Category Archive

Pentecost!

Why in the world do churches all over the world celebrate Pentecost?

When you see the word “Pentecost” you may think of a certain Christian denomination. Although the word the word “Pentecost’ then is not unfamiliar to you, it is much more than a church somewhere.

Pentecost is the birthday celebration of the church of Jesus who, I am sure, is not unfamiliar to you either. On that day of Pentecost long ago, God blew new life into his church by means of the Holy Spirit of Christ. So when people ask, “why do you celebrate Pentecost?” you can tell them of the glad Gospel of new life, of Jesus’ death and resurrection, of his going to heaven, and of our new life.

Pentecost celebrates that people received a new heart, a new life, and an eternal life; the life of the Spirit of Christ.

Now if Pentecost is the birthday of the church, then you may well think that the church is very old; so old in fact that she can hardly get going! You may think that she creaks and cracks, and like some old people, is so hard of hearing and nearly blind, that she hardly gets a visit from her children who were born from her and baptized in her. Maybe the church of Pentecost is dying? Maybe she is out of touch with today’s real world?

Every birthday is a reality check for us to find out what is good, and what is not so good – what we could chuck out of the window, and what we can improve upon. And that is also true of the church of Jesus.

Fortunately, we have the Bible to check our lives, and to hold ourselves accountable, and we have our neighbours to inspire us by telling us what they need, and what help the church can provide.

I do realize that the members of the church are not always as alive as they should be. This is good, for then they can never boast about themselves, they can only boast in Jesus, Who offers us at Pentecost a new heart, a new life, and an eternal life; the life of the Spirit of Christ.

And so we say to the church of Jesus, “Happy birthday!” and many more years to tell your neighbours in Word and in Deed about God’s Love in Jesus, of how we can get rid of that which harms us today, and will harm our eternal life.

Why do you celebrate Pentecost? It is the glad Gospel of new life, of Jesus’ death and resurrection, of his going to heaven, and of our new life – our eternal life.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I am found; was blind but now I see.

-Rev. deJong

Rev. deJong is a retired CRC minister. He resides in the Aylmer area and attends church at Aylmer Christian Reformed Church.

You may hear people wish you “A Happy Easter!”

“Thanks” you replied and think why should I have a happy Easter? What is Easter all about anyway?

Some say Easter is about Easter bunnies and Easter eggs. Last time I checked bunnies don’t lay eggs. Others say, Easter instead is the introduction to spring time. If that were true than why not celebrate it on March 21? Some say it is a place. I know about the existence of an Easter Island, where stone gods made of local granite idly stare across the ocean waves.

Not all that long ago almost everybody knew what Easter was all about.

I have never witnessed anybody coming back to life after he died. I have attended and officiated many funerals and I’m sure the shock of someone coming back to life would have changed my life forever. And I’m sure we would have all heard about someone coming back to life today as the information would spread like wild fire over the internet and television. The media would have a field day.

Our own experiences with death leads us to believe that no one can escape death. But there is one exception and this is what Easter is all about. Easter is about the true story of someone rising from the dead. This shocking event changed history forever. The one person who escaped death, rather who conquered death, is the real reason Easter is celebrated. This person is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

I do know that I can not make you believe and accept this information. But I can say that death is all around us today. Look at the many funerals we have. The Bible tells us that through OUR disobedience to God, the creator of all things, we forfeited life. Therefore we received and we deserved death. However the Bible also tells us that we still have the opportunity, and privilege, to receive life, eternal life. Easter is about God wanting to save you from death. On Easter we celebrate that Jesus conquered death.

Receiving eternal life is a gift from God. There is nothing that we can do in our human power to earn eternal life. You only must accept and believe deep in your heart that Jesus is your saviour. This is the good news of Easter: God is no longer angry with us but so loved the world that He gave his only Son, a human sacrifice on the cross, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

What a choice we have! No one is his right mind would choose for death. Therefore, cast your lot with Jesus, believe in Him, escape death and have eternal Life.

A Happy Easter to you!

-Rev. deJong

Rev. deJong is a retired CRC minister. He resides in the Aylmer area and attends church at Aylmer Christian Reformed Church.

In Need of Spring Break?

I read the daily news and I say to myself: “Give me a break!” Why must I always be reading bad news of wars, of cutting people up and down? Is there no good news left in this world?

Well people tell me we have Spring Break around the corner. Yes I know and you know what? It too will soon be history. Spring Break does not answer the problems of the day. Spring Break gives some people a week off to forget the problems of this world and possibly relax in warm sunshine in southern parts. But a week off to forget the problems of this world does not change our situations. The spider of bad news has spun her web and we are all caught in it. We try to fly away but the sticky stuff of this world keeps us glued to the TV screen and the PC monitor. We see so many people dead, so much drought, so much flooding, so much drunkenness and violence. What a dismal dump this world is. We find ourselves asking for more sunshine (Wiarton Willie was wrong this year again!) and asking for a break!.

I have good news. There is a real break in the clouds of our daily lives and the darkness of this sad broken world.

It has nothing to do with labour unions, with a strong government who will bring about change, or some self-help book that promises us that it will change our lives and give us the ‘breaks’ we deserve and worked so hard for.

I have good news for you that will prevent a break down in your life. If we really want a break in life we should confess that sometimes we are the source of bad news, that we are need a change in life, and that we should surrender ourselves to Him who can set us free from the dreadful bad news that surrounds us daily.

Therefore, ask God to re-establish His Relationship with us through Jesus Christ, His eternal Son. That is the break in life we need, the Good News of a new life. ‘Spring’ into action and pray what you have done or heard many times before:

Our Father Who lives in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your Kingdom come and Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Please, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever.

Thank you for giving me a break with your good news, a new life in Jesus. We pray in His Name Amen.

-Rev. deJong

Rev. deJong is a retired CRC minister. He resides in the Aylmer area and attends church at Aylmer Christian Reformed Church.

Good News for 2011.

The last thing we exchanged shortly after Boxing Day was something which we had not bought. As a matter of fact we could not even go to the store to exchange it. It just happened. We did the same as you did with IT. We celebrated that IT, that is the year 2010, was taken over, surrendered herself to the New Year.

And here we are. What an exchange! With the fireworks we watch the news and it seems that we stay in trouble. Dead fish wash up on the shores. Around the world the birds are falling dead to the ground. Floods in Australia, Brazil, Belgium and other parts of Europe, and diseases are rampant. There is talk of two super volcanoes which could blow up anytime and devastate parts of the U.S and parts of Europe, i.e. Yellowstone Park and another cauldron of lava beside the Vesuvius in Italy. Lovely New Year. Will we have the same or worse disasters in 2011? I do not know about your celebrations with the changing of the years. Instead I would like to hear some good news for once.

Well there is good news I have a little pocket book in front of me and it reads, Good News For Modern Man. I do not know if I am modern, but I surely need some Good News in the face of all what newspapers write.

And here is where the trouble starts. I am so used to today’s bad news that I can hardly hear and understand Good News, can you? That little pocket book that I mentioned earlier says that the Good News is that the Kingdom of God has arrived and that therefore we ought to repent, and believe the Good News that Jesus is the Christ, whose birth we remembered with Christmas. This Jesus who died and rose again from the death went to heaven and promised to come back on the last day. I ask, what last day? And, why come back?

The Good News explains that this Jesus keeps this universe and earth for fire on the last day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men. But those who believe in and belong to Jesus can look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness according to the promise of this Christ, when He says, I will come back and I will create a new heavens and a new earth.

You get it? If I, an ungodly man, repent of my selfish ungodly ways and believe in Jesus the Christ than I will be changed and not be caught up in the destruction of this world that has already begun but will be part of a new earth

The New Year was a good exchange. A belated happy New Year! A blessed new life Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

-Rev. deJong

Rev. deJong is a retired CRC minister. He resides in the Aylmer area and attends church at Aylmer Christian Reformed Church.