that is now usually attacked by any kind of social warrior from either the alphabet movement (LGBTQ….XYZ) or any other minority group. Any… Continue reading Has Political Correctnes peaked?
In my first article with Synod Reflections, I already mentioned a few things about relationships with sister churches and contact churches. There I discussed the argument of geographical distance, which has been used in the past as a reason not to enter in a sister church relationship with church federations in other parts of the… Continue reading Synod Reflections (3): Inter Church Relations
Synod Bunbury 2018 had to deal with a number of appeals. Usually, appeals are being dealt with in closed session because the character of an appeal is, that it is about personal matters. Article 31 of the Church Order states: ‘If anyone complains that he has been wronged by the decision of a minor assembly… Continue reading Synod Reflections (2): Appeals
Synod Bunbury 2018 is history. Synod closed on Tuesday at around 8 PM. The delegates met for six days over the course of one week and one day, in the Southern River church building. Some say that this is a record. I don’t know about that. It for sure is since 2003, but I don’t… Continue reading Synod Bunbury 2018: Reflections
On Thursday 8th March Rob Van der Linde (ARPA Chairman) and Laurence Van der Plas (ARPA Research Officer) gave evidence to the WA Parliament’s Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices. The 50-minute hearing took place in the Legislative Assembly Committee Rooms. After a ten-minute opening statement in which ARPA was able to explain… Continue reading ARPA gives evidence to WA Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices
Western Australia’s Equal Opportunity Commission is hosting a public forum from 5.30pm to 7.30pm on Thursday 15th March at the State Library Lecture Theatre. The forum, ‘Has political correctness gone mad?’, will address whether laws put in place to deter people from causing offence are impinging on other rights such as freedom of speech and… Continue reading WA Equal Opportunity Commission to host Political Correctness forum on 15th March.
Who has not heard of Billy Graham? He played a huge role in American Christianity. What to think of Billy Graham? He was, undeniably, an Arminian. But there is more that should be said about him. Rev. Wes Bredenhof wrote an article about him in his blog yinkahdinay, with the title: Billy Graham: Last of… Continue reading Evangelist Billy Graham died – 21 February 2018
ARPA Australia reports that Pro-Same Sex Marriage groups are openly lobbying the Religious Freedom Review committee for removal of religious exemptions in anti-discrimination laws. ARPA writes: The level of hostility towards Christian values in Australian society became even clearer last week as reports emerged about the content of some of the 13,500 submissions received by… Continue reading Pro SSM groups openly lobbying for removal of religious exemptions
The one US politician after the other is being accused of sexual misconduct in the recent or more often not so recent past. It is remarkable that many of those accusations have not been brought to the police first to be investigated, but are thrown out into the open, to do as much damage as… Continue reading ‘Judge and jury fake news’
