Grace and Mercy

Urgency and passion.

2012-01-30T03:33:00.001+02:00

Mark’s Gospel is written with urgency. The first verses tell that Jesus is the fulfillment of OT prophecy. Within the first four verses John the Baptist appears in the wilderness to announce the Messiah’s coming. Only seven verses later Jesus emerges from the river Jordan’s waters after his baptism. After that, the story of the life of Jesus’ is told with super fast pace. Before the end of chapter one Jesus has been tempted in the wilderness, the first disciples have been called and a man, a mother-in-law, and a leper have been healed.

Mark moves rapidly from scène to scène, creating a narrative that speaks of urgency and passion. It seems as if the author came across the story of Jesus and it was such a powerful and life changing experience that he cannot help to share the good news as quickly as he can. He cannot hide his excitement.

You have heard the story. You know how Jesus healed, cured and delivered. You encountered the Messiah’s ministry, death, resurrection and exultation in Scripture.
How did this life changing experience transform your faith and life? Did it kindle a passionate flame and inspired you to be on fire for Christ?

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand

2012-01-29T13:41:00.000+02:00

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
No merit of my own I claim,
but wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand –
all other ground, is sinking sand.

When weary in this earthly race,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every wild and stormy gale
my anchor holds and will not fail.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand –
all other ground, is sinking sand.

When the last trumpet’s voice shall sound,
O may I then in Him be found!
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before His throne.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand –
all other ground, is sinking sand.

What does the Bible say about the Church? Part 3. final

2012-01-25T03:34:00.000+02:00

1 Timothy 3:15: . . . I write (to you) so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is.... the pillar and support of the truth.

Being part of the local church is not optional. It is the household of God and if I am one of God’s children I belong where the Lord’s family meets and is edified.

The church is also called the pillar and support of the truth. In the Church God’s truth is discovered, taught and learned.

There is something special about knowing the truth in the context of the community of Christ’s household. Firstly, learning in the community of faith safeguards the truth. Anyone can go off track. Anyone can misinterpret God’s Word and individuals are prone to over emphasising one teaching of the Bible to the detriment of others. Within the community of faith we find the help and support to uphold the full counsel of God. This is why the Church is the pillar and support of the truth.

Secondly, the church is a pillar and support of God’s truth, because of the biblical promise that God’s Spirit will be present within this community and will guide his people. Although we know that the Spirit dwells in every individual follower of Jesus, God’s promise to reveal and uphold the truth that has to be taught and learned, is given to the community of Christ, as a body.

In church we are not merely expressing our personal opinions or share our private experiences of God’s guidance and help, but we in faith expect God to address his people on the universal, Christian and apostolic truth as revealed in Christ and testified to in the Scriptures. God calls men and women to preach and teach in his Name by the authority given to them to do so by Christ, who guides his Church in calling his servants to do his work.

God confirms the Gospel truth to his people and applies it to our lives today! This how we become disciples and it simulates the journey that the disciples of Jesus had when he was on earth.

The church provides the context where we challenge one another to fully live for the Lord on the basis of the truth God has revealed to us in Christ and through the Scriptures. We do this as a family in the household of God, the community of the King, the church of the Living God.

Remember what we said three weeks ago. The church is composed of people redeemed by the Son of God, brought together by the will of God to live together as the family of God, in order to do the work of God.
This is possible when we share the truth of God, through the guidance of the Spirit of God, because we desire to know the full counsel of God, as the church of God.

The full armour of God: Each piece put on with prayer!

2012-01-23T03:17:00.000+02:00

Ephesians 6: 11 "Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes".
But how do we do that? How does God's armour become our defence against evil and temptation? Paul tells us in verse 18: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. “

The answer to how we put on the full armour of God, is, through prayer. We are equipped for our spiritual challenges, through prayer. There is a hymn we often sing which speaks to this:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Stand in his strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you,
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armour,
Each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls, or danger,
Be never wanting there.

The secret to endure in living for the Lord, to persevere in worshipping and conducting one well in God’s household , is in and through prayer. Then God's strength becomes our strength and his power our power.

Everyone knows that we should put on the full armour of God to take our stand against the schemes of evil. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness to announce the Good News of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
And we put on each piece with prayer.

Our prayer would be:
Almighty God. Rule us. Keep your church strong. Destroy evil’s work and kingdom. Let us obey you Lord, rather than our own weak flesh. Uphold us and make us strong so that we may never be defeated by our weakness or by the temptations of the world!

What does the Bible say about the Church? Part 2.

2012-01-18T06:11:00.001+02:00

1 Timothy 3:15: . . . I write (to you) so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God...

The decline in participation in local churches is the result of a lack of Biblical teaching by the church and about the church. Last week we learned that being part of the Lord’s church is not optional. This is true, because being part of the local church is to experience being part of the household of God.

Many metaphors are used to describe the Church in the Bible: a temple, a body, a community and a family, amongst others. When the Church is referred to as a household or family, the emphasis is on the essential need for believers who wish to have a healthy relationship with the Lord, to be supported and encouraged through relationships with other Christians.

When we think about Christ’s community as a household, we emphasise that our union is created by sharing a relationship with God and with one another. We are interconnected to the extent that the Bible says that we are brothers and sisters, because God is our Father, because we have one Saviour and because one Holy Spirit lives in us.

Do you live as part of this family of God? Do you experience this connectedness with the people worshipping with you? Remember, if someone is God’s son or daughter, he or she is your brother and sister.

This has implications for how one “ought to conduct himself in the household of God.” It means that we are to care for each other, to share God’s love and to help those who need support or are hurting. We call this “ministry”. And when we pray and learn together to be equipped for Christian living, we call it “discipleship”. We are not so much prepared and equipped by programs for the challenge to consistently live as God’s family, but by fellow pilgrims on this journey – the household of God.

We all need encouragement and we all need to grow in faith and in the knowledge of Christ. We all need to grow in love for the Lord. This happens within the family of God. Being part of the family is therefore not optional. It is essential and the Bible says the local Church is where you will experience this.

What we do in and about the Church of our Lord really matters. Our behaviours and choices impact on our brothers and sisters who need us. Someone may say, I do not need these relationships – but God needs you to make a difference in the lives of his children, and your fellow Christians need you to encourage and build them up. When we are willing to be open to share in the family of God, we will find that we need their love, friendship and encouragement too. When this penny drops in the local church, the whole church is built up and functions according to God’s will.

Lets be very clear about this: If we do not see the church as the household of God and ourselves as brothers and sisters to every other believer, we do not listen to what the Bible says about the church. But if we do, we will begin to experience the abundance that Christian living is intended to be.

Epiphany 2. "Come and see"

2012-01-16T03:38:00.001+02:00

John 1: 43 – 46. The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip then found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote.”
Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” Philip said.

To be a Christian starts with the invitation of Jesus who says “follow me”. The essence about being a follower of Jesus, is to hear his kind invitation - and accept it.

In this passage Jesus called Philip. What makes his story speak to me, is that Philip really was a very ordinary guy! He did not become a Bible writer or a well known preacher. But he listened to the Lord’s call and had the amazing privilege to spend the next 3 years in the Lord’s company and then became a founding member of the Church.

Responding to the Saviour’s call was a life changing day in his life! And he knew it. “We have found the promised Messiah” he told the first person he found, a man called Nathanael. And when it turned out that Nathanael was a sceptic, Philip invited him to meet Jesus too. “Come and see” he said.

Jesus calls ordinary people, and if they hear his voice and are saved, they can make a difference to God’s work by simply inviting those who cross their path to “come and see”.
Who are you going to invite to share your life changing experience with Jesus this week? Is there anyone you should invite to “come and see”?

May the Lord bless you and use you to reveal his glory today.

Jesus must become more

2012-01-13T04:33:00.000+02:00

A music professor with a well-trained voice usually sang the major male solo parts in the choir of a large church. A young man named Bob who had no training sometimes took a few shorter solos. As the choir director prepared for the Christmas cantata, she felt that Bob’s voice and style made him a natural for the lead role. However, she didn’t know how she could give it to him without offending the older man.

Her anxiety was unnecessary. The professor had the same thoughts as she did, and he told her that Bob should take the part. He continued to sing faithfully in the chorus and was a source of much encouragement to Bob.

People who can humbly set aside selfish ambition and genuinely seek the good of others, have an attitude that pleases God. This is how John the Baptist reacted when the crowds left him and began following Jesus. John said, “Jesus must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:22 – 30NIV).

What did John the Baptist and the music professor have in common? They were happy to see others elevated above themselves where the purpose is to serve God in the best possible way.

Do we understand what this humility is that enables us to bow humble hearts before the Lord and enter his service unconditionally? To let him be everything and we simply being his servants! To truly live our confession of faith that says that Jesus is King and Head of his church, which means that he must become more, greater! He must increase, always! All we do is to serve him, obey him, be the church he wants us to be and be the Christians he wants us to be!

When we can forget about ourselves, we can do things others will remember.

What does the Bible say about the Church? Part 1.

2012-01-11T04:45:00.003+02:00

1 Timothy 3:15: . . . I write (to you) so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)

Could it be true that we live during an age where people do not need the church anymore? This is what more and more people say.

The decline in participation in local churches is the result of a lack of Biblical teaching by the church and about the church. It seems that less people know what biblical teaching about the church is. Many think the church is optional for believers and even redundant in our generation. For the next few Wednesdays, let’s consider this.

The short verse quoted above already says a lot about the church, according to the Bible. Paul speaks about “the church of the living God”, about the “household of God” and about the church as the “pillar of truth”. We need to carefully examine what the Bible says to remain within God’s will when it comes to being part of and maintaining God’s work through his Church.

In our current society we live with a multitude of organizations. Political, civic, social, environmental, sport and business organisations have increased in numbers. Unfortunately, many started to see the church as only another one of these many organisations. As simply another option to choose from. So the thinking is that if you are interested in a good spiritual cause, you may choose to participate and maintain the church. If it doesn’t interest you, join something else, or just live selfishly, seeking self-gratification without “making a difference”.

Our text, however, indicates that the church is much more than simply another good cause. Paul, in writing to Timothy, is instructing him in how one should conduct oneself in relation to the church. As he gives this teaching, he calls the church “the household of God” and the “pillar of the truth”. In saying this, he already indicates that the church has a special importance in God’s plan for our lives and if we want to serve and worship God, we need instruction on how we are to relate to this plan of God.

The church is not optional. Yes, the church needs reformation. And the leaders and members of the church make mistakes. And the church sometimes communicates in a way that feels not relevant, and we need to repent of that and fix this with God’s help. But the church is not optional!

Jesus established the church. He did not merely establish individual Christian living, but he established a community, the church. Jesus announced that he would build a community on the confession that he is Lord, Saviour and the Son of God. This community the New Testament calls the Church of Christ.

The New Testament simply assumes that people who are believers are part of a local church where they live out their confession about Jesus. The church is not man’s invention, but God’s. Because Christ instituted the church, we should know what it is according to the Bible, and how we should function as a member of it. And the church should figure out how to teach, function and organise herself that her members understand God’s plan for the Church well.

The church is composed of people redeemed by the Son of God, brought together by the will of God to live together as the family of God, in order to do the work of God! (David J Hokes)
(Next week more about the Church as “the household of God”.)

If we love as Jesus loved, those who live, work and play with us will have an epiphany of the glory of Christ

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000+02:00

John 13: 34, 35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The “old commandment” was to love your neighbour as yourself. (See Lev. 19) God expected his people to live as moral people that
do not steal, lie or deceive;
that do not profane his Name;
that do not defraud, or rob;
that do not oppress the vulnerable, do not pervert justice, do not slander, do not endanger another’s life, do not hate and do not bear a grudge!
God still expects Christians to live moral lives.

But Jesus gave us a new commandment. Jesus expects more than living moral lives. He expects sacrificial love and a life modeled on his own example. He gave his life for his friends.
If we love as Jesus loved, those who live, work and play with us will have an epiphany of the glory of Christ through our living testimony.

“Lord, through your Spirit, equip us to serve and love you and our neighbour as Jesus loved, Amen.”

Epiphany

2012-01-06T22:05:00.002+02:00

Many millions of Christians call today, 6 January, the Feast of Epiphany.

In tradition, where the birth of Christ is celebrated on December 25, the arrival of the Magi is celebrated on January 6, called the Feast of Epiphany. This feast is in Eastern Christianity celebrated with more magnificent festivities and church services than Christmas. It was originally within Christianity the day of the giving of presents, following the example of the Magi. This tradition is specifically observed in Spanish speaking countries and in the Eastern Church. It is only in recent years that the Epiphany was again included in the celebrations of some branches of the Western Church, including some of the Protestant churches.

Epiphany considers that the Messiah was revealed to the Gentiles, while Christmas, the birthday, is celebrated as the day when Jewish believers, such as the shepherds, worshipped the new born King. This is why amongst Gentiles in the East, where the Magi came from, it became an important day of remembrance and celebration of an “epiphany” of the meaning of the light and love of Christ for the gentile nations. They also emphasize the revelation of Christ by the Father at Jesus’ baptism with the words: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matt 3:17.) They remind each other also of the first miracle, when Jesus turned water into wine, and the Bible says, this was to reveal the “glory of Jesus”.

For many in the west it is the day when Christmas decorations are packed away and when we “leave” the contemplation of the meaning of the birthday of Christ, expecting an epiphany of the glory of the Son of God, as it was revealed to his followers through his miracles, parables and teachings! The real, complete and final epiphany of the glory of Christ can only be understood when we remember his suffering, and his glorious resurrection, contemplated during Lent and Easter.

It is a day when we may pray that Jesus will not leave us, but show us the fullness of his glory, through his kindness and his victory!

This song and prayer may guide our minds and hearts to desire a personal epiphany of Jesus – the light of the world!

Lord, the light of Your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness shining;
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us,
Set us free by the truth You now bring us,
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine Jesus shine,
Fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze Spirit blaze, set our hearts on fire!
Flow river flow,
Flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word, Lord –
And let there be light.

Lord, I come to Your awesome presence,
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me!

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
So our faces display Your likeness,
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me! Shine on me!

Shine Jesus shine,
Fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze Spirit blaze, set our hearts on fire!
Flow river flow,
Flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word, Lord –
And let there be light.

Complete Order for Sunday worship in Afrikaans, with Communion

2012-01-03T05:49:00.001+02:00

A complete Order for Sunday worship in Afrikaans, with Communion, in the UPCSA, with headings, remarks and directions in English. Based on an official order of the UPCSA, but with many added Afrikaans resources incorporated to simplify and enrich leading an UPCSA worship service in Afrikaans.

To down load, click in this link:
http://www.cpk.co.za/formuliere.htm

New Years Eve: God will give us what we need in 2012

2011-12-31T08:18:00.005+02:00

During 2012 – aspire for what you need, rather than what you want!

We should dream at the beginning of a new year. Very little is accomplished without dreams and aspirations.

In our vision for 2012 it would be a good thing to take note that what we want, and what we need, do not always go hand in hand. There are things that I have wanted and prayed for over time and that the Lord has not given me. And I know God discerns what is best for me. Yet it is not always easy to accept that the Lord thinks that I need other stuff than what I want, and that in his love, he believes it was best for me not to have these things and opportunities I desired.

In his letter James writes in 1:17:
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

How are we deceived? One of the ways in which we can be deceived, is that we believe that what we want is a necessity. And that we believe that what we want will be a good and perfect gift from God.

What God gives is the word of truth. It is good and wise insight into what we need to have to have joyful lives and what we need to do to make a difference in his Kingdom and in his Church. This will lead to our works and lives becoming like first fruits of the harvest that Jesus came to bring about. To do God’s will and accomplish his dream for me and for his people could be the biggest dream I can ever have.

Think about it. God wants love, peace, glory and joy to enter the world and he wants us to share in these gifts and make us vehicles of these gifts entering our world. He wants us to be part of an amazing work that will bring about the radical changes that can and will eradicate the origins of pain and heart ache itself. He wants me to be part of this grand scheme of things.

And it does not exclude my personal needs and what I have to receive in order to survive and thrive!
Jesus said: 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matt. 7: 1 – 11)

God wants to get very personal with us about what we want and what we need. God is not into his big Kingdom project in a way that I do not count anymore. We know this, because he gave Jesus whom we desperately needed, or be lost forever. God gave sacrificially that we may receive what we need. And Jesus promised that the Father in heaven will give good gifts to those who ask what they need.

But our daily needs and fears are met in ways that will keep us woven into his amazing plan to let his Kingdom come in our lives through our work for him! The key word in both these two Scriptures is “good”. We need good gifts and when God gives them, they are more than good – they are perfect!

Realising that what we want not always is what God considers to be good and perfect for us, and that we are part of God’s all inclusive plan for us and for his people and the world, should help us realise the difference between what we need and what we want, and that the Lord firmly promised to give us what we need.

Are you waiting on the Lord to give you something you really want in your life today? A new job? Reconciliation in your marriage? Blessing in your finances? A cure from illness? To find your soul mate? Victory over an addiction?
Each of us has something we want in our lives. But it is up to God to decide if this is something that would be a good and perfect gift for us during 2012.

May we come to him with true joy and thankfulness, because he gives good and perfect gifts according to our needs. May we, here at the beginning of another new year, pray that the Lord who knows what is best for our lives will, as in the past, give us what he knows is best for us. And be at peace with it!
Be excited about what he has in stall for us! Let’s trust and obey and see that God is good and that nothing is impossible with him.

Christmas - how strangely small and quiet it seems

2011-12-21T02:34:00.007+02:00

A Christmas Devotion.
Luke 2: 19 can easily be overlooked. And we should not, because it teaches an important lesson. We read there: “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart”. This was Mary’s response to all the overwhelming things that happened with her and around her and that she experienced before, during and after the birth of her son, Jesus. She treasured and pondered these amazing experiences, in her heart!

During Christmas we share once again in this unforgettable and extraordinary story: a fragile young mother, a loving and protecting husband, the delicate presence of a new born baby, the interest of poor shepherds and a humble manger that tell that the first Christmas was an exceptionally small affair, not noticed by masses or announced by emissaries or celebrated in any grand scale whatsoever.

It was a vast, immense event, but one that was presented in small, humble circumstances with little details and only noticed by unlikely witnesses, sharing in the intimate moment so treasured by Mary.
How strangely quiet and small it seems to us who are bombarded by an image of Christmas that is huger than life, magical, commercial and openly emotional.
There was no tree, no presents, no impressive music, no official Christmas day addresses, fancy liturgies and ecclesiastical attires. How quiet, how small and how unnoticed it came and passed.

“But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” She safeguarded the birth of the Saviour of the world, the long awaited Messiah, the King for David’s eternal throne, in the only place fit for such a treasure: in her heart. Her worship is muted, her reverence clothed with meek humility and her faith is only shared with her husband and insignificant shepherds.

Mary recognized a moment important enough to be treasured without public approval, applause or noisy celebrations. A moment so small that most of the world did not notice it in that night, and yet a moment so vast, that only her faithful heart could be big enough to contain it!

It was a small moment that has turned the world upside down, changed the face of that world within a short lifetime and still changes ours as it brings heaven to our homes, our churches and our lives. A small event that led to the Son of God to rule, reign, redeem, save and conquer for our sake.

Our world greeted the Child with a manger and a cross.
God honoured him with an angel choir, a heavenly throne and eternal victory and exaltation.

It is the small, treasured moment when God comes into our lives and hearts that will make the eternal difference, for you and for me! Be mindful that a new heart, faith, love, hope and joy come from an intimate, private and humbling experience when Jesus enters your life.
That treasured moment, to be pondered for a life time, will be and remain the most significant of your existence. It was secretly put away and treasured by the mother of Jesus. And it carried her on a journey that passed a cross and reached a pentecost.

You have seen the bling, did the shopping, listened to the noise and were frustrated by the kitsch dished up in the Name of the King who was born. We all experienced these loud not so silent nights!
But did you perhaps, by any chance, missed the discreet knock on the door of your life, the willingness to enter and the desire to fellowship with you, by the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

Make sure that you do not miss that small, quiet moment this Christmas.
Pray, ponder, treasure and stow away God’s special moment within you while he is becoming your Companion for life. Treasure this quiet little truth and worship gratefully, mutely and earnestly in your heart.
This is the memory that you and your children will carry with you, always and everywhere.

Advent 2011 - part 5: LOVE

2011-12-14T02:15:00.002+02:00

Fourth (last) Advent Sunday – 18 December.
Theme: Love

Advent considered hope, peace and joy. On the last Advent Sunday, 18 December, it contemplates love. Christ coming to us reveals Gods love for his people and for all of his creation.

1 John 4:9-10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The most important idea in these verses is that God showed his love. The Biblical understanding of love is that it is shown in actions. It is not so much what we feel, as what we do that is important when we try to understand this word “love” so often used in the Scriptures.

We know God loves us, because we know what he did for us. He created us to have fellowship with him, and when we strayed, he saved us and when we lost the battle against evil, he conquered for our sake.
We know we love God when we worship, serve, praise and want to obey God and when we live in awe of our Lord, because we know that he loved us first. Our actions in reaction to his love, show that we love him too.
We love our fellow Christians when we act as brothers and sisters towards one another and we know we love our neighbour when we act towards them in the way that we expect others to treat us as well.

Jesus is the demonstration of the love God has for us. He lived and ministered to reveal who God truly is. Jesus lived and acted in a way that showed us how God loves us: Jesus touched the “unclean”, he respected the rejected, he delivered the captives, he saved the lost and he healed the sick. Jesus showed the mercy, grace, love, compassion, patience and kindness of God.

This is the love we, as his children and witnesses, should show the world.
We hear a lot about the Christmas spirit and that this is a season for giving. We are more patient and show more compassion than we usually do. This is a good thing and it makes the season of Advent and the celebration of Christmas a most special time for many who are in ominous need to be loved.

But, as we await the complete and final coming of the Kingdom of Christ – we should prepare the way for the King by making practical, Christian love much more than a seasonal thing. It is supposed to be the Christian lifestyle displayed always and it shows God’s love all the time.

God loved us in sending his Son for our redemption. Now we should show his love that others may know his salvation and care. True Christian love is when we show through every aspect of our lives that God loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. In sacrificial living, we do!

Advent Hymn

2011-12-12T15:27:00.000+02:00

Comfort, comfort ye my people,
speak ye peace, thus saith our God.
comfort those who sit in darkness,
mourning neath their sorrow’s load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
of the peace that waits for them;
tell het that her sins I cover,
and her warfare is now is over.

Hark, the voice of one that crieth
in the desert far and near.
calling us to new repentance
since the Kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
let the valleys rise to meet him
and the hills bow down to greet him.

Make ye straight what long was crooked,
make the rougher places plain
let your hearts be true and humble,
as befits his holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
now o’er earth is shed abroad;
and all flesh shall see the token
that his Word is never broken!

Music: Harvard University Hymn Book 94, (Genevan 42) Olearius 1671. for Advent

Advent part 4: JOY

2011-12-07T04:54:00.003+02:00

Third Advent Sunday: 11 December 2011.
The theme is Joy!
When we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we may expect to be happy during the festive season, all the time. But happiness is not joy. One can experience the joy of the Lord even when circumstances are not particularly “happy”.

We may rejoice in all situations. Even when we are under threat, we are concerned or we are dissatisfied. Because Joy comes from the knowledge that we are within the will of God and it comes from the certain faith knowledge that God cares about us and takes care of us.
During this season we remember that God gave his only Son – because he cares and that he will never leave or forsake us. We know that when Jesus returns, he will be with us for all eternity.

When Mary was told that she expected the Saviour, she feared. She was afraid of the holy angel that came to see her. And she was afraid of the message: To be pregnant and not married carried the death penalty for a girl in those days. She could at least lose her fiancé who knew he was not the dad of the Baby! She ran the risk of rejection by family and of the community.

This is not a particular happy picture.
And yet – there is all the indications that the young virgin Mary rejoiced and was filled with joy. She was to be within the will of God! She was to do the most important work one can do for God. She also believed that nothing is impossible with God!

This is why, in spite of everything risky and dangerous her calling to carry the Christ child entailed, she could break out in song and dance to express a deep felt joy!

According to Luke, this is what she sang as she rejoiced:
Luke 1: 46 - 55:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour
for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation....

May God grant you this joy. Whatever your circumstances! May you find God’s will for your life and assurance of his protection and love.

Advent – part 3: PEACE

2011-12-03T06:38:00.002+02:00

The theme for the Second Sunday of Advent is Peace. The first Advent Sunday focused on hope and that we bear the responsibility to live as agents of hope in a world plagued by despondency. As we consider peace this Sunday, 4 December, we see that we can bring hope into the world by being peacemakers.

We sing a lot about peace in our Christmas carols. It was after all the core message of the angel choir on the night that Jesus was born: “Peace on earth and goodwill towards men on whom God’s favour rests.”

Yet, how often do we do everything within our power to bring peace where it is direly needed.
Are we peacemakers within our own families?
Do we work to heal our marriages and family bonds or do we let our prejudices or anger bring discord?
Do we work towards unity within our congregation or are we the instigators of divisive gossip and lead deconstructive cliques, sowing conflict with no desire to bring about the peace amongst his people Christ lived and died for?
Do we refer to people that look and act differently than ourselves with disrespect, contempt and ridicule and stereotype them?

Peace on earth starts with us and our attitudes towards others. If we hold people, and especially other Christians and fellow church members and family members, dear to our heart, our words and actions will mirror this love and respect. There really is no point in speaking about peace on national and global levels as long as we in our personal sphere of influence are agents of war, hurt and conflict.

Let’s remember the definition Jesus gave to love: “Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.” Let’s stop singing about peace until we made peace and became peacemakers.
“Peace” is no true and sincere Christmas card decoration or Christmas carol when it does not come from a changed heart and compassionate soul.

The Season of Advent teaches us to be peace makers as it will restore the hope on Christ, the King. As we expect the coming of the Kingdom of the Prince of Peace born to be our Redeemer and as we make straight the road for the Second Coming, let’s live as true ambassadors of the Peace Kingdom the Messiah came to establish.

Yes, we must be the peacemakers. We who are followers of Christ and we who love Jesus! But we will not be until peace conquered our hearts. This always means that we make peace with ourselves first, with whom we are and what our calling in God’s work is. It then also means making peace with those closest to us. It means that we do earnestly mean it when we call our fellow Christians “brothers and sisters”.

God’s children can bring about peace on earth if we are filled with the Holy Spirit and if we received the peace of God through the Spirit in prayer and reflection of God’s Word.

A good place to start may be to pray the popular prayer of the 13th century St Francis of Assisi and mean every word that we say:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

The Advent Wreath

2011-11-30T07:19:00.005+02:00

The symbolism of the Advent wreath (on the Table) is beautiful.

The wreath is made of various evergreens, signifying continuous life.
It signifies victory over persecution and suffering. The prickly leaves remind us of the crown of thorns.
Any pine cones or seeds symbolize life and resurrection.
The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ.
All together, the wreath of evergreens depicts our immortality and the new, everlasting life promised to us through Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, who entered our world becoming true man and who was victorious over sin and death through His own passion, death, and resurrection.

The four candles represent the four Sundays of Advent. The progressive lighting of the candles every Advent Sunday symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the short time we have left to prepare for his second coming to judge the living and the dead.
The light of the candles signifies Christ, the Light of the world.

In family practice, the Advent wreath is most appropriately lit at dinner time on the four Sundays, after the blessing of the food.

Advent 2011 - part 2: HOPE

2011-11-27T20:37:00.004+02:00

Mark 13: 26 27 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens"..

We live in the in-between times, between the first and second coming of Jesus. We are waiting upon the Lord in hope of his great power and glory that will completely change our existence. Christ will and can establish his Kingdom. We are the agents of change to bring about faith in the truth that Jesus reigns and will come to effect, in the smallest detail, the wonders of his merciful and loving reign.
This hope should transform our lives!

1. We have the privilege of Christ’s presence through the Holy Spirit living and working in us. He is Emmanuel, that is, God with us. As we prepare to remember the first coming of Jesus at his birth, advent brings us hope. Through the work of the Spirit this hope should transform our lives, even though we are often confronted by hopelessness.
2. We can look at life in a new way: We need to see the real world with its pain and shocking sadness, and choose to be messengers of hope for those in need. We can help them to expect more of Jesus and his love.
3. We wait upon the Lord, serving him.. While we wait for Jesus to return, we serve him as we worship him in all we do, and we serve in his Name in serving those who need the good news of his glorious coming into our lives, our church and our society.
The Lord is coming and it is a message of hope!

Advent 2011 – Part 1

2011-11-25T03:16:00.003+02:00

The Season of Advent – the four Sundays before Christmas, starts on 27 November 2011. The word “advent” basically means “coming”.

o It is a time to be filled with joy, because God became a man and was born as a baby to become our Redeemer and King!
o During this season we also remember that Jesus wants to enter our lives today, here and now, and through his Spirit’s work in us become part of our reaching out to a lost world in pain.
o We also remember that Jesus Christ promised to physically come again, to create a new heaven and earth in which we will live for all eternity!

The 4 Advent candles in church represent a “countdown” of the Sundays before Christmas - but it also reminds us that we have but a short time to prepare, before Jesus returns!

Advent reminds us that God gave his Son
During this Advent Season we will once again remember that Christ took on our weak, human nature and became one of us. We prepare for a “Merry Christmas”. To believers this has nothing to do with a politically correct “Happy Holiday”. Our cheer comes from the “mass”, or celebration, of Christ who came to save his people and will come again to make their salvation complete! He wants to change our lives into Christ’s mass: Christmas!!

The Apostle Paul explains it in 2 Cor 5: 21: God made him who had no sin, to be sin for us so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.

This is what Christ came to do when taking on our “weak human flesh”. He showed his compassion with our dilemma which is the result of our imperfections, mistakes, disobedience and sin. He came to live the life that God requires and we cannot accomplish, and to live it perfectly, holy and without sin, in our place! The Son of God became our brother and he never leaves nor forsakes us.

During this Season of Advent we want to celebrate that when God gave the gift of salvation, he did not send a handbook with complicated instructions to figure out how to be saved. He did not send us laws and procedures that are beyond us and which will lead to even more failure to please our holy God. Instead, he sent his Son to save us.

Jesus came to show us how salvation works. Jesus came to become our salvation, our joy and our security. Jesus came to give us everlasting life. Jesus came to live a life that pleases God in our place. He came to pay the penalty for what we cannot and did not do.

Even today Jesus wants to come into your life through the work of his Spirit, to through faith in him, ensure that we work out his salvation in our day to day lives and challenges and in our work for the Lord.
And one day he will come again on the clouds to make our salvation complete.

The Advent message always remains that (John 3:16) God so much loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Let’s trust in the directions of the Son. Let’s rejoice because he did everything we could not do, to save us! Lets pray that he will come again soon to dry all our tears.

May you experience a blessed and a merry Advent Season.

There is no laity!

2011-11-23T05:24:00.003+02:00

At the planning meeting of our congregation it was decided to develop our Sunday Worship services in order to more often include the participation of members, other than the minister or duty elder of the month.

The elements that the preaching minister of the day will sometimes ask members to do, will include:
o Call to worship
o Various prayers
o Receiving and blessing the offerings
o Readings

This decision was not taken lightly, but biblical principles were considered.
The purpose of this process is to ensure that Sunday Worship is not seen as “the minister’s territory only” but to adapt to the approach widely practiced, where both elders and other members lead some of the elements of the Order for Sunday Worship. It enforces the principle that in Sunday worship members are not mere bystanders and that not only the minister, but the congregation is filled with the Holy Spirit and may therefore lead the congregation in worship.

It reiterates the emancipation of members within the Reformed tradition as all belonging to the priesthood of the believers, instead of being spectators only. This is an age old principle within Protestant worship, that we lost when a popular view developed in the mid 20th century that Sunday Worship is the territory of the “professional prayers” and the members are “only laity” and therefore not worthy to take a leading role. This is not the view of most Protestants and it is particularly not a Reformed / Presbyterian view and we wish to correct it.

The resistance we see to implementing this principle, is the result of a misunderstanding that differentiates strictly between “ordained ministers” and “”laity”, a view which we do not find in the New Testament. In the Church in the New Testament believers are not only called priests, but even “royal priests” and “prophets”.

The Minister of Word and Sacrament is usually responsible for preaching and always for dispensing the sacraments, as this is what he has been set apart / ordained for.
But any other element could frequently be led by other members too.
Asking members to participate / lead liturgical elements is at the discretion of the preaching minister on the day, who probably will invite members on a week to week basis to do this most Sundays.

Christ the King separates the sheep and the goats!

2011-11-21T03:16:00.000+02:00

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matt. 25:31 - 32

People ask, if Jesus is the King on the glorious throne of God, why are so many things wrong, impure and painful in this world? If the promised Messianic Kingdom of the Prince of Peace came when Jesus went to heaven to be crowned King of all, how must we understand that so much of our experience in life is still about injustice, sadness, sin and death?

The answer simply is: Until Jesus comes again there are both goats and sheep in the world. He reigns and cares for his sheep amidst the reality that the sheep and goats have not yet been separated. Jesus tends his sheep and leads them to his new heaven and earth and glorious dominion, in spite of the fact that his sheep follow him while goats are all around, often being influential and seemingly winning most the time.

The truth about sheep and goats is that one day judgment will be handed down on the basis of whether we are sheep or goats. The King will say, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.” And on the other hand he will say, “I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,” It will be our living or not living according to the standard of love and mercy of the Kingdom of Christ the King that will be the standard for judgment.

Yet everyone knows that it is faith that saves by grace. Following Christ the King and accepting him as Lord of our lives, turns our lives around and the evidence about our lives is that we have been turned around form being goats to being sheep. And this miracle of our metamorphosis from goats to sheep, is a free gift! It is pure grace!

And this all happens because your Judge is also your Saviour!

This is how we glorify Christ the King! We live for him. We live out his heart within the needs around us. Jesus said, whatever you did for the least of his brothers and sisters, you did for him! We make his will visible, we show his heart and we allow the light of his dominion to become visible in this dark world. Then more people can believe that Christ the King, the Messiah, indeed reigns and that they too may believe in him and be saved through faith in him. People will begin to believe in Christ the King, when we act out our status as the sheep in the flock of Jesus

Prayer on the Feast of Christ the King!

2011-11-20T06:33:00.001+02:00

Almighty Christ, King of all!
Today, Lord, we celebrate your glorious victory. We gladly bring honour to you, Lord Jesus who has not only saved us from our sins by your cross and resurrection, but also ascended to the right hand of God. We rejoice that your Kingdom has come on earth, just as it is in heaven.

We bring honour to you, our Redeemer, whom we call Christ the King, who victoriously reigns now, and reigns forever. You, Lord, dealt with our every need, delivered us from every enemy, healed us from all sin, harm and injury and you are worshipped when heaven and earth bow down before you as Lord of all.

Yet, Lord everything promised has not happened on our earth yet! You are the King, and yet, your dominion is also still coming to us and to the world. We live in hope, and in faith that we truly heard the Word of God, that testifies that you will come again in glory to effect in the smallest detail, your glorious reign.

King Jesus, thank you that you not only bring salvation to us, but through your work through the ministry of your Church, also to the whole world, yes, to the ends of the earth. Your people accept the grace that you brings, and commit their lives to the power of the Holy Spirit who empowers your children and your Church to fulfil your commission to preach the gospel to everyone, now bring justice wherever we serve you and bring hope and light where darkness still hides your glorious reign and redemption.

Help us to live only for your honour, glory and reign. Help us to be obedient, by the power of your resurrection and of your Spirit. We know that nothing will separate us from the love of God that we received in Christ the King, our Lord and our Saviour!

We pray for all your servants, glorious Lord! For those who preach your word and for those who listen. Protect and guide all the missionaries sent to the ends of the earth to proclaim salvation in you. Guide them and bless their work for you. Call many more to do your work and make us obedient to your call.

In your mercy, heal the sick and comfort those who are weeping because they are sad. Set the captives free and grant relief to the poor. Sanctify those who are powerful and influential and humble those who are proud.
Bring to an end the kingdom of darkness and let your majesty shine as the light of the world. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us your peace.
And now, great King of kings and Lord of lords –
have mercy on us, and on all your people.
In your Name, Lord Jesus, we pray!
Amen.

Feast of Christ the King

2011-11-17T20:01:00.002+02:00

Feast of Christ the King

On Sunday 20 November 2011 the universal Church once again celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday of the Christian calendar or Christian year, as Sunday, 27 November 2011, marks the first Sunday of the new Christian year, when we observe First Advent Sunday, when amongst other things, we start the countdown to Christmas, then only 4 weeks away.

The Christian year ends celebrating Christ the King, in victory. We gladly bring honour to Jesus who has not only saved us from our sins by his cross and resurrection, but also ascended to the right hand of God. Our celebration of the glorious work of Jesus culminates in the great finale of the Celebration of Christ the King. We rejoice that his Kingdom has come on earth, just as it is in heaven.

Yes, we know that everything promised about the Kingdom of the Messiah has not yet happened on our earth. Yes, his Kingdom has come and, yes, he is the King and Head of the Church and, yes, he reigns in glory.

And yet, his dominion is also still coming to us and to the world. We still live in hope, and in faith that we truly heard the Word of God that testifies that he will also come again in glory to effect in the smallest detail, his glorious reign. But until he comes again, we celebrate his heavenly rule, and the coming of his dominion over everything and everyone and everywhere with great expectation, in faith and in the certain knowledge that even now he is the King of our hearts, of his Church and of every aspect of our lives.

On Sunday, 20 November 2011, this coming Sunday, we celebrate that Jesus of Nazareth, the eternal Son of God, has taken his place as King of kings and Lord of lords in our lives, our faith and our certain knowledge that he will bring justice and righteousness to us, to his people and to the whole world.

Christ’s people accept the grace that he brings, and commit their lives to the power of the Holy Spirit who empowers his children, and his Church, to fulfil the commission of Christ the King to preach the gospel to everyone, bring justice wherever we serve him and bring hope and light where darkness still hides the glorious reign and redemption of our Lord.

Doxology Hymn

2011-11-11T12:58:00.000+02:00

Doxology Hymn: Romans 11: 33 - 36

Oh depth of the riches - the wisdom of God;
How unsearchable is Gods judgments and paths.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, Amen.

Oh who has known the mind of our glorious God?
Or who has been his counsellor, yes, who is that wise?
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, Amen.

Does God owe anyone that it should be repaid?
For from Him and through Him, and to Him all things!
To Him be the glory for ever! Amen.

Celebrate Jesus – part 2 - final

2011-11-09T04:10:00.001+02:00

We believe that the Lord Jesus, anointed as God’s Messiah, came to us to set up, proclaim and make us one with the Kingdom of God. He is the Son of God, born as a man and now exalted in heaven as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Jesus is worth celebrating, simply because of who he is.

But we also celebrate Jesus for what he does for us and in our lives. What does he do?
1) Jesus loves us just as we are. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his son, his one and only son. And this is why: So that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” John 3:16(The Message) Jesus loved us even before we loved him. Paul writes in Rom 5: 8:“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.” (CEV)

2) Jesus forgives the wickedness of our past.
We read about a woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ … When they kept on questioning him, he said to them, ‘If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ … Jesus asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.” While others condemned the guilty woman, Jesus restored her. What Jesus does is to restore condemned sinners and give them the right to be called children of God.

3) Jesus also makes our lives new.
We believe that Jesus Christ, being for our offences crucified, dead, and buried, his body never saw corruption, but he was raised again on the third day. In his risen life, we live anew, and receive the fruit of his resurrection. In heaven he continually intercedes for us as the Head of the Church, where he is honoured as Lord over all.

Paul writes: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Jesus makes us new, even if we broke and destroyed ourselves.

It is time to celebrate Jesus for what he does for us! And the best way to celebrate him is to turn from our world conforming lives and embrace the new life he gives as a result of his cross and his victory.
Our transformation into his image celebrates Jesus for what he does and for who he is!

How can we honour one another?

2011-11-07T04:46:00.000+02:00

Romans 12: 10: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.”

How to honour one another.
Firstly we must honour God. He is worthy of our highest praise and deserves all honour. Listen to what the angels of heaven say and sing:
(Rev 5:12) "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!"

When we honour God in the way we speak to him and about him, we will find it easier to honour one another, made in the image of God.

How can we honour one another? First of all by recognising and encouraging one another for efforts or achievements. This means we are to give personal compliments face-to-face. This means we are to go out of our way to thank and praise each other.

Secondly we also honour others by associating with them, by spending time with them. Paul writes:
(Rom 12:16) Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
It is important that the church stands in sharp contrast to the world's values that usually honour the rich, the successful, the famous, and the beautiful.

Jesus showed this kind of honour to those of low position, even outcasts. Whom did Jesus spend time with while on this earth? Yes, he did eat fancy dinners at the homes of the rich and the powerful. But he also associated with tax collectors and sinners. He wasn't ashamed to be seen talking with a Samaritan woman. He allowed a prostitute to anoint his feet with perfume and to dry them with her hair. He honoured these people with his presence and company.

At stake here is spiritual maturity. At stake here is the depth of our conformity to Christ. At stake here is whether or not we live as one of God's children.

What is true worship?

2011-11-05T03:36:00.002+02:00

Worship in Truth and Spirit.
John 4:24: God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

What is true worship? The many churches around us do many different things, and they all are calling it worship.
Some churches observe a great deal of formality and ritual. Things are always done exactly the same way without any deviation.
Other churches have no printed order, although everyone has unwritten orders or practices. When informal and unexpected things happen, they are not considered disruptions in “informal” churches.

There are many styles and customs. Are some right and others wrong? The truth is that any style or tradition or custom or order can be done rightly or wrongly, because the customs we observe are but outwardly practices that either help us to worship God, or distract our minds from God. To worship God in truth and Sprit has nothing to do with style, yet it has everything to do with the worshipper.

Because praise, worship and the communion of believers are all God’s idea and should not in the first place be about our preferences. We need to seek what the Lord says about worship and seek to understand what God expects.

When reading the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments, we see that God commands praise and worship, created us to worship him and that praise and worship are not two separate acts, but one act that brings praise to the Lord as grateful believers who worship because we received God’s grace and mercy. For example, in Psalm 150 we hear over and over the command to "praise the Lord!"
Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise the Lord!

As God did since the beginning of mankind, he still commands us to praise him. God is saying to us as his Church today: Honour and praise me, by worshipping me!

And Gods does not command this because of himself or any need he may have for our worship. He commands it, because we need to worship him. We cannot be changed, restored, equipped or empowered without worshipping our Maker, our Saviour, our Redeemer!

God commands us to worship, because our worship does something for us.
Without fellowship with God we are on our own – and we need God to have a life filled with meaning, purpose and joy.
Through worship we are healed and encouraged to live for the Lord.
Worship turns our hearts of stone into hearts filled with love and compassion for our neighbour.
Worship binds us with our Church family and turns a lonely journey into a life supported by love, empathy and recognition as someone who lives in God’s community.

Style, custom and tradition has very little to do with worshipping in truth and in Spirit. These may sometimes even distract us from focusing on God, if it becomes self-gratifying and people pleasing instead of focused on our God whom we worship. But if we come as needy people to be received by the King of all, and as we worship him, our broken relationships with the Lord, his community and our friends in Christ are reinstated. This glorifies God and testifies about our complete dependence on him. And it keeps us in the fold, and responds to our need for God and his church!

This we will get right when we remember that all the cultural, material actions we use to accomplish it, are mere aids to do the right thing. We will really only get it right when we worship in Spirit and truth, because God is Spirit! And we need God, who comes to us in Christ Jesus, to live and to die comforted and with true joy.

Celebrate Jesus – part 1

2011-11-02T03:34:00.001+02:00

Celebrate Jesus simply for who he is.
During this short series of Midweek Devotions we will also learn to celebrate Jesus for what he does, for changing our lives, and for his exaltation at God’s right hand.

But, let’s start at the beginning. We first of all should celebrate Jesus just because of who he is. Do we really realise who Jesus is? And if we do, is it not enough reason to spend all of our days celebrating him? Jesus is God, and we should celebrate that.

1) He is an earthly picture of our heavenly Father.
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.”Colossians 1:15 (New Living Translation)
Jesus came to show us what God is like, to learn about the love, grace, mercy, kindness, holiness, justice and many other attributes of God. Jesus said “To see me is to see the Father.” John 14:9 (The Message). Jesus acted out, as a human being, who God truly is, that we may know, enjoy and glorify God always.

2)Jesus is the path to God.
Jesus is the only way for human beings to connect with God. “Jesus said, ‘I am the road, also the truth, also the life. No one gets to the Father apart from me.” John 14:6 (The Message) When we get lost, Jesus is the road to the Father, when we are confused, Jesus is the truth that shows us what really makes sense in life. He shows us how to get a life. The unbelieving world has a completely different way of understanding how to get a life.
Yet, when we come to Jesus we are set free from our wickedness and we can get a life, and one that never ends, not even after we died!

3) Jesus is the friend of those who follow him.
“Greater love has no one that this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves…… But I have called you friends.” John 15:13-15

We believe that the Lord, anointed as God’s Messiah because he is one with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, came to us to set up and proclaim the Kingdom of God amongst us. He did this by his perfect life, through words and deeds of grace, and ultimately by his death on the cross. He rose triumphantly in order to save us. He sacrificed himself, perfect and unblemished, to be our Saviour, Redeemer and Mediator!
Jesus is worth celebrating, simply because of who he is.

Doxology

2011-10-31T07:04:00.002+02:00

Romans 11: 33- 36
Doxology
(or Song of Praise to glorify God)

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

We need to change - part 3 - last part

2011-10-26T05:09:00.001+02:00

We believe that we have to change to be happy. The Bible, specifically in Rom 12: 1 and 2, urges us to change our minds in order to become what God desires us to be.

There is a process by which we are changed to become more like Christ. It is the process of being transformed. What we are taught in Rom 12, is a change of our minds that changes our nature. It is much more than an outward change. It is so radical that people would not be able to tell that we actually are the same people we used to be.

As my mind is renewed, my inner self changes. It is the person inside me that becomes more like Christ, because our thinking is trained to think along the lines of God’s ideas. We are told in Philippians: 4 to think about such things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

These we can only do by studying and contemplating the Word of God. We must seek out every opportunity to read and hear God’s Word. As we read and hear it taught, we are to respond to the challenge of being changed to the ways God thinks about life and by being obedient to that Word.

Rom 12: 1 & 2 says that the test whether we are changed by God Word, is that we come to a place where we not only know the will of God, but begin to live according to it. Paul says: “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom12: 2c)

A renewed person delights in knowing and doing the Word of God. Only a transformed mind can test the will of God, to prove that it is good, pleasing, and perfect.

The will of God is good. God only asks us to do that which is good for us.
The will of God is pleasing. It pleases God and will in the end please us. This is because it will result in a relationship with God which secures his blessing of us.
The will of God is perfect. God wants the best for us. His will is completely what we need in order walk with the Lord, work for the Lord and make a difference in the world for the Lord.

If you are a Christian, are you completely his? Have you surrendered to his will and Word?
Someone wrote that we must be careful not to develop the kind of Church we are the home of the 1% tithe and the thirty minute service with sermonettes for Christianettes. Or where our commitment is that instead of "Standing on the Promises" we are merely “sitting on the premises”.
This is not what God has in mind for me and you.

God wants everything. He wants our lives, our time, our abilities and resources, our jobs, our leisure, our families and marriages, our homes and our hobbies! Because God wants to change our minds and transforms us till we think like him and live for him in imitation of him in every aspect of life.

Do not be conformed — be transformed.
Come to Christ for a change.

What if you were as small as an insect?

2011-10-24T06:41:00.000+02:00

If you were as small as an insect, it would give you a different view of everything in the world. A field of grass would turn into an extraordinarily tall forest and a stone or brick would be a soaring steeple. It would certainly be your reality, but, and this is important, only a reality from your perspective as being one of the smallest creatures around. The lion would have a totally different view of the grass and the brick! Your reality is not always real – it is not always the true reality.

Our perception of reality changes, because it is based on our subjective perspective. Our reality often is nothing more than our personal view. But it may not be the whole truth. There is a difference between wat is true for me, and what is The Truth!

It is, for example, my perspective that I am a sinner. But The Truth is that I am a sinner saved by grace. I know that my best works are nothing but filthy rags before God. But The Truth is that I am clothed in Christ's righteousness. Christ is my righteousness, and I stand complete in Him.

It know that I am defeated from time to time and I know that I fall short of a victorious life. But, although this is true, The Truth is that I overcome in Christ and am able to do everything in and through Christ who gives me strength.

It is true that at times I do not feel saved. But The Truth is that my salvation is not dependent on my feelings. While it is true that I do not feel saved, The Truth is that I am saved in and through Christ Jesus.

A special Christian friend is a God-given treasure

2011-10-21T11:28:00.001+02:00

Christian friends are closely supportive of one another on a spiritual, emotional and practical level. Both giving and receiving in a fair and balanced way, between genuine Christian friends, makes it a most special and even godly relationship.

Christian friendships between equals are quite different from friendships where one of the friends is a mentor of a brand new or young Christian. It is a mutually beneficent relationship within Christ’s community on earth.

Christian friendship between equals do not come about in an instant or happen overnight. They develop over a long period of time as trust grows, sensitive matters are shared and prayed about together. It develops while both friends progress in knowledge of Christ and in spiritual understanding. A strong Christian friendship flourishes of course when two friends grow together in faith, goodness, knowledge, and other saintly gifts and experiences.

A good Christian friend is a treasure to be grateful for, one could even say, it is a special gift from the Lord. Care for your Christian friend, pray for him/her, and most of all, in being a saintly friend, you cultivate and secure lifelong support and joy!

We need to change - part 2

2011-10-19T05:10:00.000+02:00

We believe that we have to change to be happy. But then we are afraid of change, because it brings uncertainty. The Bible, specifically in Rom 12, urges us to change our minds in order to become what God desires us to be.

Rom 12: 1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy… We are sinners both by nature and choice. In spite of this God loves us and sent Jesus to die for us to set us free from sin and its consequences. By great mercy the Lord saved us through the gift of faith. So we cannot take God’s mercy and saving grace for granted. We must allow God’s work in us to change us according to God’s will. The awesome mercy we received in salvation should urge us to remember our real priorities in life.

Rom 12: 1 –“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” We are urged to present the lives lived in this body not to the desires within us, which wage war against the life of the Spirit. No, we need to offer our regular daily lives to God as sacrifices of thanksgiving for his mercy. In doing so, we commit our bodies to God and yield them into his control.

God wants our lives. He has said that it is pleasing to him if we live our lives in his honour. God calls it a holy sacrifice to him.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "When Christ calls someone, he bids him/her to come and die." You cannot experience resurrection life until you experienced the death of having your own mind about everything. We cannot cultivate the Christian life before we sanctified our thinking and living. This is called our spiritual act of worship. It is true worship. It implies radical change that impacts on everything we do! It changes our minds not only about the priorities in daily living, but also about the very things we choose to do.

According to our nature, you may not know or want to study the Bible. And knowing truth does not always change our minds to godly thinking and doing! Thoughts of Jesus and his sacrifice may bring tears to your eyes, or you may be brought to tears by Christian songs. Yet, tears do not change our minds or lives. God’s Word does! The Spirit does.

To sacrifice your life to God, you have to let go of control of your life to the Holy Spirit. And the only way we can tell if we do this, is to be examined in the light of the Word of God. Our challenge is to yield to God and allow him to live in and through us and to change our minds and in this manner, to change our lives to living sacrifices that brings glory and honour to God.

May God bless, protect and preserve us until his Kingdom comes in perfect glory.

True, lasting friendship

2011-10-17T05:08:00.001+02:00

John 15: 13 "Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends”, Jesus said.
A true friend is someone with whom we enjoy mutual affection, interests and respect. The best friends are those who help when we are in trouble and who are our advocates when we need that someone gives more than expected and does not insist on receiving.

Jesus said: "Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” Christ’s friendship is based on his sacrificial love on the cross and giving holy direction through the complete revelation of his will for our lives.

All important love relationships find their model and standard from the friendship Jesus offers us. Joyful marriages, healthy families and successful congregations are founded on the love that friends share with each other. This love is expressed in noble sacrificial giving and helpfulness that overcomes adversary. Such a friendship leads to open communication, complete truthfulness and faithfulness, kind and unselfish counsel without a hidden agenda, and a great union of minds, ideas, dreams and goals of which brave men and women are capable.

Jesus knew that the best kind of friendships would evolve between friends who share the gift of friendship with him, as Jesus shares a divine friendship with his Father. Nothing is more exciting than when we share the satisfaction that I and my friend both are in close communication with the Lord Jesus. Friendship is enhanced when we share mutual activities that contribute to the expansion of the kingdom of God and the revelation of his holiness and love. Without Jesus at the centre of friendship, it either will fail, or cause us to put people above our devotion to God which both lead to hurt and emotional pain.

A friend is someone who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is sacred. It is one who understands our silences and gives lot of sympathy and empathy without giving judgment - and whose closeness provides true joy.

Your real friend is the one who comes to you, when the rest of the world leaves you.
Such a Friend Jesus is to those who love and follow him.

THE SCOTTISH FUN FAIR in Centurion, SA

2011-10-14T07:54:00.001+02:00

THE SCOTTISH FUN FAIR.
presented by the Centurion West Presbyterian Church.

29 October, 10:00 – 16:00. At 186 Aletta Ave, Raslouw, Centurion.
GPS: S25° 52.031 E028° 07.926

It is a family day with a Super Kiddies Packet of Fun,
the “My favourite things Coffee Shoppe”,
Burger and Braai Restaurant,
a Flea Market,
Art
a variety of Eats, Treats, Entertainment, Pipes, Music, Fun!!
Seedlings and plants for your Summer garden.
A 32in flat screen TV with surround sound will be raffled on the day at R25 per ticket.
Bring the family for a day of relaxed entertainment!

The Kiddies Packet of fun at R70 includes unlimited participation for the whole day in:
Jumping castles
Sword making, face painting, wearing kilts
Clown and balloon modelling
Games and prises
playing and having fun
and lots more.
1 pony ride is also included.

Please tell family, friends and colleagues!
See you in Little Scotland on 29 October 2011!

We need to change

2011-10-12T06:17:00.001+02:00

We need to change.
The media put a message out that if we do not change, we will not be happy and will miss out on lots of fun and happiness. So we desire to change, because we are told that if we are slimmer, tanner, fashionably dressed, stylish, better looking, go to a different bank, have more debt, support another chain store or are better perfumed, we will be happier and more satisfied. The propaganda is put out, and we often believe it. To change our situation for the better is a desire we all have. So we desire change that will satisfy our needs.

But then we are also afraid of change. The uncertainties that change may bring, let us hold onto the status quo, not because it gives us what we desire, but because it makes us feel safe and secure. Perhaps we fear that change will make us even more unhappy than the status quo.

But we live in a dynamic world which requires us to change in order to survive and keep up with the demands made to us. We cannot keep making the same mistakes and we cannot continue with behaviour that causes us and others to suffer or be hurt.

The Gospel is all about our need to change. But the change God requires is much more than a miracle cream or perfect product or a new car or lifestyle. The Bible gives us a recipe for change that will surprise us, because it tells us that only if the very way we think and the way we are willing to sacrifice our own ideas and desires, will bring us to a place where we will be able to test what the will of God is, and that having our minds thus changed about life, and death, will bring us to a good and pleasing place.

Carefully read what Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (changed) by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Over the next 2 or three weeks we will consider this teaching in Romans 12.
But lets say it upfront: The most important change we need is to stop conforming to the ideas and propaganda of the world, to change our mind, and seek to have a mind that thinks like God thinks about our lives.

What’s in a name, Christian?

2011-10-09T23:10:00.001+02:00

And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. (Acts 11:26c).
So, what’s in a name?

We are Christians because we belong to Christ and therefore we are named after him. We are members of his party. We are his followers. We love the Lord Jesus Christ. So, we are called Christians. We are called Christians because we are called to take after Christ, to show his character and to make him known by the words we speak and the lives we live.

Who is Christ? He has many names in Scripture. And all these names reflect his character, his nature and his calling.

In Isaiah 9: 6 it says of the Messiah (Hebrew for Christ) that "His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." The names of our Lord, the Christ of God, abound in Scripture.
He is called the Second Adam, the Alpha and Omega, the Ancient of Days, the Amen, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, the Blessed and Only Emperor, the Captain of our Salvation, the Chief Shepherd, the Cornerstone. He is the Dayspring, the Desire of the Nations, the Faithful Witness, the First and the Last. He is our Great High Priest, the Holy One of God. He is the Great I Am, the Judge of Israel, the King of the Jews, the King of Saints, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the Lord of Glory and he is the Light of the World. He is the Messiah, the Mediator between God and Man, the Man of sorrows, yet, the Mighty God. He is the Prince of Peace, the Resurrection and the Life, the Rock of our Salvation, the Root of David, the Saviour of the World. He is the Great Shepherd, the Son of Righteousness, the Son of man, and the Son of God. He is the True Vine, the Truth, the Witness, and the Word of God. He is the Lamb of God, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
This is who Christ is. What’s in a name? There is much in a name. These names in the Scriptures were symbolic. It spoke about the character, nature and calling of Christ.

And the name “Christian” speaks of the character and calling of his followers!

Might the Lord by revealing all of this, be saying to us, "Christian, change your life or change your name?"

TO FAST OR NOT TO FAST

2011-10-07T06:56:00.001+02:00

TO FAST OR NOT TO FAST
or, do not decide to fast, too fast…

Do we or do we not have to fast? Jesus never commanded fasting, but he did speak of it as an existing custom. He approved of it, although his disciples did not fast during his stay on earth. But they fasted after he left them to go to heaven. Fasting usually is combined with prayer.

What is Fasting?
To put it simply, fasting is abstinence from anything legitimate for the sake of some special spiritual purpose. Normally, fasting is an abstinence from food, but it could be any other useful activity. Remember what young Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar? Daniel and his three friends abstained from the royal food and wine and limited themselves to vegetables and water (Dan 1:8-14).

Jesus never commanded fasting, but he did approve of it. Jesus fasted for 40 days before he entered his ministry. He found it important in order to prepare for God’s work he would do. Should we then not benefit from it as well?

But if we do it, we never do it out of a sense of duty or obligation. It is not something we do because someone tells us to do it. It is something we want to do, freely, of our own will. It should be spontaneous, something that arises from our heart.

An example of fasting.
I have to mention Nineveh. A reluctant Jonah announced that Nineveh had forty days to repent or it would be destroyed. Remember what happened? The result was nothing short of amazing:

(Jonah 3:5-9) The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. (6) When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. (7) Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. (8) But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. (9) Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."

I am having an awfully hard time trying to imagine this kind of response in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban. But we most probably need it as desperately as Nineveh did.

Purpose of Fasting
Fasting comes under the general heading of discipline. Are we able to discipline ourselves to the point where we can say "No" to bodily appetites and desires? Is our stomach our God? Or, is our God the Lord almighty? That's the question. Are we able to control our cravings or do they control us? Remember what Jesus said: (Mt 16:24) "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Fasting in the Bible was always combined with prayer. What it comes down to is that fasting aids or helps or assists our prayer life. It seems that when the stomach is full, the body and mind are less able to concentrate on spiritual things. Fasting actually expresses a hunger for God. We abstain from food and other things so we can better concentrate on God and the things of God.

Fasting is also an expression of sorrow for sin. That was certainly the case with Nineveh, David, and others. Those who sin want to fast as a sign of their repentance. They want to show outwardly the inner sorrow and grief that they feel.

Fasting is also a sign of our unworthiness. It is a sign that we deserve nothing, not even the food we eat, the water we drink, or the air we breathe. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God that made us! It suits us then to humble ourselves before God to confess our national sins, and to pray for mercy and forgiveness.

Fasting may sometimes be the vehicle to express our emotional pain to God. (Think of Job – for example chapter 42) It is to wrestle with God, because we have unanswered questions about our life and the pain that is part of it.

The Manner of Fasting
The Pharisees boasted that they fasted twice a week. And, so that all would know they were fasting, they would wear old clothes and wouldn't wash their face or anoint themselves with oil or perfume. Jesus advised: Don't be like the Pharisees when you fast. Act natural. It is a very personal matter between you and God and should come from your heart, your soul, your spirit. It must be personal, sincere and authentic.

Fasting is about something between you and God. He who sees the heart will bless you and answer you!!

Living in the Body of Christ – part 5 - Our goal

2011-10-05T02:16:00.000+02:00

Living in the Body of Christ – part 5 - Our goal
...causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephes. 4:16c)
The common goal in the Body of Christ is the growth of the body. As each one does his individual part, it causes the growth of the body as a whole. The Body is responsible for the building up of itself in love as it ministers to each member.

God has decided that this growth occurs as a result of living in community. He put us together in a spiritual body of believers where we learn to be more like him every day. He has given leaders, servants of the Head, to equip us for ministry. He has called us to be one in the faith and to mature to be like Christ. He has called us to work together in community in order to be his Body.

Do you understand the implication of being in the Body? We are a community of God's people who have been brought into a living union with God and with one another. We need one another in order to grow and to help the Body to grow.

Watchman Nee said, “Yet just what kind of a man is he who perceives the Body? He is a person who seeks for fellowship, who fears that he himself may be wrong, and who dare not work independently. Such is the person who has discerned the Body.”

We work together, to grow together, to love Jesus and bear the fruit of the Spirit for every one’s benefit. That is what Body Life is all about. Have you started to live the Body Life yet?

Prayer: O Lord, through your grace and mercy I see not only the Body – but that I am part of this glorious plan to do your work. Make me diligent, loving and serving as I experience the Body Life, depending only on you. Amen.

The danger of thanklessness

2011-10-03T02:51:00.001+02:00

Paul and Barnabas were preaching the Good News of Christ in the city of Lystra. In their audience was "a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked" (Acts 14: 8). Paul was used by the Lord to heal this man.

The crowds were excited and surprised by this miracle. They proclaimed Paul and Barnabas to be the Greek gods Hermes and Zeus – for who but the gods could do such a wondrous thing as heal a man lame since birth, they thought!

How many times do we, like the people of Lystra, thank the wrong person? We do that every time we give any man, including ourselves credit, instead of thanking God for his blessings.

Paul then states that the healing of the lame man points to the only living God. He tells the crowd that the healing of the lame man is only one testimony among many to the one and only true God. The healing of the lame man, just as the making of the vast Creation (Act 14:15) – as well as the revelation of Jesus Christ, point to God only. When the people of Lystra heard the Gospel and saw the healing of the lame man and saw God’s works in the vast Creation, they should have "turned to the living God" with gratefulness and in faith. (vs 15 - 18).

God is good. He does only good. Did you know that God has provided more than enough food to feed everyone in the world? But he uses us to feed them. We never have to fear that God will forget to provide in the smallest detail of our lives. What we must fear is that our pride and selfishness might get in God’s way.

What we must fear is that we do not give ourselves back to God in gratefulness and love, when we see his mercies and wonders. What we must fear is that we do not distribute what God has provided, because we thanklessly do not give credit to God for his gifts and provision, but take the credit ourselves or give it to the wrong person.
The result of this always is thanklessness and not giving glory and sacrificial love to the Lord who provides, leading to turning away from the only God who provides.

God be with you

2011-09-29T20:04:00.001+02:00

God be with you till we meet again;
Neath his wings protecting hide you;
Daily manna still provide you;
God be with you till we meet again.
Till we meet, till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus’ feet;
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.

Living in the Body of Christ – part 4 - Our work

2011-09-28T03:01:00.000+02:00

...from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part... (Ephes. 4:16a-b)

Each part of a body has a function to perform. The Body of Christ is not a lot of loose parts in a pile. The Body of Christ is composed of parts that are being fitted and held together.

Just as in our human body where each bone is connected to another bone by a joint, so there are joints which connect the members of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is held together by that which every joint supplies. And what is that? The “that” which every joint supplies is ministry. It is “the work of service” referred to in verse 12 of this chapter. The proper working of each individual part is the Christian work we do for one another. It is at this point of ministry or service where we are joined.

And it is the proper working of all of these unique parts which is essential. In the Body of Christ each part is employed, by first of all surrendering to Jesus. We must work together under the leadership of our risen Lord. And we must take our responsibility to be faithful in using our gifts with love and doing God’s work to the benefit of all, seriously. Otherwise the Body cannot be held together.

Each of us received a gift and a task from the Holy Spirit. There are lists of gifts in Scripture. There are for example gifts of service, teaching, praise, giving, leading, and showing mercy mentioned in Romans 12. There is another list in 1 Corinthians 12. And Eph 4 calls leaders, people such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers also gifts to the church.

Have you discovered your gift? Are you using it in the church to touch someone else's need. Remember, a gift is given to flow from God through you to someone's need. It is “that” service in love that holds us together in doing God’s work well.

Prayer: Take my gift Lord and glue me through service to you, my Head and to every part, every person, in your glorious work. Amen.

Two not so perfect sons!

2011-09-26T03:16:00.002+02:00

Jesus once told the temple’s leadership a parable. (See Mat 21: 23 – 34) And the parable is this. There is a dad who has work that he needs done on his farm and he asks his two sons to go to the vineyard and do the work. One son is stubborn and disobedient and says no to his father, but then later he finds himself able to go and goes into the vineyard and does what his father asks. The other son tells his dad that he is going to do what he asks, but then he doesn’t go. He never did the work.

Jesus asked the leadership of the temple which one did what the dad asked them to do. The answer is obvious. Actions speak louder than words and what matters more than what you say you are going to do, is what you in fact do in the end.

The son who said no to his father changed his mind because of guilt. His conscience was working overtime until he decided to do the right thing. Perhaps he was being disobedient to his father, because he wanted to make a point, and in the end realised that his disobedience was wrong.

And then there is the son who said that he would do the work, and didn’t. Did he say yes without thinking whether he really could or wanted to do it? Did he forget? Did something come up that kept him from going? When looking at this son we realise that intentions don’t really matter as much as practically doing the right things.

Jesus identifies the one who said no with the tax collectors and the prostitutes; he identifies this son with the lost. These are the people who made bad decisions early in their lives and went in the wrong direction, but later repented. They realized they were heading in the wrong direction and turned around. They came back and followed Christ.

Jesus is looking at the leaders of the temple as people who started their lives in the right direction, but then were sidetracked and ended up not following where God had led.

Many of us said yes to God early in our lives. Are we going to follow through with what we promised to do? Are we going to remain faithful to God and go where he sends us or are we going to turn away from God’s call on our lives?

Or are we going to take a third way. The best way. This third way would be a son who says yes to his father and then follows through with it. I believe that if the Church was full of people following this third way, the Church would be able to do God’s work according to God’s way and desire.

Do we respond when Jesus calls? Do we follow through with our promises to him?
When we asked Jesus to be our Saviour and Lord, we have promised ourselves to him. Are we living the way we said we would?
Are we doing the work we promised to do?
We said yes to our God.
Are we now ready to follow through and align our lives with our promises and words?

When our minds are changed

2011-09-24T06:35:00.001+02:00

Romans 8: 5- 7: Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

Paul speaks about the contrast between the natural, sinful mind of man and a mind that has been transformed by the Spirit of God.

One of the works of the Holy Spirit in our lives, is the work of “changing our minds” for us, for we would normally resist change, above all change that will require us to use more energy to create life and peace in God’s work.
The natural mind focuses on physical, material and selfish concerns. There may be thoughts about God, but even that will be thoughts about how to approach God on our own terms. Generally, however, the natural mind is filled with thoughts that centre on ways to gratify itself.

But, what a change we see in the lives of those who have their minds set on what the Spirit wants! While they still fail God, they focus on God and this focus gives them daily direction in all they do. They love God and all the things that relate to him. They love his Word, his people, his worship. The Spirit of God redirects the thinking of those redeemed by the blood of Jesus. The Spirit changes our minds about God and about ourselves. “We” are not the focus point anymore – but the focus is on the life and peace the Spirit desires for us.

The result is that the focus of Spirit filled minds are changed. They find themselves drawn away from the things which only please their desires. What we cannot produce by ourselves, the Holy Spirit does produce in us! The believer finds that he/she can live a life that is pleasing to the Lord and that he can do things that are useful and blessed within the faith community, in his/her family and all the other aspects of his/her life.

The flesh is strong, but the Spirit of God within us is stronger.
We may be hard headed, one track minded and confused, but the Sprit makes us soft hearted, God minded and focussed on the desires of the Spirit for our lives!
What a Saviour and what an amazing salvation we received!!

Living in the Body of Christ – part 3 Our uniqueness

2011-09-21T05:48:00.001+02:00

...that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part... (Ephesians 4:16b)

Christ is the head of the Body, but the Body is composed of many unique parts. We are unique as members of the Body of Christ. The emphasis on every joint and each individual part is something we need to see and celebrate. The Body of Christ is compared to a human body composed of many unique parts. Each part is different, yet each works together with the other parts in a harmony of life. Some parts of the body are not more prominent than others. All are important. In fact, all the parts are needed.

The Lord makes us part of the Body just as we are. Our personality does not change. Our talents he wants to use, whatever they may be. He gives us gifts to work for him that suits our uniqueness. And we all are important in his work.

We read in 1 Corinthians 12:14-21, “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, `Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, `I have no need of you; or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.“

There is individuality in the Body of Christ. God has made us different, not to be independent of others, but that we can work better together. God has given us all different gifts and ministries. He has not done this so that we are put on a pedestal above others, but that we all together could do his work better.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I need to determine what my unique position as part of the Body Life is and in doing so find my true identity in your work. Show me who I am in your Body, dear Lord. Amen.

The wide and the narrow roads

2011-09-19T02:48:00.001+02:00

Mat 7: 13 – 14: 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Jesus tells us two things about the wide and broad gate and road. Firstly he said, "many enter through it." The wide gate and broad road is popular. The majority of people prefer it over the small gate and narrow road. Secondly, Jesus warns us that the broad road "leads to destruction." The road to hell, says Jesus, is broad, straight, smooth and trendy. It is really easy to go to hell. And people naturally choose this road for themselves – to follow the crowds, to take the easy way of least résistance that leads to hell.

Jesus also tells us two things about the small and narrow gate and road. Firstly he said that "only a few find it." The narrow road is not popular. Many people never find it. Secondly, Jesus tells us that the narrow road "leads to life." Everlasting life, that is. Life forever with God, he speaks about.

Jesus reminds us that the road to heaven is not the easy or the natural way for our lost mankind and society. To travel the narrow road requires sacrifice, commitment, a life of service, a constant struggle against sin, a constant evaluation of priorities.
The afterlife is very important to consider. We need to make sure we are walking on the right road.

Jesus also said “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Who travels on the narrow way called Jesus, travels a road where we carry our daily cross in sacrificial service of our Lord. And this way, the Jesus-way, leads to heaven!

in Afrikaans: Die risiko om weg te val uit die genade.

2011-09-16T04:33:00.002+02:00

Jesus het ons gewaarsku dat soos die lewe al meer uitdagend, moeilik, besig, gevaarlik en teleurstellend raak, sal die opregtheid van die gelowiges se verhouding met God ook meer en meer getoets word. Baie val weg uit die genade, omdat dit vir hulle al hoe moeiliker word om die Here prakties en konsekwent met oorgawe te dien.

Jesus sê self Mat 24: 12 – 14: En omdat die ongeregtigheid vermeerder word, sal die liefde van die meeste verkoel. Maar wie volhard tot die einde toe, hy sal gered word. En hierdie evangelie van die koninkryk sal verkondig word in die hele wêreld tot 'n getuienis vir al die nasies; en dan sal die einde kom.

In hierdie eindtyd is daar gelukkig ook, volgens Christus se woorde, nie net diegene wat wegval uit die genade nie, maar ook baie wat gewen word vir ‘n volle toewyding aan die Here en sy werk.

Sommige probeer om elders ’n antwoord op lewens uitdagings te vind, en elkeen wat net ‘n oppervlakkige verhouding met Christus het, sal weggaan uit sy diens en aanbidding om op ’n ander plek ‘n “makliker” taak en makliker “evangelie” te probeer vind.

Maar daar is ook opregte gelowiges wat besef dat toegewyde oorgawe aan Christus die enigste pad vir ons is! Opposisie van die lewe in die Liggaam van Christus motiveer selfs sommige om met groter oorgawe deel te word van ‘n geloofsgemeenskap wat God onvoorwaardelik op sy Woord neem! So sal teenstand teen die Evangelie sommige se geloof opbou en ander se halfhartige oorgawe finaal tot niet maak.

As jy sedert vanjaar begin het, weggestap het van Christus se gemeente, omdat dit te moeilik en uitdagend vir jou geword het – en die persoonlike opoffering teveel geword het – kom maar liewer terug voordat jy alles verloor; veral jou roeping, jou liefdesdiens aan Christus en jou persoonlike groei as sy dissipel. Daar is nie meer baie tyd oor om die geestelike mislukkings van 2011 reg te stel nie. En die koms van die Here, is naby!

Mag jy geseënd wees wanneer jy terugkom om in die verloste Liggaam van Christus te leef en jy Hom dien met jou hele hart begin dien.

Stuur asb. biddend aan vriende en familie wat te moeg geword het vir die uitdagings om Jesus 100% te volg en makliker uitdagings en uitweë gekies het.!

Living in the Body of Christ – part 2: Our Source

2011-09-14T03:11:00.001+02:00

Ephes. 4:15b: ...we are to grow up in all aspects into him, who is the head, even Christ.

The Body in which we live has a Head. Someone is in charge. Who is it? If someone who knows nothing about Christianity would ask us, “Take me to your leader,” where would you take them? I hope you wouldn't take him to your minister. The true head of the church is not the pastor, nor is it any other person or council. The head of the church is Jesus Christ. He is the one who should be in charge. The Body of Christ belongs to Christ!

And as the Head of the Body, he is the source of its life. It is because of Christ that we are in the Body. The Bible says “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ is to be everything for us. 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 reads, “But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” The focus is Christ!

Do you need wisdom? Christ has become your wisdom. Do you need righteousness? Christ has become your righteousness. Do you need sanctification? Christ has become your sanctification. Do you need redemption? Christ has become your redemption. Whatever you need, Christ is it! He is our source. He is our life. He is our focus. And he is the head of the Body.

The practical implication of this headship is that Christ is our Lord. He is the one in charge. In physical bodies where the head is not in charge, we have a physical problem. In churches where Christ is not in charge, we have a spiritual problem. It doesn't matter who or what we have replaced Christ with, whether a person, session, board, committee, or congregation; if the Head of the Church is not in charge, we are out of his will. The Body of Christ is to be led by Christ.

Prayer: Lord, if I ever thought that I could dictate to your Church what its focus or priority should be, I now submit in faith and gratefulness to my Head, the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Jesus said: Remember Me

2011-09-12T04:15:00.000+02:00

Luke 22: 19 "Do this in remembrance of me."
This is a command. It is amazing that Jesus commands us to "remember" him as if it were even possible for us to forget him and his cross. How can we possibly forget him who died for us and rose for us? How can we possibly forget him who redeemed us and saved us? How can we possibly forget him who changed us and planted new life in us?

Yet, we do forget. We so easily forget the centrality of Jesus to our faith. We so easily forget that the message of the cross and the grave lies at the centre of our faith. We so easily forget that Christ is our only hope and our only comfort in life and in death. We so easily forget that Christ is the only way to the Father's throne. We so easily think other things are more important than his cross and resurrection. We so easily become distracted from the first things. We let issues and work and family problems and things push Jesus and the Gospel aside. It is so easy for our hearts to wander away from Jesus because our hearts are prone to wander.

"Do this in remembrance of me." Our Lord Jesus has given us a way to always remember him. He has made provision that we never will forget the cross. He has given us the Lord's Supper to celebrate.
So, yesterday we came to do what Jesus commanded. We came to remember. We came not to forget.
And the Lord blessed us graciously.

Holy Communion

2011-09-09T05:30:00.000+02:00

My Lord, your Table now is spread,
your cup with love does overflow;
may all your children now be blessed,
and let them your sweet mercies know.
Drawn by the cross, your grace, dear Lord,
with grateful hearts before you bow.

Living in the Body of Christ - part 1

2011-09-07T05:32:00.000+02:00

Ephesians 4:15b-16: ...we are to grow up in all aspects into him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

I think everyone knows that the Church of the Lord is not a building. But the church is not simply a couple of people either. Most rooms full of people may just be a crowd. And if the room is full of Christian people, it may simply be a Christian crowd, it may not be a church or The Church.

The most important thing about the Church is that it consists of people who choose to live in the Body of Christ. The Church is a living organism, composed of Christ and his people who are organised for the Lord’s work on earth. This image of us becoming part of a living body reflects how the church ought to function and that I ought to find my place in it.

This means that we do not go to Church - we go to be the Church, because we are the Church.
The Church we are, is the Body of Christ.
Being part of the Church, means that I live in the Body of Christ.
You therefore cannot claim to be part of the Body of Christ, if you choose to live outside the Body of Christ.

We are told in 1 Corinthians 11:29 that some people fail to “discern” the Lord's Body. This is found in a section concerning the Lord's Supper. There Paul is dealing with disharmony in the church when they celebrated the Lord's Supper. Some were “doing their own thing” when the congregation celebrated Communion, failing to recognize that they were part of the fellowship of believers under the Head, Jesus. So they did not take the time to get right with God and with one another, and as a result of this they failed to recognize the Body of Christ.
They failed to live by the principle of the Body of Christ.

The term “Body of Christ” is a picture. It is a graphic illustration of how the church is to work, and therefore how we are to live. It provides the principle for living our lives as God’s children. Consequently, it is of great importance that we learn to understand what Body Life is all about. In a five part series we are now embarking on a journey of learning how to live in the Body. How to truly be a member of the Church.

Prayer: Lord, I need to know how to live as part of your Body. I desire to find my place and function as part of this holy Body. Let your Spirit teach me who I am within your Church. Amen.

No working on the Lord’s Day

2011-09-05T04:37:00.001+02:00

Deut 5: 12 – 15 No working on the Lord’s Day; keep it holy just as God, your God, commanded you. Work six days, doing everything you have to do, but the seventh day is a Day of Rest… Don't ever forget that you were slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there in a powerful show of strength. That's why God, your God, commands you to observe the Day of the Lord and rest. (The Message)

We too have been delivered from slavery. Sin and evil are cruel slave owners that cause hardship, addiction, pain and suffering. Yet, when Jesus died and rose, God said about his people, about you and me: “Let my people go!” We too have been set free to serve God by our Lord’s powerful show of strength. We too need to obey God’s command to enjoy our freedom in Christ that enables us to worship, praise and serve our God with joy and to find rest in his salvation.

This Commandment of God comes into conflict with our culture, but keeping God’s commandments is the one way we certainly can show our love for the Lord. The commandment about the Lord’ Day is no exception.

It instructs us that there is a time when we must avoid work.
It should be apparent from a reading of this Commandment that God makes a great deal about avoiding work on the Lord’s Day. Beginning at verse 9, it says: "Work six days, doing everything you have to do, but the seventh day is a Day of Rest". God emphasizes that we should do no work on this special day. Why does God make such a big deal out of this?

The truth God is communicating to us, is that there is more to life than labour. The reason is that “you were slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there in a powerful show of strength” We are no slaves anymore and our daily work should never equal slavery in any way.

It is interesting that people are only recently "discovering" what God said thousands of years ago. Production analysts have concluded only recently that reasonably spaced work breaks clearly increase productivity. The medical community gives statistics, which indicate that workaholics top the list in work related disorders such as high blood pressure and premature heart attack. God knew this before all the doctors and analysts. He knew that our bodies need a break.

Our emotions need a break as well. By the end of a long week we are emotionally exhausted. Our nerves are on edge, our stress level is way up, and we are in desperate need of a change of pace. If we continue working at that point, we will inevitably begin making mistakes. We will make bad decisions and do sloppy work. We need a break. Too many people and too many demands take their toll. And the price we pay often reflects in our faith-life and our peace with God! We need a break and that break is for more than just rest.

We need to Worship!
There is a flip side to this Commandment. God gave the Commandment for two very important reasons. The first is that rest from daily work will benefit us physically, emotionally and spiritually. The second is that we will be blessed by authentic, peaceful worship of God and to hear the voice of God’s assurance of his love. God not only wants us to stop working on the Lord’s Day, he wants us to start worshipping.

This Commandment begins by God saying, "No working on the Lord’s Day; keep it holy just as God, your God, commanded you" Throughout history, people have worshipped on the Lord’s day. God’s people, Israel, gathered together for worship on the Day of Rest.
Jesus too always worshipped on his Sabbath, "as was his custom" (Luke 4:16). The Early Church continued this pattern.

When we gather together in Jesus’ name, we must remember that God is there. Sometimes we lose sight of that. Jesus has promised us his special presence when we gather in his Name. This is something more than his indwelling presence in our daily lives. There is a special presence reserved for the corporate gathering of his people. When we come together for worship, God visits us in a special way. There is a certain anointing of the Holy Spirit that is reserved for God’s people when they gather as the Lord’ sacred assembly

How can we keep the Lord’s Day a special holy day? There are several things we can do. Set the Lord’s Day apart as a priority day. Treat the Lord’s Day as a special day. Block it out on your calendar and don’t let anything or anyone interfere with it. You have an appointment with God on that day.

Renew your commitment to obey God and find that special blessing his day brings. Remember the words of Jesus:
Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. ––Matthew 11:28-29.

What should I do with my life?

2011-08-31T04:58:00.000+02:00

“What should I do with my life?” Many of us ask this question when things do not make as much sense as during “better” times, or when we are exhausted, or worried. The Bible’s answer is that we have to begin with a bigger, more relevant question. If I am a Christian, if I am committed to follow Jesus and love him, my question should be: ”How do I fit into God’s plans?” And “What are God’s plans for me ?”

God is not standing idly by as the world we live in plummets from one debacle and failure into another. God certainly has not deserted our sad and corrupt world, leaving us to see whether we will be able to fix the problems we have created for ourselves and for each other.

God has already revealed his plan to bring an end to all evil. He made the preparations for a new world possible when Jesus once and for all died and rose to save sinners. He continues his preparation by using you and me, his church, to invite the whole world to accept his invitation to join him in overcoming evil by following him as Lord of our lives.

A picture of this future is given to us in the book of Revelation:
“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:3-4)

This perfect peace is what the world is destined for. It is a world where those who share God’s peace will no longer be self-centred, greedy, corrupt, malicious and insecure. Instead God will be with his people and he will be their God. He will rule over them perfectly and lovingly through his Son Jesus. It begins for us when we submit our lives to the perfect rule of King Jesus.

As Christians, we “show case” the new world, as God transforms us to follow Jesus, to love Jesus and be more like Jesus. You and I are called to “no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus who died for us” (2Cor 5:15). He calls us to live for his kingdom and to live for his future.

The better question to ask is: Am I part of God’s plans? How will what I do fit into his plans? And how can I best serve him with the means, gifts, opportunities and responsibilities he has given me today?

Our battles belong to the Lord...

2011-08-29T05:05:00.001+02:00

Israel and the Philistines were at war - again! They arranged their forces on opposite sides of a valley. This made it risky for either army to begin an attack. By descending one slope, crossing the valley floor and its stream, and climbing up the other side, the attackers would make themselves vulnerable. The result was a stalemate; neither army dared to leave its position.

It was the giant, Goliath, who provided a solution. He boastfully challenged anyone in Israel to a one-on-one confrontation. This encounter would decide the battle and the war.

The most important detail that the Bible gives us about Goliath is not his size, his armour or his challenge to Gods people. The most important detail is that Goliath defied "the armies of the living God" (1 Sam 17:26). He treated God with contempt. He mocked the almighty God of Israel.

But the LORD had chosen David to be his servant. David represents the power of God and the glory of God. David is God's chosen instrument to overcome an enemy who defied him.

David accepted Goliath's challenge, because the LORD was with him. Victory and defeat was in the hands of the LORD. Not in the hands of David or his ridiculous “weapon” – a sling and a stone. It was God who defeated Goliath - not David or his sling. The battle belongs to the Lord (1 Sam 17: 47), and the Lord will give his enemy into our hands, however insufficient our defence may be.

To save us from the last and final enemy, God has a chosen instrument – it is Jesus Christ, his beloved Son. God defeats the enemy without sword or spear. Of all things, God uses a cross and a grave, a crucifixion and a resurrection to defend us once and for all.
He chose his Son, dying on the cross and arising from the grave, to defeat the powers of darkness.

As always, the battle still belongs to the Lord.
As always it is not our weapons that make the difference – but God.
Because the battle belongs to the LORD, and so does the victory.

Our God gives wisdom as much as he gives warning

2011-08-26T03:12:00.002+02:00

God warns us way ahead of time of the dangers in our spiritual life as well as of the challenges for his church. It always was the case. In the days of Amos the prophet, God said through his servant:

Amos 3: 6 and 7: When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it? Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

But we have to listen when we hear and see that God reveals his plan, we must take the action God’s wisdom shows us and be prepared. God will provide in our every need, even when dangers prowl.

Always give your best and your all to God. When the day of the Lord comes, we will be prepared to heed his warning and triumph - in his Name and by his grace and mercy. Because our God gives wisdom as much as he gives warning.

May you be blessed when you serve God wholeheartedly, responding to his revelation and conquer through his omnipotent power! Be prepared to receive the Lord’s solution on the day of danger and attack, by giving him your best and giving him your all.

We see God's glory in the wonders of creation.

2011-08-23T23:23:00.002+02:00

When you visit the coast, you see the most glorious sunsets. After the sun slides behind the sea, you go on your way, with this text on your lips: "O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (Ps 8: 1 and 9)

God's glory shines above the heavens and below the sea. I am visiting South Africa’s second most popular international tourist destination, the Garden Route of the Southern Cape, also known as the Knysna region. (Kruger Park is the number one SA destination}

The fine arrangement and beauty of mountains, lagunes, wetlands, sea, rivers and the unique ecology shown in the abundance of vegetation and forests only found here, show the skill of the heavenly Artist. The immense grandeur of each one of these gardens designed by the eternal Gardener himself, demonstrates the incomprehensible greatness of God. It enthuses gratitude. It inspires thanksgiving.

God's name is not simply crowned in our hearts; it is majestic in all the earth. Many small and seemingly unimportant things reveal the greatness of God. Each little flower that opens is a witness of the Creator’s glory. The immense variety of birds tells of God’s divine creativity and each one sings its own song to proclaim the glorious majesty of God. Simply being in these quiet, natural gardens, reminds of the glory of the Lord.

David starts and ends Psalm 8 the same way, with words of praise to God:
(Ps 8:1 and 9) O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

God's name stands for God's person, God's being, and God's attributes; they are all majestic. In the Hebrew language, the word for Majestic tells us that God is the only one, unique, incomparable, omnipotent God.

We read this message on all the pages of the Scriptures, all the time:
(Ex 15:11) "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?"

(1 Sam 2:2) "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no rock like our God."

(Jer 10:6) "No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power."

God is majestic. He is majestic in power, in splendour, in glory, in works, in love and in holiness. He is incomparable. The Lord God almighty, the awesome Creator, is indeed the one and only God and need to be praised forever.

For King David, the majesty of God is especially evident in his vast and wondrous creation. David looks at the sun, moon, and stars, David looks at the birds, fish, and animals and David looks at man. He sees all that God has made and he says,
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Our relationship with Jesus results in the fruit of love for each other

2011-08-21T19:26:00.002+02:00

If we do not know Jesus, we can do nothing good!

As we look around our congregation, we see people whose lives reveal the glory of Jesus! Their witness strengthens our faith. We are strengthened by them and they by us, and together we reveal Jesus' glory, and as we reveal his grandeur, we help others to believe in him.

In the "true vine" context, Jesus says, "Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch (of the vine) cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me, and I in them, bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5).

The fruit that Jesus speaks about is revealing his love through our love for each other as his children, thus sharing his joy with a sad, lost world, because he is the answer, the Saviour, the true source of life and hope, of meaning and fruit. In John 15: 10 – 11 Jesus says: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” Our relationship with Jesus results in the fruit of love for each other and complete joy in his service.

If we really want to honour Jesus, this is how we do it: by loving one another. When we do, people will look at us and see Jesus living in us and, understanding his message, believe, take heart and give him glory! Only then our discipleship will be complete.

Wait upon the Lord

2011-08-18T03:23:00.001+02:00

Christians are infamous for their intolerance with God’s timing. They want to have perfect answers to instant prayers, immediately. They often blame God for having to wait. They time and again loose interest and focus when there is no wind driving their faith ships or when stormy weather interferes with their plans and desires.

Jesus, on the other hand, spent a lot of time waiting on his Father. He often went into retreat to find answers, strength, and patience. In order to be able to do this, Jesus made certain that he had time to pray. There are four important words about this in Matthew 14:22: "Jesus dismissed the crowd."

This was not just any crowd. This was about 10,000 people who had heard Jesus teach, had seen him heal the sick and had watched him produce enough food miraculously to feed them all. This was a crowd ready to make him a king. But Jesus dismissed them! Why? We read in verse 23: "After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray."

Jesus said no to a buzzing, excited crowd, an excellent opportunity, in order to say yes to an even better one. It was a deliberate choice to honour his priorities. Jesus' first responsibility and main concern was not to satisfy his scores of excited fans, but to wait faithfully on his heavenly Father until “his hour has come”, as he often said.

On another occasion Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek." This word "meek." used in the Bible is the same word used to describe a wild stallion that has been trained for the saddle. It means power under control, strength with direction, ready to get going, yet being disciplined, focussed – and waiting. This saying probably says something like: “Blessed are the focused, those who know their priorities and honour them and wait upon God for the wind to turn and the timing to be perfect.”

Jesus most of the time served the crowd diligently. But he did dismiss them when he had to do something of greater importance – like having fellowship time with his heavenly Father, while waiting on his divine timing.

Will we, in spite of waiting long, when God’s time comes, still be focussed, calm and determined enough to accomplish his will?
Are we patiently disciplined when it comes to waiting upon the Lord?

Father, Thy will be done… Amen.

To those who have, more will be given!

2011-08-15T06:19:00.001+02:00

Jesus used financial investment as an example of making the most of what God invested in our lives. In the parable about the 10 servants, each received one mina, an amount of money, to invest for their master. Some earned 10 and 5 minas more. One man kept it laid away in a cloth. The master’s investment did not earn any interest in his case.

About this man, Jesus said: (Luke 19: 26) "I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away”.

The servant who did nothing with the investment he was a steward of, represents people who have received the gospel message and God’s blessings, yet it has not changed them even one little bit! Therefore they have not shared God’s investment in their lives with others and did not use their blessings to expand the Kingdom of God. Their shareholding in God’s work remains small and vulnerable and insignificant.

But to those who made the most of God’s investment in their lives, who truly work with the Great Entrepreneur of the Kingdom of God, who use their given salvation, spiritual gifts, church membership, increasing Bible knowledge, access to God’s throne in prayer and ability to give, to advance the Kingdom of Christ, will hear the Master say: “Well done good and faithful servant.” By God’s grace, they have been changed into the godly entrepreneurs Christ needs for his work to be done!

Jesus Christ has invested his life, his death, his blood, his power, his Word and his Spirit in you!

What interest has he received through your life, your service and your witness?

Seeking God Part 2

2011-08-10T01:17:00.001+02:00

Psalm 27: 4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

“This is what I seek!” David says in Psalm 27. And we all are in pursuit of happiness in the Lord.

But what should be the focus of our search? It should be the same thing David was seeking: fellowship with God. Above all else, David knew that he could find strength and fullness of joy in God’s presence.
From the context of Psalm 27 we understand that David had been facing difficult challenges. There were enemies who were against him, made war against him and fought him constantly. You might say that David was under a lot of stress. Yet in the midst of this, he knew where to turn. He knew that in God’s presence, he would find the spiritual resilience to face every possible test.

It is only in God’s presence where we find refreshing water for our spiritual and emotional thirst and nourishment for our souls. We cannot fulfil this desire in any other way, even if we try! We need to seek God, because it is only fellowship with him that we will have our need for rest and spiritual fulfilment met. As we wait upon the Lord, enjoying fellowship with him, he promises us that he will renew our strength.

There is nothing as satisfying as true and earnest fellowship with Jesus Christ. As we seek him in prayer, through his Word, and through our living by faith every day, we receive an authentic inner strength through the assurance that he loves us and that he is there for us. Through fellowship we come to an understanding that his promises are real, and that he will never leave or forsake us. We come to know him as our Friend.

Never stall your seeking of Christ, that is your fellowship with him. If you lack power, peace and joy: pause to consider your fellowship with Jesus. Are you passionate about being with him? Do you desire to know him better every day? The focus of our search for God is fellowship with Jesus Christ.
And as fellowship with God in Christ is the focus of our search, so fellowship with God in Christ also will be the fruit of our search.

God delights in godly sorrow.

2011-08-08T04:34:00.001+02:00

2 Corinthians 7: 10: Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

What is "godly sorrow"? Firstly, it is sorrow that glorifies God. (2 Cor 7:9). It is sorrow that God delights in. It is sorrow that is good for the soul.

The opposite of "godly sorrow" is not the absence of sorrow, but what Paul calls "worldly sorrow." The powers of darkness in this world are crafty and sly and try to imitate the real thing. Worldly sorrow often imitates godly sorrow, but when it is scrutinized, you realize it is not the same.

Worldly sorrow is when you feel sorry for something you did, because it backfires on you and leads to humiliation or punishment. It is the reflex of a proud and arrogant heart and the reaction of a fearful, uncertain ego. Fear regrets actions that jeopardize comfort, safety and popularity. The focus of worldly sorrow is oneself! Feeling sorry for something we have done is therefore not in itself a sign of virtue.
Godly sorrow, on the other hand, is the reflex of a soul that has wounded God's heart, a sorrow that grieves that God's Name has come into disrepute. The focus of "godly sorrow", is God.

Worldly sorrow is the result of an attitude that despairs when it loses the praise of people. Worldly sorrow often leads to deep and dark depression, to distrust, anger, dissension, conflict and even war. This is why Paul says that worldly sorrow brings death.

Godly sorrow, on the other hand, is the result of God's Word touching our lives.
Godly sorrow is the guilt you feel when the Word of God shows you that you are a sinner and you have dishonoured the Name of God. Godly sorrow is the sorrow of a God-directed heart, not a world-directed heart. Godly sorrow leads to repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, new beginnings and salvation.
It leaves no regret. It brings life and rejoices in Truth.

Song based on Psalm 122.

2011-08-05T02:29:00.001+02:00

I’m glad that the people of the Lord, God’s people said to me:
Let’s go to the House of the Lord, let’s stay God’s might to see.
Your House is strong, o God, we give you thanks, our Lord!
I’m glad that the people of the Lord invited even me!

Give thanks to the awesome Name of God, his throne will ever reign:
the throne of the glorious Son of God, who rules for peace to gain.
They prosper Lord, our God, who love your House, my Lord!
And now may the peace of God our Lord, with all of us remain.

Because of the House of God our Lord, I’ll do what’s best for you!
The peace found within its walls, I pray will bless you too.
Your peace, o Church of God, will prosper all who come!
I’m glad that the people of the Lord invited me, and you!

(Music of Songs of Fellowship 40 - Be still, for the presence)

Ps 122 (NIV)
1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
2 Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.” 9 Because of the house of the LORD our God
I will seek your good.

Seeking God Part 1

2011-08-03T04:47:00.001+02:00

Psalm 27: 4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

“This is what I seek!” David says in Psalm 27.
We all have desires. We are all seekers. We have goals. We are in pursuit of happiness.
At work we have strategies, milestones, targets, assessments.
In the church we are told that we have to be purpose driven. And we are all hopeful that those dreams may one day come true.

But are the things which we seek, worth looking for? Some of them may not be according to God’s wisdom. Some of the things we seek with so much energy, may even hurt us, were we to successfully obtain them.

So we must carefully evaluate what we seek and why we have such a strong desire to own something or accomplish our goal. Part of the evaluation is the important question: “Why do I seek these things?’

All of us are involved in the living of life. All of us “want a life!” But in seeking what we believe will give us a life to enjoy, everything does not always work out the way we wished or desired. The road of seeking a life is not always smooth – it often has potholes, risks and dangers. As we grow wiser and learn a few lessons in life, we find that some things which we thought were essential, no longer seem significant anymore. We experienced that not all that glitters, is gold and that something that looked exciting and promising at first, became a source of sadness, disappointment and hurt later on.

Everywhere people are hurting and are seeking for solutions. They are seeking “a life”. Yet, what the world promise will make us at ease and will guarantee fulfilment, are often only substitutes of the real thing. And we need to find the real thing! We need to find what satisfies. We need to pursue true life and real happiness.

David was a man weighed down by his life’s challenges. Yes, he enjoyed a lot of success. Yes, he became the mightiest king in the world! But still his life was not without problems. David had personal problems, he had marriage problems, he had children problems, and he had to deal with issues of state.
More than once there were enemies seeking an opportunity to kill him – and one of these enemies was his beloved son. David struggled with serious concerns.

But David knew what was important to seek. And in Psalm 27 the poet in King David reveals what we need to seek when challenged with issues and riddles. David found a desire that would wisely direct his search and prioritise his priorities: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

What should be the focal point of our search? It should be the same thing David was seeking: communion with God. Above all else, David desired to be in the presence of God. He knew that he could find strength in his presence. He knew that "in God’s presence there is fullness of joy."

(Next week – a more practical Part 2).

Inexplicably one - by Frikkie Botha

2011-08-01T04:15:00.000+02:00

Just as the human mind cannot begin to understand the complexity of its own body, so it is with us, with the body of Christ. Our minds cannot comprehend the complexity of the body of Christ.

The Body of Christ is a living body, composed of billions of parts, miraculously complex, with billions of members, located in millions of different settings, with thousands of different languages, with thousands of unique cultures and billions of expressions of the true faith.

The human mind cannot understand the complexity of the body of Christ anymore than the human mind can imagine the 90,000 kilometres of blood vessels in one’s physical body.

If you have gifts, if you have passions in your heart, workings, ways of serving God’s kingdom, but you don’t have love for your brothers and sisters who think and feel differently than you do, you are nothing.
The greatest gift that God has for you is love.
Love for people who don’t think like you.
Love for people who do not share your point of view on some specific issues.
You are to make love your goal, your aim, your greatest purpose for life.

Someday church members will realise that they are part of this mysteriously complex, living organism, called the body of Christ.
They all drink from the same Spirit, and they are joyful and glad, and they are one:
one in the Spirit of the Living Christ who unified them in love.
See 1 Cor 12 - 14

By Frikkie Botha

Soften my heart Lord

2011-07-29T00:53:00.001+02:00

Soften my heart Lord,
Soften my heart,
From all indifference,
Set me apart.
Feel Your compassion,
Weep with Your tears,
Soften my heart, Lord,
Soften my heart.

Grace and compassion,
You have for me,
Goodness and mercy,
Always will be.
To have Your mercy,
Forgiveness and love,
Value my brother,
Soften my heart.

(Music: Have your own way, Lord)

The importance of true worship (3) final

2011-07-27T06:39:00.000+02:00

God is spirit; and those who worship him must worship through the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

God created us to worship him. We therefore thirst to worship the Lord, even when we do not acknowledge the need. We will remain unfulfilled if we don’t. We already mentioned that our worship of God is not so much for God’s benefit, than ours. So what do we seek when worshipping God?

1) God desires people who will praise and worship him. So, one reason for true worship is that we want to be obedient to God.

2) And we want to worship because we know and believe that God is worthy of it. Consider Revelation 5:11-12, "And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’"
We want to worship God, because our God is worthy of our praise.

3) But praise and worship is also the way that leads us into the presence of God. Psalm 100:4 says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise." When we go to worship God, we shift our focus from ourselves to him. We become aware of his presence and open our hearts and minds to have fellowship with him. We become aware of his awesome holiness, divine love and majestic power. Worship brings us into the presence of the living God, where we can hear him speaking to us and we receive his blessing and are sent into the world in his service.

4) We worship God to receive his perspective on our lives. We become aware of his will and ability to deal with our questions and concerns, when we enter his presence.
When we focus on our situation or issues, they may be threateningly large. But when we focus on the almighty God, we become beware of God’s perspective, and as we look at the situation in the light of the power and authority of God, we find that through his divine ability the issue can be worked out. Our worship of God helps us to see that nothing is impossible with God – and we need to see that all the time.

5) But most importantly, when we worship God, we seek to be changed. Worship changes our attitudes and approach to life. It takes away our cynicism and gives us hope and faith. It takes away our anger and gives us love and a heart that forgives. It takes away our fear and gives us courage. When we worship God, we learn to trust him and surrender to him and it changes our whole lives!

Make regular time of worship your priority. During your private quiet time and during family time. And never forget that worship happens in the Body of Christ. Make it your priority never to miss worship time with the Body. Never exclude you and your family when God is busy equipping, inspiring and rejuvenating his Church. Be there!
Make it your priority.

When the youth is slaughtered and sacrificed to our idols

2011-07-25T01:57:00.003+02:00

Ezekiel 16: 19 – 21 And the food I provided for you—the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat—you offered as fragrant incense before your idols. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign LORD. And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.

Nowhere else the story of God’s people as the unfaithful wife of a gracious God who loved them more than anything else, is told more graphically than in Ezekiel 16.
The people of Israel became a whore when she used God’s blessings and affectionate gifts of gold, fine clothes and the best food, to adorn the false gods of their neighboring nations.

When the gifts that God gives in love, become the reason why we embrace a way of live where not our Lord, but the prosperous lifestyle he grants us is the most important love of our lives, our unfaithfulness becomes an unbearable shame and the reason for both God’s broken heart and his wrath.

The worst moment in the life of God’s people though, is when our unfaithfulness to the Lord impacts on the lives of the children that we bore to God! When the reality of abusing the blessings, the tokens of his love, lead to not only our shame and judgment, but to life choices and life styles where our children are “slaughtered and sacrificed to our idols.”

When the children of those who are called God’s people become the victims of their materialism, selfishness, greed, self-indulgence and unfaithfulness to God, it results in a youth whose lives are ruined by godless greed, immorality, addictions and profane high risk pleasure-seeking, we are to be blamed and shamed. And more importantly, when we in this way sacrifice our children to our idols, God comes to the end of his patience with our infidelity.

When children, God’s greatest gift, become the victims of our choices and preferences, we arrive at the place where we have to finally choose between loving or leaving our Saviour.

Ezekiel phrases it as follows in Ezekiel 18: 30 – 32:
Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Repent!
Turn away from all your offense, then sin will not be your downfall.
Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, o people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Repent and live!

Church of God, elect and glorious

2011-07-23T01:45:00.000+02:00

Church of God, elect and glorious,
holy nation, holy race;
called as God’s own special people,
royal priests and heirs of grace:
know the purpose of your calling,
show to all his mighty deeds;
tell of love which knows no limits,
grace which meets all human needs,

God has called you out of darkness
into his most marvellous light;
brought his truth to life within you,
turned your blindness into sight.
Let your light so shine around you
that God’s Name is glorified;
and all find fresh hope and purpose
in Christ Jesus crucified.

(Music: Ode to Joy)

The importance of true worship? (2)

2011-07-20T03:58:00.001+02:00

God is spirit; and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

God expects us to worship and praise him. God created us to worship him. We therefore will thirst to worship the Lord, even when we do not understand or acknowledge the need. We will remain unfulfilled if we don’t. To worship God is the purpose of our existence.

But what is true worship? If you research this you will find that believers seem to answer this question in many ways. There seem to be so many churches with different customs, styles and traditions. Who is right?

If you would visit a different service every Sunday, you would find that some churches have a lot of formality, ceremony and ritual. Things are done in the same way and order every Sunday.
There are on the other hand also a variety of less formal churches with an unwritten order that may differ from Sunday to Sunday and that could feel disorderly if you are not used to their style and traditions. And you will also find a lot of “in-between” services as you look around.

Are some wrong and others right? Are some better churches than others? The truth is that they could all be right or all be wrong, and whether they are, has little to do with their style, but has everything to do with the heart of the worshipper and his/her relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

All churches from all styles and traditions should pray that God will constantly move the Church to restore true praise and worship, which is worship that is lead by the Spirit, while seeking God’s truth without compromise. We ought to understand what is important to God; truth, earnesty, honesty, authenticity, hope, faith and more than anything else, love for him.

After all, praise and worship are God’s ideas, not ours. Yes, we have a desperate need to have fellowship with God, whether we believe it or not! But God is not interested in our choice of style or customs, but that we worship him with love, in truth and under guidance of his Spirit.

Over and over in Psalm 150 we hear the command to "praise the Lord!"
Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!

God expects us to praise him. And God is saying to his church today, as he has said many times in the past, "Praise Me!"

Beware of false security.

2011-07-18T03:01:00.000+02:00

"Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!" (Amos 6:1)

There were many in the day of Amos, as there are in ours, who were content to trust in outward prosperity and in the glamour of their places of worship. Amos said they were "complacent in Zion." He said they felt “secure on Mount Samaria”. Amos was preaching to the notable leaders of God’s people concerning the security they felt in the trappings of outwardly signs of piety. And this made them complacent.

But it was false security. They were effectively trusting in their own sufficiency and not in God.

And then the real issue is brought clearly into focus by this phrase "you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.” (Amos 6:6) In Amos’ day this charge meant that the leaders of Israel were unconcerned about the fate of the majority who did not share in their prosperity.
God was concerned about the plight of the poor. His heart was broken by their sad circumstances. But the hearts of the leaders were unmoved. They were out of "sync" with the heart of God.

Our complacency may mean that we are simply not shaken by what we believe.
We all have to answer these questions: Are our hearts in "sync" with the heart of God? Are we moved by the things that move him? Are we, his Church, a people who care about the things God cares about? Is his passion, our passion?

Pray with the Church in China.

2011-07-14T15:27:00.004+02:00

Pray with the Church in China.
Church leaders fear a crackdown.

Read the CNN article about this and look at a rare video clip of one of the biggest "house churches" worshipping, if you click on the link below.

When one part of the Body suffers, so does the rest of the Body.

"Dear Lord, keep all your children in China safe! Protect them! Grant them the privilege of complete freedom to serve you and share your Word with everyone! For Jesus Christ sake. Amen."

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/13/china-christian-crackdown/

The importance of true worship? (1)

2011-07-13T06:27:00.000+02:00

God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

God has commanded us to worship and praise him. It is essential for us to make praise and worship part of our lives, simply because God created us to praise Him. It is the purpose of our existence.

We have a deep felt need to worship God, even when we do not realise that we have this need – or even sometimes deny that we have it!
Wherever you find humans, you will find that they worship a god or gods. It may look a lot different from what we know as Christian worship, but humans are generally worshipping as part of the way they live. People have a need to reach out beyond their daily existence and declare their dependence of something higher and more powerful than themselves. People will always have a god - even if it is not the one true God revealed in Jesus Christ and the Bible.

But God commands us to become true worshipers who are worshiping the true God in spirit and in truth. John says in chapter 4:23-24: "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

God seeks true worshipers. They are people who come to him honestly, sincerely and reverently. To worship in spirit and truth is to engage the whole person in bringing honour, glory, praise and thanks to God through physical prayer and praise as well as emotional commitment, love and passion. We are also to be inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit to worship in truth.

To worship God with his people is our highest calling in life. Nothing compares to it, nothing can take its place in our lives and we do not have a higher priority!
Entering into true praise and worship is not optional. It is a command of God. It is crucial that we come to understand and practice true biblical praise and worship if we consider ourselves to part of Christ’s Body on earth.

We bring the sacrifice of praise
into the house of the Lord.
And we offer up to You
the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and we offer up to You
the sacrifices of joy.

Bruised reeds

2011-07-11T03:27:00.000+02:00

"A bruised reed He will not break." (Isaiah 42:3)

Bruised reeds are symbols of people. The word "bruised" is used by Isaiah to refer to discouragement in life. We have all been bruised reeds from time to time. We all have experienced times when we were depressed, beaten and almost broken.

God says that he will not break the bruised reed. When you think about this illustration in terms of people, you realize what God is saying. Bruised people don't have their lives together. They are the people who do not live up to their own, or other's expectations. Society is quick to write off sad, struggling people, but Jesus does not.

When we are like bruised reeds, we need to understand that God hasn't given up on us. He is the reed-repairer. He is the One who can take a bruised reed and work with it until it becomes useful and make a difference once again.

Sometimes God even takes those bruised places in our lives and uses these experiences of hurt to enable us to understand pain better and are therefore able to help others who feel crushed by life’s experiences. And through helping others we too may be healed.

Praise the Lord!

2011-07-10T03:36:00.000+02:00

Praise the Lord, for He is glorious!
Never shall His promise fail.
Christ has made His saints victorious,
sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation!
Hosts on high, His power proclaim;
Heaven and earth and all creation,
laud and magnify His Name.

Why does Pentecost matter? (4) - Final

2011-07-06T03:48:00.000+02:00

Pentecost matters, because the complete ministry of the Church was guaranteed on Pentecost.

On Pentecost the Holy Spirit empowered the first disciples and formed them into the Church of Christ, which still is central to God’s work in the world. They proclaimed God’s Good News in many languages on Pentecost day to demonstrate that there would be no doubt in anybody’s mind that the Church, which is an instrument in God’s hand, in its purest form is multicultural and therefore linguistically, culturally and racially inclusive.

Pentecost guarantees a complete ministry…
On Pentecost Peter preached a sermon to also help the people understand that the Holy Spirit was given to all who turned from their sin and turned to God through Jesus (Acts 2:38). The “text” of his sermon was Joel 2: 28 – 29: ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants –men and women alike– and they will prophesy.”

This was a turning point in God’s work on earth. God began to do what he had promised through many centuries and generations, that all God’s children will be equally involved in his complete, comprehensive ministry in this world. Every category of people would now be called to be God’s servants in his work.

In the Old Covenant the Holy Spirit was poured out on prophets, priests, and kings. In the New Covenant, as was promised through the Old Testament prophets, the Holy Spirit dwells in “all people.” Everyone who shared the experience of receiving God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, is empowered to serve in the Church, irrespective of class, culture, gender or age. In the new covenant, in the Church of our Lord, all believers would be priests of God, doing his work on earth.

The church of Jesus Christ is God’s strategy to involve every believer, and every member of the Body to contribute to the work and mission of the Church (Eph 4:11-16).

The ministry of God’s Church is being accomplished when each Christian understands God’s purpose for him/her in his work. Everyone receives gifts according to God’s grace and all the gifts used as a body, completes God’s work in the world. Pentecost guarantees this complete ministry through the power of the Holy Spirit that works through every believer.

I am therefore challenged with the question whether I am exercising the gifts of the Spirit in my life. Do I serve God wholeheartedly according to his purpose for my life and according to the gifts the Lord gave me through his Spirit? Is this a time to renew my commitment to fulfilling my unique role in the ministry of God’s people in the world?

Pentecost gives us a season to recommit ourselves to be prepared and encouraged for our service to God. When we desire this and open up our hearts, souls and minds, the Holy Spirit will use the church of Jesus Christ for God’s complete mission and purpose in the world.

His yoke is easy - by Frikkie Botha

2011-07-04T04:41:00.000+02:00

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matt. 11: 25 – 30.

Perhaps we can imagine carpenter Jesus making wooden yokes meant to join pairs of animals together. Of course, the carpenter would want to make the yoke so that it would fit just right – not rub or be rough on the animals, but something that would truly help the animals bear their burdens, help them pull together, help them be more efficient as a team than they would be alone.
Imagine Jesus the carpenter, sanding down rough spots, fitting the yoke, checking it, making it just right for the job – a perfect fit.

Jesus invites us to take a yoke just like this – made exactly for us by Someone who understands what it means to bear burdens, Someone who knows each of us by name, knows our gifts and our needs, who does not want us to be wearied or weighed down.
Jesus offers us a yoke, made by his own labor and love, made perfectly for us.
And that’s not all - he offers himself as our partner in the yoke, the one who will help us bear, pull, carry – whatever we are called to do.

Weariness is the only requirement to receive Christ’s rest. Having a burden we want to lay down is the only requirement for picking up Christ’s light burden. Being yoked to something we need to let go of, is the only requirement for allowing Christ to give us a new yoke, tailor-made for us.

Jesus says to us today: “Come to me all you that are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you … for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

- By Frikkie Botha.

Why does Pentecost matter? (3)

2011-06-29T05:57:00.000+02:00

Pentecost matters, because it demonstrates the multi-cultural character and mission of the Church of God.

On Pentecost the Holy Spirit empowered the first disciples to speak of the wonders of the Gospel, and particularly of the resurrected Messiah, in many languages. These languages they did not learn in the way we do. It was a miracle that they could (Act 2: 5 – 13) and this wonder was given to the Church that there never will be any doubt in anyone’s mind that the Church that is an instrument in God’s hand, in its purest form is multicultural. This implies that it is linguistically, culturally and racially inclusive.

We are to make a difference in God’s work by amongst other things being a community that draws all people together that share the grace experience of the salvation of God in Jesus Christ. This shared experience of redemption constitutes a community where no other qualification than being saved by grace, can ever be so important that it divides God’s people.

Love that comes about as a gift of the Spirit amongst those who share the grace experience, is described in 1 Cor 13: 4 – 8: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

All people from all cultures are drawn together by God’s love in Christ. Paul writes in Galatians 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

There are, by the mercy of God, exceptions, but the Church has in general not done particularly well in living out its multicultural mission in the world.

When we as a congregation worded our first “mission statement” we did say that we wish to set an example in our city and our country of how Christians of a variety of cultural backgrounds can be one church or congregation that demonstrates God’s reconciliation in no uncertain terms in our world and society.

On any Sunday you may find people from 3 or 4 races, speaking up to 8 different languages at home feeling at home at Centurion West Presbyterian Church. Friendships abound, love flourishes and working together seems to rather get easier than harder as time goes by. We need to hold onto this as a precious gift and in prayer maintain our calling to be living examples of the definition of love found in 1 Cor 13. This love is after all, according to Paul, the greatest of all the gifts of the Spirit given to the Church.

Looking at the general church experience around us we do see that to be divided according to language, race, and ethnicity seem to have become the norm to many. But we need to prayerfully protect our multicultural testimony of the unity of the Church of Christ, as demonstrated at Pentecost. It remains God’s standard, even in a racialist society that often breeds the most unkind of nationalisms.

Pentecost matters as it challenges all of us to continuously examine our own attitudes, to reject and repent of any prejudice that prowls within us, and to continue to open our hearts to all people, even when they do not share our language and culture.
Pentecost demonstrates that multiculturalism in the Church is something that the Spirit of God will help us to make work, if we are available to him.

Preach to the spiritually dead...

2011-06-27T02:14:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was such a special Sunday for both preacher and congregation. God showed us the way from living in emotional and spiritual graves to living in the joy of his presence!

We heard about a vision in Ezekiel 37, where the prophet is put in the middle of a valley full of human bones baked white and dry on the desert floor. The people in despondency because they are in exile in Babylon, identify themselves with dry, white bones. They say to one another: "Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off" (Ezek 37:11).

As Ezekiel investigates this scene, God asks him: "Son of man, can these bones live?" (vs 3) And Ezekiel says, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know" (vs 3). Ezekiel knows that God can do what seems impossible to us. And in the vision God dramatically shows Ezekiel his power over life and death.

Firstly, God tells Ezekiel to preach to the bones. Ezekiel listens to God and the results are amazing. The scattered bones started to clank and rattle. They move toward each other and are joined together, and muscles and flesh and skin are fitted to each skeleton, but they are still dead.
Secondly, God commands Ezekiel to speak to the wind. And the prophet calls for the "breath of God" to blow over the bodies and give them life. As he speaks, it happens. The bodies stand up alive, an army ready for battle, where moments before had been dry, bleached bones of the dead.

Notice how God brings life: by the Holy Spirit and through the preaching of the Word. The prophet preaches and the Spirit blows and enters - and the dry, white bones come to life.

Ezekiel is describing how we are renewed, how we come to faith and to repentance and true life.

No person has come to faith by any other way than this strategy of God: it was and always is the Spirit creating faith by means of the preaching and proclamation of the Word. Something divine happens when we come under the Word: the Spirit produces and strengthens faith and makes us new people who are alive for God.

God's people must always and under all circumstances place themselves under the Word. They must come to worship. They must be Bible students. They must set aside a regular time for private devotions.
This is God’s strategy to renew us and to give us true life again.
This is how God calls us from living in graves to living in the light and joy of his Kingdom and Church.

May God fill every empty pew, claiming every heart as his temple and instil his life and will in all of us.

Come and claim your temple, gracious Holy Spirit!

2011-06-25T18:57:00.000+02:00

Come and claim your temple,
gracious Holy Spirit!
In our hearts Your home inherit:
make in us Your dwelling,
Your high work fulfilling,
into ours Your will instilling,
till we raise
hymns of praise
beyond mortal telling,
in God’s holy temple!

Why does Pentecost matter? (2)

2011-06-22T03:07:00.004+02:00

The Church is central in God’s work in this world – through the power of the indwelling Spirit.

We are busy thinking about what difference it makes to us today that the first Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit 2000 years ago on the Jewish festival of Pentecost. The first difference was that we all received “the indwelling and power of the Spirit”.

The second reason why Pentecost matters, is that we now know that the Church is central in God’s work in our world.

We know that the Holy Spirit was poured out on individual disciples of Jesus, including his biological brothers and his mother, as they were patiently waiting upon the fulfillment of the promise Jesus made to them about the coming of the Spirit. They were praying continuously as they together waited upon the Lord to fill them and share the power of the resurrected Christ with them by baptizing them with the Spirit of God.

And then we see clearly how this gathering on the Pentecost day is turned into the first congregation of the Christian Church as they all received the power of the Holy Spirit. On the very first Sunday, new believers were baptized as they were initiated into the Church. Along with the first disciples they also shared in becoming a Christian community or family.
They taught, broke bread, prayed and enjoyed such a special fellowship that more and more came to join in their faith and in celebrating the resurrected Jesus. They cheerfully gave of their belongings to feed the hungry and maintain the ministry of Word and Sacrament. And “the Lord daily added to their number those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). Pentecost matters, because it tells us about the birthday and role of the church.

The Spirit could have been given to individuals praying on their own, in their homes during their quiet times. But this was not God’s plan and strategy for his work.

It was no coincidence that the congregation was praying together when the Spirit was poured out. This first mother church would be the root from which the Church of our Lord would grow. Their experience on the first Pentecost teaches that the Church is central to God’s work and plan through the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in the Church. Paul therefore calls the Church the Temple of God in which the Spirit dwells. (1 Cor 3.)

Pentecost matters because it clearly shows us what place the Church of the Lord has in our personal relationship with God and for our worship. The truth found throughout Scripture is, that the Church in which the Spirit dwells, is central to the Father’s work in the world and is central to our worship, growth and service too.

Pentecost insists that we reflect on our own participation in the work, mission and life of the Church of God. We need to continuously renew our covenant with the God of grace, received at baptism and confirmed by our public confession of faith, to live as a contributing member of the body of Christ.

Pentecost calls us to build the Church of our Lord by preaching the Word, sharing in her holy sacraments and spreading the love, power and justice of Jesus Christ across the world.

RECLAIM THE HOLY TRINITY!

2011-06-20T08:27:00.000+02:00

The Trinity is not an optional "extra" to God. it is the nature of God as revealed to us in Scripture.
The biblical truth about the Trinity has become a pressing issue for contemporary Christians, simply because we are losing the biblical account of God, apparently without controversy or debate.

We are in danger of shifting the Holy Trinity aside in our practices and worship language, without announcing that we have changed our minds about the nature of the God we profess to follow. Often the Trinity is taught in confirmation class or in Sunday school more as a mathematical problem to be solved, than the living reality of the God we serve, worship and love.

Here are examples:
The Apostle Paul said: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who consoles us in all our affliction, for just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so our consolation is abundant through Christ, sealed in our hearts through the power and constant presence of the Holy Spirit" (2 Corinthians 1:3–5, 21–22).

John Calvin said: "Christ is not only the pledge of our adoption, but God also gives us the Holy Spirit as a witness to this adoption, through whom we may freely cry aloud, 'Abba, Father.' Whenever we are distressed, remember to ask for the presence of the Spirit who will enable us to pray boldly" (Calvin’s Institutes, III.20.37).

But today we often do not say more than: "Be blessed, for God is always with you."

This contemporary version is true, but why are we hesitant to name our triune God in biblical language? Why do we not speak, pray and testify with confidence about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit? It became rare to hear references to all three Persons of the Trinity in an integrated way except at the baptismal font or during the benediction.

We must be careful that we are not becoming practicing Unitarians. Our language about God should be as diverse and varied as is the idiom of the Bible and of our universal Christian tradition. Why do we so often hear folk repetitively referring to “God” in prayers, discussions and devotions? Or someone may address a topic referring only to Jesus. Did Jesus not come to us to show us the Father, and did he not send the Spirit to teach us about his saving grace? Consideration of God as Holy Trinity and replicating the words of Scripture about God, provide us with a more faithful vocabulary that is also richer and more varied than the current practice of many Protestants.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit – essential Evangelical testimony
The language of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, engraved in Scripture and creed, is essential for our efforts to speak faithfully about God. Our reverence and service of the One- in-Three and Three-in-One bind us together with ancient believers and ancient denominations. Can there be a unity outside of worshipping the Holy Trinity as the only God, Saviour and Comforter we know? And can we claim to speak about God as Bible believing Christians in any other way?

"Father, Son and Holy Spirit" is a root out of which grows the wealth of our vocabulary of praise. We must rather magnify and expand upon the ways of naming the Triune God, rather than simply repeating the word "God" in prayer and liturgy repetitively. Why not refer to God in the language of Scripture to enrich the ways we speak of God and to God.

The language of our prayers, hymns, songs and sermons shapes our faith as surely as it reflects our faith. We must pray and sing to the "one Triune God, the Holy One of Israel, the eternal God of the covenant, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom alone we worship and serve through the graceful work of the Holy Spirit." This is bible language and therefore should be church language. Our God is also worthy of such worship and praise in our private prayers.

If the ways I address God and speak of him, could just as well have been the words of a Jew, who does not believe in Jesus as God the Son, or a Muslim, who rejects the Trinity too, I am doing something terribly wrong!

Lets learn from the New Testament speakers how to honour our God, and teach one another anew the Trinitarian language of Scripture.
Lets remember to adore our Father with all our heart, soul and strength.
Lets ask from our Father which art in heaven, everything we need.
Lets always pray in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lets beg for the guidance and inspiration of the Spirit to be able to follow and love Jesus who always will show us the Father, bringing us home to his throne of grace.Lets worship and serve the only true, triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

A prayer for Trinity Sunday 2011

2011-06-19T04:51:00.002+02:00

Rev 1: 4 - 6: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the Holy Spirit before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be forever. Amen

Prayer;
Eternal God. Your self-disclosure in Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit reveal you as God our Father, as God the Son and God the Spirit. Heavenly Lord you at the same time are transcendent over the world, acting in history, and present in the world. Lord, your revelation in history discloses who God truly and inherently is, for what you reveal is true. The only truth we know is the revelation of the one true and living God, who alone is to be worshipped and adored.

Father, when you speak, Christ is the Word that is spoken. In your Son dwells the fullness of God. Through Christ, Father you made all things, you reconcile us with yourself and save us from sin and death. Your Spirit is the Spirit of God eternally proceeding from you, Father, through the Son, working in and through the Son, who sends the Spirit into the world to give life, renew, sanctify and guide.

Father, we know you by the Son through the Spirit, and no one comes to you, Father, except through the Son and in the Spirit. We cannot come to Christ and confess him as Lord unless we are drawn by the Father and moved by the Spirit.
Amen.

(Adapted from the Confession of Faith of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa)

POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: BRING IN THE HARVEST!!

2011-06-17T12:09:00.000+02:00

People of MANY languages from every part of the world heard the praises of God in their own languages on Pentecost! And the HARVEST began! The original Jewish Pentecost Festival was a celebration of the first fruit of the harvest! But this was a Spiritual harvest: The Apostle Peter told the people what happened – about Jesus and his resurrection from the dead – and people believed! The young Christian Church had started! Three thousand responded in faith to one sermon - through the power of the Holy Spirit.

How about you? Are you part of the Harvest yet? The first and essential thing is that you are a believer! Jesus remains the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and we need to settle that and give our lives to him and surrender to him. We need also to be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that we can become part of the seed sowing process – we need to share our faith. There is nothing more tragic than a Christian who goes underground like a kind of secret agent. I’m afraid that many of us are like that. We don’t tell anyone! If we would only allow the Holy Spirit to really bless us with his power – we will become bold and see the mighty hand of God at work.

The question remains – are you part of the Harvest? There shouldn’t be an empty seat in your church, in your small group at home, or at any time when Christians get together!
People should be coming along to see what’s going on, because of the power working in us!

There should a power and a love through the Holy Spirit that draws them in! After all, as a Spirit filled child of God you should be telling them, exciting them and inviting them! Pentecost is still part of ordinary Christian life! It is time to start thinking, working and celebrating, like harvesters!

Why does Pentecost matter? (1)

2011-06-15T02:30:00.002+02:00

The indwelling and power of the Spirit.

What difference does it make for us today that the first Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit 2000 years ago on the Jewish festival of Pentecost?
Pentecost brings together a few themes and experiences. Over the next couple of weeks we will share 4 specific ways in which Pentecost makes a difference in our lives today:
1. The indwelling and Power of the Spirit
2. The Church is central in God’s Work in this world – through the power of the indwelling Spirit
3. The Multi-cultural character and mission of the Church – demonstrated on Pentecost
4. The complete Ministry of the Church - guaranteed on Pentecost

And the first way Pentecost makes a difference is: “The indwelling and the power of the Holy Spirit”.
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those followers of Jesus who had gathered together in Jerusalem.
And what happened on the first Pentecost still happens to believers today. Not in such a dramatic fashion with the sound of stormy winds and tongues of fire. Yet, God even now pours out the Spirit upon all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. He dwells (lives) in them and shares the power of the living Jesus with them. Romans 8:1-11.

It is God’s purpose for followers of Jesus to live in the power of the Spirit of God that dwells in them. As a result of his power, the Holy Spirit helps us to believe in and confess Jesus as Lord (1 Cor 12:3).
The Spirit helps us to serve God with spiritual power that humans typically don’t have. (1 Cor 12:4-11).
The Spirit helps us to live in the Body of Christ, binding us in loving unity with each other and with Christ.
The holy Spirit helps us to pray (Rom 8:26).
And he also prays for us. (Rom 8:27).
The Spirit guides us (Gal 5:25) in order to help us to more and more live like Jesus did. (Gal 5:22-23).

Pentecost asks us very personal questions about how we live. Do we live, witness, worship and pray, relying on the power of God’s Spirit?
Are we open to the Spirit’s gifts that will give us the strength to make a difference for Christ?
Do we actually listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

We often know that the Holy Spirit lives in us and gives us the power of the living Lord, but only to a point we allow it to happen. Limited by our fear to do something extraordinary for God we ignore the power of the Spirit. Our sin and our limited expectations for our service to God, and the fact that we are so easily sidetracked - forgetting about God’s plan for our lives – result in the reality that we do not receive the full benefit of the Spirit’s work in us.

Pentecost offers a chance to confess our disappointing shortcomings when it comes to living by the power of the indwelling Spirit. We should be praying and asking the Holy Spirit to give us the power of the living Lord once again.

The Holy Spirit - our Counselor

2011-06-13T06:58:00.007+02:00

Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday.
In a certain sense, it is unfortunate that we speak of Pentecost as the coming of the Holy Spirit, as if the Spirit only existed from the first Pentecost Sunday onwards.

Because we all know that the Spirit has been in existence for ever. God is eternally Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Eternally, from even before the beginning of time, from before the creation, into all eternity the Holy Spirit already was. In fact, in the book of Acts, we read that the Spirit already spoke through David and spoke through Isaiah long before Jesus was born.

But on the first Pentecost Sunday, the Spirit came to the Christian Church in a most special way. From that moment the Holy Spirit became the dominant reality in the life of the Church. The Holy Spirit came to witness abouth the Father and about Jesus and bring about an intimate relationship between us and our Saviour and Lord.

He came to be our Helper. The Holy Spirit is now the source of all guidance. He is our Comforter, our Advocate, our Counselor. He shows us the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is sincere in his interest in us - he lives in us. He is emphathetic towards our needs - he prays for us in words we do not even know. He does not come to judge us - he convicts us of our sin and weakness and show us a wiser, better, safer, happier way.

Jesus said: “When I go (to heaven), I will not leave you deserted. I will not leave you orphans. But I will send my Spirit, the Counselor, who will live in you and guide you." John 16:5ff)

Pentecost 12 June 2011 - God prefers to work in community - by Theo

2011-06-11T07:28:00.003+02:00

God prefers to work in community
by the Rev Theo Groeneveld.
Minister of the Emmanual Presbyterian Church.
Pretoria, South Africa.
http://www.emmanuel.org.za/

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts2:1-4

As much as we'd like to make Christianity an individualistic faith, the truth is that God draws us to community. The Holy Spirit could have been poured out on each of the disciples individually while they were in prayer or meditation, but God prefers to work in community.

Western Christianity has a very self-centered perspective on spiritual growth and development. We emphasise personal prayer and the private devotional time. This is not wrong, but there is a serious lack: the lack is the recognition of serious growth and development that is possible when God moves within our faith community.

The folk who became the New Testament's first church were together on the day of Pentecost and God used them as a community.

Many people seek to get closer to God. What they don't understand is that coming closer to God is also coming closer to community. God is a Triune Being - enjoying eternal community of Father, Son and Spirit. We who are created in His image are therefore designed for community.

It is perfectly feasible that the Spirit would choose to work in community. Coming together in community means that we have chosen to move aside our own imperfections (letting go of our insecurities) and the imperfections of others (shelving our critical spirits). It means that we take risks and make room for others.

This is not always comfortable for us. But when we take these kind of faith risks, we are in a place where the Spirit can work powerfully.

Here's a closing thought: Moving TOWARD community brought about Spiritual Growth. Moving AWAY from community brings about Spiritual Shrinkage. If we want the Spirit to work in our lives, we must recognise that He will always move us toward community.

Pentecost - transformed inside out - by Theo

2011-06-10T07:55:00.001+02:00

Pentecost – transformed inside out…
By the Rev Theo Groeneveld
Minister of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church.
Pretoria, South Africa.
http://emmanuel.org.za

36:24 " `For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel36:24-28

This awesome promise is part of a greater promise of forgiveness, renewal and restoration. God is addressing the hope-depleted, faith-diminished and devotion-decreased Israelites in Exile in Babylon.

They had given up hope.
They had lost everything.
They thought that they were forgotten.

God promises
- forgiveness (sprinkled with clean water)
- renewal (heart transplant & Spirit filling)
- restoration (to the land and to being God's people)

The picture of renewal is awesome.
Their hearts were stone - because of their sin and because of their suffering. In Hebrew thinking the heart is not the seat of emotions but rather the control room of a person's life. Their control-centers were bitter, cynical and empty of grace. God promises that this can change!

But that's not all! The promise is that Holy Spirit will take up residence in them to move them in commitment and devotion that they might live according to God's ways.

Are you hope-depleted or faith-diminished? Has your heart turned to stone through the pain and disappointment you've experienced? God wants to forgive, renew and restore!

Prayer: Lord, I'm so tired out by trying to become a better person from the outside-in. Please soften my heart so that I can be transformed from the inside-out. Amen.

Pinkster

2011-06-08T08:52:00.001+02:00

http://www.cpk.co.za/oordenkings/08_06_2011.pdf

Lees meer hier!

What is Pentecost Sunday: 12 June 2011

2011-06-08T02:35:00.000+02:00

What is Pentecost?
This coming Sunday, 12 June, Christians across the world will celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost remembers the birthday of the church and should be celebrated with commitment and enthusiasm.

Pentecost Sunday commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first followers of Jesus. After the death and resurrection of Christ, the disciples could not really be called the Church yet, since the Spirit brings the church into existence and gives the resurrection life of Jesus to her. This is why we say that on the first Pentecost Sunday the Christian Church was born when the Spirit was poured out on us who believe in Jesus.

What does the word “Pentecost” mean?
The English word “Pentecost” comes from a Greek word for “fifty” and was the name the Greek speaking Jews called the Hebrew festival “Shavuot”. Both Shavuot (Hebrew) and Pentecost (Greek) means “fifty”. This name comes from a decree in Leviticus 23:16, which instructs people to count seven weeks or “fifty days” from the end of the Hebrew Passover to Shavuot, a harvest festival celebrating the “first fruits” on the farms. It also later became the feast of thanksgiving for the giving of the law on Mount Sinai.

In the same way that Jesus, the Lamb of God, was crucified on the day and more or less during the time when the Hebrew Passover lamb was slaughtered in the temple during the Passover feast, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the very day when the Hebrews celebrated the first fruits of the harvest and the coming of the law – Shavuot or Pentecost.
It seems that God values the days of celebration he instated and gives a deep spiritual meaning to them that we who follow Jesus may grow in knowledge, gratefulness and commitment. And that we will never forget God’s great deeds of salvation.

The first fruits of the church, more than 3000 people, were saved and brought in after Peter preached his first sermon after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church on that day, the Hebrew Pentecost day, a Sunday.

As you might expect, there are a wide range of Christian celebrations of Pentecost amongst all the many denominations. Most churches at least mention it in prayer, song and sermon. Churches that employ liturgical colors (like we do) generally use red on Pentecost as a symbol of the power and the fire of the Holy Spirit.

So on Sunday we celebrate the birthday of the Church, when God by the power of the Holy Spirit gave a harvest of believers as a result of the “seed” of his blood Jesus planted on the cross and through his resurrection.

We too are part of that harvest – we, and all we will tell of the wondrous Gospel that Jesus came into this world to save sinners!

The Holy Spirit is not a stranger. Pentecost 2011

2011-06-08T02:30:00.004+02:00

Is the Holy Spirit a stranger to you? An article about what Presbyterians – and many other Bible believing Christians believe about the Holy Spirit

http://www.centurionwest.co.za/pdf/art_holy_spirit.pdf

Great Commission or Great Omission?

2011-06-06T02:52:00.001+02:00

Before his ascension Jesus issued what is now called “The Great Commission”. A “commission” is “an authoritative and directive command.”

The mandate of The Great Commission is to “Go”. (Matt. 28:19). This is a word of action! We cannot “go” if we are sitting still. We cannot “go” if we stay where we are. We cannot “go” if we do not make a move. And the move we are to make is to make disciples or followers or students of Jesus, teaching them everything Jesus did and taught.

The first disciples took the Lord’s command seriously. They went into the world and shared the Gospel of Jesus and thousands upon thousands were saved by the grace of God.

But is this still the true state of the Church today? We are satisfied to be saved, but are we motivated to support the mission Jesus gave us to see others come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? Somehow many now believe that the end of our responsibility is to come to church now and then, pray when we can, read the Bible if we feel like it and live a life that is slightly cleaner than the world around us.

We have forgotten the truth that Christ-followers are called to be militant. That we are activists of the Gospel. Our orders are not to sit by while the world remains lost and without Jesus. The ascended King instructs us to go into the world and tell everyone the glorious news of a crucified and risen Saviour who specializes in saving people, changing everything in their lives and shifting their eternal destiny.

Can it be true that The Great Commission became The Great Omission in our lives?

Ascension Day Sermon 2011

2011-06-04T00:02:00.002+02:00

Read a full text Ascension Day sermon outline here:

http://www.centurionwest.co.za/sermons.htm

Ascension Day 2011.

2011-06-02T09:05:00.001+02:00

If we say that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the foundation truth of the gospel (see 1 Corinthians 15:13-19), we have to understand that the bodily ascension of Jesus is of the same significance.

Jesus clearly told his disciples that he was going back to the Father (John 14:12). Jesus also during his trial proclaimed to the high priest that he would be “sitting at the right hand of Power” (Matthew 26:64).

Five times the New Testament writers tell us (Mark 16:19; Acts 1:2, 11, 22; 1 Timothy 3:16) that he “was taken up.” The passive form of the verb indicates that his ascension was something God did.

Historical truth
The apostles personally witnessed the Saviour’s ascension (Acts 1:9-11). Luke states that his belief in the historical ascension, as his faith in all the gospel events, was the result of careful research (Luke 1:3; 24:51). The event is also taught with confidence in the rest of the New Testament (see Acts 2:33; Ephesians 4:8-10; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 3:22).

The importance of the Ascension of Jesus.
• The ascension of the Saviour is an integral part of the confession that Christ is the “Lord,” who has “all authority in heaven and earth” (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:20-23).
• The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was possible as a result of the authority and power of the ascended, exalted Christ (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5; 2:33).
• The ascended Christ, seated in a position of divine power in heaven, gave his followers supernatural gifts to announce the Good News of his sacrificial death and his victorious resurrection.
• The ascension of Christ into heaven clearly shows that the Lord’s mission in our world was not to overthrow worldly power or start a human, political Kingdom, but to, from God’s throne in heaven, rule and reign for the sake of our salvation and victory over our, and his, enemies.
• The ascension of Christ confirmed the way of his return and eventual complete dominion in the new heaven and earth.
• The ascension of Jesus provides us with proof that we have a heavenly High Priest who, having been “crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 1:13; 2:7, 9), forever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25; cf. 1 John 2:1-2).
• The ascension of Christ emphasizes the fact that Christians are charged to submit to him, surrender to him, the glorious heavenly King. His last words were commissioning his followers to make disciples among all the nations throughout our planet (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47).

Behold the Lamb of God –
he takes away our sin!
He’s worthy honour, praise –
his Church prevails! We win!
Proclaim our God!
Bring honour only to “I AM” –
behold the Lamb!

“I AM the Bread of Life,
I AM the world’s True Light!
I AM the Way, the Truth,
victorious in the fight!”
Our risen Lord!
We stand in awe before “I AM” –
behold the Lamb!

He did unseal the scroll –
God’s one salvation plan!
He gives true life to me –
behold the Son of Man!
King Jesus Christ!
God’s Spirit does reveal “I AM” –
behold the Lamb!

Behold the Lamb of God –
who purchased us with blood.
He pleads before the throne,
he is God’s saving Word!
Now honour Christ!
We worship you, the great “I AM” –
behold the Lamb!

Thursday 2 June 2011, is Ascension Day!

2011-06-01T01:31:00.001+02:00

The Ascension of Jesus is the Christian teaching found in the New Testament when the resurrected Jesus was taken up to heaven in his resurrected body in the presence of eleven of his Apostles, occurring 40 days after the resurrection. Jesus ascended to his Father and his heavenly throne, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. An angel told the watching disciples that Jesus' second coming would take place in the same manner as his ascension, that is, He would descend in bodily form.

This is referred to in various Biblical passages. The Ascension of Jesus is also professed in the historic creeds of the Christian Faith, such as the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed.

The Ascension implies Jesus' humanity being taken into heaven. The Feast of the Ascension, celebrated 40 days after Easter, is one of the principal feasts of the Christian year. The feast dates back at least to the later 4th century and is therefore celebrated for more than 1 600 years.

1. What does “He ascended into heaven” means?
That Christ, in the sight of his disciples, according to his human nature was taken up from the earth into heaven, and continues to be there in a position of divine authority and power until he shall come again to judge the living and the dead.
2. Is Christ then not with us as he has promised?
Christ is true man and true God. According to his human nature he is now not on earth but in heaven, but as our God, Saviour and King he is never absent from us!
3. What benefits do we have because Jesus Christ ascended into heaven?
Firstly: He is our Advocate in the presence of his Father in heaven, always praying for us.
Secondly: Because he is in heaven as a human being, we know that he as our Head will also take us there.
Thirdly: He sends his Spirit to us by whose power we seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God, and not the things on the earth. The glorious Christ, enthroned in heaven, pours heavenly gifts on us, defending us against all our enemies and protecting us from evil.

Worship, honour, glory, blessing,
Lord, we offer to Your Name.
Young and old, Your praise expressing,
join their Saviour to proclaim.
As the saints in heaven adore You,
we would bow before Your throne,
As Your angels serve before You,
so on earth Your will be done

Jesus is...

2011-05-30T00:26:00.000+02:00

Jesus makes seven "I am" statements recorded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to John.
I am the bread of life (6:35,48; cf 6:41,51)
I am the light of the world (8:12)
I am the door (10:7,9)
I am the good shepherd (10:11,14)
I am the resurrection and the life (11:25)
I am the way, and the truth, and the life (14:6)
I am the vine (15:1,5)

"I am," recalls the words of God to Moses out of the burning bush: "I AM WHO I AM." As such, by each of these statements Jesus tells us about his mission: to bring life, to be light, to be the door, to lay down his life for the sheep. And, by each of these statements Jesus also tell us about his person: that he is the second Person of the eternal, triune God, Creator of heaven and earth!

The message of the “I am” statements is that it is only in Jesus, it is only in union with Jesus, it is only by participating in Jesus, it is only by believing in Jesus, that we receive true life in all its facets and on the last day, resurrection.

Proclaim the peace of the risen Jesus

2011-05-27T05:05:00.001+02:00

God is the ultimate peace maker. And he paid the final price for peace as he sent his only and beloved Son to become our Prince of Peace. The prophet Isaiah eloquently spoke about the joy Jesus Christ would bring by revealing the good news about God’s peace:

Isa 52:7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” And when Jesus was born angels filled the sky and praised God saying: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favours” (Luke 2:14).

Notice how God’s peace and God’s salvation is mentioned in the same breath by Isaiah. In restoring God’s reign in our lives and on earth, we experience heavenly peace through the salvation that God brings. The angels confirmed that it is Jesus that the prophets spoke about.

In the very next chapter Isaiah describes God’s suffering Servant as “a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief” (Isa 53:3). He suffers not because he did anything wrong, but “he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!” (Isa 53:5). God would restore peace on earth through Christ who carried the punishment for our sins and thus restored our peace with God. People who are at peace with God become family with others who were blessed in the same way. God’s people also have a new respectful relationship with all that God created.

Jesus entered the world as the one who would accomplish the assignment of the suffering Servant. In his resurrection he guarantees that this peace would be maintained through the coming of his Kingdom that he received as he was exalted to sit at the right hand of God.

By God’s grace and mercy we serve the Prince of Peace. His light shines through us and his message comes through us. In Christ the prophetic message also speaks about us, when we are faithful in proclaiming the Good News: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’ (Isa 52:7)

The risen Jesus gives you peace.

2011-05-25T02:04:00.000+02:00

Rom 5: 1. Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 14: 17. For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Matt. 5: 9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Various words describe experiencing the joy of living in the Kingdom of the risen Lord. Life, forgiveness and reconciliation are only three of many words that begin to teach about the layer upon layer of the sum total of what happens when we enter into the resurrection life of Jesus.

But “peace” seems to summarise what is essential to sharing in the life of the risen Jesus. That is if we know that biblical peace is much more than the absence of war and enmity. When OT believers greeted each other with “shalom” that we translate as peace, it had a positive message of being whole, complete and content – as the faithful share in the wholeness and divine bliss that God also enjoys.

One can still see a small speck of Paradise if you take time to look for it. Looking at God’s footprint left in unspoiled nature gives a glimpse of the peace that God intended for us when he created the perfect garden, called planet earth, for us to live in. This is why I simply cannot stay away from the Knysna forest and unspoiled beaches of the southern Cape. And where the dust of commercialisation has not covered too much of this footprint, the beautiful Bushveld and its natural wealth of game and tranquillity also speaks about Paradise: completeness found in being in tune with God, with our garden home he gave us and with one another.

The prophets foretold that the Messiah would be a Prince of Peace and that his Kingdom would restore God’s initial intent for us to share in the peace that the human mind cannot comprehend, yet the human soul can experience in his presence.

But the majority of us cannot run away from the man-made rat race, the less than perfect urban concrete and steel cages we erected to facilitate our technology driven and money run lives. Would peace for us only be a dream and forever unfulfilled desire and need?
Well, we will perfectly and completely only return to God’s Peace Paradise when God’s dominion becomes perfect when the risen Christ returns.

But where we as his followers brings about justice and righteousness through proclaiming the Gospel, the footprint of God’s work will also become visible in our contentment within a restored relationship with Christ, with God, with our Christian family and our family at home.

When we live the peace with God that Jesus brought through his sacrifice and his triumph and his exultation, then we, God’s children, become God’s peace footprint in a warring, struggling, conniving society. The wholeness and completeness that the resurrected Christ brings to our lives and relationships with God, people and nature, is called being the salt of the earth, being the light of the world, yes, being the hope of the despondent!

Now we know why Jesus said: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matt 5:9)

Eastertide teaches us to let go!

2011-05-23T03:28:00.001+02:00

To fully find life again, Mary Magdalene had to let go! (John 20: 11 – 18)
The preacher Bill Coffin said that the hope of the resurrection is “to convert us from something less than life to the possibility of full life itself.”

This is what happened to Mary. Her experience of the joy of resurrection life begins when Jesus said her name, “Mary” and then said, “It’s time to let go.” In letting go, we can be converted to the possibilities of full life again.

In letting go in a resurrection world, we can again experience life after pain and sadness and we can expel bitterness. We can find the possibility of full life itself.

These words describe Mary Magdalene.
She cries at the tomb, because she is so sure that Jesus is dead.
She cries for him and she cries for herself and her loss. Yet when Jesus said her name, he is not dead any more, and neither is she!

We need a Saviour to dry the whole world’s tears. And we have a Saviour, the almighty Christ, who dries our tears - one person and one name at a time! Jesus calls us by the name to let go and to start living again. Believe it, because Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed.

Eastertide: Pray in the Name of the risen Jesus

2011-05-19T02:33:00.001+02:00

How do you pray in the Name of Jesus?
In several passages from the Gospel according to John, Jesus instructs us to pray in his Name. For example:
“I will do whatever you ask in my Name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my Name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14; see also 15:16; 16:23-24, 26)
This command has led many Christians to end their prayers with words such as “in Jesus name” or “through Jesus Christ our Lord”, before they say “Amen.”

We can only approach God in the Name of Jesus, because we are under the authority of the living Lord. We come into God’s presence, not in our merit, but because the risen Jesus is our Head and King. We are welcome in God’s presence not as a result of who we are, but simply because we belong to Christ.

If we are to pray in the Name of King Jesus, our prayers should be about the agenda of King Jesus. This means that our minds and hearts must be formed and directed by Scripture. It also means that we have to set aside quiet times to listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit who speaks the will of Jesus. When we pray in the Name of Jesus, we do not only approach God under the authority of Jesus, but we come to the Father with the desires of Jesus.

Praying in the Name of Jesus has very little to do with the words we use to end our prayers. Yes, it is a good practice to end our prayers saying, “in the Name of Jesus” or “through Jesus Christ our Lord”. But if we believe that to say this is some sort of magic formula that ensures that God will do what we ask, we should stop saying these words until we are in tune with the Lord and his desires. Self-centred prayers cannot be fixed by a formula of words at the end. There is no example or command in the Bible of how to end our prayers. And the Lord’s Prayer does not say “in Jesus Name” at the end.

But the Lord’s Prayer says – Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. And this is what it means to pray in the Name of Jesus. To come by his authority, with his will, before his Father. To pray in his Name means to desire the heavenly rule of the Son of God to break visibly into this world, on this planet, in my life and where I am called to make a difference.

If saying “in the Name of Jesus” at the end of our prayers helps us to remember that we seek the will of Christ in prayer, we have the freedom to do so. But it is not mentioning the Name of Jesus at the end that makes it a Christian prayer, but by surrendering to his will throughout my prayer that it becomes an approach of the Father in his Name.
It is not so much the words I say at the end of the prayer that makes the difference, but it is my relationship with the risen Lord and my obedience to him throughout my prayer, that makes it a prayer in his Name.