Record numbers

I'll never forget the line of people as it just never ended. The first free and fair elections held in South Africa this day, 27 April 1994. Living in Craighall at the time, none of us could have anticipated the turn out. The months before had been marred by violence and blood shed and many dooms day sayer's were predicting the election would lead to civil war.

Instead, we stood in peace, side by side. Black, White, Coloured, Indian all casting our vote. The turnout was astounding, every South African wanted to make their mark that day, so much so that voting was extended by a second day and a second public holiday was declared to assist with completing the process. Even then, standing in the line the second day it still took hours before we could caste our votes.

How did we manage to find peace in that troubled time? I believe it's because millions of Christians were praying. The power of prayer should never be underestimated. When Christians unite and stand together, believing God for victory, we can change the the circumstances for an individual, a family and even a nation.

Never forget the power of prayer!

Stayed on you

There are many tough choices we will have to make in life. We spend time restling with the consequences. Should I or shouldn't I? We toss and turn not sure of which way to go.

So how do we make those all important decisions? Doesn't God's word say that he will keep in perfect peace, he who's mind is stayed on him? Somewhere amongst all the questions and wrestling is a still small voice saying "Yes" or "No".

The trick is, once we've heard that voice we must choose to obey. When we do, we will have a peace that surpasses all understanding. That is when we'll have the peace to trust God, no matter what the outcome.

Will you choose to keep your mind stayed on God today?

Sorted

With years of experience dealing with suppliers I know a good one when I find one. You soon learn to read people and when they are for real or not. It's all about authenticity. In faith, it's no different. People either live their faith and it shines through, or all you see are empty words.

So what is authentic faith? Is it the “I name it and claim it brigade,” or is it the ability to have the kind of faith that stands strong through life's most difficult challenges? Faith that stands strong against the storms of life is a faith that needs to be grown, it doesn't happen over night.

When you find yourself in the eye of the storm, you need to surround yourself with authentic and strong Christians who will hold you up in prayer and go the distance with you! It's then that you can raise your arms, even if held high by your friends and praise God for his goodness. When we do that, faith truly becomes the substance of things hoped for and it's then that you know..... you are sorted!

Black whole

The theory of black hole's existing in space is fascinating. A black hole is considered to be a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes of stellar mass are expected to form when very massive stars collapse at the end of their life cycle.

I wonder if people too can become black hole's? Maybe starting out on a particular work venture with passion and flare. Gradually as time goes by the passion fades due to the mundane nature of the task causing a gradual death of a passion that once burned so bright.

The sad thing is that it is believed that black hole's can suck other matter into themselves and cause the collapse of those stars too. We need to pray and ask God not to allow us to be sucked into other peoples negative spirit's as their own bad attitudes can destroy us. We need the power to stay strong and stand firm in God.

Hooks and runners

Eagerly awaiting the arrival of one of my best friends, currently residing in Canada, I decided my spare bedroom needed a good cleaning, so it's ready for a visit (hint hint). From couch covers, carpets and curtains, the whole shabang got washed and cleaned.

Over the years I've noticed how the runners and hooks slowly started coming off, when washed by my house keeper. They were never being replaced, so after a while the curtains just weren't hanging right. I decided to buy a few more runners and rehung them myself carefully spacing the hooks.

A well hung curtain always has ruffles at the top. We all have our own unique strengths and weaknesses and yet some treat those weaknesses as sin.... this is not so! God has uniquely created you to reflect multiple personality traits as God is multifaceted and we are created in his image.

We need to see those weaknesses like the ruffles of a curtain, they are necessary but in order to be effective they need to be well spaced with good even tension. God made you unique, love yourself as God loves you!

Not another one

One American family's kids were really funny. When confronted by the news that their mommy was once again pregnant, howling broke loose. The parents will have to watch out for the sibling rivalry in that house hold … tee hee!
Sibling rivalry isn’t new to mankind. I’ve certainly seen enough of it in our family with both positive and negative effects. The bible is full of stories of family members feuding, especially older males when it came to the birth right.
An inheritance is a privilege not a right. More importantly a legacy isn't about money but about what part of ourselves we leave behind for those that will one day follow in our foot steps. The biggest blessing any parent could bestow on their children would be to leave an inheritance of faith!

Tough to be a tortoise

Stick your neck out in faith and that sneaky serpent is bound to slither up and bite you!  Living by faith is really tough and requires courage and determination.  That’s why we can so easily slip into a works programme and expect that by our own deeds that we will be able to make things happen.  I know, I’ve made that mistake.

Right now you could be needing a breakthrough from God.  Either you, or a family member may be facing chronic disease.  Maybe you are believing God for financial provision and it just isn’t coming.  Maybe your marriage or relationships with people are falling apart.  We all have our Goliath’s that threaten our lives one way or another. 

God is a good God and he desires to bless us no matter what our circumstances.  We need to keep our eyes focused on him and know that he is our provider in every way, body, soul and spirit.  Even when the floor falls out the bottom of our pit, God is there with rope for us to hang on and believe me, he will deliver!

Irritating but necessary

Well it's full swing into audit season for most companies this time of year. What an irritation. People poking their nose in everything. Asking questions and requiring proof of a solid basis for accounting transactions.

Without audits though the world would run amuk. Structure and maintaining legal accounting records is crucial to the very fabric of society, though few would say so. So what is our biblical audit standard?

The Bible of course. The same way accounting standards set the bar for how accounting records should be kept, the word of God guides us and lays out the principles that form the foundation of a life strong in God.

Will you let God do an audit on your life?

Must love Monday's

This morning on the radio the presenter was reading out a whole bunch of Stats about why people hate Monday's. It wasn't long before those stats (at least on my part) were forgotten. 11:50am hit and I was saying “Wow, were did the morning go?”

Now I'm not wishing my life a way but the hustle of a Monday morning sure does make the time fly and that's just great. I think it's all about attitude. We do have a choice and if we chose to focus on better things our outlook on life changes and we attract good things.

I'm not saying it's a sin to have bad days, we all have those, but you can choose to say in that bad place or deal with the problem and move on. God is our strong tower to run to when times get tough , and he is our shield as we march forward in battle!

If only they'd responded

When the RMS Titanic began sending out distress signals, the SS Californian, rather than the Carpathia, was the closest ship; yet the Californian did not respond until it was much too late to help. At 12:45 a.m. On April 15, 1912, crew members on the Californian saw mysterious lights in the sky (the distress flares sent up from the Titanic) and woke up their captain to tell him about it. Many people believe that if the Californian had responded to the Titanic's pleas for help, many more lives could have been saved.

Wow that's sad and scary at the same time! Close enough to see but too lazy to do anything about it. Isn't that a symptom of the decayed society we live in today. We are all so wrapped up in our own dilemma's that we don't even take notice when somebody else around us is hurting.

Let us take the time to think of and remember those around us that are hurting and pray for God to move in their lives. As we give the gift of interceding prayer God will bless us with prayers answered!

Those fatal words

If only they'd never said it, “God himself could not sink her!” Had those arrogant fatal words never been spoken, who knows what the History of Titanic would have been. Several fatal errors caused Titanic's demise.

Speeding through the North Atlantic waters when and Iceberg warning was in hand was a major mistake. Despite the fact that Titanic could withstand the flooding of 4 of it's water tight compartments, nobody imagined it could get any worse, so the water tight bulk heads didn't go all the way to the top. In the end 6 compartments were flooded. Ironically had the ship hit the iceberg head-on, it may have fared better.

The question I have to ask is, how well are we building our ship of life? Are we ignoring important signs of things we should build into our lives while we can, or do we simply feel we don't need it. I can use going to church as one example.

Do we have to stop and take stock of our attitudes? We must never forget the insightful words of James 4:10, “Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up!” As we take time today on April 14, 2012 and tomorrow to remember the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, let us not forget the lessons she can teach us.

Shred it

Office shredders are both useful but very dangerous pieces of equipment. Arthur Anderson employees used them to shred evidence of their collusion with Enron. Paper trails form the back bone of all accounting systems. Shredders can destroy very valuable information that should be retained.

I wonder if we don't treat relationships the same. We encounter a problem then often with little thought we cut ties with people who could be very valuable to us in achieving God's Divine plan for our lives.

Many people become discouraged in their relationship with God due to small offenses and instead of dealing with the problem, they throw away their relationship with God.

Have you lots ties with God somehow and forgotten how it happened? The wonderful news for us is, unlike paper destroyed by shredders, our relationship with God can be completely repaired back to it's former glory. All we have to do is repent.

Platterland

I haven't had the opportunity to do the drive from Johannesburg to Kimberly for many years, so my recent trip to surprise my mom with a visit for Easter was a wonderful opportunity to do just that. A road trip brings unique perspective.

The terrain changes several times as you move through climate zones. The vast expanses of seeming nothingness are soon broken by golden corn fields followed by a dash of happiness from the green and yellow sunflowers.

The Afrikaans word for this region describes it best, Platterland, meaning flat lands. If you could go just a short distance up in the air, you'd probably be able to see forever. Drive a little further and a bunch of trees near a windmill, give away the location of a lone farm house.

Life too hits many plateau's. Times when the going is easy. Vast amounts of sunshine from God's presence make it easy for us to grow the crops of sustenance and there are large patches of happiness.

Enjoy these moments! They are a gift and a blessing from God to let us know that there is life outside the hustle and bustle of career and seemingly endless deadlines. If you currently find yourself in the desert, take heart because the trip back to the plateau will soon begin :-)

Surprise!

As I turned the corner round the patio wall to surprise my mom for Easter, the look on her face was priceless! The road trip from Johannesburg to Kimberly was so well worth it!

I can well imagine Jesus toying with Mary as he appeared to her in the garden. Then imagine her face as she realized that the stranger was the Lord!

God's desire is that we would recognize his countenance and that our hearts will be filled with joy once we behold him. For the joy set before him Christ endured the cross. That joy was a close enduring relationship that will last eternally.

Nearly swallowed my coin

Pain driving me to distraction, I sat in the car with my pain tablet in one hand in my coin for the car guard in the other.....and then.......I popped the coin in my mouth....yug yug yug! Coins do NOT taste good!

How many times in life have you meant to do one thing and just ended up doing another by accident. It may seem accidental but it is more a symptom of being double minded. James 1 tells us that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We need to learn in life to be present with every moment. Distraction can take moment but have disastrous consequences. Slowing down just a tad can truly save a life. In spirit it is no different. The time we take out to spend focusing on God can be the turning point in a life set on course for greatness!

April's diamond

April's birthstone is remarkably simple in composition, yet stunning in its unique ability to reflect and refract light into vivid flashes of brilliant color. The Diamond is harder than any other substance on earth.

Formed deep within the earth where there is intense heat and pressure, Diamonds are simply crystallized carbon. Volcanic activity of centuries ago brought these gemstones to the earth's surface, where they are found either within volcanic rock formations or washed out into rivers.

A Diamond is symbolic of everlasting love. Didn't Christ show us how deep his everlasting love for us was, when he went down into the depth of Hades and took away the keys of death and the grave? Jesus took the fire of the punishment for our sin so that the beauty of our salvation could be washed in the rivers of life and bring wealth to those who's lives we touch.

The palm leaves waved

This past Sunday was Palm Sunday, which has been celebrated by Christians for nearly 2 millenia. The entry by Jesus into Jerusalem riding on a donkey while the people waved palm leaves and sang Hosanna Hosanna marked the final moments of joy for Christ before his betrayal and crucifixion.

The Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah yet when he appeared before them they did not recognise him. The people longed for a strong political leader who would deliver them from Roman oppression but they did not recognise the oppression that had held them captive far longer..... Oppression of the heart and spirit.

Deliverance is far more than freedom from oppressive government or an absence of war or poverty. Freedom comes when we know our eternal home is with God and knowing that any troubles we face here are merely momentary discomforts before an eternity we can look forward to in heaven.