A Blessed Christmas to You All

Today, I was reading an article about the political correctness (or lack thereof) of Christmas, in which the author asks why so many people today find Christ and Christmas offensive and threatening. Of course, as he points out, that's an old story: King Herod found Christ so offensive, he sought to have Him killed.

I have no qualms about 'offending' here. I wish my readers, not just a 'happy' Christmas, but a truly 'blessed' one. I wish them the blessing that comes through receiving the powerful work of Immanuel - God With Us.

I rejoice that in Timor-Leste there are many Christian brothers and sisters who are celebrating the birth of our Lord. I also pray, as I have been praying for years, that many there will come to a true and meaningful relationship with Him who was sent as a tiny baby to earth for the salvation of His people.

Designing a Book

One starts with raw text: in a word document, in Times New Roman, on an A4 page. The challenge is to turn that text into a beautiful book any child would enjoy reading.
So we sat down, Jeana and I, and we designed a book. We shared ideas and enjoyed each other's creative energy. We created a vision of what this book might look like.
There are so many decisions that need to be made: layout, font and font size, illustrations, colour,  cover design, continuity of illustrations, content of illustrations, borders, page numbering, typography style......
You didn't think it was easy, did you?
Continue to pray for us!

Remembering the Reformation

Today is October 31. I am saddened to see the increasing involvement that Australians now have in Halloween celebrations. The supermarkets and department stores have huge displays selling lollies and creepy accessories. I would not be surprised to see trick-or-treaters at my door this evening. But I hope not. I see this shift towards Halloween, not so much as a shift towards Americanism, but towards hedonism. Australia embraces Halloween with all the enthusiasm of Christmas, Grand Final Day, Easter...and all the other excuses for spending money and indulging in excess food.

Today is October 31. It is also Reformation Day; the day many Reformed people around the world remember God's wonderful work in the 16th century. Today, if you were to come to my door, I would not give you lollies. I would give you something far sweeter, the five solae that rang out so strongly in the 16th century. I pray that they can ring out again through the world today:

Sola Scriptura - the Bible is the only inspired and authorative word of God.
Sola Fide - we are saved by faith alone, not good works.
Sola Gratia - this salvation comes only by the grace of God.
Sola Christus - Christ is the only mediator between God and man; there is no salvation without Him.
Soli Deo Gloria - the glory goes to God and to God alone.

A Way with Words

I have been reading the text of Arlindo Marcal's wonderful new children's book, 'Istória kona-ba José Mehidór', and attempting an English translation. I cannot pretend that my Tetun is good enough for me to serious believe that I could translate this myself into English. But I do know that the Lord I serve can give understanding to anyone he chooses - even me. I feel - or rather, I know- that this work is for Him and He is blessing it.

My previous books have been picture books, aimed at early readers, with full colour pages. Pastor Marcal's book will be different. It is an early chapter book, for slightly more confident readers. It focuses on aspects of the story of Joseph, highlighting God's Providence and Joseph's trust in Him. We pray that it will help these young people to ponder their relationship with God and to understand that 'all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose'. Romans 8:28.

We ask that you remember this project in your prayers. If you would like to assist financially or pre-order a copy of the book, please let us know at: grasa DOT mesak AT gmail DOT com (replacing 'AT' with '@' and 'DOT' with '.')

A Book Begins.....

The text for 'Jose Mehidor' has been written by Rev Arlindo Marcal. It is a retelling for children of the Biblical account of Joseph. The book is in the review stage and then it will be translated into English. The journey from text to finished book is a long but very exciting one. Join us on this adventure........

Bible Translation

While in the secular world, the mother-tongue debate is continuing in Timor-Leste,  the Timorese Bible translators are moving forward, not just with Tetun, but also Mambae. Rob Duncanson shares the news. This is a tremendously exciting blog post - but I will let it speak for itself.

Peace and War

I'm really enjoying listening to Peace and War, by Jason Coghill, on the way to work every day - the inspired Word of God set beautifully to music - what a way to start the day!

Can we find such a one as this?

And Pharaoh said to his servants, 'Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?' - Genesis 41:38

Egypt prospered in the time of Joseph - a time when a man of God was in a high leadership role in the country. Joseph was a wise man - and his wisdom came from a fear of the Lord.

I look at the news in Australia and I wonder how our country would be if men of God were at the helm. And Timor-Leste.....

What of Timor-Leste?
A decade has passed since they became independent. They still face many challenges that come from establishing a new government more or less from scratch. In a country where more than 95% of the population are Roman Catholic, the voice of the tiny Protestant percentage can barely be heard.

This is one reason why Rev Arlindo Marcal is running for Parliment. He writes:

Our presidential elections start on  March, 17 and our parlamentary election will be in June. As you know I'm planning to run for it.....Nothing is impossible to God. I believe He is going to open the door to those trust Him.

As I have already mentioned, Rev Arlindo is heavily involved in this literature ministry and is writing the next book on the story of Joseph.

Please pray for Rev Arlindo as his works towards both of these goals. Pray that God will bless his writing work and that the people of Timor-Leste, particularly the children, will be encouraged and built up by this book. Pray for Rev Arlindo's health and safety during the build-up to the election and that he will know the great grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ who alone is King in this world.

Working together for the King

As some of you may know, the Presbyterian Church of Australia has a partnership with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Timor-Leste (or IEPTL) - and a commitment to support and encourage. Gary Ware reports on yesterday's partnership working group meeting.

The man third from the right is the Rev Daniel Marcal, Moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Timor-Leste. Rev Robert Benn is third from the left. Please note that Robert Benn's position is so aptly described as 'living legend'. Who can argue with that?