While in Australia certain elites are pushing homosexual ‘marriage, in Malaysia the government is shutting ‘gay bars’ and Anwar, a former deputy PM, is suing someone who said he wanted homosexuality legalised.

In Indonesian, Alexander a civil servant in West Sumatra has been arrested for blasphemy after creating a Facebook fan page titled ‘Ateis Minang’ (Minang Atheist). He was arrested because his statements saying that he did not believe in God had triggered unrest among local residents. He is facing a maximum sentence of five years in jail if proven guilty. Soon after reading this a friend in Bali who organises top-end weddings shared about an Australian couple who he is organising a wedding for. On the paperwork where they are required to state their religion (all weddings in Indonesia include both spiritual – priest, imam,  or pastor blessing - and government facets) they wrote in bold letters : ‘Atheist’.

I guess most Indonesians consider that marriage without divine approval is a recipe for failure, whereas in Australia many have removed faith from their lives, and also desire to abandon the traditional definition of marriage.

We have been taught many things about God but unless the information we are taught  becomes revelation it remains information we have learned rather than a deep inner truth that guides our life.

So why do so many people struggle to have this information become revelation?  Why do they struggle with their identity in Christ? Much has been said about the relationship with our parents formulating our view of God.
When we are born again, the way we have viewed our parents will be the way we view God.  If we have had a loving relationship with our parents then we will not find it difficult to accept that
God loves us and wants to bless us, that He accepts us as we are.  If the relationship with our parents was not loving and  accepting but harsh and conditional, that is the view of God we will have in our relationship with him, we will not be able to relate to a loving Father God,

For this reason it is important for your children to know you love and accept them just as they are. With our busy lives it’s easy to fall into the trap of managing family life rather than building  loving relationships and reflecting God’s unconditional grace to our spouse and our children.

In Malachi the ministry of John the Baptist was described in terms of putting families right with God and each other in preparation for the coming Messiah.   “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and hearts of the children to their fathers.” Malachi 4:6

Our children’s ability to receive God’s love is  directly linked to making family authority, love and faithfulness a priority.

Jan East, Children and Families Pastor, Churchlands Christian Fellowship, Perth.

Everyone seemed to have an opinion on who was to blame: ‘the capitalist system’, ‘the budget cuts’, ‘the welfare system’. After all we do have to have someone to blame! After the dust settled there did seem to be a general consensus where the responsibility lay.

Alexander Downer, former Australian foreign minister, in the Adelaide Advertiser, said, ‘The parents: they’re the people to think about’.

Tony Blair, former UK PM, in the Guardian said, ‘These people had a family problem’.

Liz Pilgrim whose shop was ransacked said, ‘the parents must be to blame’.

I’m sure an event such as this has a more complex causes than one factor, however, in my opinion, the families of these young offenders do have something to account for. One thing that was evidently missing on theses nights of riot was self control.

In the family children learn about control. They learn to be controlled as behavior expectations are placed on them. It’s a big mistake where children’s lives are managed to such a degree that no self control is required. We create such a safe environment for our children that they rarely have to choose between a good choice – bad choice, strong choice – weak choice. We manage their lives so carefully that their environment is mistake proof all the time.

One day our children leave home. Freedom. How will they cope with it? Hopefully we have equipped them with a set of skills by which they can master their freedom. If we don’t over-protect our children, and we lovingly draw them to us when they do make mistakes along the way, we will be teaching them to manage their freedom. We want our kids to live by self control and not be governed by the unpredictable circumstances of life.

(Written by Pastor Jan East, Churchlands Christian Fellowship, Perth)

Like those who pioneered the Blimbingsari 72 years ago (they were sent to West Bali by the Dutch and religious authorities as they were viewed as disruptive to theBali culture), Ayub is very determined.

One of the major innovations Ayub has made is re-Balinesing’ the church. ‘When Ayub starts things, he’s usually opposed,’ his wife – also his greatest fan – said a number of times. ‘In the ‘70s when we were dating he brought Balinese dancing and clothing back into the church – and the old people said he was bringing back the devils.’

Ayub really is a prophet and an apostle. (Interesting the apostle Paul said the church should be led by apostles and prophets but in the 21^st century they rarely are). He got the GKPB (Bali Protestant Church) involved in the hotel business in the ‘70s when land was cheap because he saw the potential for profits from tourism to help support the pastors. Now he’s trying to encourage the farmers in Blimbingsari to grow various crops to prosper themselves and their families. At the moment he’s into growing trees, in the past it’s been various crops.

He has a pool and waterslide which people from the region come to use for a small fee. The profits help support the local workers and it’s also a subtle witness. They are really doing their best to be a witness among one of the greatest unreached people groups: the Balinese. They also have a place in Blimbingsari where 100 poor children are educated, most from Hindu families.

Not only is the villageof Blimbingsari beautiful (no rubbish, well maintained verges), it has a delightful Balinese style church building and the people were wonderful to minister to.

It was great being with Ayub, 67, and it will be a challenge for the person who takes over next October when his two terms are up and he ‘retires’.

John, 62, was a part of the revival in the 1960s that happened in the area of Soe, West Timor. John added that while the leaders of the traditional GMIT church were not supportive of the revival, lay people from their churches carried the message of Christ along with miracles from village to village. Not only were many healed but thousands became followers of Jesus (most of them were animists). He confirmed there was one case where someone was raised from the dead and water was turned into wine.

While Mel Tari (author of Like a Mighty Wind about the revival) is now a businessman in the US and onto wife number three, John continues to faithfully minister in West Timor and surrounding islands. He now has a church over 2000 and they have planted 340 churches. And they are training more workers to go to villages without a church. As well they support an orphanage with 40 children.

Over lunch I asked John who the young girl was that I’d seen with him. ‘It’s Abigail, it’s our daughter.’ John and his wife, Hilda, have three children of their own plus they’ve adopted four. Soon after Aby was born her father ran off. Because the mother could not support her she took her to the church. John and Hilda immediately felt compassion so they took her in. And like Jan and I were with our children: Aby’s always in church with parents. Hilda said, ‘While they are awake they can learn things and then they can sleep at the church. It’s better than being home watching TV.’ She’s so well behaved. Most meals she sat quietly with us, and even one night prayed for the meal.

When many would be thinking of retirement, John and Hilda are very much involved in building the Kingdom. And while they have a strategy to transfer the leadership of the church to younger leadership, they are keen to do their best to extend the Kingdom. They’ve still got lots of wind in their sails! It was a privilege to minister with them.

Rudi went on to tell me an interesting story of a real life miracle. His wife, Lina, had been sick with lupus for a long period and they had tried all sorts of treatment to be healing. She was very sick; she couldn’t walk. Then through a relative they met the local ROCK Church pastor, Abraham, who prayed for her. Miraculously, she was healed and began to walk within a week of getting prayer.

As a result they committed their lives to follow Jesus. They are now walking in God’s blessing. Not only is she healthy but their business is doing well. They are constantly saying ‘puji Tuhan’ (praise the Lord), praying, and sharing their faith.

Paul was right when he said, ‘my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power’ (1 Cor 2:4).

In places like Indonesia a powerless message is impotent. There’s lots of preaching here, but what makes our message different is the Spirit’s power. Like Jesus, we need to ‘preach and do’.

It was one of those chats I’ve always wanted. I met, Saad, and his fully covered wife, Marscha, at the Bali airport while waiting to fly to Bima. They are well off Saudis—he’s a F15  engineer. As we chatted I could see her staring at me, and she asked for my photo. (Murphy’s Law is true: usually I carry my camera but this morning I didn’t). I asked Saad did he choose her. ‘In Bedouin tradition my family chose her—she’s my cousin—and I did get to see her before we married.’ They seem ‘reasonably’ happy even though they sat apart—and he said he didn’t plan to marry another women (Muslim’s are permitted 4 wives at a time.)

Soon arrival in Bima, Sumbawa, I had a brief chat with a simple farmer and his head covered wife. He seemed happy enough: He’s got ½ a hectare that he farms, a wife and three children. His wife also seemed happy with her lot in life. When I asked did he choose her, he replied ‘yes’ and when I asked about bride price he said, ‘only one animal’.

Soon after, while walking the streets of Bima a couple came up to me. They had remembered me from a previous visit. When I found out they
were from the nearby island of Sumba, I asked the husband how much bride price he paid. His answered staggered me: ‘35 buffaloes’. But that is love for you! And they seem happy with their three children. They are rather sight as all five of them ride on one motorbike to church

For lunch the following day, after I had spoke at the ROCK Church in Bima, I was taken to a restaurant run by a Belgium guy, Gunter, and his local
wife, Ida. The moment I met Gunter I knew he had a story to tell. A decade or so ago he was passing through Bima on the way to Komodo (to see the dragons) and met Ida at the local museum. They both started a simple conversation in English. After a number of months correspondence they married and they now have two children. He showed his love for her by converting to Islam. And two years ago they sold up in Belgium
and moved to Bima. Despite the challenges they face they seem happy enough. She said Gunter worked hard, demonstrated greater faithfulness to her, and responsibility to the family than most local men.

Marriage—between a man and women—is very much under attack in countries like Australia, but in places like Indonesia it is very much alive, and some are willing to pay a high price to obtain a
spouse. I love what a husband said about his head covered wife as we were drinking coffee one night in Bima: ‘pertama and terakhir isteri’ (my first and last wife).

The singing was low key; the windows and doors were shut tight. Only about 20 gathered —a far cry from the hundreds that I sometimes get to speak to—but I felt so privileged to be them. In fact, I was a small part of history.

I was only supposed to be in Bima, Sumbawa, for three nights; however, my flight to Lombok was cancelled. Instead, I was scheduled to speak
at a couple of small nearby churches.

One of the church plants, in a town about 90 minutes from Bima, is the first known church in the town. (I was later told there are a number of Christians in the town but I understand they don’t meet on a regular basis). Even though Jesus told His disciples about 2000 years ago to go into all the world, it’s only now that the town I spoke has the beginnings of a church.

As was I speaking to the 12 ‘locals’—mainly Chinese— plus another 10 who joined us from Bima, I realised that the Spirit has wanted to move in the town since it was founded, but He’s needed people to work through.

The people were very receptive as I spoke about the priorities that Jesus gave us: love God, love others and love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). After teaching I prayed one by one for the locals. I was impressed with two of the young couples—both Chinese—who own businesses in the area. With correct mentoring they could have great Kingdom impact.

The latest Operation World states that Indonesia has 45,000 villages without a church; now, I can say it’s down to 44,999—hopefully lower!

I met John, the rubbish collector, as I was walking around Bima, Sumbawa, in East Indonesia. He moved from the nearby island of Sumba four years ago, and has been collecting recyclable rubbish since. He works from dawn to dusk; and only time he takes off is to attend the Catholic church with his family.

While many ignore the “John’s” of Indonesia, I admire them as they are making a living from others rubbish.

To be honest, John seems a lot happier than the ‘welfare’ poor in Australia. He’s got dignity from working, he’s keeping busy; and not only is he providing for his family, he’s doing his bit for the environment.

Well done John; and when I found out he had two children, I gave him a small gift for each of them.

When they arrived in Sumbawa in the late 1990s it was  difficult (Jihadists were stirring trouble across Indonesia in the post-Suharto power vacuum). Soon after arriving they were attacked by the locals. Despite repeated calls, the police they did not come until their house had been destroyed.  Fortunately, Abraham and Dina were unharmed.

Since then through the combination of prayer and community service they have been able to ‘win over’ the community. They have established
a vegetable garden and when it’s harvest time they share the produce with their  neighbours, all non-Christian.

At Christmas time they give gifts to around 200 neighbours as well as noodles to the local horse and cart drivers (a popular form of local transport). Also, one of Dina’s relatives supplies her with medicine for common ailments which she gives out.

While Abraham and Dina’s church comprises people from other places (Timor, Sumba… as well as Chinese Indonesian’s) they have been able to bless many in ‘Jesus name’. And now some  are coming to them for copies of the New Testament (it’s available in the local language) as well as prayer when they are sick. Not only do Abraham and Dina have a solid church of around 100, they are blessing the community