Heart Reflections Live

Today, the 26th of January, is Australia Day. Happy Australia Day to my Aussie readers!!

I have on my lap our much loved copy of Col Stringer's "Discovering Australia's Christian Heritage". Are any of you familiar with it? I have a great passion in my heart for Australia to return to her Christian roots & heritage & reclaim the truths that have been buried under the carpet in school curriculums. This book was a real eye-opener for me. I had always been proud of my heritage- I'm 2nd generation Australian through my Dad's Dad, who emigrated from England in his younger days, who was a direct descendant of John Bunyan ( Pilgrim's Progress) & his mother's family emigrated from Germany in the 1880's & established communities & built churches in the Woombye/Palmwoods region. My mother's side of the family emigrated from Prussia/Germany around the same time & were founding members of some of the early Lutheran Churches on the Darling Downs in Queensland. But I never realized that Australia's Christian Heritage was present in the beginnings of this nation-at school all we were taught was that we were just a bunch of convicts!! If that's what you were taught, then you must secure a copy of this book. We will be teaching our children from it.

It is sad that in Australia, more children know that George Washington was the 1st President of the USA, than know that Henry Parkes was our Father of Federation, Edmund Barton was our 1st Prime Minister & Alfred Deakin our 2nd. Just as tragic, in my opinion is that more children know who Ronald Macdonald is & that they can get free toys with their happy meal, than who the Lord Jesus Christ is & how he has provided for their eternal salvation.

Did you know our national anthem actually has 3 verses? They sing all 3 at our daughter's Christian school. Here is the 3rd verse for those who may have never heard it:

"With Christ our Head and Corner Stone we'll build our nation's might,
Whose way & truth & light alone, can guide our paths aright;
Our lives a sacrifice of love, Reflect our Master's care,
With faces turned to heaven above Advance Australia Fair
In joyful strains then let us sing Advance Australia Fair.

It is my prayer for God to revive our nation-multicultural or not- this year. It is a blessing that both our Prime Minister & our new opposition leader are professing Christians. I pray that the church would reach out with true unity in love to the lost; that the Holy Bible would be upheld as the nation's standard & that the Church would return to preaching the gospel boldly & to piety & Godliness befitting the name "Southland of the Holy Spirit".