True North

Is peace merely the absence of war? Is peace the tranquil feeling in a still calm zone or a quiet breeze? Is peace the absence of conflict or a state of order? No, I think not! Peace is the anchor of our soul and a rock on which to build our faith.

Peace should be our guiding force and our compass true North. Many people ask God for signs to give them guidance or they seek a prophet to hear God's voice. Our strongest guidance should be the peace that surpasses all understanding. When circumstances tell you there is no hope, peace gives us strength to wait for God's timing.

We often rush and make hasty decisions based on need rather than trusting God to provide for every situation. Growing our fruit of peace requires learning to trust God when we would otherwise run. As we develop an understanding of the work of peace in our lives we can take the time necessary to make the right choices and decisions based on sound advice and trusted facts.

Rest in God's peace today and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you not by voices but a quiet centre of gravity that peace instills in our soul.

That cost how much?

We often think of joy as the emotions of elation and happiness with a great big sunny smile. We seldom associate joy with any form of pain, yet scripture challenges this perception. Hebrews 12 v 1&2, speaks of our life race. Being an athlete requires many hours of training and pain to become the best.

Verse 2 tells us that for the joy set before him, Christ endured the cross. What joy was that? Our salvation and reconciliation with God. This joy came with a hefty price tag.... His death. How often in life don't we desire great change, great results, but are unwilling to pay the price?

We need to have the courage to know that there will come times when we have to endure discomfort but becoming committed to the process, will yield results that can create fruit that will last a lifetime.

Honey and Syrup

Put some syrup and honey in a glass side by side and you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference just by appearance. One of the fruit of the spirit is love and for most of us that can be confusing because we assimilate love with romance. Just like syrup and honey though romance and God's love are very different.

God's love is unconditional. God's love is exemplified in action not in emotion. When God sent Jesus to die on the cross, he did not feel like doing it, but his love us compelled him to make the sacrifice necessary for our redemption. 

God's love is also not just 'liking' someone but the ability to act in a way that shows grace despite them being hurtful towards you. It is always difficult to show respect and dignity when others have offended or hurt us in some way, but it is in those situations that we get tested and are given an opportunity to truly learn how to show the love of God.

Learning to show God's love requires a great deal of work and we will truly need the help of the Holy Spirit to do so..... but then again, that is why it is called a fruit of the 'Spirit'.

Grapefruit galore!

I will never forget the day my dad came home with a bakkie load of grapefruit. I can't remember the reason for the windfall, but there were stacks. We were asked to call all the neighbours. Bags and bags went home with the neighbours, yet there were still a ton left. Of course we ate grapefruit till they came out our ears.

Galatians 5:22-24 talks about the fruit of the spirit. We all need to have these fruit in evidence in our spiritual walk. Some may come more naturally than others as our tempraments will dictate our strengths and weeknesses in this area.

Nevertheless, we should all strive to grow in our understanding and the exhibition of these fruit in our lives, so much so, that we will attract others to Christ through bearing these fruit in abundance.

Table Mountain, South Africa

I can only imagine the expression on António de Saldanha's face, when his ship rounded the cape and he took sight of Table Mountain for the very first time. He was the first European to land in Table Bay. He climbed the mighty mountain in 1503 and named it Taboa do Cabo (Table of the Cape, in his native Portuguese).

If you've ever done the trip back from Robin Island to Cape Town, you'll agree that Table Mountain's panorama, flanked by Devil's Peak to the east and by Lion's Head to the west, forms a dramatic and breath-taking backdrop to Cape Town.

What is the backdrop to our lives? As we celebrate this final candidate of the New 7 wonders of nature, let us pause for a moment to consider the impression we will leave on people's hearts and minds. If there is one thing we should desire to be remembered for, it should be our faith! And..... if nothing else that we loved the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.

Puerto Princesa River, Philippines

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 kilometres north of the city centre of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. The park has a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 kilometer navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. Limestone makes up about 10% of the total volume of all sedimentary rocks. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions, is the cause of the formation of caves.

Worldwide there are many limestone caves. These places have become natural habitations for animals, bats, aquatic life and ancient nomadic tribes. God desires that our hearts will be like limestone. As we allow the water of God's word to work in our lives it creates caves of spiritual habitation for the presence of God and a space where we can allow people into our lives so that they can be ministered too.

As the world celebrates The Puerto Princesa River as one of the New 7 wonders of the world, lets search our hearts to find the areas that have become hardened to God word. Ask God to soften your heart so that your life can be a habitable place for God and people.

Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Komodo National Park was established in 1980 and was declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1986. The park was initially established to conserve the unique Komodo dragon, first discovered by the scientific world in 1911 by J.K.H. Van Steyn. Since then conservation goals have expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial.

The Komodo Dragon is among the world's largest reptiles and can reach 3 meters or more in length and weigh over 70kg. As a result of their size, these lizards dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. Their group behaviour in hunting is exceptional in the reptile world. The diet of big Komodo dragons mainly consists of deer, though they also eat considerable amounts of carrion.

I wonder what lizards we have dominating our ecosystems? Is it relationship, financial or maybe physical or emotional issues? Life isn't easy and we all make mistakes, but if we take our eyes off God it is so easy to allow life to ambush us and take over and dominate our sphere of space.

As the world honours Komodo National park as one of the New 7 wonders of nature, let's choose to acknowledge the lizards in our lives. It isn't easy, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can ask God to search our hearts and make us sensitive to the issues we need to deal with.