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.

National Book Lovers Day

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Reading as a child, enjoying the short stories, the long books and the ability to lose ourselves in a story so powerful that at the end we are asking ourselves where to get the next book in the series. At the moment I am waiting expectantly for Richard Osman’s fourth book in his Thursday Murder Club series to arrive on 14 September. In the meantime my appetite has been whetted by receiving a preview of the first three chapters. 

Today is for the reader in all of us - the celebration of National Book Lovers Day!  Crack open your favourite book, visit a bookshop or library to find your next great read, and enjoy the relaxation and joy of being a reader and book lover.

While National Book Lovers Days’s origins may be shrouded in mystery and rumour, the books themselves are not. Starting from carving on stone tablets thousands of years ago, the book was designed to make the writings and drawings portable for those that could not be carried around on stone tablets. Originally these written documents were made on parchment or vellum (calf skin, in case, like me, you did not know) that was then bound tightly with a wooden cover.

Are you prepared to believe the evidence?

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Believing the Evidence

J. Warner Wallace was an atheist for 35 years. He was passionate in his opposition to Christianity, and he enjoyed debating with his Christian friends. He became a Police Officer and eventually advanced to Detective. Along the way, he developed a healthy respect for the role of evidence in discerning truth. When he took time to be honest with himself, he had to admit that he never gave the case for Christianity a fair hearing. When he finally examined the evidence properly, he found it difficult to deny, especially if he hoped to retain his respect for the way evidence is utilised to determine truth. J. Warner found the evidence for Christianity to be convincing.

Be still . . .

All photographs used by permission of Unsplash

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46.10)

 

Our valued NHS staff can’t relax and be still just now, run off their feet caring for people. Many others are busy keeping our food supplies going. We thank them for their courage, and pray for their safety. For most of us though, everything is strangely quiet, the streets are empty such as we’ve never seen before. We have the opportunity to “Be still”.  

 

Sometimes we are too busy to settle down, to quieten our thoughts, to focus on the most important things in life. Whatever else may be important to us, nothing is more important for us all just now than listening to God, and speaking to Him about whatever concerns us. As we listen to Him in the stillness, He listens to us as we pray.

 

You could read Psalm 46 where our key verse comes from. It describes in graphic language situations which seem out of control, threatening and upsetting, like what is facing people all over the world right now.

 

Notice first v.5 – God is right there, and He promises to help, to keep us steady, to calm our fears: “therefore we will not fear” (v.2). We read this also in Hebrews 13.5-6: “He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you, so we may boldy say ... I will not fear”. Also in Psalm 23, even in the valley of the shadow of death “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” So for now and for always, let us “trust and not be afraid” (Isaiah 12.2).

 

Now notice v.10: “Be still ...” He wants us to know that He is GOD.

We should “Sit still”- waiting for a promise to come true (Ruth 3.18).

Then three times in the Bible we read that we should “Stand still “ -  

·       In Exodus 14.13  - to trust the great power of God to save us.

·       In 1 Samuel 9.27 - to listen to the good Word of God to guide us.

·       In Job 37.14 - to consider the wondrous works of God all around us, to lift our spirits to worship Him who made them all. 

 

If you want to sing something about being still, try this one 

(tune Finlandia)

 

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future, as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

 

Here is another one, one from Sunday School days 

(tune What a friend we have in Jesus)

 

Said the robin to the sparrow, “Friend I’d really like to know

Why those anxious human beings rush about and worry so!”

Said the sparrow to the robin, “Friend I think that it must be

That they have no heavenly Father, such as cares for you and me!”

 

So the robin and the sparrow sang their chorus, O so sweet:

“Don’t you know that Jesus loves you, come and gather round HIs feet.

He who cares for robin redbreast, He who marks the sparrow’s fall

Is the One who died to save you, for He loves you, one and all”

Written and used by kind permission of Bert Cargill, Scotland