Hi You Precious Saints !!!!
When Christ died on the cross for you the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom(Matthew 27:51). This meant that in future whoever confessed that Jesus is their Saviour and Lord could approach God in the holy of holies by using the name of Jesus Christ. However our God loves us so much that he looks right into our hearts and sees the yearning there and He constantly reaches out to us.
Yesterday morning(Wednesday) I was walking to the bus stop, the morning had been so poignant and it was like I was seeing everything for the first time, my home, my family all gifts from God, they really all belong to Him, as I do. God's grace just washed over me and I started crying. When I got to the bus stop there was a woman standing there she looked at me but mebbe she thought the strong south-easter wind was making my eyes water.
I sat next to one of God's children on the bus and there was another one sitting across from me. We just shared what we were reading and we praised and worshipped God(no we did not sing! ). When I got to work I opened my lunch box and Matthew, my 7 year old son, had put a little note in there for me. It was a drawing of Jesus on the cross and he had written below it ' Jesus Loves Forever' ,wow gotta find somewhere to put my face.
At lunch time we had our work fellowship meeting. On my way walking there I had just spoke to God and said that I really want to worship Him today and that I hope that Craig will bring his guitar. And that's what happened. He also brought two big flags as well and gave me one. So I had a ball waving this big gold flag around as we worshipped. We also shared the way His Spirit is working in our lives. His Spirit just took over and we prayed and ministered to each other and man I just waved that flag. It felt really good.
This morning (Thursday) everything goes kinda wrong from the moment I wake up. Have you had one of those mornings, good (?!!!) , then I don't feel so bad. One of the buses on our route broke down (should change their name from Golden Arrow to Broken Arrow). So all the buses that came past were full (standing room only). I then eventually got on a bus with the worst possible driver (he has various nicknames Cowboy, Knight Rider etc you can imagine why) if you have to stand all the way to town. So it was really a 'ruk en rol' jive drive all the way to Cape Town. And just so I could savour the moment for as long as possible a truck jack knifed on the N1 causing a huge traffic snarly. Hey Pete I read your email this morning so true.
But you know what? That's life. I know there are many of you out there going through far worse things then having a bad bus day, but know this, nothing changes the truth of the matter that Christ died for you and the curtain remains torn and sometimes all we can to is hang on and trust Him and that He gives us the strength to overcome all things.
Nothing But The Blood
Your blood speaks a better word
Then all the empty claims I've heard upon this earth
Speaks righteousness for me
And stands in my defence
Jesus, It's Your blood
What can wash away our sins?
What can make us whole again?
Nothing but the blood
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can wash us pure as snow
Welcomed as the friends of God?
Nothing but Your blood
Nothing but Your blood Jesus, King Jesus
Your cross testifies in grace
Tells of the Father's heart to make a way for us
Now boldly we approach
Not earthly confidence
It's only by Your blood
We praise You for the blood
We are ......
Restored
Forgiven
Reconciled
Justified
Sanctified
Made Holy
All by your blood, King Jesus
(Matt Redman. Chorus inspiration: Nothing But The Blood by Robert Lowry 1876)
So if Satan the accuser is screaming lies in your face today, if your sin has made you fall, if the world's sin has smashed into your life, just remember Jesus is the way the truth and the life (John 14:6). Jesus never said that the road would be easy with no traffic snarlys and only luxury Greyhound buses.
LoCTY !!!!!!!!!
PS When we face up to the glory of God, we find ourselves face down in worship.(Matt Redman)
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Last Night...Maximen
Hi My Brothers in Christ !!!!
Yea last night it was good to abide in Christ. It really takes a real man to cry. We are just so tuned by the world not to show weakness and if a man cries this is made out to be a weakness. But it really is a strength that we receive from His Holy Spirit. What sharing, what straight talking WOW !!!
This did not stop as we left. The four of us in the car spoke about God and our weaknesses all the way home. Craig and Johan (Naude) are in a similar 'place' right now both looking for jobs and desperate for God to guide them. Clint and myself spoke about our weaknesses as husbands and fathers and where we fall short of serving our Lord. We dropped off Craig and then drove to my place. While parked in my driveway Clint and myself prayed for Johan. Phew it was powerful stuff, our voices cracked and we had tears in our eyes and Johan was crying. He (Johan) then prayed to our Father and then asked us to pray for the infilling of His Holy Spirit. Man.... God's presence in that car was heavy, I had stretched my right hand out to Johan and I could feel it tingling, I have not felt that in a long time. It was just awesome. God's anointing & blessings just continued as I walked into the house everything was done sandwiches made, dishes done, ironing done, Adam had fixed his PC by himself. I mention these 'little' things because they can sometimes rob you of a blessing and often before I open my front door and walk in I say a little prayer which goes something like this ' Jesus no matter what, I will worship you through everything, even if its doing the dishes at 11pm.'
This morning I opened up my sandwich box and Matthew had written a little note for me which read like this ' I love you very much daddy, Matthew and Mom.
Donny I got your other emails at 7.20pm last night. Read them this morning, thanks bud.
Clint and myself are thinking about doing a mobile prayer chapel, still thinking of a name mebbe Spiritual Meals on Wheels. Any further suggestions ?
Clint (G) and myself are going to hand out some tracts on Friday night from about 7pm on Voortrekker Road. If you want to step out in faith with us you are more than welcome. Just contact me, my home number is 558 0521, work no. below.
And now God is building you, as living stones into His spiritual temple. Whats more you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please Him because of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
LoCTY !!!!!!
Yea last night it was good to abide in Christ. It really takes a real man to cry. We are just so tuned by the world not to show weakness and if a man cries this is made out to be a weakness. But it really is a strength that we receive from His Holy Spirit. What sharing, what straight talking WOW !!!
This did not stop as we left. The four of us in the car spoke about God and our weaknesses all the way home. Craig and Johan (Naude) are in a similar 'place' right now both looking for jobs and desperate for God to guide them. Clint and myself spoke about our weaknesses as husbands and fathers and where we fall short of serving our Lord. We dropped off Craig and then drove to my place. While parked in my driveway Clint and myself prayed for Johan. Phew it was powerful stuff, our voices cracked and we had tears in our eyes and Johan was crying. He (Johan) then prayed to our Father and then asked us to pray for the infilling of His Holy Spirit. Man.... God's presence in that car was heavy, I had stretched my right hand out to Johan and I could feel it tingling, I have not felt that in a long time. It was just awesome. God's anointing & blessings just continued as I walked into the house everything was done sandwiches made, dishes done, ironing done, Adam had fixed his PC by himself. I mention these 'little' things because they can sometimes rob you of a blessing and often before I open my front door and walk in I say a little prayer which goes something like this ' Jesus no matter what, I will worship you through everything, even if its doing the dishes at 11pm.'
This morning I opened up my sandwich box and Matthew had written a little note for me which read like this ' I love you very much daddy, Matthew and Mom.
Donny I got your other emails at 7.20pm last night. Read them this morning, thanks bud.
Clint and myself are thinking about doing a mobile prayer chapel, still thinking of a name mebbe Spiritual Meals on Wheels. Any further suggestions ?
Clint (G) and myself are going to hand out some tracts on Friday night from about 7pm on Voortrekker Road. If you want to step out in faith with us you are more than welcome. Just contact me, my home number is 558 0521, work no. below.
And now God is building you, as living stones into His spiritual temple. Whats more you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please Him because of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
LoCTY !!!!!!
Friday, October 22, 2004
Did You Know (2)
To The Saints !!!!!
Obviously the key (from a scientific viewpoint) to continued life on Earth is the sun, whose nuclear fusion, taking place at twenty-seven million degrees Fahrenheit at its core, provides us with a consistent warmth and energy 93 million miles away. If the distance between the earth and the sun was adjusted by 5% either way human and animal life would be impossible because the mix of carbon dioxide and oxygen would not be able to sustain it.
Our sun is pretty special. For instance its among the 10% most massive stars in the universe. In fact if you pick a star at random, you're likely to pick one that's far less massive than our sun, usually red dwarfs, which make up about 80% of stars. Another 8 or 9 percent are called G dwarfs, most of which are less massive than the sun. The sun is a yellow dwarf ; technically, it has a G2 spectral type. So we can see that yellow G2 dwarfs like our sun help account for the balance, between 1 and 2 percent, of all stars (this 1 to 2 percent also consists of other types of stars some of which are more massive than the sun).
Lets take a look at red dwarfs quickly since they make up the majority of stars in the universe. These are not very conducive to having life-bearing planets orbiting them. There are several reasons for this. First red dwarfs emit most of their radiation in the red part of the spectrum, which makes photosynthesis less efficient. A greater problem though is that as you decrease the mass of a star, you also decrease its luminosity. A planet would have to orbit this kind of star much closer in order to have sufficient heat to maintain liquid water on its surface. This then results in the problem that the tidal force between the star and the planet gets stronger as you move in, so the planet will spin down and eventually end up in what's called a tidally locked state. This means it always presents the same face towards the star. This is very bad (major understatement) because it causes huge temperature differences between the lit side and the unlit side. The lit side would be terribly dry and hot while the unlit side would be prohibitively icy and cold.
Now back to our sun (aren't you warming up more to it?). Fortunately our sun is not only the right mass, it also emits the right colours (a balance of red and blue). If the Earth was orbiting a more massive star, say an F dwarf, there would be much more blue radiation that would build up the oxygen and ozone layer very fast. Any imbalance in the ozone layer would subject the planet to an immediate flood of highly intense ultra-violet radiation, which would be disastrous to life.
The sun is also metal-rich; in other words it has a higher abundance of heavy elements compared to other stars of its age in this region of the galaxy and surprise surprise the sun's metallicity may be near the golden mean for building Earth size habitable terrestrial planets. The sun is also highly stable, more so than most comparable stars. Its light output only varies by one-tenth of one percent over a full sunspot cycle, which is about eleven years. This prevents wild climate swings on Earth. As mentioned in the previous mail the sun's orbit is more nearly circular than other comparable stars in our galaxy and this keeps it away from the dangerous spiral arms in our galaxy.
So our star the sun has some pretty amazing properties - just the right mass, the right distance, the right light, the right composition, the right orbit, the right galaxy, the right location, the right stability - to nurture living organisms on a circling planet. Pretty allright don't you think. Now what do you think the chance of all this just kinda happening on this grand a scale.
Is not our God just awesome. More of His glory to follow just watch your mail.
Info taken from The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel (2004)
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? What supports its foundations and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38:4-7)
I believe in God the Father
Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth
And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Born of the virgin Mary
Suffered by Pontius Pilate
He was crucified dead and buried
And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the truth of God and not the invention of any man
I believe that He who suffered was crucified, buried and dead
He descended into hell and on the third day, He rose again
He ascended into heaven where He sits at God's mighty right hand
I believe that He's returning
To judge the quick and the dead of the sons of men
Oh yeah I believe it
(Creed by Rich Mullins)
LoCTY !!!!!!
Obviously the key (from a scientific viewpoint) to continued life on Earth is the sun, whose nuclear fusion, taking place at twenty-seven million degrees Fahrenheit at its core, provides us with a consistent warmth and energy 93 million miles away. If the distance between the earth and the sun was adjusted by 5% either way human and animal life would be impossible because the mix of carbon dioxide and oxygen would not be able to sustain it.
Our sun is pretty special. For instance its among the 10% most massive stars in the universe. In fact if you pick a star at random, you're likely to pick one that's far less massive than our sun, usually red dwarfs, which make up about 80% of stars. Another 8 or 9 percent are called G dwarfs, most of which are less massive than the sun. The sun is a yellow dwarf ; technically, it has a G2 spectral type. So we can see that yellow G2 dwarfs like our sun help account for the balance, between 1 and 2 percent, of all stars (this 1 to 2 percent also consists of other types of stars some of which are more massive than the sun).
Lets take a look at red dwarfs quickly since they make up the majority of stars in the universe. These are not very conducive to having life-bearing planets orbiting them. There are several reasons for this. First red dwarfs emit most of their radiation in the red part of the spectrum, which makes photosynthesis less efficient. A greater problem though is that as you decrease the mass of a star, you also decrease its luminosity. A planet would have to orbit this kind of star much closer in order to have sufficient heat to maintain liquid water on its surface. This then results in the problem that the tidal force between the star and the planet gets stronger as you move in, so the planet will spin down and eventually end up in what's called a tidally locked state. This means it always presents the same face towards the star. This is very bad (major understatement) because it causes huge temperature differences between the lit side and the unlit side. The lit side would be terribly dry and hot while the unlit side would be prohibitively icy and cold.
Now back to our sun (aren't you warming up more to it?). Fortunately our sun is not only the right mass, it also emits the right colours (a balance of red and blue). If the Earth was orbiting a more massive star, say an F dwarf, there would be much more blue radiation that would build up the oxygen and ozone layer very fast. Any imbalance in the ozone layer would subject the planet to an immediate flood of highly intense ultra-violet radiation, which would be disastrous to life.
The sun is also metal-rich; in other words it has a higher abundance of heavy elements compared to other stars of its age in this region of the galaxy and surprise surprise the sun's metallicity may be near the golden mean for building Earth size habitable terrestrial planets. The sun is also highly stable, more so than most comparable stars. Its light output only varies by one-tenth of one percent over a full sunspot cycle, which is about eleven years. This prevents wild climate swings on Earth. As mentioned in the previous mail the sun's orbit is more nearly circular than other comparable stars in our galaxy and this keeps it away from the dangerous spiral arms in our galaxy.
So our star the sun has some pretty amazing properties - just the right mass, the right distance, the right light, the right composition, the right orbit, the right galaxy, the right location, the right stability - to nurture living organisms on a circling planet. Pretty allright don't you think. Now what do you think the chance of all this just kinda happening on this grand a scale.
Is not our God just awesome. More of His glory to follow just watch your mail.
Info taken from The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel (2004)
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? What supports its foundations and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38:4-7)
I believe in God the Father
Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth
And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Born of the virgin Mary
Suffered by Pontius Pilate
He was crucified dead and buried
And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the truth of God and not the invention of any man
I believe that He who suffered was crucified, buried and dead
He descended into hell and on the third day, He rose again
He ascended into heaven where He sits at God's mighty right hand
I believe that He's returning
To judge the quick and the dead of the sons of men
Oh yeah I believe it
(Creed by Rich Mullins)
LoCTY !!!!!!
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Did You Know
To The Saints!!!!!
There are three types of galaxies that have been discovered in the universe so far, these are elliptical, spiral and irregular. Of these three types of galaxies the one most suited for supporting life is the spiral galaxy. So guess what? Our galaxy (The Milky Way) just happens to be a spiral galaxy. These are dominated by a central spherical bulge and a disk with spiral arms extending outward from the nucleus in a spiral pattern, resembling a celestial pinwheel. The spiral arms of our galaxy are dangerous places where you would find exploding stars(supernovae) and hazardous giant molecular clouds and all sorts of other lethal activities. Earth is situated safely between the Sagittarius and Persues spiral arms.
Also we're very far from the nucleus of our galaxy, which is also a dangerous place. We now know that there's a massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. In fact, the Hubble telescope has found that nearly every large nearby galaxy has a giant black hole at its nucleus and these are very dangerous things. You also have more supernovae exploding in that central part of the galaxy. Not a nice place to be!
Then you get the outer part of our spiral galaxy where star formation has been going on much more slowly over the years so the abundance of heavy elements isn't quite so high. Consequently these outer regions of the galaxy are less likely to have planets that support life or to be life supporting at all..
You guessed it we're in the middle of our galaxy!
Also the thin disk of our galaxy helps our sun to stay in its desirable circular orbit. A very eccentric orbit could cause it to cross spiral arms and visit the dangerous inner regions of the galaxy, but being circular it remains in the safe zone.
Awesome stuff eh!!!!!
More examples of God's glory will follow just watch your mailbox.
Info taken from The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel (2004)
From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20)
Lord of all creation of water, earth and sky
The heavens are your tabernacle
Glory to the Lord on high
God of wonders
Beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares your majesty
You are holy, holy
Lord of Heaven and Earth
Lord of Heaven and Earth
Early in the morning
I will celebrate the light
And as I stumble in the darkness
I will call your name by night
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth
God of wonders
Beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
Precious Lord, reveal your heart to me
Father, holy, holy
The universe declares your majesty
You are holy, yes you are
Lord you are
Jesus is holy
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth......
(This live version by Third Day with Micheal Tait)
This video version with Caedemon's Call
LoCTY !!!!!!!!!
There are three types of galaxies that have been discovered in the universe so far, these are elliptical, spiral and irregular. Of these three types of galaxies the one most suited for supporting life is the spiral galaxy. So guess what? Our galaxy (The Milky Way) just happens to be a spiral galaxy. These are dominated by a central spherical bulge and a disk with spiral arms extending outward from the nucleus in a spiral pattern, resembling a celestial pinwheel. The spiral arms of our galaxy are dangerous places where you would find exploding stars(supernovae) and hazardous giant molecular clouds and all sorts of other lethal activities. Earth is situated safely between the Sagittarius and Persues spiral arms.
Also we're very far from the nucleus of our galaxy, which is also a dangerous place. We now know that there's a massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. In fact, the Hubble telescope has found that nearly every large nearby galaxy has a giant black hole at its nucleus and these are very dangerous things. You also have more supernovae exploding in that central part of the galaxy. Not a nice place to be!
Then you get the outer part of our spiral galaxy where star formation has been going on much more slowly over the years so the abundance of heavy elements isn't quite so high. Consequently these outer regions of the galaxy are less likely to have planets that support life or to be life supporting at all..
You guessed it we're in the middle of our galaxy!
Also the thin disk of our galaxy helps our sun to stay in its desirable circular orbit. A very eccentric orbit could cause it to cross spiral arms and visit the dangerous inner regions of the galaxy, but being circular it remains in the safe zone.
Awesome stuff eh!!!!!
More examples of God's glory will follow just watch your mailbox.
Info taken from The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel (2004)
From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20)
Lord of all creation of water, earth and sky
The heavens are your tabernacle
Glory to the Lord on high
God of wonders
Beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares your majesty
You are holy, holy
Lord of Heaven and Earth
Lord of Heaven and Earth
Early in the morning
I will celebrate the light
And as I stumble in the darkness
I will call your name by night
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth
God of wonders
Beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
Precious Lord, reveal your heart to me
Father, holy, holy
The universe declares your majesty
You are holy, yes you are
Lord you are
Jesus is holy
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth......
(This live version by Third Day with Micheal Tait)
This video version with Caedemon's Call
LoCTY !!!!!!!!!
Monday, October 18, 2004
Please take from me...
To You The Precious Saints !!!!!!!
Know this day how worthy you are. You were bought with the very life blood of Jesus Christ, God came down here to earth to die for you, just so He could have a loving relationship with you.
Every morning during the week (Mon to Fri) I wake up my son Matthew (aged 7) for school. Before I get him out of bed I get his chair ready and dish up his cereal. I then go wake him up. He is just like a big floppy doll as he flops into my arms (trusting me so completely) and I can feel his warm body against mine, feel his breath in my ear, smell his unique smell and then I carry him through and place him as gently as I can on his chair. I then go and fetch his Shrek or Spiderman blankie and he wraps himself up in it from head to toe (I call him Eskimoses). Always just before I wake Mattie up I look down on this incredible miracle that God has blessed us with (sleeping so angelically) and my heart just wants to crack. I wish that I could just leave him there to sleep but I know no matter how tough his day is gonna be it is better that I wake him. Before I leave for work I always whisper in his ear that Jesus loves him and that I love him and he nods his head in agreement.
And this is how our Father and our Saviour Jesus is with us all. His heart just wants to crack when every day he sends us out into this sick and dying world full of sin and corruption, He sees the knocks and hurts we take but He wants us to shine His grace,mercy and love to this world of His which denies the Saviour and Creator. And this is eternally good for us.
So if you have ever woken up in the small hours of the morning in a complete panic (over big things or small or a combo of both) and you toss and turn and dread the approach of the time you actually have to get out of bed and you would rather just curl up in a ball and be left alone, mebbe just for today. Then you get this huge guilt trip because the question screams in your mind ' Wot kinda Kristian R U'. Who the heck am I? And you feel so ashamed and you want to hide from Jesus but you know you can't. Sometimes all we manage to do is hold on in quiet desperation to Jesus our Saviour and just pray (minute by minute) that He gets us through the day. Sometimes you get to work and some cheery Christian beams at you and proclaims 'This is the day the Lord has made be thankful, rejoice and be glad', and you feel like belting them over the head with your coffee cup (yeah the truth hurts). Never feel alone when you feel like this, don't expect major easy to see miracles but He is all around you teaching you everyday down to the smallest detail and He won't let you go.
Last night Allie and myself ministered to beautiful gifted sister who is struggling and while Allie was praying His Holy Spirit was just playing this song over and over in my head.
How many times have I turned away
The number is the same as the sand on the shore
Every time You've taken me back
And now I pray You'll do it once more
Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
To give it away to You
Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
To give it away to You, Jesus
How many times have I gone astray
The number is the same as the stars in the sky
Every time You've taken me back
And I pray You'll do it again
(Take My Life by Third Day)
Paul tells us this; And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can't and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord ( Romans 8: 38&39)
May You All Abide With Him Today
LoCTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Know this day how worthy you are. You were bought with the very life blood of Jesus Christ, God came down here to earth to die for you, just so He could have a loving relationship with you.
Every morning during the week (Mon to Fri) I wake up my son Matthew (aged 7) for school. Before I get him out of bed I get his chair ready and dish up his cereal. I then go wake him up. He is just like a big floppy doll as he flops into my arms (trusting me so completely) and I can feel his warm body against mine, feel his breath in my ear, smell his unique smell and then I carry him through and place him as gently as I can on his chair. I then go and fetch his Shrek or Spiderman blankie and he wraps himself up in it from head to toe (I call him Eskimoses). Always just before I wake Mattie up I look down on this incredible miracle that God has blessed us with (sleeping so angelically) and my heart just wants to crack. I wish that I could just leave him there to sleep but I know no matter how tough his day is gonna be it is better that I wake him. Before I leave for work I always whisper in his ear that Jesus loves him and that I love him and he nods his head in agreement.
And this is how our Father and our Saviour Jesus is with us all. His heart just wants to crack when every day he sends us out into this sick and dying world full of sin and corruption, He sees the knocks and hurts we take but He wants us to shine His grace,mercy and love to this world of His which denies the Saviour and Creator. And this is eternally good for us.
So if you have ever woken up in the small hours of the morning in a complete panic (over big things or small or a combo of both) and you toss and turn and dread the approach of the time you actually have to get out of bed and you would rather just curl up in a ball and be left alone, mebbe just for today. Then you get this huge guilt trip because the question screams in your mind ' Wot kinda Kristian R U'. Who the heck am I? And you feel so ashamed and you want to hide from Jesus but you know you can't. Sometimes all we manage to do is hold on in quiet desperation to Jesus our Saviour and just pray (minute by minute) that He gets us through the day. Sometimes you get to work and some cheery Christian beams at you and proclaims 'This is the day the Lord has made be thankful, rejoice and be glad', and you feel like belting them over the head with your coffee cup (yeah the truth hurts). Never feel alone when you feel like this, don't expect major easy to see miracles but He is all around you teaching you everyday down to the smallest detail and He won't let you go.
Last night Allie and myself ministered to beautiful gifted sister who is struggling and while Allie was praying His Holy Spirit was just playing this song over and over in my head.
How many times have I turned away
The number is the same as the sand on the shore
Every time You've taken me back
And now I pray You'll do it once more
Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
To give it away to You
Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
To give it away to You, Jesus
How many times have I gone astray
The number is the same as the stars in the sky
Every time You've taken me back
And I pray You'll do it again
(Take My Life by Third Day)
Paul tells us this; And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can't and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord ( Romans 8: 38&39)
May You All Abide With Him Today
LoCTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
How Great Thou Art
To The Saints !!!
Dean came to take our ole faithful Mazda(Stanley) away this past Saturday to see if he can sell it. It was rather whimsically that I stood in our driveway and waved goodbye to Stanley. So many memories are tied to that car. Stanley certainly motivated me to pray a lot, both while driving along in him and also many a night when I would apologise to God for praying over our 'bucket of bolts' yet again as he stood in our driveway often with some sort of mysterious ailment(mysterious to me that is).
The latest memory that he left us with was last week Wednesday when we drove home from Parklands while it was pouring with rain. It was a real storm. Visibility was not very good and it was a lot worse from inside Stanley(wot's a demister?!!). When we turned the corner onto Koeberg road the wind hit us at a different angle which caused the windscreen wipers to go too far to the one side and then get stuck, Allie had to keep on pushing them back. Val (Allie's sister, who is a nun) suggested to me that we should pray. I was already having a serious monologue with God at the time but I sure could use all the help I could get. So Val started singing How Great Thou Art and listening to the words kinda just put everything in the right perspective as we drove home in our leaky spluttery car with our singing nun and you really really got the feeling of how close God can be to us, so close he is right inside . And you know He is there all the time and He will never ever leave us(Hebrews 13:5&6). But that is the promise written in His word.
How Great Thou Art by Aled Jones
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hands have made
I see the stars , I hear the mighty thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
And when I think that God, His son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.........
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy will fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!
(How Great Thy Art.... you can sing along and praise Him)
LoCTY !!!!!!!!
Dean came to take our ole faithful Mazda(Stanley) away this past Saturday to see if he can sell it. It was rather whimsically that I stood in our driveway and waved goodbye to Stanley. So many memories are tied to that car. Stanley certainly motivated me to pray a lot, both while driving along in him and also many a night when I would apologise to God for praying over our 'bucket of bolts' yet again as he stood in our driveway often with some sort of mysterious ailment(mysterious to me that is).
The latest memory that he left us with was last week Wednesday when we drove home from Parklands while it was pouring with rain. It was a real storm. Visibility was not very good and it was a lot worse from inside Stanley(wot's a demister?!!). When we turned the corner onto Koeberg road the wind hit us at a different angle which caused the windscreen wipers to go too far to the one side and then get stuck, Allie had to keep on pushing them back. Val (Allie's sister, who is a nun) suggested to me that we should pray. I was already having a serious monologue with God at the time but I sure could use all the help I could get. So Val started singing How Great Thou Art and listening to the words kinda just put everything in the right perspective as we drove home in our leaky spluttery car with our singing nun and you really really got the feeling of how close God can be to us, so close he is right inside . And you know He is there all the time and He will never ever leave us(Hebrews 13:5&6). But that is the promise written in His word.
How Great Thou Art by Aled Jones
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hands have made
I see the stars , I hear the mighty thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
And when I think that God, His son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.........
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy will fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!
(How Great Thy Art.... you can sing along and praise Him)
LoCTY !!!!!!!!
Monday, October 11, 2004
Prayer Update
To The Saints !!!!
Maybe some of you can remember about a month or so ago Allie used up all her call time to SMS many of you to support us in prayer about purchasing a newer car.
A colleague of hers(Lesley) had decided to go back to her family in Scotland(don't know why yet), the car in question was given to Lesley as a present in 1996 by the parents of her former fiancée. You can make your own deductions about all these 'coincidences'(I just love em).
When Allie told me about the car, a Ford Tracer 1600, 1996 model, one owner with 85,000 k's on the clock at a going price of R26,000 my immediate thought was yeah right so the money is just kinda going to fall from the sky.
What to do? Just ask Jesus. So we did and guess what? We took ownership of the car this past Friday. When I got home this past Friday evening I just went to go look at it and then sit in it and just marvel at how God worked in our lives to bless us. I was like a little boy in candy store,(sorta gratefully bemused) checking out all the things that worked. I mean the windscreen wipers worked and did not get stuck, you could push a button and water would spray on the windows(incredible, we normally had to wait till it rained) and so on. Okay I know all you guys with your Beemers, Mercs, Renos et al are probably saying so what but when you have driven by faith for so long its quite a step up in the mechanical world.
I just want to thank you all for your prayers and a special thank you to those of you who actually came forward and answered some of our prayers. And to think all of this all and all of who we are would not be possible if it were not for Jesus Christ! All Glory to God!!!!
Would you believe me if I said.....
That we are the ones who can make the change
In the world today...
Would you believe me if I said.....
That all of of the dreams in your heart
Can come true .... Today
Would you believe me if I said....
That life could be all that you want it to be.... Today
And if I had wings I would fly
'Cause all that I need you are
And if the world caved in around me
To you I'd still hold on
'Cause you're all that I believe
And the one that created me
JESUS because of you... I'M FREE...
Just live your life ...with GOD inside
You won't regret one moment of it...
And give it all that you can FOR GOD.
FOR GOD
(Free. Marty Sampson/Hillsong)
LoCTY!!
PS Many more things(good and bad) actually happened in this last month or so and we have received so many blessings that I could write a book about it. I'll spare you guys though(for now!).
Maybe some of you can remember about a month or so ago Allie used up all her call time to SMS many of you to support us in prayer about purchasing a newer car.
A colleague of hers(Lesley) had decided to go back to her family in Scotland(don't know why yet), the car in question was given to Lesley as a present in 1996 by the parents of her former fiancée. You can make your own deductions about all these 'coincidences'(I just love em).
When Allie told me about the car, a Ford Tracer 1600, 1996 model, one owner with 85,000 k's on the clock at a going price of R26,000 my immediate thought was yeah right so the money is just kinda going to fall from the sky.
What to do? Just ask Jesus. So we did and guess what? We took ownership of the car this past Friday. When I got home this past Friday evening I just went to go look at it and then sit in it and just marvel at how God worked in our lives to bless us. I was like a little boy in candy store,(sorta gratefully bemused) checking out all the things that worked. I mean the windscreen wipers worked and did not get stuck, you could push a button and water would spray on the windows(incredible, we normally had to wait till it rained) and so on. Okay I know all you guys with your Beemers, Mercs, Renos et al are probably saying so what but when you have driven by faith for so long its quite a step up in the mechanical world.
I just want to thank you all for your prayers and a special thank you to those of you who actually came forward and answered some of our prayers. And to think all of this all and all of who we are would not be possible if it were not for Jesus Christ! All Glory to God!!!!
Would you believe me if I said.....
That we are the ones who can make the change
In the world today...
Would you believe me if I said.....
That all of of the dreams in your heart
Can come true .... Today
Would you believe me if I said....
That life could be all that you want it to be.... Today
And if I had wings I would fly
'Cause all that I need you are
And if the world caved in around me
To you I'd still hold on
'Cause you're all that I believe
And the one that created me
JESUS because of you... I'M FREE...
Just live your life ...with GOD inside
You won't regret one moment of it...
And give it all that you can FOR GOD.
FOR GOD
(Free. Marty Sampson/Hillsong)
LoCTY!!
PS Many more things(good and bad) actually happened in this last month or so and we have received so many blessings that I could write a book about it. I'll spare you guys though(for now!).
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