Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The New Year began here in Australia 15 hours before it began in New York City.  How appropriate that the first day of the New Year began on the Lord’s Day when the saints gather to thank God for our Savior and for all the blessings of our lives!

It was a beautiful Lord’s Day here in Brisbane and we began the day with a Bible lesson I wanted to teach Timothy and Seth from Joshua 22.  After Joshua secured the land of Canaan for Israel, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh were given the land of Gilead east of the Jordan River as they had requested.  Soon word reached the remaining tribes on the west bank that a huge new altar was being built at the ford of the Jordan River on the east bank.  Everyone assumed this was an act of apostasy in rejecting the worship at the tabernacle in Shiloh and the ten tribes quickly prepared to declare war on their brethren.

When the leaders of the ten tribes approached their brethren with a declaration of war, they learned the altar was not for worship at all but was a memorial to the fact that the people on the east bank were united with their brethren on the west bank in serving the one true God!  In other words, a war almost broke out among God’s people based on inadequate and inaccurate information which had been circulated.

Our previous lesson from 1 Kings 18 about Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal was a reminder we must not hesitate to expose and uproot apostasy among God’s people.  We are reminded by Joshua 22 to be patient and to be sure we have full and accurate information before we accuse brethren of apostasy.  Both lessons are equally important if we are to preserve the purity and the unity of God’s people.

Since the time for the worship services at the Rochedale church is 5:00 P.M., we took the boys to the park and played with them for a couple of hours.  After cleaning up and resting we joined the assembly of the saints at 5:00 P.M. for a class in 1 Samuel and then I preached on “New Beginnings in Christ” (Ps. 118:22-24):  a new covenant, a new kingdom, and a new birth.  Sixteen precious souls gathered to commemorate the death of Christ and to feed our souls on the Word of God.

The Rochedale church has a nice building, but their number has diminished over the years and they may sell the property when road construction takes part of the land.  Then they would rent a place to worship.  They have fond memories of American evangelists such as Robert Harkrider who edified and encouraged them in past years.  The daughter of Rolly McDowell, a well known Australian preacher of the past generation, worships here.

Monday was a legal holiday since the 1st fell on Sunday, so Jamie was not required to work.  We drove to a theme park to entertain the boys with various rides and shows.  Of course, when grandparents go to such places, it is remarkable how they can transform themselves to join in the activities.  Just picture Donna and her dignified husband in bumper cars and riding a roller coaster (actually, only her husband rode with Timothy on the latter ride).  In spite of the heat, the sky was somewhat overcast which shaded us from the direct sunlight at times and we were blessed to have a breeze.

That night we gathered at the table because I wanted to teach the boys about how the church began at Philippi in Acts 16.  We focused on two main events.  First, Paul converted a small band of ladies who gathered for prayer along with members of Lydia’s household.  The church had a very small beginning.  The Williams family has been worshiping with a very small church in Gladstone and I wanted to reinforce the boy’s understanding that God’s people are not ashamed to serve Him even when our number is few.

Next, we focused on the beating and imprisonment of Paul and Silas, followed by the earthquake and the conversion of the jailor in the middle of the night.  To emphasize the importance of obeying God even late into the night, I related an incident that happened many years ago when I was traveling and preaching on the island of Negros in the Philippines.  A Methodist preacher had gathered his congregation to hear the gospel, but our preaching at another place and our travel delayed us so that we reached them after dark.  There was no light other than small kerosene torches or lamps on poles as we sat under the stars in the open air.  Since I could not see my Bible, I preached an extemporaneous sermon on “The Original Gospel” beginning with 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and then fielded questions.  Several people including the preacher decided to be baptized.  We made our way through the bushes and growth to the river and baptized them though it was late at night.  The preacher baptized in the night, Pablo Quimada, still preaches in that area.

The holidays were past and Jamie went back to work Tuesday.  Donna and I played with Timothy and Seth, and they both love to have books read to them.  Deborah is teaching them basic information about world history with some excellent flash cards.  I was invited to participate and I was able to add information relating to Bible history.  I had some therapy done on my injured wrist and spent some time with the boys at a park nearby.  Tonight we continued the bible study via Skype with Jojo and Bong Tacbad in the Philippines.  Jamie does a good job leading these studies and the whole family participates.

We have had welcomed rains the last couple of days., cooling the atmosphere.  On Wednesday while Jamie was at work we all visited the Queensland Museum and Sciencenter in downtown Brisbane where we saw myriad examples of God’s creative work in the forms of dinosaurs, insects, birds, snakes, items from the Bible lands, beautiful rocks and minerals, butterflies, and fish – truly our God is Almighty in His engineering and creative powers!

In the evening we all attended Bible study at the Rochedale church with another good study from Proverbs 16-17.  May God bless these dear saint as they endeavor to proclaim and uphold the gospel of Christ in a land where true churches of Christ are few and far between.

Arabelle is still keeping us all in suspense as we pray for her safe arrival into the world.  Deborah is doing fine as I prepare to leave Brisbane and return to Manila.  Since Arabelle did not know Deborah’s due date was January 1, I will hope to meet her at a later time after she decides to make her grand entrance!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
http://www.HebronChurchOfChrist.com
http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.CEIbooks.com