Techno basics

Show me a new computer system and my eyes twinkle. That's what our team did today, we saw a presentation about how to take some of our procurement processes and automate them. Joy and happiness! Anything that is going to make my life easier is a welcome addition.

Strangely in our computer driven age, the good old art of typing is no longer taught. I find this odd especially seeing as the computer key board is a typewriter adaptation. So why do we not teach the typing skills necessary to make operating these devices so much simpler?

I think it is because we put the cart before the horse. We forget that building good knowledge foundations allows us to build platforms upon which to create the technology we need to function more efficiently. I wonder if the same could be said about our faith?

I think it is as much a spiritual problem today as our technical development is. We want to be spiritual giants and achieve great things for God, but most selfishly of all we want spiritual greatness for our own benefit. We forget that Revelation can only come from deep commitment to reading God's word and growing in our knowledge of the basic things like prayer, fellowship and communion with God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God!

Simply put, the just shall live by faith!

A speech worth remembering

I'm pretty sure that as the thousands of people who braved the cold, wet and miserable conditions in the FNB stadium rose to applaud, celebrate and remember the life of a remarkable man, Nelson Mandela, so too the grandstands in heaven must have risen to join them.

I know that throughout the world today, many tuned in to their television stations to watch the speech delivered by The United States of America President, Mr Barak Obama. With great eloquence he spoke of the characteristics that made Mandela a much loved hero the world over.

If there is one skill that has marked some of the greatest leaders in history it would be their great oratory skill. Lincoln's Gettysburg address, Churchill's “we'll fight them on the beaches”, Martin Luther King's “I have a dream” speeches have all been recorded and remembered.

Jesus was one of the greatest orator's of His time. Today we scoff at a crowd of 5000 but caste your mind back 2000 years ago and remember the era as it was. Drawing a crowd of 5000 at that time was a remarkable feat. How did they all even hear a word He said? Well as creator of our world He knew that wood and water both carry and amplify sound. Does the small boat on the water make more sense now?

BUT of all the words ever spoken, no sentence has radically changed more lives than the simple words Jesus spoke on the cross before He died, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” As Christians we stand in right relationship with God only because of those words.

Words do have power! Choose to use them wisely!

Transformed!

Hearing about all the international presidents, past and present, as well as all the celebrities who are flying into our country to come and attend either the memorial service of burial service of our former State President, Mr Nelson Mandela, is truly touching and remarkable. They stand as a testament to the impact this one man has made on our planet earth.

When we ask ourselves what it took to achieve this, one word stand out: Transformation!

How different the result would have been if Mandela had held onto the bitterness, hatred and anger that he surely must have felt at some time during his many years of incarceration at Robin Island. I know for sure that he would have had to dig deep, very deep, to find it in his heart to forgive those who had treated him unjustly.

He did however succeed and because of that, we as South Africans enjoy the full freedom to live out our lives as we choose, not bound by any laws that could limit any good action.

Jesus lived a life that was honourable to God in every way and yet he died as a criminal. Jesus could easily have chosen the path of hatred and anger, but He chose to submit His will to the will of His Father and submitted Himself to death. He rose on the third day as a triumphant, victorious King and the transformation He underwent paved the path for our eternal victory over death. Though our bodies wilt, our spirits are strong and we will live in the fullness of God's victory over death.

Oh death, where is your sting, for our spirits are renewed in Christ and we will reign with Him, forevermore!

A Great South African

The announcement on the 5th of December of the death of our country's first African President, his honourable Mr. Nelson Mandela, has left a gap in the hearts of many South Africans.

The sacrifice and dedication of this man who gave his life for the fight for the equality of all South Africans both black, white, coloured and indian has made a mark on not only our country but the world over.

Though we will miss his physical presence amongst us we have a legacy of wisdom, forgiveness and compassion that he has left with us.

We can give thanks to God for the wonderful gift which He bestowed on us when He gave us a leader willing to serve his nation, even if that service would have led to death.

In loving memory of Nelson Mandela!

Family First

My cousin Nicholas' wedding to Jonette on Friday was an awesome family event.  With the weather being a bit colder than expected the warmth of family love truly did shine through.

Jonette's family are a really bubbly bunch and they brought to the wedding their own unique boer flavour with fun activities that brought laughter to us all.

One thing that was evident to all, this young couple have got many fun loving and exciting years ahead of them.

God's love brings with it the hope of joy, grace, peace and kindness and when we learn to walk in His love our joy is made full!

Congratulations Nick and Jonette!

Rushing for a reason

After an all day power outage I sadly had to throw away a lot of good food. The time wasted on this was frustraiting knowing that tomorrow night will be busy and I needed to get as much done as possible.

Tomorrow night I will need to pack to prepare to go to Pretoria on Thursday evening with my mom and sister, who will both be arriving by bus on Thursday afternoon. What's the occasion? My cousin will be getting married on Friday evening, so we are all looking forward to a wonderful wedding celebration and time spent with family.

So to Nicholas and Jonette, it is only two more sleeps......enjoy these last few moments of singleness because you are about to embark on a lifetime of togetherness! We rejoice that God has brought you together and cannot wait to see what wonderful things lie ahead!

Flying to the light

This weekend I heard much wild chirping and saw Honey peering up at the patio ceiling making his little ma-a-a-a-ah noises, which usually accompanies the sighting of prey. I grabbed him and turned around to see a young bird clinging to the bricks and fluttering around in terror.

Stressed out myself, I called on my neighbour to assist me with the drama while putting Honey back in the house. She very wisely told me that the young bird would fly towards the light and that we should just back off and allow it some time to find its bearings.

Sure enough, a few moments later the little thing flew down and out it went. I learned a good and valuable lesson about bird behaviour that day! More so it got me thinking about the parable Jesus told about the city on the hill. Jesus said that a city on a hill cannot be hidden and that as we shine our light we will draw others to Him.

Having seen this, to me, new bird behaviour it started to make so much more sense. There are so many hurting people out there just looking for a way of escape, a way to flee depression, heartache and anger. When we are the light of the world we show others that way of escape through our relationship with Jesus!

Will you shine your light and let others see Jesus today?