North Korea

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We know little of the real truth about the country of North Korea so to begin to understand this very independent country one needs to go back over a century. Following the Donghak Peasant Revolution the Great Korean Empire came into being in 1897, but Korea was strategically very important to Japan, who annexed the country and for years enforced its occupation in a ruthless way. 

Protest demonstrations took place but the military and police fired into groups of Korean Christians singing hymns. Christian leaders were nailed to wooden crosses to die. Police beheaded small children, besides burning down churches. It may surprise some that Korea was once considered a christian country and up to the Second World War was an active mission field. The Japanese did seek to counteract the growth of christianity by its pagan Shinto religion. The north actually had more christians than the south of the country but later the division of the nation saw many christians flee to the south.

The Japanese rule over Korea ended at the close of the Second World War. Korea then became governed as two countries according to a plan put in place by the U.S.A. The border being drawn across the 38th parallel on a map. thus dividing the nation into north and south. This was considered to be a temporary arrangement, the people having a desire for the country to be unified again. This sadly was not the case and tension between both sides led finally to the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 involving not only Koreans but the U.S.A. Britain, France, China and the then Soviet Union. The war was one of the most devastating in history and finally ended in an armistice in what is known as the Demilitarised Zone, that still divides the two countries today. North Korea continues to claim that they are the victors and annual celebrations coupled with a wealth of constant propaganda continue to declare this.

Morning has broken - a song of encouragement

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The popular and well-known Christian hymn ‘Morning has broken” was first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon, and is set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" and is often sung in children's services. In 1971, a hit version of "Morning Has Broken" was recorded by British singer Cat Stevens, helping to popularise the hymn in the UK and North America. 

A morning prayer is a wonderful way to focus our time and attention on seeking God's plan for the day ahead. With the current problems in Ukraine and Gaza we certainly need encouragement, peace, strength, and rest. Thankfully God can meet us in a very real and present way when we come before Him with a humble heart. We need to seek  God's presence each morning before our energy and attention is pulled by all the tasks we have ahead. Here is a poem by an unknown author to encourage us to seek God today and every day:-

Home

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Do you enjoy the warm feeling of being in your home? That assumes, of course, that you have a home, you enjoy being at home, or your home is in a fit state to live in. However, home life can be a nightmare for many people. It is often a place of confrontation, where you are on edge as you are not sure what will happen next. For others, home just doesn’t exist. It’s a dream, something that, so far, just hasn’t happened for them – couch surfing, shared accommodation or, at worst, they have ended up living on the street. 

 

I’ve been privileged to travel extensively in the last 10 to 15 years. When I visited North America, there seemed to be an abundance of wealth. Uganda is a beautiful country, but there is significant poverty. Yet, at the same time, the people are really happy. For the average person in Pakistan, life is just so hard, and it’s incredible to see where some people call home - tents etc. But on the other hand, those of us who live in comfortable, safe, dry homes should be extremely grateful and appreciative.

 

Overall, it is amazing to see people’s resilience, love of life, appreciation of kindness, and strong sense of family and belonging. What have they got to live for? I suggest that for many, they have their sight set on another world. 

 

The Bible says that no matter what type of home life we have in this world, there is the prospect of a better home in the next. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ is recorded as telling His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. In that conversation, He indicated that He was going back to heaven, His Father’s house and that he would look forward to welcoming them to live there with him. I have a feeling that the preparation He was talking about did not involve ‘bricks and mortar’ but that by His death, burial, and resurrection, He was making life in heaven available to all. He was going to die for sin and suffer, the just for the unjust (us) to bring us to God. 

 

Many of my readers will not be convinced that the Bible is relevant to them. But, as a Christian, I am convinced that the Bible is more than just an interesting book or a book of ancient or historical value. Instead, I believe that the Bible is a unique book vital for every human being to understand why they are in the world and why they need a relationship with God.

 

As I finish, let me take you back to the words of the Lord Jesus.

 

As well as promising that He was going back to heaven (the inference being that He had come from heaven to this planet in the first place), He was making it clear that He is the only way for every human being to get to know God (His Father) and to be in a fit condition to occupy heaven on the other side of death. So, Jesus said – ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’.  

 

For anyone who wants to read what Jesus said for themselves, read the Gospel of John, chapter 14.

Power - The big debate

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Power. We all use it in the form of electricity, gas, petrol, diesel and without these sources of power our lives could not go on. 

As the years have gone by mankind has devised more and more ways of finding power. It was in the last century that science developed nuclear power. Whether we are  talking about nuclear fission or nuclear fusion the numbers are immense and the energy released when matter is converted into pure energy is enormous. 

In 1945 the first of two atomic bombs was dropped on Japan. It was only then that the general public saw the incredible effect of nuclear fission. It was calculated that the blasts that levelled Hiroshima and Nagasaki each had an energy release equivalent to 10 million tons of TNT.

A Contract out on your life?

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There is a hymn that I enjoy which celebrates the "wonderful change"  the Lord Jesus can make in a sinner's life. It is called "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart." and the first verse goes like this-

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought   

Since Jesus came into my heart!

I have light in my soul for which long I had sought,

Since Jesus came into my heart!

Here is a story that illustrates this only too well. Violent John Lawson had done it all - from planning robberies and running London's biggest brothel to kidnap and extortion. He was even cold-heartedly planning a murder, until his life was radically changed. His 'legit' side was working as a bodyguard for Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond and bands like REM and AC/DC.

What is greatest invention known to man?

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What do we all want to achieve in our lives?

That is a pretty searching question, but, if we are honest, we would all like to think that we have made some significant contribution to the world in the time we have spent here.

Even so, in actual fact, few of us make any real impact on society during our lives.  On the other hand, as we look at history there are some names that stand out in their contribution to the world. 

My education was in the sciences and names like Newton, Kelvin and Faraday were legendary in my experience, but so many of them brought contributions to science which, although they developed the working of science, were mostly theoretical. I am thinking of the Kelvin absolute temperature scale, Newton’s laws of motion and Faraday’s discovery of electromagnetic induction.

Modern Manners!

 

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“Put your mobile phone away during meals, never eat on the train, and remember that reclining your aeroplane seat is selfish”. So says DeBrett’s Handbook of Modern Manners. They’ve been dispensing advice on etiquette for 250 years, and the latest edition includes protocols for smartphones and e-cigarettes. 

Memorising their rules should enable anyone of us to avoid causing offence in any setting.

On the other end of the spectrum is Russell Brand’s book "Revolution". With a total disdain for the establishment, manners are the last thing on his mind as his approach is to raise big questions and rattle the status quo. Each of these two books represents a very different ethos, either fitting in impeccably with society or shaking things up for a revolution.