Heartwords

darylhb.com

2011-05-16T10:38:00.000+02:00

For my latest Heartwords, check out darylhb.com. :)

For every problem you face, God has already created the solution

2010-11-14T11:00:00.004+02:00

Our pastor, Anton Homann, was preaching such an anointed message last night! The title of this post is a statement from his sermon:

For every problem you face, God has already created the solution.

It really struck me and Anton drew a great analogy for it from the book of Genesis:

When God created the world, He first made the ocean and then the fish, who would need the sea water to swim in. Just so He created the earth and the plants before He created the creatures who would need to live on the earth and eat the plants.

In this way God created the solution to the need before He created the situation for the need.

Whatever you're facing, whatever your need, know that God has the answer and the solution ready for just the moment you ask Him.

The Temple Together

2010-11-09T09:04:00.000+02:00

There is value in the church.

There is protection in the church.

There is reward in the church.

We are the church.

1 Corinthians 3:10-17

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have — Jesus Christ.

Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials — gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in (among) you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

What value do you place on the church?

Living Water

2010-10-15T08:26:00.002+02:00

"I said 'Water', expecting the word would satisfy my thirst."
- mewithoutYou, My Exit, Unfair

We all need God, but just talking about Him or ticking the "Christian" box on forms isn't going to satisfy our hunger for Him.

We need to seek Him in His Word and in prayer.

Prayer is like turning on the tap to the only water that will satisfy your thirst for God.

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
- John 7:38

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
- John 4:10

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
- Luke 11:10

I can't get Tyler Clementi off my mind

2010-10-11T21:46:00.001+02:00

In case you don't know, Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old university student committed suicide on 22 September. This was after his roommate posted footage on the internet of him making out with another man, resulting in great mockery.

What gets me is how hopeless and isolated Tyler must have felt - to jump off a bridge to his death. And even worse is some of the hate messages left on the Tyler Clementi Memorial Facebook page. A sample:

"God says very clearly that homosexuality and suicide are mortal sins. TONIGHT TYLER DINES IN HELL."

When there are many other things God defines as "mortal sins" as well and Jesus said no-one can judge another unless that person is blameless themself.

The point is that God loves us inspite of our sin. That He offers a life of freedom from sin. And that is the only hope any of us have.

What makes it worse is the episode of Glee that (coincidentally) aired a few days later, with Kurt Hummel declaring, "God’s kind of a jerk, isn’t he? I mean, he makes me gay, then has his followers going around telling me it’s something that I chose. As if someone would choose to be mocked every single day of their life."

People need to get an understanding of God's goodness.

I don't know how or why anyone is who they are and why we feel the things we do. But I do know that God's dreams for you are greater even than your own.

I know that He wants you to live a fulfilled life and that that comes from knowing Him.

God's followers disappoint Him all the time - probably more than those who don't follow Him. But He still loves us. Just like He loves you, no matter who you are, what you've done or what you feel.

If you're gay and think that God might be real, but don't know how to get the two to match up, talk to someone who's been there.

Trust me:

God is good. And He made you for Him to love you.

Promises, Promises

2010-06-15T06:51:00.001+02:00

What does it mean to respond to God's promises?

Is it building your life as though God's promises are just facts? Rather than hoping that God might one day be in a good enough mood to maybe keep His word?

Read Yep, There’s One For That, a blog post by Mark Altrogge of The Blazing Center, which explains why God's promises are better than iPhone apps.

Growing Restless

2010-06-01T08:00:00.000+02:00

A sure sign that I'm becoming restless is the need to change the CD every time I get into the car.

What do you do when you get restive?

The Life Worth Living

2010-05-26T08:10:00.000+02:00

"Don't tell me you need a life as well as/in addition to/away from this. This is a life!"

This is what Donovan Coetzee, the South African national leader of the Assembly of God church group, once said about church. I love it.

So often we say we can't serve at a church event or can't commit to a certain role at the church, because it will take up to much time and, "I do have a life too, you know!"

But you don't think it's acceptable to have a life away from your spouse, do you?

So how can it be that we need a life away from the most important relationship we'll ever have and the only relationship that will last into eternity?

This is a life. The only life worth living.

Merely God

2010-05-24T09:12:00.000+02:00

"It is at her centre, where her truest children dwell, that each communion is closest to every other in spirit, if not in doctrine. And this suggests that at the centre of each there is a something, or a Someone, who against all divergences of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice."

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

No Debate (Part Four) - Just Choice

2010-05-20T07:46:00.000+02:00

In giving us free will, God even allows us to choose whether to love Him or not. To return His love or not.

Because He loved us first.

Wow.

(1 John 4:19)

A Debate (Part Three) - God or God?

2010-05-19T09:06:00.001+02:00

I had some difficulty deciding whether to publish this post or not; I realise it may come across as unsympathetic and offensive to some. So if you're going to read it, please read it through to the end before giving your final verdict.

On Monday I spoke about Jesus healing a man born blind and how the disciples (and many of us) were blind to the point of the story – which was not the man's blindness, but rather Jesus' healing of him.

Yesterday's post dealt with the question of God's fairness.

Now if you're still not satisfied – if you still think, "Yes, but there are actual Biblical instances of God being unfair," then this post is for you.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

- Exodus 20:4–6

"How is that fair to the poor, innocent children?" you may ask, "Why should they be punished for the sins of their parents?"

Now I would point out that before God put this into action, He warned the people about it. This is, in fact, included in the Ten Commandments given to the Israelites. It was a direct consequence to their sin. If their children ended up cursed, it would be because of their disobedience, not because of God's unfairness. In this way, the parents were accountable for the lives of their children.

Let's also not forget the other side of the coin – the rewards promised to the descendants of the faithful in verse 6.

What else would you suggest God do to encourage obedience, after rescuing the people from slavery in Egypt and then watching them bow down to a golden farm animal? Perhaps God made this law to teach the Israelites about legacy – what had they been leaving for their children. After all, the generations to come would surely be more responsive, having suffered for their parents' sins and not want the same for their children to come.

And perhaps God knew that some, even if it were only a few, would respond because of their children. If they wouldn't do it for themselves, they would it for their children.

And is it not true that most people today, whether they believe in God or not, still believe that parents are and should be responsible for their children?

Thank the Lord that Jesus abolished this law when he died in atonement for our sins.

And with that God turned the whole law on its head – instead of punishing the sinners' children, He sent His only Son to be punished for the sins of every single person ever to have breathed the air of this earth.

If you still have doubts or questions, feel free to ask/comment. I don't have all the answers, but maybe we can figure them out together.

A Debate (Part Two) - Justice or Fairness?

2010-05-18T07:57:00.000+02:00

You may remember that in my last post I mentioned an attempt was made at distinguishing justice from fairness.

Now, when it comes to justice and fairness, I don't believe there is a difference. And there doesn't seem to be a distinction between the two in God's Word: different versions of the Bible translate the same Aramaic word as either "just" or "fair", implying that these words mean the same and are interchangeable. Similarly, the Oxford Thesaurus* list "just" and "fair" as synonyms for each other and the Oxford Dictionary* defines the word "just" as "right or fair; deserved".

Case closed. Yet there is still doubt as to God's true justice.

An example used in our Life Group session to explain God's justice was as follows:

"If you picture God as a parent (which He in fact is, in a supernatural, heavenly sense – something to ponder), at dinnertime He will stand with a big bowl of dessert and dish up equal amounts for each of His children."

Now, while I fully believe that God loves each of us equally, I do not agree with this analogy.

I know that we live in an imperfect world and we are not all going to get the same opportunities, talents or rewards. For that matter, we are not all going to experience the same challenges, setbacks or heartaches either.

But God does promise that we will never get more than we can handle (good – Matthew 25:29 & Luke 12:48 – or bad – 1 Corinthians 10:13).

God also gave us free will for us to make our own decisions and so much of what we experience is due to the choices made by ourselves and others.

God does not micro-manage our lives. He does not tell us where to work, who to be friends with or who to marry.

Going back to the example of earlier, God as a parent at dinnertime will hand the whole bowl of dessert over to His children and say, "Here you go, divide this up amongst yourselves and make sure you all get an equal amount".

Whether we listen to Him and share equally is up to us.

*Oxford University Press. 2007. Oxford Paperback Dictionary & Thesaurus. Oxford, Great Britain. 331, 502.

A Debate (Part One) - Blind or Blind?

2010-05-17T08:07:00.004+02:00

So here's that post on the phenomenal Life Group discussion* I mentioned in my last post.

We started out with John 9:1-5, the account of Jesus healing a man who'd been born blind. The focus was supposed to be on the difference between the disciples' reaction to meeting the blind man and Jesus' reaction.

The disciples immediately assumed that the blind man was being punished for sin - his parents or his own - but Jesus, who for obvious reasons had a better understanding of God's true nature, said that "this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life".

At this point we all got side-tracked with a debate over the fairness of God. How can God be fair if He made this blind just so that His glory could be revealed?

(An assertion was made that there is a difference between fairness and justice – so that God could be just, but not fair, which is a whole other discussion about one's understanding of language and one's definition of "fairness" and "justice".)

But I believe that the crux of this debate boils down to a misinterpretation of Scripture:

After Jesus said that this had happened so that God's glory could be revealed, he began speaking about his own role, and the disciples' roles (indeed our roles, if we are followers of Christ), in doing what they'd been called to do.

This would suggest that when Jesus said, "this happened so that God's glory might be displayed," the "this" he was referring to was not, in fact, the man's blindness, but Jesus' actual encounter with the man.

The man was not made blind so that he could be healed and so reveal God's glory.

Jesus meeting and healing the blind man happened so that God's glory might be displayed.

The man being blind was merely a result of living in a fallen world that is imperfect and flawed. How many other blind people have there been on this earth that never got healed? Does that mean that God "made" them blind for nothing? Of all the blind people in this world, Jesus met this man and healed him. It was not his blindness that glorified God, but his healing.

*On a side note: using Twitter and Facebook gets you so addicted to certain things. I find myself wanting to "Like" or "ReTweet" every comment I see on the Web, and I totally wanted to #hashtag the #phenomenalLifeGroupDiscussion!

A Debate (Part Two) coming tomorrow.

Fill Up

2010-05-13T07:31:00.002+02:00

I went to Life Group for the first time in AGES on Tuesday night. Very unspiritual of me, I know. And after Tuesday's session I just wanted to kick myself. I'd forgotten how much I was missing out on!

On the drive home, I ended up apologising profusely – and unexpectedly – to God. Out of nowhere this instinctive remorse came flooding out, "I'm sorry, Lord, for skipping Life Group! I'm so, so sorry, because I know that I would never gotten up to all that rubbish that I did if I had been filling myself up with You more often!"

And only once the words had left my mouth did I realise how true they were.

James Murray, a youth pastor from C3 Church in Australia, was the guest speaker at our church conference recently. I remember him saying in one of the sessions that sometimes we attempt giving God our lives, but we hold on to certain areas that we either don't want to give up or that we don't trust God to handle it as well as we might (we can really be dim sometimes). We wonder why particular areas of our lives are continually hampered by sin that we can't seem to shake off.

What really stood out to me – now listen carefully – is what he said next:

"Sin will have no way of filling your life if it's already filled with God. That's why it is so important to be filling yourself constantly through prayer, church, reading God's Word and meeting up with other Christians."

Okay, that is slightly paraphrased, but the gist is spot on.

And I can tell you from first-hand experience how true it is. There will be no room for sin in your life if all the space is taken up by the things of God. I can also now tell how true the opposite is: how quickly sin pervades your life when you stop seeking the right things.

Believe me, the struggle and the guilt and the heartache of having to overcome that (all over again), is not worth a few days' worth of rebellion.

Draw near to God – every day – and He will draw near to you.

That's a promise. From Him in James 4:8. And unlike us, He always keeps His promises.

I had meant to tell you about our discussion in that phenomenal Life Group session and here this post has turned out totally different. Guess I'll have to right another one. Watch this space.

What Happened To Our Souls?

2010-05-11T13:31:00.001+02:00

"Does it ever give thee pause that men used to have a soul – not by hearsay alone, or as a figure of speech; but as a truth they knew, and acted upon! Verily it was another world then … but yet it is a pity we have lost the tidings of our souls … we shall have to go in search of them again, or worse in all ways shall befall us."

- Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present; cited by Mary Ann Shaffer in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Sorry

2010-05-10T07:58:00.001+02:00

Have you ever said or done something to someone that you wholeheartedly apologised for? But all they'll say in return is, "Sorry's not good enough". And because you're so hard on yourself, you mostly agree with them. What can you ever do to make up for it?

Well, guess what, folks:

Your sorry is good enough for God.

"If we freely admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

- 1 John 1:9

Make The Studio Bigger

2010-04-08T15:56:00.000+02:00

You guys hear what happened in Ventersdorp the day the court case started?

Apparently the cops had to separate everyone with barbed wire - all the whites were singing Die Stem, all the blacks were singing Kill the Boer … and the 6 coloureds there were in the middle singing Make the Circle Beega!!

Don't know who came up with this joke, but they deserve an award!

The Twitter Crusade

2010-04-08T08:14:00.003+02:00

One thing that's a little creepy and sucks much is when you seem to be the only person on Twitter - IN THE WORLD!!!

I'm having one of these moments this morning. For the past 10 (ten) minutes, my updates are the ONLY ones showing in my news feed - even though i'm following 210 people!!

Where is everyone?

The lame thing about this predicament is that i end up feeling like a total random babbler.

One of those people who just NEVER stop talking and they ramble on and on without even pausing to take a breath and nobody else ever has a the slightest chance of getting something in even edge-ways and they end up being a loser with no friends.

So what am i going to do about it?

i am going to start a Twitter Crusade (#TwitterCrusade ftw!).

Over the next few days everyone on Twitter must Tweet me the name of ONE person they are going to recruit to Twitter. And when that person joins, i will PERSONALLY send a shoutout of their username and YOU, the person who recruited them, getting them (and you) a GAZILLION followers. Well, i'll try. In the words of Shayne Ward: no promises. Just remember, keeping the followers is up to you and your Tweets.

Moodswings and Other Things

2010-03-17T08:03:00.001+02:00

Do you ever get into weird moods? So that you don't know whether to laugh or get angry?

Like sometimes when i'm driving i drive purposely on the shoulder, so that people will flash their hazards at me as they pass. Just because i love hearing people say thank you. It makes me feel accomplished, but then i think about it and i realise i must be mad ("but then all the best people are").

Or when i go to the supermarket to buy something small, like a chocolate or one bottle of juice. I stand at the express till, that only handles customers with ten items or less, and then there's someone in front of me with a fully loaded trolley. Or a basket that looks suspiciously full. "That surely can't be just ten items!"

So as they're unpacking their items onto the counter i count them, one by one. I always catch myself doing this and i have to laugh. Or even just smile ruefully at myself. (Sometimes i do laugh out loud and then people look at me like i'm the loon. He's the one standing in the wrong queue!)

But on a really bad day, when the person has precisely ten items and then they ask the cashier to add a packet, i want to point an accusing finger, "Aha! That's eleven items! Please move; you're in my way! Can't you see this is an express queue???!!!"

Of course i never do that. Because it's rude. And because it actually doesn't matter. For every one person who disobeys the express checkout rule, there are nine others who obey it. (Or maybe more than that. I don't know. Someone should research it.)

Most days i don't even notice their overburdened baskets. Other days i'm just in a mood that wants to attack unsuspecting supermarket offenders. (Even though i've personally done much worse. Although not in a supermarket.)

What situation gets you so riled up that you don't know whether to laugh or cry?

Art or Porn?

2010-03-12T06:49:00.004+02:00

What distinguishes one book, film or picture as art from another that's merely pornography?

Some friends and i are going to watch the Oscar-nominated movie, Nine, this weekend (my review of Nine will be up on my Heartflicks Film Review Blog on Monday), despite some people's reservations that it's "just soft porn" and "a bit dodgy". These misgivings were countered with comments that it's actually art that inspires and demands serious talent. While you can't really judge much from the previews, in some ways it does seem like a musical excuse to be smutty. But you can't really tell until you've seen it – and if it's been made by some seriously gifted people and has been nominated for awards, it surely can't be just bad?

Which makes me wonder: what determines the difference between art and pornography? What makes one film a cultured flick and another a blue movie? What makes one nude portrait an artwork and another a dirty picture?

Is it the motivation of the producer for creating it? Is it the quality/skill/technique of the execution? Or is it the intentions of the audience in watching it?

So what do you think makes it art or porn?

How Do You Plead?

2010-03-09T14:08:00.001+02:00

Innocent until proven guilty.

This principle assumes that the average person is naturally innocent. But in fact, anyone that's ever been put on trial is undeniably guilty.

Perhaps not guilty of the crime they're accused of, but certainly guilty of something.

Guilty of kicking the neighbour's dog. Or of stealing the boss's pen. Or of having naughty thoughts about the girl across the road.

I was listening to Sarah McLachlan's song, Adia, the other day. The lyrics go,
"...we were born innocent;
believe me, Adia, we are still innocent"

A beautiful song with beautiful sentiments, but it troubled me, because it got me thinking about babies.

A baby is surely the most innocent being on the planet – yet are babies really born innocent when we are all born into sin?

For "by the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners" (Romans 5:12–21, vs19).

Does that mean a baby is guilty at birth even before his first 'personal' sin?

I guess that's where God's grace comes in. A grace that is even greater than the sin. A grace that makes us all alive, even though we were dead. (1 Corinthians 15:22)

A grace that makes us innocent, regardless of the evidence.

You Get More Than What You See

2010-03-04T08:21:00.001+02:00

Like millions of others i saw the movie Avatar. And like millions of others i loved it.

One of my favourite things about Avatar is that expression the Na'vi people have: "i see you".

To them it means much more than just seeing one's outward physical appearance. To the Na'vi it means seeing into a person's heart. It is recognition and acknowledgement of one's worth and one's potential. It is affirmation not just of who you are, but of all that you can be.

How often do we "see" the people around us?

Really see them?

Do you see the gifts and talents of your friends? Do you take note of your employees' potential? Are you aware of your boss's leadership skills? Do you appreciate your partner's true value?

Even in searching for that one person to share your life with, do you really see what is right in front of you? We meet so many people, but no-one seems to measure up to our standards, so we keep looking. There must be something better out there.

But is it really that everyone we've met has fallen short – or is it just that we haven't really seen them for all that they are?

And if we can't see a person for who they're created to be, can we really appreciate them as we should?

Crime and Punishment

2010-03-02T08:13:00.001+02:00

"Often times have i heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.
But i say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you,
So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also.
And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree,
So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all...
And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone.
Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who, though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone."

-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Mightier Than The Sword

2010-03-01T07:12:00.002+02:00

I love pencils. The smell of them. Their smooth roughness. The way you can really see when one's been working hard, because a stub is all that's left of it.

When i sit down to write i usually write in pencil first. A pencil makes me feel creative. A pencil gets my mind rolling and wandering. I can doodle in pencil. I can draw in pencil. I can scribble and scratch and sketch in pencil.

And it's not about the flexibility – i don't user erasers. There's nothing more gratifying than seeing a pencil-filled page with scratched out lines and circled lines and lines with arrows directing them to a different paragraph. It's the mark of a job well done.

I love pencils so much, even my name is darylhb!

Some of the wisest advice i've ever heard is that if you want to have a day of rest, do only what you love and nothing that riles you up.

I love writing, but the minute i switch a laptop on, my mind shifts to work mode. Pens induce exam stress. But pencils. Pencils get me in touch with my inner child. My alter artiste. My hidden bard.

And a sharp-pointed pencil is the clearest metaphor for the power and frailty of words.

Heartverse

2010-02-25T09:14:00.000+02:00

Yes, i know. Another blog. But it's really not doing you or me any good to have everything jumbled here on one poor, over-burdened blog page.

So, as of today, my poems will now be published on my Heartverse Poetry Blog.

What's more, i've gone back to (half) my roots and tried my hand at an Afrikaans poem. Ironically, it has an English title – it's called Roadtrippin'.

You can still stay tuned in here for my rantings and ramblings and musings and outpourings of stuff that is in my head and in my heart.

Thanks for reading.

A Promise

2010-02-24T07:17:00.000+02:00

You couldn't make it harder
For me to let you go
Cradling my broken heart
In the same hands that smashed it so
And i won't hold a grudge
But nor will i forget
That you're the first i fell for
With the softest landing yet.

15 Ways to Let Words Ruin Your Life

2010-02-16T11:05:00.000+02:00

Word of advice for the day.

RELEVANT Magazine - 15 Ways to Let Words Ruin Your Life

Newness

2010-02-15T07:45:00.000+02:00

i reorganised my desk this weekend.

When i woke up this morning and saw the new expanses of wood and the new piles of books, i was so ridiculously happy!

Change really is as good as a holiday. So if you need something fresh, start small.

Are We There Yet?

2010-02-11T07:39:00.002+02:00

Life is a process, not an event. So don't be discouraged by the next step – think of how it will prepare you for the moments to come.

Aah, Love

2010-02-08T08:24:00.000+02:00

Love is so beautiful. Real love. Pure love. True love.

Even when I am being ripped to ribbons by love's disappointments, simply seeing love work out for others makes me want to sing.

Don't get me wrong, too much of others' soppiness is certainly nauseating. I recently saw the film Bright Star about a love affair between the 19th Century poet John Keats and a young lady named Fanny Brawne. Well. The extravagance of their swooning got sickly sweet after the first 90 minutes of the film. But that's a side of love usually only visible to the lovers.

I don't understand how anyone can be contemptuous about love. Or cynical and bitter about love. Even when you might not have it yourself, surely seeing the presence of even a little more in the lives of others is cause for celebration?!

Aah, love. I wish I could fly about with Cupid's bow and arrows, granting the purest desires of each heart.

Live Like We're Dying

2010-01-27T09:29:00.000+02:00

I was listening to the radio this morning and Kris Allen's song, "Live Like We're Dying", made me imagine several absurd situations.

I do admire the sentiments of the song - it's always good to be reminded not to take life too seriously and to take risks; chase your dreams.

But then I imagine what would happen if I really just quit my job and started writing day and night. If I just went up to that girl and gave her a kiss she'd never forget. If I just gave away all I had and went missioning in deepest darkest Africa.

I guess that's where trusting in Someone Greater with a Plan comes into play. To jump or not to jump?

Heartflicks

2010-01-19T08:20:00.002+02:00

I've started a film review blog, because I like chatting about movies that I've seen, but I have very different taste to most of my friends.

So Heartflicks gives my thoughts and movie reviews on the films I see. Would enjoy any comments.

Mastering the Art of Blogging

2010-01-04T10:01:00.001+02:00

I recently saw the film, Julie and Julia, which I would highly recommend!! The one thing that struck me while watching the movie, besides the mouthwatering food and Meryl Streep's incredible human chameleon-ness, was that Julie Powell's blog began with a purpose.

She wrote with a plan and deadline in mind that kept her writing accountable and consistent. So here's to a year of blogging purposefully and regularly! 2010 beware!!

A Plea

2009-12-09T08:43:00.003+02:00

Would it be weird if I spoke to you in verse

For all our lives – from the chapel to the hearse

Would you like me more if I just made you smile

And never got deeper in the hurt and the trial

I can be funny but I am too serious about you

To risk a mistake coming between us two

Please don’t say I’ve missed my last chance

To teach your heart and soul to dance.

Life of a Cherry Blossom

2009-12-01T07:57:00.004+02:00

One blossom echoing all of life

Through spring and autumn both joy and strife

From bud to bloom to ailing grip

From forceful flow to drying drip

Bearing fruit; spreading pleasant scent

Vigorously fulfilling its purpose meant

Till death takes hold and plucks with violent rip

But in descent the spirit wind softens the trip

And gently laid upon the ground

Snuggling into the rest it’s found

Bloom looks unto the ripening seed it’s sown

Seeing the blossomed tree to which it’s grown

And though the blossoms fade the fruit remains

One Stumble at a Time

2009-10-16T09:38:00.005+02:00

One stumble doesn’t mean the end of the road.

When people fall, the surrounding reactions are varied – some point and laugh; some stand by, uncertain what to do. Others quickly avert their eyes and hurry past, pretending they didn’t see; while yet others simply sigh in disappointment that their heroes, who seemed to always have the perfect balance, in fact proved to be only too human.

And yet some will stoop down, take the grazed hands and gently help the fallen up, while murmuring encouragement, conscious of the many times they themselves have fallen. Sometimes publicly, to much ridicule, sometimes in private, with only the courage born of the knowledge of God’s grace and the comfort of the Holy Spirit’s company to dust off the hurt and the dirt.

They are mindful of their own imperfect humanity and the help given them, with the only valid response being to share this unconditional love and compassion.

All of this may remind you of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37. That parable has often been explained as a lesson to help those in physical need – as an example of reaching out to the hurt and the homeless and the hopeless.

These are all accurate and valuable teachings, but have you ever thought of the injured man in the story as an upright Christian leader, admired and respected by all, who has been ambushed and deceived by the allure of Satan’s lies and temptations? Who has been robbed of his dignity and righteousness by the rough and greedy hands of sin?

That is why it is important to remember that all are born with gifts and the great capacity to be used by God. When one is doing good, instead of praising them, praise God, who is working through them, and encourage them to remain faithful and available to the Holy Spirit’s guidance; for if you confuse the good works with the do-gooder, you will confuse the sin with the sinner. Hence the saying, hate the sin and not the sinner.

It is without doubt disappointing when someone you’ve looked up to and trusted, makes a mistake and loses their way. But that is when they need your support and encouragement the most. When they need to be reminded that God’s love covers over a multitude of sins (James 5:20, 1 Peter 4:8) and that there are brothers and sisters in Christ to walk the road with them. And yes, even to help each other up when we fall.

(Hebrews 3:13)

Worthy of Cake

2009-10-09T11:02:00.003+02:00

Wow. I am in agreement with so much of what Pastor Jason Render preached on Sunday! I’ve been thinking on it all week and being inspired.

I must admit that I have also felt guilty sometimes when I consider how blessed I am. Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair that there are good things happening in my life and that God is opening doors and showering me with gifts when others are struggling to keep food on the table or a roof over their head, while yet others are in situations to dire for me to even imagine.

I feel so unworthy – I know myself and what I’ve done and the kind of person that I am – and that kind of person doesn’t deserve such favour.

And yet, when God looks at me, all He sees is His beautiful child, the work of His Hands, His Creation and He can’t help but love and give and shelter. This is not because of anything that I have done or possibly could do, but because when He looks at me, He sees me through His Son. He sees me through a Jesus-filter that purifies me and polishes me until I glow with value and worth, like a diamond in a coating of coal.

Imagine rough, coarse and dirty flour – it may be suitable for baking the casual bread, but one would never consider it worthy of baking into a cake. Yet if it is sifted – meticulously and painstakingly sifted – it will be rid of impurities and dirt, resulting in a soft, smooth, pure flour that is perfect and worthy for cake-baking.

Without Jesus as my sieve I am, and always will be, rough, coarse and dirty flour. There is nothing I can do to change it, except ask Jesus to sift me every day – decontaminating, purifying and justifying me – to make me useful and worthy. So that when God looks at me through the Jesus-sieve He sees something good and pleasing.

So that when He looks at me He will say, “Yes, this I can make into a big, creamy, chocolatey cake.”

Winging It

2009-10-08T08:53:00.002+02:00

I don’t know what God’s plan for my life is. Or at least not the whole plan. I can guess at certain elements it may include, considering the talents and environments I’ve been given. But right now I’m not even sure what the next step is.

Sometimes I wish that my Heavenly Father would just reveal it all to me – maybe in a nice visual flowplan, depicting exactly what’s going to take place and when and how I need to behave. At times it seems that would simplify everything and take all the pressure off trying to live off the cuff. After all, planning is biblical.

But when I’m honest with myself, I know that it’s to our benefit that God does not usually reveal His plans more than one step at a time.

If you knew what was coming, would it honestly relieve the pressure?

Wouldn’t you worry more about how to handle the situation that’s coming up? Wouldn’t you spend hours planning how to behave and agonising over whether you’re strong enough or skilled enough or godly enough to handle the circumstances successfully?

Matthew 6:34 says that one should not worry about tomorrow, as each day has enough worries of its own.

Right now I can certainly testify to the truth in that. With everything that’s going on today, I couldn’t handle the stress of trying to figure out how to cope with whatever’s coming in the next few months or weeks or even the next few days!

Living God’s plan one step at a time is certainly more exciting than being able to predict the end of the story. It is also comforting in a way, because you know that as long as you’re relying on God to reveal the plan, He’s always going to be around. When you don’t know what’s lurking around the corner you’re not likely to let go of God’s Hand and give Him the “Thanks, but I can take it from here” treatment.

More likely you’re going to be squeezing His fingers with all the might of your sweaty little hands and surreptitiously edging into the shelter of His empowering wings. As long as you’re there, you know you’ll always be safe, no matter where you go or what you face.

So I’ve learnt to plan my course, but let God direct my steps.

A 25-hour God

2009-10-06T07:59:00.001+02:00

I heard such a great message this weekend – and the funny thing is that it was an impromptu, unplanned contingency sermon when the original plan hit a few snags. The Hand of God, perhaps?

It’s always heart-warming to be reminded of something that you yourself can testify to, having experienced it in your own life, but that’s since gathered cobwebs in the corner of your mind with the passing of time.

Once again I find myself with more gristle on my plate than time on my hands and the way through, if there is one, is not in plain sight. But I know that whatever needs to be done will get done and I’ll have time for the things I really want to do after I’ve done all the things that I really have to do!

I can say this with full confidence, speaking from experience, because when you seek the Kingdom of God first, keeping your relationship and quality time with Him your main priority, despite not seeming to have the time for it, He will make, not only your cup, but also your hourglass runneth over!

So forget the Bar-Ones, God’s the only thing that has ever given me a twenty-five hour day!

Unpredictably Consistent

2009-10-05T14:47:00.000+02:00

It seems to me that God is easier to understand than most human beings.

While there is certainly more to God than there is to any person, and indeed more to God than anyone could ever comprehend, God is far more consistent than any human being.

But make no mistake – consistent does not mean predictable!

God will never cease to surprise you in the way that He participates in your life. He will answer prayers, make interventions, open and close doors and give guidance sometimes in a way so lateral and oblique to your way of thinking that you may not even recognise His Hand in your life unless you consciously seek it or trust it to be there.

But once you see Him in the twists of your life’s path, what He does will just MAKE SENSE in a way that people’s actions never will.

Shipwrecked

2009-09-29T07:57:00.001+02:00

A stranded ship beached by the tide

Is worse off than one sucked inside

For though it strays not from the coast

Its bows are battered down the most

Never to feel an ocean’s love

The depths of which it sails above

Hulled companions stop and stare

Helpless are they to aid one there

Sombre and guilty for thinking

Its best hope is to start sinking

For closer still they will not dare

So they set sail, leaving a prayer

But one will turn to take a stand

Throw out a rope, reach out a hand

And side by side they will wage war

Against the cruel and cunning shore

Now victory within their sight

They chase the sun at break of light.

Monday Mists

2009-09-28T15:11:00.000+02:00

..mOnday miSts p|a|r|t to revEal.. a fasT cAr with a Friend at the wheeL.. driviNg through a baTtlefiEld >> "betteR go and get your arMouR".. interVieWer/inTerviewEe switcHinG chairS baCk and fOrth.. fiNding soLuTions witHout the intrUsioN of the wOrlD's conFuSion..

Thursday Celebration

2009-09-24T09:00:00.000+02:00

..Thursday *celebration*..look to the ocean for shipwrecked inspiration..i stow aboard to lie and dream..before i leave we’re out to sea..the ship has newly woven sails..its hull repaired with bright new nails..its name is twenty-two in years..we leave behind salt air of fear..the captain knows what’s best for me..He’ll deliver me safe and free..

Wednesday Wonderland

2009-09-23T11:24:00.002+02:00

wEdneSdaY wOndeRlaNd..first day of hoLiday/last day of twEnty-0nedneSs..so much time under my beLt/so little time to disCover – who am i? “the name’s Brown – Daryl Brown”..but a coloUr by any oTher name..the *twiNkle* in my eye..No matter my age, i have known a lOve more pReciouS than any giFt – free to all who shall belieVe..

Belief

2009-09-23T11:21:00.002+02:00

I believe in the sun even if it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when He is silent.

What is Love?

2009-09-21T09:04:00.001+02:00

A friend of mine recently made a passing remark that went something like:

“Love is whatever it means to that person”

It was just a fleeting comment, made in response to some exasperation that kids as young as twelve were talking about the “love of their lives” and that people so young couldn’t really understand love. It didn’t pick up much conversation at the time, but it did get me thinking...

God’s Word says that He is love (1 John 4:8) and we all know that God is, well, MASSIVE. There are so many different aspects to Him that it’s certainly true there must be many different aspects to love and many different ways of showing love and expressing love.

There are, however, also many misconceptions and mistaken ideas about what love is, what it should feel like and how it should be demonstrated, that fall far short of God’s ideal. What love means to someone with such misconceptions is surely not a love to advocate and strive for?

The Word also explains that love remains after all and that love is the greatest of all things (1 Corinthians 13:13). Would it not be heartless to allow someone with a worldly, physical, materialistic view of love to continue believing that what they feel is the greatest thing of all? How disappointing! What hope is there when you believe something that fades and breaks and steals to be the greatest thing of all?

On the other hand, we are all human and imperfect ... what do we understand about love? How can we teach others about something that is too great for us ourselves to comprehend?

All that we can do is to share the source of our own hope and love – and to trust the Spirit that has begun a good work in us to infuse our words and actions with the same life that drew us to Him.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Sunday Dawns

2009-09-20T18:11:00.000+02:00

SuNday dawnS briGht..futUre glAsses makes it brighteR.. His *glOry* in Creation lEaves me breaThless in antiCipatiOn..felLowShip of the phOtos=adVentuRe!!

Saturday Sauntered In...

2009-09-19T22:41:00.000+02:00

...sAturdaY sauntered in..a sunNy sOng soarS in my heaRt..+3!..UP!..eaSymiX mufFins vanilLa = tAsty!.."the End of alL tHings is neAr".. leaRninG to leaVe a legaCy from the faTher of the HouSe..

Friday Follows

2009-09-18T11:28:00.001+02:00

..fridAy follOws the tail of a day well-Lived..wake__lie__eye-rub__oh,fudGe__grEat helPing Hands LIFT and >nudGe<.|take the pluNge, you don’t sWim alOne|>GO!rain-raCing!clOud-chaSing!baTtle-faciNg!{hahAaha}.CHicKen tikKa maSAla that chASEs the NOse and buLliEs the eYes=*full* belly+*clear* head..the postEred PariSian promiSe of Public Enemies fulfiLled..“You wanNa take tHat Ride wiTh me?”

Thursday Hatches

2009-09-17T13:48:00.002+02:00

Thursday hatChes not a moMeNt too soOn..heart-warming sUnshiNe on the hills, i awaiT the white hOrse befoRe noOn....tiGer claw..“releaSe that enErgY”.. *sting*=[paper/cUt]..A pOt of {hErbal} tea among frieNds stirs smiLe-at meMorieS.. “one *shoRrt*bread shOrt of perfEction”

Wednesday Wakens

2009-09-16T08:18:00.004+02:00

Wednesday wAkens to the sOund of biRds..i want to thaNk Him, but i can’t find the wOrdS to say all that He desErveS..Old-sChoOl dreams ->”FranklY, my DEAR, I don’t giVE a dAmn”..bUT the WiNd is chanGing diRecTion.CreatinG a creAtive briEf..labEl.lOgo.web..Q:wherE’s the Art direCtion?..A:whEre’s the budGet?..back to the writing boArd – *THINK* outSide the [bOx]..*loOk*foG shroUds the mounTain as lOve that coVeRs siN..

Tuesday throws back the covers

2009-09-15T15:24:00.003+02:00

TuesDay thROWs back the cOveRs..a BIG beginning or nONe at all.. OO the whEelS of the bUs OO..a |D|I|V|I|D|E|D| city..the other halF asks for “just a oNe rand pleAse”...FRom wHERe have yOu come and wh@t brOught you HERe?...”what i hAVe i gIVe you” ->ex|AMPLE|s to follow...QUESTions.. a *WOrd* brings pEacE.

So this is Monday

2009-09-14T11:44:00.001+02:00

So thIS is Monday *day of the MOon* cHAsing wisps of wEEkend dreAMs..through layers of *sleep* shed like OLd skin. a darKenEd fieLd.. *stUmBle* over a mOuntain of a molE hiLl ... moONligHt reFlectiOns ... TwiLiGht inVasiOn >>>no esCapE<<< “Edward and Jacob ain’t got NOthinG on mE, baby!” ..strat review: whiCh way/mY way/oUr way/YOur way/eiTher waY, it’s dOne..long-awaited music arrives..*dance* Air and Earth..

A Prayer

2009-09-08T15:31:00.003+02:00

May the sevenfold Spirit of HE who is and was and is to come, give me the voice of the Faithful Witness

Speechless ...

2009-08-24T08:35:00.004+02:00

You speak the words off my lips

So all I can say is your name

You gaze the sight out of my eyes

So all I can see is your face

You blow the storms in my mind apart

So all that I can think is a prayer

For God to help me win your heart.

Vocal Constipation/Verbal Diarrhoea

2009-08-21T07:49:00.003+02:00

WARNING: This is a highly self-indulgent post and may annoy readers with little patience

I have long suffered from two paradoxical ailments – vocal constipation and verbal diarrhoea. Before continuing, let me clarify these terms – vocal has to do with the voice and speech, while verbal refers to words in any form, be it written, spoken or performed. Constipation and diarrhoea are terms I assume everyone is familiar with, though hopefully not too literally or personally. ;)

When it comes to spontaneous face-to-face conversation, I struggle to get anything out. I don’t know why I find it difficult to talk to people or build close relationships when I so enjoy the presence and company of others, but I know of several good and well-meaning individuals who can testify to the frustrating experience of trying to connect with me. Even in answering simple questions about myself and my life (supposedly the most effortless of topics) I just hit mental blanks and have trouble finding anything to say.

But when I’m presented with a clean page I become as articulate as Oxford’s English Dictionary. I feel like I’ve been given wings and license to travel the open sky. I can fill a page in a matter of minutes and usually I end up going too far ... it just pours out. Repeating synonyms of adjectives as I revel in the beauty of words, I explain each and every detail of the background of a story before getting to the story itself. I explain my explanations and elaborate on my elaborations.

I encode the entire intricate network of connections and impulses in the web of my mind into a cryptogram of words that can sometimes paint the most magnificent picture, but often is as labyrinthine and ensnaring as a maze or Egyptian tomb. This results in my “explanation” being more bewildering than enlightening.

Imagine if I said everything I wrote down ... I think that may be part of the reason I say so little – I simply don’t know where to start. What should I include and what should I omit? What makes sense and what is unnecessary? What do you want to know?

Better to say nothing than to be boring.

plsu.three magazine 02: Rhythm

2009-08-20T16:09:00.003+02:00

Read the new issue here.

Saving Me From Myself

2009-06-27T12:24:00.001+02:00

God was throwing his weight around at church last Saturday. It was the first Saturday that I was not scheduled to serve, but I saw an opening on the roster, which meant they did not yet have anyone else to serve. So I sent an email offering my services, should I be needed.

Having said that, I was not in a great place and not really in the mood to see anyone or go to socialise and chitchat, so I said to God that if I didn’t need to be there to serve, I would give the Young Adults service on Saturday evening a miss and go to church by myself on Sunday morning.

I received an email, however, saying yes, thanks very much, and they really appreciated my heart, as well as the roster for that weekend, which had my name on it!

So I thought, “Okay, God, you obviously want me to be at the service. You want to teach me something or minister to me in some way, but I don’t really think there’s much point, because seeing as I’m serving through the whole service, I’m not really going to benefit from the worship or the message!” (You can see I was really in a sulky, brattish mood; I thank God for His mercy and understanding in putting up with me – if I had been Him I would have thrown a few lightning bolts my way a long time ago!!)

Anyway, I got to the church on Saturday evening and had just finished unpacking the tripod and setting up the camera, when Quinton, the Young Adults leader, came up to me and said that he’d phoned someone else up during the week and asked him to operate the Lights and Camera that night in order to give me a break!!

While I obviously felt the exasperation you would expect, I couldn’t help laughing out loud at God’s ingenuity – the only reason I had come to church that night was because I had thought I had to serve, but God obviously wanted me there to participate in Worship and receive a much-needed message (from the visiting Neil Smith of Planetshakers church in Australia, no less!) and He was willing to use any means necessary to make sure it happened, orchestrating my presence and my availability!

I praise Him for always knowing best and for watching my back ... even against my own self-destructive phases!

Romans 8:28
Isaiah 40:10–14

Holding On To Let Go

2009-05-26T08:08:00.006+02:00

GOD often uses tough times to prune us - cutting away dead wood, getting rid of heavy weight that holds us back and slows us down.

But how often in these time do we take up the shears ourselves and decide to cut out what we "don't need", because, of course, we know best?

When we can't handle everything in our lives, we often choose what should stay and what should go, without letting GOD do His work.It is frightening to see people let go of GOD, but hold on to a man or a woman in such situations. People are sometimes the most tempting substitute; having been made in the image of GOD, they offer the illusion of His tangible presence and comfort. Yet it is GOD alone that is the same yesterday, today and forever, and He is infinitely superior to any man or woman.

No matter what the world may promise, only GOD can get you through, only He can stay with you in everything.

Psalm 100

Credit to New Altum, whose song inspired the title of this post.

Just An Attempt

2009-05-25T08:59:00.002+02:00

Trying so hard to follow your heart
But it all comes out pretending
Seeing how others get it so right first time
But I can’t let go of training
Wanting to follow the rules instinctively
But can’t escape the structure
Looking at how it STILL COMES OUT THE SAME!!!!! At how IT JUST HAPPENS!!!!!
But it means so little

Pouring out my heart
But it doesn’t sound as real
As when it’s wrong
Wanting to give you my all
But is it enough this way
Or do you want it new?

Pretentious is a word I despise
Because it hits so close to home

Jesus, you are all I’m aiming for, but so many delays, so many detours, so many disruptions
And then my heartwords get lost along the way and it all comes sounding the same
Every time

Help me to let go of everything but you

Please forgive my worldly love
It is death in disguise
As you warned again and again

This is just an attempt
That’s all I can offer
In the hope that you will remain patient
For what I might never achieve
Gracious to what I might never leave

And take them OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!
Cannot feel this compassioned pity anymore –
It is death in disguise
For me at least

Can you harden my heart to everything but you?

And still make me compassionate?

It’s my only defence
You are
But is it compatible?

If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away
But it’s my eyes and ears and voice and heart
My hands and feet and thoughts and scars
I’ve lost myself while thinking that I’m found

Gouge it all I would if still I could serve
But instead I will make this attempt
To surrender and lay it all down before one whose burden is light
Whose yoke is easy enough to carry this

Cut me out and paste in Someone
Who can do what I can’t
Someone who can love
Someone who can satisfy their needs

You are the only way and that is all I that want to say
Help me to speak the Truth all of my days
Help me to write the Truth in any way
And all else will submit to YOU

Help me to be real
Help me to be honest
Help me to be open
Help me to be complete
Help me to be sincere
Help me to be committed
Help me to be whole-hearted

To you above all

For the Love of God

2009-05-08T07:41:00.002+02:00

As I walked in the dark through the field (ons klein veldjie!) to the bus stop this morning, I wondered what would happen if I happened to stumble upon a snake (talk about paranoid).

The cold reminded me that winter was close and snakes are cold-blooded, lethargic in the cold and hibernating in the winter. This led me to wonder why God had created them as such – what purpose was there in putting specific animals to sleep for half the year?

And then the thought struck me – my God loves me so much that if He knew I would be bitten by a snake early one winter morning, He would have taken that into account when He created snakes however many years ago.

God would actually plan the details of all His Creation to ensure my safety millions of years later!!

That may seem unlikely and I guess it’s not the reason that snakes hibernate in the winter, but knowing the depth and intensity of my God’s love for me, it is totally possible!

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39

I Will Not Hide My Face

2009-05-06T08:27:00.006+02:00

You are all I need
but does it really have to be
that you are all I’ve got?

That the only friend
to lend an ear
speaks in whispers heart to heart?

That the only brother
for adversity
reveals his loyalty after the fact?

That the only constant
to be the same yesterday, today and forever
is hidden treasure to be sought all my days?

That the only arms
to hold me in comfort
are yours, warm and open and
intangible?

But when I am saved by grace,
by your mercy that begins afresh each morning,
by the greatest love of a friend who laid down his life to ransom my own

When all my provision
comes from you,
abundantly for my enjoyment that I may never hunger or thirst

When your protection
cloaks me against fear and foe,
hiding me in the shadow of your wings, my fortress inspiring courage

When strength
never leaving nor forsaking,
holds me up and holds me close with the promise of your peace

When day after day
your faithful love is lavished on me,
undeserved, underappreciated and overflowing to the consternation of observing and observed

When I turn away
chasing in the opposite direction
while starving you of attention and barely pausing to mutter a thanks
indifferent to the myriad gifts
that are testament to the unconditional generosity
of a spiteless Father
whose grace sees past the cold facade of a hardened heart
offering hope to the desperate aching search for what is in your outstretched hands
whose two-edged Word pierces the racing pulse with whispered tenderness
always:

“Here I am”

When I believe
that you are all I need

Then am I blessed
to know that
you are all I’ve got.

Psalm 71

A Word of Difference from the Heart

2009-05-05T08:07:00.000+02:00

This is my second attempt at blogging, after my first overambitious and slightly pretentious blog. I realised that Different for a Reason sets high expectations that were quite intimidating to meet when I really started thinking about it.

I do totally believe that we are all created totally unique to serve a very specific purpose, but after all, being created in the image of the same amazing God, we are at heart all the same.

We go through the same experiences, share the same feelings, have the same fears and insecurities, and rejoice over the same little delights. Thank goodness ... that’s what makes us able to relate and encourage and strengthen each other!

So a new blog, a new beginning, in which I hope to focus not on the isolating differences, but simply share the words straight from my heart...

20090326 Man of God (...?)

2009-05-04T11:06:00.000+02:00

Man of God (...?)

You say it, but you don’t show it;
I hear it, but I don’t believe it.
HIS grace is sufficient for me;
for HIS power is made perfect in weakness...
you are my weakness
and HIS power is great in you.
How do I resist?
How do I forgive?

When I am in the wrong (...?)

I do my best, but it’s not enough
when done for the wrong reasons.
Lacking in trust
for HIM to finish the work HE began.
Of all my faults
you’re the only one that keeps me awake.
How do I surrender?
How do I forget?

Something I never had (...?)

Jealousy makes me nasty,
but only to its object.
Never leaving
nor forsaking,
the answer has always been
what you can’t be, yet I expected
the impossible from the Creation
and not the Creator.

20090324 Such A Face

2009-05-04T11:04:00.000+02:00

Haven’t we met?
I’ve seen you before
Don’t I know you?
I just have that kind of face.

Stop looking so worried
What have you done wrong?
Don’t look so guilty
Maybe I just have that kind of face?

Why are you always so happy?
Here comes the Colgate smile
Doesn’t anything get you down?
I guess I just have that kind of face.

I always said he’d be trouble
Didn’t you see it in his eyes?
He just had that look
Who could love that kind of face?

"The LORD make his face shine upon you and be
gracious to you."

Numbers 6:25

20090218 The Personal Revolution

2009-05-04T11:00:00.000+02:00

"Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so
goes the world, for the world is us ...
The revolution that will save the world is a personal one."

- Marianne Williamson

20090217 God in Africa (Part Two)

2009-05-04T10:57:00.000+02:00

The Xhosa girl (see previous post) explained to me that before Africa became colonised and received the Gospel, all that the people had to believe in was that the elders who had looked after them on here earth would do the same from heaven. They always believed that there was a “Greater Power”, as that was the only explanation for all of Creation, but they did not know what this Power was called, as they had never heard about God before.

A friend of mine asked her why the African belief in ancestors is so exclusive, as they don’t believe that Westerners have ancestors looking after them, whereas Christianity is inclusive for everyone everywhere – Jesus died and rose again to save people of all races. Surely if something is true, it is absolutely true - true for all people? Yet, her people have adopted Christianity in addition to their ancestral beliefs, thus asserting that the Gospel is true for them as well as everyone else, but do not belief that any other people have ancestors who watch over them.

20090217 God in Africa

2009-05-04T10:49:00.000+02:00

A fascinating conversation with some fellow college students left me wondering about the Gospel’s introduction into Africa.

A Xhosa girl told me how her Christian family prays to both God and their ancestors for protection and provision, believing that their ancestors watch over them, like angels. These ancestors bestow spiritual gifts and abilities upon certain members of the family that enable them to heal and to have supernatural knowledge of things happening in others’ lives (basically they are ‘psychic’).

However, these people still believe that God is the Creator of heaven and earth and everything in it, and that the Holy Bible is His Word, but that He works in conjunction with their ancestors to give them abundant life.

It boggled my mind how people who read God’s Word, which commands us to have no other gods alongside Him (Exodus 20:23), and which says that He is our Sole Provider (1 Timothy 6:17, Romans 5:17, Psalm 111:5), our Shield and our Reward (Genesis 15:1), our Portion, could believe that their departed ancestors have the power to do the same.

I told her that according to my personal beliefs, people who died had finished their race and had no part in our lives. God is the absolute authority and nothing else can provide for me. I also tried to explain how Satan doesn’t necessarily have to physically hurt or possess people to bring them harm – simply by deceiving them into believing and trusting in something other than God, accrediting their blessings and safety to someone else, they would be drawn away from God and relationship with Him.

This girl argued that their ancestors don’t draw them away from God as they work alongside Him to take care of them, as His angels do. However, God’s Word makes it clear that God rules over His angels and does not function alongside them:

“For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;”
- Psalm 91:11

The fact remains that if God is not the only One you look to for guidance, protection, comfort, salvation and provision, if you do not have an exclusive relationship with Him, you are missing out on the greatest blessing of all – an eternal life with Him.

20090216 Forbidden Fruit

2009-05-04T10:42:00.000+02:00

I’ve got the time for you
You’ve got the time for me
But will we have to pay
Or is this time for free?

Is the timing right
Or is the timing wrong
Do we have all night
Or will that be too long?

We’ve waited for this chance
Kept feelings under wraps
Can we risk it now
To let our judgement lapse?

Can we keep this quiet
Can we hide our sin
Or will the moment catch us
So best not to begin?

20090122 Alone Time

2009-04-23T10:09:00.000+02:00

Time to be alone
Time to be with You
What I need
When breathing becomes a chore
When thoughts make no sense

Thoughts of
Skunk Off
Those girls
My deodorant
Supper
GOD

Nowhere to lay it down
Nowhere to work it out
The juggler drops the balls
Not one by one
At once everything falls

But You can pick it up
Fixing
Discarding
In time
But first
Time

Time to be alone with You