Apostle's Notebook

Death in Venice

2011-11-14T16:04:00.001+02:00

Death in Venice
The beautifully made Visconti film starring Dirk Bogarde left an indelible impression on my young mind when I first saw it. Based on the Thomas Mann novel (‘Der Todd in Venedig’ 1912) and supported by the other-worldly music score of Gustav Mahler’ Adagietto, 4th movement of Mahler’s 5th symphony, haunting my memory all these years.
It is unforgettable for three reasons: 1. everyone wants to go to Venice sooner or later in their lives. 2. Death is a certainty everyone has to face. 3. The irony of dying in such an exquisite place which we all know but hate to admit is busy ‘dying’ by sinking deeper and deeper into the water.
Gustav von Aschenbach is a writer who has received nobility bestowed upon him because of his artistic achievements. But he has developed writer’s block and has no inspiration left. He decides to go on holiday. He spots an old man who has his hair dyed red and his face painted who tries to be jolly with a few young people hanging around him. Aschenbach is disgusted.
He arrives in Venice and books into a hotel in where he notices an aristocratic Polish family at a table in the dining hall. The youth, Tadzio, in a sailor suit, is a perfect picture of health and youth, like a Greek god. Somehow the image of youth inspires, uplifts and eventually obsesses him.
As he wanders through the streets of Venice he sees municipal workers putting up notices about an outbreak of cholera and warning people to avoid eating shell fish. But he is caught in his obsession of his muse and decides to face the danger by staying on in Venice.
When Aschenbach realises how his appearance has changed he goes to the barbershop where he is advised to have his hair coloured and his face painted to look better. He allows it and looks worse – just like the old man he noticed on the boat.
Although he never speaks to the youth he does follow him around to the disturbance of the Tadzio’s family.
One day the Polish prepares to leave. Aschenbach walks out to the beach to sit on a deck chair. Tadzio and another young boy have an argument and Tadzio gets beaten, easily.
When Aschenbach wants to get up to comfort the youth, he falls of the chair and dies of Cholera. His body is discovered a few minutes later.
Aschenbach means ash brook, ashes strewn in a river…Venice is a city built on rivers and canals. What an ironic place to die…

It is a simple story. There is beauty and heart break, joy and sadness, bitterness and sweet, glorious and gory all mixed in one recipe that produces a masterpiece.
There are a lot of allusions to Greek mythology and Freudian philosophy and you can read all sorts of other influences and references into it, but the simple beauty and the stark reality of an artist spending his last few days in a place of beauty, finding the beauty of youth to admire again and then submitting to the encroaching disease, almost by will. It is like he said; this is where I hope to end it all. What a beautiful place to die, Venice. In the Greek sense of literature it is a kind of tragedy: a hero chooses the path that leads to his demise even though the audience knows he could decide to avoid it.

It is not the kind of movie you want to see again and again, but once you have seen it you see it again – inside. It is unavoidable. All of us want to see Venice. All of us will die. And all of us know Venice too is dying…

Seeking Approval

2011-09-05T18:31:00.002+02:00

Seeking approval is something that drives most of our personal achievements.
When Hilton was three years old he got his first short armed wet suit, a yellow one, and his first body board. We treasure a picture where he is in the surf on his board. At the age of five I helped him to catch waves on an old surf board. In no time he was able to stand. We used to play together in the surf for hours. We even played dodgem cars with the boards! We would both take the same wave and then bash against each other. I felt like a little boy again.
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Nola and I also spent many hours on the beach watching him surf. When he took an exciting wave and made it all the way he would turn to us and throw his hands up in the air to receive our applause or approval. We would give thumbs up and clap our hands to show him we enjoyed it as much as he did. Hilton could swim before he could walk! He loves the cold Atlantic ocean.
But the day came that Hilton no longer looked back for our approval. He just concentrated on surfing. It felt strange, kind of lonely on the beach, still anticipating his longing for approval, but staying empty handed as it were. I no longer participated in the joy of catching a good wave. He had friends in the water who celebrated a 360 or a sharp cut back or bottom turn or arial above the crest of the wave.
Eventually he surfed so long that we no longer waited for him. We would drop him off at the chosen surf spot and go home. Then we would fetch him later either at the beach or at a friends place. And then he started flying to competitions and going with the provincial team to compete.
There is a lesson in here somewhere.
We all look for approval in every area of life. But there should come a time when we no longer look for approval. We have an inner confidence that we are doing it right and we can only improve what we are doing now.
Now all that matters is how the judges at surfing competitions approve of his surfing. Our approval is no longer required. He has transcended Mommy and Daddy's approval. And yet we try to be there for him at all times, encouraging and helping him to think with the right humility and inner confidence about his chosen career. (He is a Junior Pro now!)
Paul wrote to Timothy: study to show yourself approved unto God being a workman who rightly divides the word of truth, not having to be ashamed.
When God approves of what we do we don't look back anymore - only forward and keep improving what we are doing. We no longer live for approval, we live to do what we know we can do and what we are called to do.
We no longer seek the approval of men, but we have found a higher honor: the approval of God. When we have God's favor on our lives it changes everything!

Dim-Sum Please!

2011-08-27T16:31:00.000+01:00

Dimsum Please!
Just before I left on my 4th mission to Uganda, Yve, my daughter promised to get us some Dim-Sum for a family meal. She described it being dipped into Soya sauce and my mouth watered.
After a while in Ugande I ate enough Tilapia fish, Kasava, Matoke, Pocho, sweat potato and red beans. My taste buds were longing for something else. Kasava is a white root plant turned into a porridge. Matoke is plantain mash, is a banana like plant that has a wild taste. Posho is actually maize meal that is ground and cooked.
I needed to eat something I can recognize.
The first advertisement I noticed was a Chinese restaurant on one of the seven hills of Kampala, called Fang Fang. It conjured up images of ‘Tiger, Tiger shining in the night’.
But it was a simple outside restaurant – the night air in Kampala is so refreshing and cool, even after a long, hot day. There were colourful bulbs hanging on strings. A wedding reception was being held so there was lots of human traffic between the reception area and the bathrooms on the other side of the open grass square.
The light above my table was so dim, that I could hardly read the small print menu.
‘Bring me some light, please!’ I asked
After a long wait the waiter brought a lamp which hardly made any difference at all. So I closed the menu and decided to go with my memory.
‘I would like some Dim-Sum, please.’
The African waiter was confounded. He kept asking me to repeat my order.
Then he called a chinese waitress. Now, I thought, we are getting somewhere.
I repeated my order. She smiled politely and said they don’t have it.
‘What’s the matter with this restaurant?’ I demanded to know.
‘This is Chinese restaurant,’ she reminded me.
Of course. I was ordering a Japanese speciality. How inconsiderate of me.
‘We have dumplings: chicken, beef or pork.’ She explained.
I felt somewhat embarrassed and ordered the dumplings which were too large to eat with the elegant chopsticks. The Chinese tea washed the food away.
But I left not really satisfied that I got what I was looking for. On the other hand I had to be taught a simple lesson that if you go to a Chinese restaurant you cannot order Japanese food!
How often do we have false expectations in life that lead to disappointment.
When Yve was a little girl she ordered a Tucan milkshake that they couldn’t make. It upset her.
‘I want a tucan milkshake!’ She insisted. But what she meant was ‘pecan nut flavour.’ A tucan is a colourful tropical bird with a long beak!
When I returned from Uganda, Nola surprised me. When I fetched Hilton at Melkbos after a surf, she had warmed up the Dim-Sum that Yve bought in a proper Japanese bamboo container and the Soya Sauce was waiting next to it. Dim-Sum is small enough to gather with the chopsticks which is part of the playful enjoyment of eating eastern dishes.
I didn’t tell them about my Chinese Restaurant experience. They would laugh at me and I did not feel like being laughed at.
When you can laught about something, you are over it!

'Talkin' to the Angels'

2011-06-07T13:58:00.003+01:00

Boxing is probably one of the most brutal sports ever invented, yet it remains fascinating to watch as two men dish out severe punishment to win a crown, a medal, a belt, and obviously some money!
There are some fights that stand out in one's memory, but the rest of them fade away. Ray Leonard once had several fights against a Mexican, Roberto Duran, that were rivetting rivalry from start to finish.
The Rocky Marciano tapes still tell a story and then of course there is Cassius Clay that turned to Mohammed Ali in the ring and mesmerized not only his opponents for a few decades but also entrigued millions of fans and boxing critics with his predictions and big-mouthed psychology: 'I am the greatest!'
He actually changed the style of boxing by leaning back on the ropes and allowing his opponent to give the best shot he had. Once he weathered the barrage of blows he would unleash his twisted short right jab which he maintained, 'would knock anyone of you out!'It would happen so fast that the normal camera speed would miss it!
'Dance like a butterfly; sting like a bee!' he would chant.
After winning the world title back against Frazier in the Thriller in Manila as the bout was advertised, he said it was the closest he came to death. They fought in 120 degree heat under a low tin roof. Frazier's eyes were so badly cut and damaged that he could not see anymore but kept on fighting.
At the age of 35 Ali fought Ernie Shavers and Sylvester Stallone was at the ringside. Although Ali prophesied: 'this will be no contest', Shavers hit him so hard that Ali went down. But he got up so fast, faster than most boxers would and carried on with the fight.
'He went on automatic pilot,' Stallone explains, 'he went beyond the borders of pain into another dimension. It is something divine. It's hard to explain.'
After the fight Ali told Stallone, 'I was talkin' to the Angels tonight!'
The next fighter beat him. It was Leon Sphynx. But Ali fought him again and regained his title as The Heavyweigth Champion of the World'. He regained his title for a record 3 times winning 36 fights in his career.
Amazing record.
But it is that line that Stallone quoted in 'Ali's Best 12 Rounds' that stayed with me for days: 'I was talkin' to the Angels tonight.'
There is something naive and childlike and yet something so profound in that statement that it lingers longer than any other statement Ali ever made.

Buzz Lightyear

2011-04-19T08:06:00.001+01:00

Flamingo's at the beach

2011-04-18T11:25:00.002+01:00

Flamingo's are normally found in marshes or large lakes. Flamingo Vlei is named after the flocks of birds that frequent our fresh water lake near Tableview, Cape Town. But the other day, my wife, Nola, went for a walk on Sunset Beach, where our home is, and saw flamingo's on the beach! She rushed home to fetch the camera to capture this unusual sight.
Like ballerinas they moved effortlessly in the shallow water, above their own rosy reflections, and seemed undisturbed by the clicking camera, till she came to close and then they scooped up and flew away into the baby blue sky. What a sight. We have it on our desktop as a picture now.
Can you imagine the beauty? It is serene, pastel coloured and unique.
Were they fishing? Or were they catching snails or mussels? But there they were, in all their glory, parading on the beach - just of us!
These moments of awe are the spice of life. These unexpected moments of beauty created just for those who are fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time.
I have a little picture which I treasure. I used to keep in on my desk for several years during extreme hardship in the ministry as a missionary.
It is a picture of Hilton and a little girl when both were about 3 years old. We took them to the Oceanarium at the Waterfront. At the entrance we stopped at a huge cylindrical glass container that stretched all the way up to the ceiling. The glass container was filled with colourful fish swimming in clear water.
The container had a ledge all around it and because the kids were small we picked them up and allowed them to stand on the ledge. Both of them threw their little heads backwards, and stretched their necks to look at all the exquisite fish. They stood like that for a long time. We snapped a photo for keepsake.
Life is full of awe. As a child one discovers the awe that life presents.
I kept that picture on my desk to remind me never to loose the awe of life. Life's troubles and complications can tie one's mind up with the intricacies of life, and it is easy to loose the 'awe' of life.
But the soul of man needs to experience awesome moments from time to time to revive the weary soul. Without it life is a grind and it grinds one to the bone.
That is one of the many reasons why we live at Sunset Beach: every day we see the most awesome sunset! Sometimes we simply stop what we are doing and go to the beach below to watch the setting sun, dipping into the watery horizon and shooting its last rays up into the sky behind the drifting clouds with a promise that it will be there again tomorrow, and the day after, and the next day...
Nola is fond of such moments. We often enjoy them together. We taught our children to enjoy them. God gave it to us for free. It costs you nothing.
May this computerized cell-phone mad generation never loose the awe of life, the beauty of nature, the simple joys that God has given to all mankind, to enjoy and to relish in the absolute genius of creation.
What a joy it is to be alive!
What a peace it brings to see the flamingo's on the beach.
What a moment. What a treasure.
It makes one rich. May the image remain indelibly imprinted on our memories.
May there be many more such awesome moments of beauty.
Let us remind each other how awesom life is - in spite of what we have to endure.
The glory always outweighs the suffering.
Never loose the awe of life. Remain childlike in enjoying this life. We only have one.

Departure Lounge in Lome

2011-02-21T22:01:00.000+02:00

Departure Lounge in Lome
Sitting in a hot and humid departure lounge in Lome, Togo, waiting for several hours before embarking on Ethiopian Airlines flight to Douala, Cameroon, I wipe away sweat from my forehead with the palm of my hand and rub it onto my chino jeans ala African style.
A cloth is useless and a tissue just gets shredded by my three and a half day stubble. The hand method is the best. The cloth gets drenched with two or three wipes and then it wets your trouser pocket. The hand is designed not to absorb moisture and therefore ideal for conveying sweat from the head to the jeans. Normal trousers can’t do the trick because it cannot absorb moisture. Jeans, either chino or blue jeans, are the working man’s trousers – they are made to sweat in!
There are two stand up air conditioners in the lounge where you can find temporary relief from the sweltering conditions. You need to plant yourself selfishly in front of the air con for a minute or two to get the maximum benefit.
The transit hall was full of people and so is the departure lounge. All flights use the same halls.
Gnassangbe Eyadema International Airport is unusually busy today because some flights have been delayed.
An Indian lady takes out a wad of money to pay for a drink.
I go to the toilet. The floor is messy. Can’t they aim?
Back in the lounge I drop down on the hard metal seats where you sit till your bum is numb.
Some passengers are called to board another flight. But as soon as they leave more people pour into the lounge. The distant drone of an propeller driven air craft sweeps into the open door at Gate 2.
The constant bell ringing before announcements makes me think of the Parisians police sirens that wakes one up at night.
I am the only person sporting a T-shirt. Most men have the American or English style collared button-down shirt.
Sweat is running off everyone’s faces now. The lounge could soon turn into a sauna!
No one enters the Sale Koromsa Ist Class lounge – and no one exits either.
I desperately need to cool down, but there are four people ahead of me at the air con. Their conversations seem to be important enough to keep them standing in front of the air con for several minutes. This leaves me gasping for breath like a Koi fish out of the water.
As I look out of the window I see the jet planes standing silently with open doors and bellies awaiting the next belly full of humans.
Ah, the air con is available! My kingdom for an air con! While I am cooling down others are already lining up. The next one is a nun with white head gear and white robe. When it is her turn she turns her back on the pleasure the air con provides and faces the crowd, the sweating crowd. Her look is stern; she does not want to betray the fact that she is enjoying the cool air.
A lady is pushed in the door on a wheel chair. Her legs reveal the terrible disease called elephantiasis. It is a crippling and painful disease, rampant in Africa. But no one pays any attention to her at all. They are used to it.
The announcer drops a bomb-shell: the flight from Adis Abiba to Abidjan is delayed due to operation crisis. It will now only arrive in Togo 2 hours later. ‘The company apologizes for this inconvenience.’
But no one responds to the announcement at all. There is no surprise, no anger, and no disappointment. If this was a departure lounge in the UK, USA, Australia or South Africa there would have been gasps of emotional responses and even rude remarks about the incompetence of the airlines. But not in Africa: Africa can wait; Africa can wait a long time because they have learned patience, like the patient earth waits for the rain in the right season.
A baby finally gives up all hope of ever reaching its home and lets rip with a high sounding shrill yell that pierces the drone of voices in the lounge. Nothing the mother can do can pacify the babe. The passengers in the lounge pay no attention to the baby crisis. It is normal for a baby to cry in Africa.
A bald shaven East European businessman enters the hall and looks around for a seat. There is none. He is so overdressed in his three piece suit, rimless spectacles, black leather attaché case and computer bag that he literally sticks out like a sore thumb. This is Africa, man!
Due to my concentration to scribble my observances into my little note book I had completely forgotten about the man sitting next to me. When I turn to him he is fast asleep, mouth wide open. Then I suddenly notice how many people are asleep in the lounge! No wonder no one responded to the announcement!
A very large businessman steps out of the first class lounge with his baggage.
Kids run up and down the aisles to entertain themselves. No one reprimands them.
There’s Douala’s call to board now! We converge on the ground staff desk to have our tickets ripped. I spot a white haired priest hunchbacked from too many devotions. He looks lifeless. Where there’s a nun, there’s a priest! Priestly rituals have a way of gnawing away at the soul until it slowly dies and gives up the struggle to try to enjoy life. Life becomes a dull routine. Man’s traditions make void the power of God, the Bible tells us.
A hooked nose Frenchman, smartly dressed in a white full length shirt revealing a pansy flowered coloured pattern on the inside of the collar, sleeves rolled back to reveal a blue leather strapped expensive name brand watch and stepping out in charcoal suede long pointed shoes pushes in front of me. I let him.
‘Merci,’ he says embarrassingly.
When we have to alight from the bus on the tarmac in front of the plane, I happened to be in front of old Frenchie. He lets me go ahead of him. I smile. He smiles and wants to talk but I just don’t have the energy to practice my French after sitting in the hot lounge for several hours.
All I really want to do is get on that plane and fly into the blue sky.

I walked on mass graves in Kigali

2011-01-24T08:52:00.003+02:00

I walked on mass graves in Kigali - and I cried. Two million people brutally murdered in three years in Rwanda. What for? Because of class distinction - between the rich and the poor. If you owned ten cows you became a Tutsi and if you had less you were considered a Hutu. The Hutu's exiled the Tutsis and many of them joined rebel forces to get back into their country. And then the genocide began...and the United Nations and the rest of the International Community would not believe the reports about the atrocities until it was too late. Koffi Anan's repentance as General Secretary of the UN came when the war was over: 'I should have done something about Rwanda ten years ago.'
The hills of Kigali are covered in houses, nice looking houses, and the roads in are in good condition. The taxi driver said to me,'do you like our city? Look how clean it is!'
But the red colour in the dark faces of the people in Rwanda reminds you of the slaughterhouse that Rwanda once was. The people are still weary of trusting anyone too quickly.
Yet Rwanda is one of the most fruitful and fertile lands in East Africa and could become the bread basked of Africa.
The Virungu volcanoes are still active and erupt every few years causing much damage and even deaths. Rain forests harbour 150 000 gorillas that Diane Fossey described in her books until she exposed the poachers and was murdered by them.
I walked in silence on the mass graves and shed tears for a nation that went through ethnic cleansing of atrocious proportions...and I was reminded of Hitler, Stalin, Yomo Kenyatta, Idi Amin and all the other dictators who brainwashed people into accepting their evil causes as if it were natural.
Then I remembered the words of Jesus: 'The thief comes not but to steal, kill and destroy; but I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.' The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for the world today, and yet the modern society speaks of the 'post-christian-era' as if Christianity is outdated! What a lie from the pit of hell! The Gospel is just as relevant today as it has always been! It is fresh - like the dew on Mt. Hermon!
The Prophet cried out: 'Who will hear our report? And to whom will the arm of the Lord be revealed?'
That is the cry in my heart today, as missionary, perhaps one of the least, but at least I keep going to other lands to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ. We can do all the humanitarian work that we wish, but unless people have a change in heart the atrocities of genocide and the killing of wars will continue.
There can be no peace without the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ the Lord of lords and the King of Kings. At His Name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord.
There is no other way!

The Quiller Memorandum

2011-01-11T21:50:00.004+02:00

Wednesday's Child, the theme song of The Quiller Memorandum, a thriller starring George Segal and Senta Berger in the 1966's, is an exquisitely beautiful, sad tune. The opening line being, Wednesday's Child is a child of woe... Max von Sydow with his eerie, mysterious, oblong face and some other great actors like Alec Guinnes also play their roles in memorable performances, but it is the theme music that I remember the most, more than the names of the actors or the titles of the cast.
What makes one remember something for so long? What makes something find a lodging space in your memory bank for 50 years? Goodness gracious, already that long? And still the haunting tone of that melody seems to ruffle my feathers every time I hear it played or play it on the piano late at night when everyone's gone to bed.
When a violin plays the tune it tends to tug at one's heart strings even more...
I don't want to dwell on the performance, just the memory, the Quiller Memory, the face of George Segal, tilting his head to pay attention to what someone has to say. He also played in The St. Valentine's Day Massacre. I remember how he cheerfully greeted his mother on that fatefull day before he got massacred with his other mobster friends in a garage on the 14th of February. Although George Segal is known as a comedy actor as well, it is that serious face, that wry smile and the frowning and questioning eyes that seem to be imprinted indelibly on my mind. But more than my memory of his spy role in Quiller Memorandum, I wonder about the beauty of that tune...it calms the soul and stirs the spirit and carries one away to another world of beauty and peace and joy...there must be a heaven after all if there is such heavenly music!
Beethoven confessed that he heard music from another realm, from the centre of the Universe somewhere...perhaps we can hear it too... if we listen!
Funny thing, strange and eerie just as the John Barry score of The Quiller Memorandum, he sadly passed away in January on the 30th at the age of 77. Hans Zimmer who won an Oscar for the score for Inception (De Capprio starred and Ridley Scott directed)wrote an article for Time's Milestones on p.13 of the February 14 issue, 2011 in which he describes how he too remembers The Quiller Memorandum score. 'Sometimes the reason we have such deep and lasting emotional connections to movies is the music and everything that made the mood of those movies...' He was a Yorkshire man and even in his brightest work, you could always see the moors and the fog, even his cheeky stuff had an underlying darkness.
John Barry also wrote the scores for Zulu (which launched a young Michael Caine), Born Free, Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Bond), and Hammet. What he had learned from Barry is that mood is good, according to Zimmer.
Amazing that the Quiller tune drifted passed me at that time, so strongly that I could not ignore it, I had to write about it and remember it. And like Zimmer I cannot recall all the details of the Quiller Story, but the tune stayed in my memory bank. And it was in the same month that the composer passed away. Are we all in touch with the Infinite? Do we feel what is to come before it does? When will we wake up to this reality?
Astonishing...but true.

Sadness and Laughter

2010-12-31T20:24:00.002+02:00

The first time my grandmother took me to a circus was in Leeuwdoringstad, a small country town in the Western Transvaal, near Klerksdorp and Makwassie. She told me how much I would enjoy it.
The two of us went into the tent, and the smell of the animals and the dust made me wonder if I should be there at all. I was only 4 years old.
Then the circus master announced the first event and the band played out loud with trumpets and drum rolls and smashing cymbals as the lions came into the cage. The whip cracked and it frightened me.
The people woed and aahd and applauded and I sat rivetted next to my grandma. Then it was the horses with plumes on their heads like ladies in the Pentecostal church choirs that I was used to on Sundays.
And then they sent in the clowns to keep our attention as they changed the scenery and the set.
They had painted faces that looked sad. Their mouths were too large and sagging and their eyes drooped downwards. Their hats were too small and their trousers and boots were too big. Both of them had large red leather gloves on. Inside the gloves were crackers. When they slapped each other through the face the crackers went off. It shocked me and scared me and I started crying. It was too much for a little boy.
'Let's go home Ouma,' I pleaded, 'I don't like all this fighting!'
Ouma oblidged. It was the last time she ever asked me to go to the circus.
I thought about this moment and thought about watching Cirque du Soleil in Disneyland with my friend Brian and his wife.
The absolute artistry and agility of the performers astounded me and the timing of every moment to the music was mind boggling. The trampoline act took my breath away. I hurt my back on a trampoline when I was 14 and suffered back trouble for many years until the Lord healed me completely. I tried to do a backward somersault without any coaching. Dangerous.
But today I thought of that first visit to the circus and today is the last day of the year. Tomorrow will be the start of another year, a new year, a brand new year.
And I thought of the sad looking clowns.
Clowns make people laught, don't they? Why are their faces always sad?
Charlie Chaplin,Peter Sellers and all the other comedy stars, Gene Wilder, they all have a note of sadness to their lives. It is almost an integral part of a clown's armoury: his own sadness.
There is sadness in most lives, but the antedote is comedy and laughter. Thank God for someone who can make you laugh. Laughter is like good medicine. A merry heart has a continual feast.
Patch Adams made the terminally ill patients laugh in the hospital and got banned as a medical practitioner, but he did more good than the medical profession realised.
I once prayed for a lady called Priscilla who suffered from asthma attacks since she was a little girl. When I finished blowing into her mouth she was at first upset and then realised that she normally pumps air into her mouth with the asthma pump and then she started laughing until we all laughed with her. Dr. Sachs, a doctor in our church in Milnerton, came forward and explained how laughter is used for chronic asthmatic patients to bring relief.
So at the end of the year, let us lay aside the weight of sadness we might have experienced and let us remember the moments of sunshine and laughter. Let our spirits be revived and perked up again, because the Joy of the Lord is our strength, after all.

Walking on Water

2010-12-24T10:46:00.000+02:00

While Jesus was busy praying in the fourth watch, early in the morning He saw the disciples in the storm and went to them walking on water. It is not humanly possible to walk on water. I once met a man on a plane who was an engineer that designed film stunts for his son who was a Hollywood stunt man. He was drawing a picture of a car bursting through the glass of a third storey in a building. The car travelled at a certain speed and carried on going horizontally to the ground for a while before nose diving. When I showed interest he explained to me that the speed of the vehicle breaks the force of gravity just like an aeroplane takes off, but when the car looses speed it begins to go down. So he positioned the cushions to catch the falling car quite a distance from the edge of the building. Then I realised that Jesus must have walked very fast to get to the disciples in the storm. The lake is 12 miles long and they were in the middle, which means they were about 6 miles from Jesus. He came to them suddenly. They thought it was a ghost and did not recognise Him. The solutions to our problems often come in a form we do not recognise because we are so full of fear. When we break our fears, we can believe! Then the very things that want to swallow us up and destroy us, have to serve us to get to the other side to reach our destination!
When the disciples willingly received Him into the boat they were at the other side of the lake, immediately! This miracle of transportation is often overlooked when we read the Bible. It was a supernatural event. The same speed and force with which Jesus approached them in the boat transported them to the other side.
Isaiah 1:19: if you are willing and obedient you will eat the good of the land. How long does it take to become willing? It only takes a moment. How long does it take to become obedient? It only takes another moment. Our stubbornness and disobedience is like idolatry and witchcraft that prevents us from ‘eating the good of the land’. Why don’t we repent of it and become willing and obedient to do the will of the Father in Heaven?

It is December

2010-12-10T09:17:00.002+02:00

It is December. December in Cape Town is quite unlike December in any other place. It is summer and sometimes you have hot, sultry summer days, but mostly you have the Cape Doctor, the South Easter, sandblasting your legs and face with the coarse sea sand making it quite uncomfortable to stay on the beach for too long. Even the dainty little shelter canvasses they sell at all the out-and-about stores cannot withstand one gust of the South Easter. Beach umbrellas are the first to go rolling like tumble weed in the desert of Arizona.
But kitewurfers and windsurfers from Italy and France love the wind, of course. They cavort effortlessly above the waves and do stints in the air above the wreck at Dolphin Beach. When they hit a surfer or body boarder they refer to it as a blimp in the road. I've been hit by a windsurfer, once, on my back. The fin gaffed into my back and left a painful afterglow which lasted for weeks.
But today is one of those other kind of days...yesterday too, it started off with mist rolling in from the icy Atlantic on shore and it covers Milnerton first. The mist sneaks into the house like an old house friend and you smell the sea in your lounge. That is one reason why I live here: I love that smell, and I love the mists. Normally it turns out to be a warm day, a windless day if there is early morning mist. But you never can tell with Cape weather: like Sting sings: four seasons in a day!
And then of course one hears the blast of the fog horns from the ships lingering in the bay. Their souns is particularly eerie at night, of course. Like a foreign language being spoken by some prehistoric monsters calling out to each other without knowning where the other one is located.
A fog horn says so many things: hey, I'm over here! Hey, where are you? Mind you don't bump into me unnecessarily! Give me a wide berth! Let's play! Do you like my sound? Is anyone else out there?
Imagine a mist horn symphony!
But it also says, I'm alone out here...it has an attractive, lonesome, scary sound to it, and yet it is merely a mechanical device used to warn other ships of one's whereabouts.
But I love the sound of the fog horn...I lay awake at night to listen to it. It is so different from the hooter of a train or a car. It has depth to it. It is deep calling unto deep. Somewhere deep inside we respond to it without words and reply, i am here, it is ok.
The voice of God deep inside us is often like the old fog horn. It is comforting yet alarming; unexpected and yet desired; vitally necessary and still surprising; deep and yet so clear. It speaks to us when we most need it. It warns when temptation comes. It encourages when energy is low. It heals when there is hurt. It inspires when life overwhelms us.
Ah, the voice of God in the mists of the spirit realm! How we need it! How we long for it! How we ache without it.
May this December not merely be a time to remember, but may we hear the fog horn of the voice of God speaking to us in so many ways that we will enter the New Year with renewed energy, faith and hope. And the greatest of all is love...agape divine love, unconditional love, love so great that pen and poet cannot describe it. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have ever lasting life. Hear that fog horn sound in your own spirit and pass it on to someone else in the mists of time.
It is December...

Star-crossed Lovers

2010-10-16T05:14:00.000+02:00

Star-crossed lovers
I remember when I saw Franco Zeffirelli’s film about Romeo & Juliet. Leonard Whiting starred as Romeo and Olivia Hussy shone as Juliet. There was the grand opening sequence with the commanding voice of Verona’s Prince that boomed out the ‘On pain of death’ speech, if any of the Capulets or Montagues would ever be caught fighting in the streets again.
‘Two households both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean from forth the fatal loins of these two foe, a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life, whose misadverntur’d piteous overthrows, do with their death bury their parents’ strife’.
I remember Michael York’s resonant metallic voice as Tybalt the nephew of Juliet’s mother, and the energetic, almost bouncy performance of David McEnery as Mercutio whose revelling and bogus bravery brings Romeo into a skirmish with Tybalt.
The many unforgettable scenes, the masked ball, when Romeo finally spots his love and the beautiful love-sick song accompanied with a lute: ‘caper, o caper play me a song’ the theme song of Romeo & Juliet, that became a hit at that time; the balcony scene, ‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ and the morning after when Romeo awakes, ‘T’is the Lark!’
The escape of Romeo and the intervention of Friar Lawrence trying his best to convene between the two lovers, but then the messenger misses Romeo, passing each other like ships in the night; and the tragic tomb scene, where Juliet awaits her Romeo, but he mistakenly assumes she is dead and not sleeping, and then the catastrophe…the romantic suicide, as predicted in the prologue right at the beginning, almost unavoidably poignant.
Images float through my head and tunes grow in volume as I reminisce. Then I remember the school play I wrote at Milnerton High incorporating all my cricket and soccer buddies into the play allowing Jerome and Dagmar to play the lead roles.
But I, being a bit of a clown, turned the tragedy into a comedy, with apologies to William Shakespeare, of course.
My ‘star-crossed’ lovers just couldn’t die! I turned their names to Romea and Julio, just to avoid confusion! When Romea arrives at the tomb and sees Juliet lying there, he drinks the last drops of the ‘poison’ she drank and dies. Then she wakes up and says:
‘T’was but a sleeping tablet!’
But, alas, she observes her Romea lying motionless by her side and takes his dagger and commits suicide. Then he wakes up and realises it was just a sleeping potion. But when he spots Juliet lying there with a dagger in her hand, he takes a pistol and shoots himself. She wakes up and says:
‘T’was but a switch-blade!’ But perceives the gun and is beyond her until our hero wakes up again and announces:
‘T’was but a blank!’
And in the end I had them both live happily ever after! The audience experienced much laughter and the newspaper reviews by Geoffrey Tansley of The Cape Times praised the ‘youthful’ and ‘original’ production sky high.
But I often wonder what happened to Leonard Whiting…he disappeared out of the movie business after that role. Olivia Hussey went on to play Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in Zefferelli’s, Jesus of Nazareth that starred the great British actor Robert Powell with his beautifully elocution-perfect voice and sad blue eyes (memorable especially on the cross with blood trickling down).
I think Leonard Whiting played his role too perfect and no-one could ever imagine him playing anything else than Romeo. So even if one saw him in another movie one would still think of him as Romeo. It’s a bit like Clint Eastwood, as the man with no name, in his Spaghetti Westerns. But he found a way to survive fame and became Dirty Harry and played many other roles until he discovered his penchant for directing films for which he eventually won an Oscar.
But Leonard Whiting became a shooting star…I think he made one more movie and disappeared off the scene. And yet, he was perfectly cast, his passion, his facial expressions, his stunning hair that looked gorgeous even when he sweated in the fighting sequences. And his athleticism and his voice: he became the legendary figure of Romeo – he wasn’t acting.
And then I think of a score of other actors and actresses that came and went…Christopher Jones who starred opposite Yvette Mimieux the French actress, Peter McEnnery (the more handsome brother of David who played Mercutio) who starred opposite the illustrious Catherine Deneuve (I still remember the rugby practice in France so well)…and many others.
Were they only star-crossed actors?
Then I think of sport stars who have come and gone – without much fame or fortune on their side…and preachers…and musicians…and just people I knew…
Here and there some survived. Star- crossed?
Peter Sellers believed he had to marry someone with the initials B.E. because his stars foretold him so. He married Brit Ekland. His marriages never succeeded. In the end he left nothing to Michael his son, but gave his entire estate to his last wife before he died.
I met Michael – when they shot the interview with him at Lords. I was sitting in the exact spot where Peter Sellers, who lived opposite the revered home of cricket. Apparently he came for a meal and sat in that seat every Thursday. And it was a Thursday that I was there (in the off-season) and listen to this: I ordered Bangers & Mash, the meal Peter Sellers used to order! How strange a co-incidence is that?
The TV crew actually asked me to move to another seat so that Michael could sit there where his father sat for the interview! (We watched it on TV many years later in South Africa and I shouted: I sat in that seat!)
What attracts two people: their stars? Or is it certain chemistry between them? Why are parents never satisfied with their children’s choices of marriage partners? Why do parents give their children so much grief? Why, o why, o why? What should be the most memorable day of their married life, the actually wedding day, often turns out into a nightmare that they want to forget!
Is every couple star-crossed?
I think it is much simpler than that – there is something supernatural behind the scenes that direct the pathways of people. It is the unseen hand of God. And it is hard to discern in the natural. But if there is a bit of faith the size of a mustard seed, it could grow into a great tree where the birds of the air could come and make their nests. Their marriage could become a blessing to many.

Gary Player's secret

2010-09-27T08:29:00.003+02:00

Gary Player was probably one of South Africa's greatest golfers. He beat the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in his time. One of his favourite sayings was, 'the harder you practice the luckier you get!'
I once read about him, somewhere, that he hit 1000 golf balls per day! And he jogged regularly and did push ups. But besides his physical discipline he had the habit of keeping his cupboard tidy. He learned that from his father who died when he was only a young boy. His father never saw him play golf. His father never saw how much he achieved. Sometimes he had nightmares about his father - watching him play golf! But his father taught him how to keep his cupboard neat.
His shoes were in the right place, his socks would be folded up and placed in the one corner and his belts in the other corner. His shirts would be folded up and packed on top of each other and his ties would hang in order. The trousers and jackets would all be hanging in a certain order.
Gary firmly believes that the little disciplines of ordinary life is what helped him when he had to sink the championship winning put on a golf course. When the mind is used to orderliness in normal circumstances it will be disciplined under severe pressure as well.
My father was like that - he was a lieutenant in the Air Force of South Africa during WWII and flew the Tiger Moth planes. His dream was to fly the Spitfire but he never went to England. The Air Force kept him at the home front and put him in charge of the Arsenal because he did such a good job of putting things in their place.

So you can imagine what his cupboard looked like: like a men's department store! It was never out of place. Even on the day he died, I opened his cupboard and it was extremely neat and orderly!

There is an obscure verse in the New Testament describing Jesus' tomb. The disciples went to the tomb and found it empty. But they found the grave clothes and the head cloths folded neatly at the head where Jesus lay. That is a sign of a slave telling his Master that his work is done and that he is waiting for His reward.

Jesus had completed his earthly mission to perfection. He folded up his graveclothes neatly and stacked it where he laid his head to show to His Heavenly Father that his work was done: it is finished!

In the army we only got weekend passes if our cupboards passed inspection.

I also know that artists need a bit of chaos around them to be creative! The earth was created out of chaos, remember? Even God requires some chaos to prove His creativity!

But there is a lesson to learn here, somewhere,that a disciplined mind is a certain asset under pressure. To think under pressure is not just a gift, but a practiced behaviour. What you cannot do under normal circumstances you cannot hope to do under pressure.

So, thanks, Mr. Player, for that bit of advice, we salute you.

Running down the stairs

2010-09-17T11:24:00.000+02:00

Running down the stairs
The Cockney phrase, ‘up the apple and pears’, is slang for: ‘up stairs’. For instance, if one guy asks the other, ‘where’s ya missus?’ he could answer, ‘up the apple and pears’. When someone is looking for his glasses, but they are already on his nose, the conversation could go as follows: ‘where’s me binocs?’ and the other would answer, ‘on yer I suppose!’
The Greek language often has colourful descriptions behind the words.
For instance, there is a verse of scripture translated into English, do not bite and devour one another, or you might be consumed. The picture behind those words in Greek, are more revealing.
It shows someone running down the ‘apple and pears’ and out of the house!
Words have a powerful effect on us. If words are biting, they might become devouring. Once something has been devoured it is consumed!
By too much criticism, people feel like leaving a house. Children often are made to feel like that by the overbearing parents who forgot what they were like as kids. Their parents treated them harshly and spoke down at them; therefore they treat their children in the same manner. We just can’t help ourselves!
Paul warns us not to exasperate our children with too much correction. We have to create space for them to grow up. That means we need to allow some mistakes here and there and not police them all the time. It takes time for a child to change, yet parents demand immediate change. They must first want to change before they ever will. They must first see the need to change before they want to change.
Children sometimes feel like running down the stairs and out of the house and never coming back! Parents are often the cause. In Scotland children run away from home more than in any other country. I wonder why? Perhaps the parents in Scotland should take a long hard look at how they treat their children and what demands they make of them?
Husbands and wives sometimes treat each other with such harshness that the one or the other wants to run down stairs and out of the house! Unfortunately it can lead to divorce.
A friend of mine, in London, told me about his divorce: ‘One morning I just woke up and said to myself, I don’t want to live anymore!’ Then I asked myself, ‘why not?’ and I could answer it very easily: ‘I had a bully for a father, and I have had a bully for a wife, and I just don’t want to live under a bully any longer!’
I am sure his wife also had her reasons about his ‘emotional instability’. But she did not want to admit was that she was the cause of it in many ways!
Bosses often make their employees run down the stairs and out of the business – they resign and leave. Pastors often make church people run down the stairs and out of the church because of the way they bite and devour the people from the pulpit.
Governments make people leave the country because of their unfair treatment. More than 5 million white South Africans have left the country since the change of government. The pendulum has swung in the other direction after the Apartheid regime.
Sad to say, some desperate individuals who see no other way out, commit suicide because they have been bitten devoured and consumed by others…
Murders are committed because people have had enough.
Sometimes people die of heart failure because they have had it. A teacher at a private school, in his late forties told me a few weeks before he suddenly collapsed and died, ‘I’ve had it in this school!’ Sometimes principals and school systems are too hard on both teachers and scholars – they run down the stairs and out of the school.
And all of us can change the way we speak to each other.
Paul reminds us to let our speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt so that we may know how to answer anyone who asks us concerning the hope we have in life.
What I remember about people is the way they spoke to me. Some made me feel like a champion and gave me courage to carry on; some made me feel worthless and useless.
Think back about your teachers: which ones do you remember? You remember the ones who tried to speak kindly to you. The ones who ridiculed and humiliated you made you hate their subject.
The sound of the voice is sometimes more important than the message conveyed. The tone of voice carries the feelings behind the words. Let us learn to speak kindly to one another and hopefully make someone’s day memorable and worthwhile.

His bowtie is really a camera

2010-09-17T10:56:00.000+02:00

His bowtie is really a camera
S & G or Simon & Garfunkel sang ‘We all come to look for America!’ One of the verses is about a man in a gabardine shirt that looks like a spy, and then the one line says in a comical way, ‘be careful his bowtie is really a camera!’
Clever dialogue and descriptions in their songs used to catch my attention. For instance the two old people who sit on park benches like Bookends (propping each other up). The Sounds of Silence and silence does have sound if you care to listen. The opening line is probably a description of the billions of city dwellers everywhere, not just in NY: ‘Hello silence my old friend, I’ve come to talk to you again’. And then the unforgettable ‘words of the prophets are written on the subway walls’.
Mrs Robinson, Jesus loves you more than you would know wow-wow-wow! And that is where I want to camp for today. Mike Nichols used the S & G songs in the sound track for his film, The Graduate, starring a youthful Dustin Hoffman and an ageing Anne Bancroft, who played Mrs. Robinson.
But I have another Mrs. Robinson in mind.
While I was a student at Miracle Valley Bible College in Arizona, it no longer exists anymore, Dr. Gray, our principal encouraged us to read, Radiant Glory, the biography about Mrs. Robinson, who dedicated her life to loving Jesus. Her house was the only one left standing in the great Chicago fire. They were praying inside and escaped the terror of the devastating fire.
She prayed over I Corinthians 13 for two years: until she felt that those verses were internalized in her life. Love is patient, love is kind. Just start with those two. Love is not always a feeling as we presume. We want to feel love because we want to feel loved. But let’s look at what we are patient with. What draws kindness from us? Those are the things we love.
People are sometimes more patient and kind to their dogs and cats than to one another. Why? The Bible says in the last days there will be perilous times, because people will be lovers of themselves more than lovers of God; they will love money more than God and they will love pleasure more than God.
These three things describe our modern, materialistic, selfish and utterly sinful society – these things also cause pain and wars among us.
The love of money for instance is the root of all kinds of evil – not money.
Unfortunately the first line in Napoleon Hill’s book, that everyone reads sooner or later, How to think and grow rich, is, if you want money you must love money. He tells you how to feel the money in your pocket and to always have money in your wallet, because if you love money it attracts money. It is diametrically opposed to the Gospel of the Kingdom where money is not a god but a means to serve the Kingdom of God.
God promises to be a God that will teach us how to create wealth so that we may establish His Covenant in the earth. There is a condition to wealth creation, God’s way. The blessing of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow to it.
Self-love is promoted on every scale in modern life and narcissism rules the youth of today. There is a right perspective to all of this. You should first love God and then you can love your neighbour as yourself. That is the law of love that fulfils all the other commandments. But unless you experience the love of God it is impossible to love others or yourself in the right way.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16 in the Bible).
I Corinthians 13 tells us about love. If we have great faith, or make great sacrifices or even become a martyr it is empty without love as the motivating force.
Mrs. Robinson realised this and began asking God to fill her with His love. The Holy Spirit pours out the love of God in our hearts if we ask God in faith to give us His kind of agape love. Agape love is unselfish and unconditional. Our human love tends to be conditional: if you do this I might love you.
Pleasures that the world offer draw us away from God, rather than to Him. The pleasures of this life that is sinful are like thorns that choke a growing plant. The desires for things other than the things of God take the place that God should have in our hearts and makes the Word of God fruitless in our lives.
Where a heart is thoroughly prepared to receive the seed of the Word of God it bears a great harvest – hundred fold!
Mrs. Robinson experienced this in her life. She became a vessel of honour, mightily used of God to bless her generation and to leave behind a Radiant Glory for those who knew her. People used to drive great distances just to speak to her for a few seconds. Their lives were sorted out in a few minutes and they got direction, courage and hope just by seeing her.
I hope S & G were referring to the Mrs. Robinson in Radiant Glory rather than the one in The Graduate! It makes more sense that way. Perhaps we can learn from her to love one another. Perhaps we can help to make the world a better place.
If we listen to S & G we could have a different perspective on Mrs. Robinson!

When I'm Sixty-Four

2010-09-16T09:28:00.002+02:00

Just close to sixty now, I thought of the Beatle's song, 'When I'm sixty four'. Two of them are gone already - before that age. Lennon shot five times in the back in front of his New York apartment by a madman. George passed away after illness. Pretty boy Paul still lingering on holding concerts here and there, and Ringo hiding somewhere. The Fab four thrilled the world for a while and for 50 years we are living in the afterglow of their 100 number one tunes being played over and over again on all the radio stations of the world.
Was it all just a fad or a brilliant marketing campaign or did the Liverpool lads have some genius after all? Did it lay in the mix of McCartney & Lennon, or was it the foursome magic that worked on all of us? Did the spark die when Lennon disappeared? It's just not the same without him. Like Simon & Garfunkel, the one without the other just doesn't work as well, or like Crosby, Stills & Nash, or Dylan and The Band.
Were the Beatles really more popular than Jesus Christ, like Lennon claimed before he died. Just before Elvis and even Michael Jackson crossed over to the other side they were worshipped as gods of rock and roll.
The Old Covenant law looms up,'Thou shalt not have any other gods before me...'
So much we still need to understand.
But the point is, John never lived till 64.
'Will you still need me
Will you still feed me
When I'm sixty four'
I think of all my friends throughout life that didn't make that magic figure either. They're gone, deceased, out of here. And I am thinking hard today...
When I had my close shaves in life, I wondered why I made it? I don't deserve to be here, I have no special claim to life itself, it is a miracle that we are still all alive. Its not luck - its pure grace and mercy.
It is a humbling and sobering thought...64
So let me tie my shoe laces up, put on my belt, pull it tight, pull my hat over my eyes, to keep the bright sunlight out, grab my coat and hit the road again...till I'm 64 (DV)

Music to the soul

2010-09-10T12:16:00.003+02:00

Bob Dylan's albums have to grow on you. He is almost 70 but still doing 169 concerts per year - on the road!Amazing rambler!Amazing energy!And he won an Oscar recently for a movie theme song.
They asked him once, how do you remember all the words to your songs?
'It's easy,'he replied in his non-chalant way,'a song is like a path in a field: once you find it you just walk on. A good song walks by itself. It's a memory and you just relive it.'
When you buy a Dylan album, you listen and think, this is nothing special. You put it away for a while. Then you listen again, and later on again. And then you find it grew on you. Some of the phrases, some of the tunes, some of the rhythms got stuck somewhere, inside, in your memory bank. It made a pathway in your sub-conscious. His songs all sound like, 'I've heard that somewhere before.'But they are new, they just have a ancient sound to them.
In one of his latest albums, Modern Times, he sings Workingman's Blues. There is a phrase that sort of stick out in the song:'sometimes no one wants what you've got, sometimes you can't give it away!'
at first it sounds like you have heard that phrase before, but you haven't, not quite like Dylan expresses it with his rusty aged voice.
Life has a way to creep into your heart unnoticed - like a Dylan song. You don't quite know if you chose to remember something, but when you search your heart, there it is, loud and clear, almost like a label. You don't always know why. But if you look back on your life certain things just stuck in your mind.
Looking back on my life as a commando in the South African army, I remember things I did not try to remember. I forgot some things I thought I would remember. The same with school, the same with distant family members and friends.
Songs have got a way to remind you of what is inside you, where you were when you first heard it, it triggers a memory that got stuck inside and you have to stop and consider it for a moment, it speaks, it echoes and it resounds in your soul, it haunts you, it revives you, it excites you, it gives you comfort and courage to carry on.
That is the power of music. We all need songs in our lives.
David praised God who gave him songs in the night. In the worst time of our lives God gives us songs to strengthen our resolve and to remind us of what He has buried deep inside of our spirits.
Let us keep on singing, humming tunes, whistling while we work (except the glass blower, like my brother-in-law Murray always jokes!)
Let us put some melody in our lives today and in someone else's life. Stop and sing. Listen to a good old tune. Don't worry if no one else likes it. It is meant for you. Only you. It is what your soul needs now. It is a vitamin tablet for your soul.
Shakespeare said, If music is the food of love, play on, play on!

That's not what ships were made for

2010-09-09T19:09:00.003+02:00

I reached a forlorn Outback town in New South Wales called Gilgandra where I and my two unique band members performed Gospel songs in an AOG church and afterwards drove for miles and miles on dirt roads to get to the station (Aussie for farm) where we lodged for the night and I felt I was in the middle of nowhere.
The home was in a dishevelled state: especially the bathroom. There was no shower wall or curtain. Puddles of water were everywhere. The dirty clothes and towels were strewn all over the damp floor. The toothpaste tube was half squeezed out and the top was nowhere to be seen. The toothbrushes suited the scene: the brushes were pushed out from over-use. The basin was dirty with rings of dirt mounting one on the other.
For someone like me who came from a pristine Victorian albeit Afrikaner home where the table cloth and matching serviettes were starched and rows of cutlery were used for the four course meal, it was a bit nerve wracking to view the bathroom where no one seemed to mind the state it was in.
I remember looking at my watch. It was about midnight. I suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of purposeless welling up in me.
‘What on earth am I doing in a place like this?’
I felt that our ‘call’ to be in Australia was suddenly so useless. I felt like a misfit, the proverbial square peg in a round hole. Australia didn’t receive us well. What on earth am I still doing here, in the Outback trying to preach and sing the Gospel? The offerings hardly get me from place to place. My wife and kids are hoping I bring something back from this exhausting mission’s tour, but alas, I can foresee nothing positive about my efforts any more.
A sense of sadness crept over me and I felt as dark inside as it was outside. An Emu was circling the house making unearthly noises, like a stone dropping into a water container.
I washed my face in the dirty washing bowl, avoiding the dirty toothbrushes. Then I looked for a towel. They were all damp and used before. Then I spotted some behind the door hoping they would at least be clean, but to my dismay they were dirty too. I took one to dry my face. The smell of the towel was so off-putting that it made me nauseas.
As I lifted the towel an old, torn poster collapsed towards the floor. The towel was propping it up behind the door. I pushed the poster back up and then stared at it for a while.
It was a picture of an old sailing boat in a storm: mast cracked, sails torn and waves bashing over the deck with seamen sprawling for cover and hanging onto the ropes.
‘That’s exactly how I feel inside,’ I thought.
As I straightened it out I noticed the inscription at the bottom.
‘A ship is safe in a harbour; but that is not what ships were made for!’ was all it said.
I took it in and started weeping, silently at first, but audibly after a while. I sank to my knees with the dirty towel in my hands. I understood the message so clearly.
I could have been safe and sound in my own country, South Africa, with a secure 9-5 job and loving parents and friends around me and my family: instead we chose to obey our call to Australia as missionaries. Here I am, in the middle of nowhere, feeling lost in all the storms of life, and at the moment nothing makes sense any more. But like the old ship I have precious cargo to convey to the other shore. I have something to give, even if it is just to minister to a few people in the Outback.
Fairdinkum!
The poster and its inscription inspired me and gave me new courage to carry on and do what I came to do! I learned an important lesson: Christians are safe in churches, but that is not what Christians were made for!
Jesus said, ‘Go into the whole world and make disciples of all nations!’
At least I have obeyed the great commission. At least I’ve given it my best shot!
Since then I have been to 66 nations now…as the great old hymn Amazing Grace says,
‘Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come
It’s grace that brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.’
‘Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
I was blind but now I see.’
Amazing Grace was written by Newton, a slave trader, who faced many a storm at sea, and survived to tell the tale. Perhaps that picture would have touched him deeply as well. It touched me for sure. It changed my life. It changed my attitude. It gave me a will to live and to do something meaningful with my life.

How quickly we forget

2010-06-22T18:40:00.002+01:00

How quickly we forget!
My friend Victor Ferrer said, ‘I will never forget you!’ as we embraced saying goodbye at New York harbour when I boarded the HMS Mormac Bay to sail via Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town.
‘Don’t say that!’ I told him, ‘you never know what happens!’
‘No, I will never forget you, because you are my best friend! You are my brother!’
Vic and I were at Miracle Valley Bible College in Arizona. He is Puerto Rican and I am South African. (They were amazed that I was not black!) After College he invited me to stay with him and his Mom in 89th Street East, New York, close to Central Park. He taught me the ways of New York. You don’t stop to help someone who collapses on the side walk or you will be involved in court cases for years! You don’t jog alone in Central Park at any time of day or night – you might get clubbed! You set your alarm clock to wake you at 3 am to watch your favourite movie! You go to one movie after another or to Broadway – there is so much to do! And then he took me to The Bronx where he grew up and we ate rice and beans with his Aunty Carmelita. He greeted the gangs with their baseball bats, knuckle dusters and chains waving at us, because he knew them well.
‘Wave your bible at them – they have respect for a bible. They won’t do anything to us if they see you have a bible. Smile, don’t look so nervous!’ We went to an underground church where I preached.
We watched them cut down a metal fire hose connection on the side walk and watched how they created their own car wash for all the people living there! You don’t see any police in The Bronx. I felt like David Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz from ‘The Cross and the Switchblade’ fame!
His Mother thought she looked like Marilyn Munroe and used to look at herself in the mirror and ask me, ‘what do you think?’ I had to agree – I was living with them!
And when my time came to leave, he went with me to the quay and stood there with his dimpled smile and curly black hair and dark brown eyes staring at me, telling me he would never forget me. He gave me his leather bible cover, which I still use till this day – with his name on it.
We corresponded for a few years and then one day he stopped writing. I wondered what the matter was. Finally he wrote back: ‘Don’t ever write to me again! I have met this girl who is an atheist and I fell in love with her. She convinced me that all this Christian stuff is a waste of time that other people designed to make everyone feel guilty. You are part of that world and I have left it behind now. I am no longer your friend. Goodbye!’
What a shock it was! My friend Victor told me off! An Atheist girl swept him off his feet!
I never heard from him again. I often think of him, when I open my bible and see his name on the inside cover. I wonder how Victor is these days. I tried to find him on the internet, but to no avail. He has not surfaced again.
How quickly we forget…
Jesus introduced Communion so that His followers would not forget Him that quickly. 'Do this in my remembrance, whenever you get together,' he told them. They are still doing it today, 2000 years later. Eternal friendship lasts longer...

The Source

2010-05-12T15:08:00.005+01:00

When I was in my late teens my uncle bombarded me with self-help books: how to win through intimidation, Al Koran's philosophy on psychic techniques to make money; metaphysical affirmations that spiritualists use, Christian Science and Positive Thinking of Norman Vincent Peale, and success recipes galore, Napoleon Hill's exhaustive hard cover volume of Laws of Success from which the popular paper back was taken, How to think and grow rich; naturalist health text books, and many other types of self advancement books which he gave me to read, sometimes ten at a time, because I am a fast reader, to change my way of thinking.
I did read all of them and then one day, I took them all back to him and said, 'I prefer to stick to what I read in the Bible for a foundation for the rest of my life.'
'Suit yourself,' he said and packed the books away, one by one, in his bookshelf.
He ended up being divorced several times and left the ministry for a while and got involved in all sorts of businesses. He sold all the churches which his father, my grandfather, had built up to start his own denomination and moved to America with his one son.
Then in Australia, when Nola and I worked as worship leaders in the largest Charismatic Church in Australia at that time, the pastor forced me to attend a self-motivational course which all his staff members had to go through. He listened to the motivational tapes all day long in his car. And he built a lot of that stuff into his sermons on Sundays.'I can run this church without the Holy Spirit and no one will ever notice it!' he boasted.
The CEO of the motivational company asked me a bit about myself and then when I saw his stiff leg protruding from behind his desk I inquired about it.
'This is what your God did to me. I was a Methodist minister and I struggled to make a living just like all of you do. And then I was in a car accident and they put a steel rod into my leg. Now I can't walk properly. I left the ministry and started this business. I can make you famous and rich. I have made your pastor famous and rich. I can make anyone famous and rich!' he boasted and mentioned the name of a famous hair dresser in Brisbane and a famous tennis player in Australia that epitomized his success theories.
Suddenly I got up and said, 'I do not need your course, thank you, I prefer not to get anything from you.' I walked out. He screamed after me and told me I would never make it without him. He called me some names which I prefer not to repeat. He was a bitter and a twisted man and I didn't want his influence in my life at all.
Outside, when I got to my car, I raised both my hands skywards and made a vow: 'If the Holy Spirit cannot make me successful in what I have to do, I want no other help!'
I stuck to my vow through the years. I have now preached and ministered in 61 nations in 27 years and we have helped to plant and establish scores of churches. We have produced many LP's, tapes, CD's, Video films and DVD's, books, manuals, bible school material, life skills courses and life coaching manuals which have been distributed through many countries. We have produced musicals, held great concerts and trained more than a thousand people in our bible school.
Perhaps it is not 'rich and famous' but it is a life well spent so far and I hope to continue doing so as long as I have breath. I made a vow when I was 19 years old, on a snow covered hillside outside Leimbach, near Zurich in Switzerland, that I would serve God and humanity as long as I was spared and kept healthy.
The Bible has been my main source of inspiration all these years and I have trained many, many people how to hear from God from an Open Bible.

Roger Federer's thinking process

2010-04-28T11:09:00.003+01:00

Roger Federer was surprisingly knocked out of the clay court competition in the second round by a 40th seeded player. The post match interview had him scratching his head trying to explain this strange phenomenon.
'It becomes so easy to win that one forget just how hard it is to dominate this tennis circuit. But a loss is perhaps just what is needed to wake you up again. When you keep on winning you stop thinking about how you are going to play and take things for granted. You do not think of how to play agains the next opponent and then something like this happens. You have to check your thoughts and change your thinking in order to win again.'
Notice how many times he referred to 'think'. There is a key here. How man thinks; so is he. Every action has been pre-meditated, good or bad. If you can think through something and think strongly enough, it will bring the required result.
There are the uncontrollable issues that you just have to accept as they come your way, but having clear thoughts about what you do is very important, if you are the world's best tennis player or not.
The apostolic injunction is to continually renew your mind with the Word of God - to begin to think the thoughts of God. Jesus rebuked Peter for thinking the thoughts of the flesh instead of the thoughts of God. Later on Paul tells us to learn to think about things that are 'above' and not 'beneath'.
There is an elevated thought life that rises above the things that want to drag you down all the time. It is a controlled thought life that leads to a life of self-control.
Roger Federer clearly told us all that it is important how we think about things in our life. The mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. And the small rudder that determines the ship's course is like the tongue that controls our lives.
It is good to take some time off to just think through issues and determine which course to take or which thoughts to allow or disallow.
Clear conceptual thinking is something very valuable. We have to learn to excerice our minds, just as we excercise our bodies and learn to excercise our spirits as well. But that is another story all together...

Buzz Lightyear

2010-04-27T10:20:00.002+01:00

I met Buzz Aldrin when he came to Johannesburg many years ago. I had to accompany Marli Kelly on the pinao. She was asked sing a song before Buzz spoke. I sat next to him on the platform. His wife and daughter was with him.
The first thing I noticed was his funny shoes. He explained that all the men who went to the moon returned with some physical defect. 'We're not made to walk on the moon,' he told me. The arches of his feet sank permanently and he had to wear specially built up shoes.
He wasn't a believer on the way to the moon but after that experience and on the way back he changed his mind. 'There has to be a God if you see how beautiful the earth is from space,' he told me.
My grandmother on my mother's side saw a vision in 1965 of a man in a cumbersome white suit walking on the moon. He was wearing a helmet. We laughed at her and sometimes even mocked her as we watched the full moon rising.
'There's Ouma's man on the moon!'
In 1968 my granny sat at the kitchen table of my Uncle in P.E. listening to the radio anouncing the first landing on the moon. Neil Armstrong's famous words came over the air from outer space,'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!'

They named Buzz Lightyear after Buzz Aldrin. The comic character always goes beyond existing borders: to infinity and beyond!

Buzz told me about the extreme tests they had to go through to eliminate all the hopefulls until they only had a handful men left over to select the first team to walk on the moon. They had to be made of the right stuff. They had to be able to handle extreme pressure. If you make the wrong decision up there you destroy the mission and the men who are with you.

J. F. Kennedy said, 'you ask, 'why go to the moon?', and I say, 'why not?' We choose to go to the moon!'

I remember those days. There were some old folks who refused to believe it was happening. They said,'it's a capitalist trick of the Americans!' Just like the guy they found in the jungle who was still fighting the war in Borneo 32 years after the war had ended!

Bob Dylan sang, 'The times they are a changin',
ccome gather round people wherever you roam,
and admit that the waters around your head has grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to be here is worth saving
And you better start swimmming or you'll sink like stone
For the times they are a changin'

A prophet in song, Dylan, for surely times have changed, incredibly. And those who do not change with it, fall far behind...in business, education, electronics or church...especially church...they want to continue as if their rituals are everlasting...and the times have already changed!

Buzz is a comic character to today's kids - to me he was a real hero.

Every Generation

2010-04-24T15:19:00.000+01:00

Every Generation
Mike & the Mechanics sang a song, ‘Every Generation blames the one before…’ and then tells how he tried to communicate with his own father but just wasn’t able to ‘ In the Living Years’.
I heard this song the first day after my own father died. It made me weep. I sat alone in a hotel room in Bloemfontein and sobbed. I missed my father. His death came suddenly. I had read a scripture an hour before he died: ‘go ahead without me, I am an old man and I will just make your journey cumbersome.’ An hour later my mother phoned me and said, ‘Boetie, don’t get a fright, but your dad passed away this morning.’
We were all going to East London as a family for a holiday to watch Aje, my first son, play cricket for Northern Transvaal Primary Schools in the Perm Week. My dad greeted him at the airport when he received his Provincial colours.
That is the last time we saw him here on earth. It was sad. I remember going to my parent’s house and he was already taken away to the mortuary. My mother showed me where he laid. She was busy in her bathroom and he was in his, shaving. Then he gasped for his breath, three times, and she heard him collapse. When she opened the bathroom door he was lying on the floor with his head on the ledge of the shower. It happened in three seconds. In three seconds he exchanged the earthly for the eternal realm. He stepped over from this life to the life hereafter. Death was the doorway for him into another world.
I drove back to our home in 57 Marais Street, Brooklyn, Pretoria (now Tswane) that we rented from an old farmer. I decided to go for a morning swim. As I dived into the cold pool on that warm summer’s day, 12th of the 12th 1989, I felt the coolness of the water release the heat in my body and as I came up out of the water I said goodbye to my father: ‘Goodbye Oupa!’ I released his spirit to leave the earth – that’s how I felt.
It was not difficult for me to bury him. I had to conduct the service in Alberton Apostolilc Faith Mission Church hall and in the graveyard I threw the last sand on his coffin. My sister cried a lot. For some reason she wanted my golden Cross Ballpoint Pen and I gave it to her, but she dropped it into the grave onto the coffin. I let it go. It was buried with him in his grave like the old Pharaoh’s took their golden wealth with them into the pyramids.
Before he died he told me, ‘I have no regrets, my son.’ Few people can say that. He also used to say, ‘if you want to die by faith, you have to live by faith.’ Something else he was known for was a saying, ‘born once, die twice; born twice, die once.’ This referred to the second death which is an eternal separation from God. If you are born again by spirit and water (John 3:3-5) you will once experience the physical death and not the spiritual death.
I miss my dad. We had our misunderstandings, but in the end we loved one another to overlook the differences and accept each other as we are. He was a militarist and a planner; I am an artist and a non-conformist.
Every generation has its differences. He grew up in the depression years and during two world wars. He knew what it was like to rebuild lives after devastating wars. Every penny counted. I grew up in the Hippie Revolution and went to university in the Woodstock year, ’69. Long hair and floral shirts, bell bottom jeans and high heel boots…wasn’t what he wanted to see in his son. And then I became an actor…the worst nightmare for a pastor in a Pentecostal Church!
But later on I became a missionary and he used to listen to me preach – differently – and even made some notes which I have with me today.
God bless his heart for all he did for me and for all he was: he was a simple man and kept a middle of the road existence, no fancy cars or clothes. He saved what he could and left some money for my mother to survive on. We inherited a small amount eventually that helped us along the way.
He gave up a lucrative business career and sold his brass and iron factory in Alrode to use the money in the full time ministry to subsidise us as a family for the salary was small and the pension hardly enough to buy bread and milk every day! He gave up his life for the Gospel’s sake, and for that I highly honour him. Few men of his calibre would have done the same. But because he was in the ministry, like both my grandparents and my uncle, I entered the mission field and my son Aje is now the 4th Generation preacher! We might not be wealthy factory owners, but we have a wealth hidden in the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is our riches!

Incredible India

2010-02-27T20:31:00.002+02:00

I saw something I will never forget: a cow stepping up to the counter in a street shop and being fed rooties by the shop owner, one by one, chewing them like chewing gum!
The cows lie in the middle of the road: a black and white cow on the black tar and white markings of the road in the heavy late afternoon traffic in Chennai - and everyone drove around it!
Then I also saw cows rummaging for something to eat among the rubbish piled up on the side of the road together with some threadbare stray dogs.
And baboons playing on the steps of the hotel - completely unafraid of people.
I saw mountains high, covered with tea plantations on either side, as far as you can drive with the car. Who on earth drinks so much tea? The English?
And I saw shrines everywhere on the most unexpected places - with priests waiting for your offering.
I saw every man with a white smear on his forehead.
What is that? I asked.
Cow's dung. The priest mixes it with ash and puts it on the forehead as a sign that the man visited the temple. They wear it with pride.
I saw an old man pick up cow's dung to take to the temple. Compensation from the priest, perhaps.
I saw moustaches that belong to the old colonial age on doorkeepers: the more prestigious the hotel, the larger the sergeant-major handle bar moustache!
I saw Mahatma Ghandi everywhere, statues, busts, head and shoulders, paintings, T-shirts, book covers, restaurants.
I saw the motorised riksha's and travelled in one with Yve, my daughter, who accompanied me on the mission to India.
We travelled by train through the night from Tirupur to Chennai and back again after a few days. The age old Indian train: fuller than full, curtain and bed affair, dirty toilets, or actually no toilets, just a hole in the floor!
And they sell curry on the train - like everywhere else.
But the curry we tasted was delicious, it was delicate, it was exquisite, it was divine and the different breads, the rooties, the parata's and the wonderful spices and sauces, the freshly squeezed juices ranging from watermelon to coconut, mango to melon, berry to grape fruit, paw-paw to banana the never ending freshness of fruit to tantalize the palate of the weary traveller.
And the congested cities, the ancient villages, the narrow mountain passes, the risky crossing of a street with hundreds of 50 cc mopeds charging at you!
And all the hooting - every car has a sing on the back - honk please! And they do and they communicate that way: it means, I'm coming through, it means, I am through, it means, thanks for letting me through! It means watch out! It means hello! It means there is another car coming! It means I am turning off now! It means goodbye! Hooty is a national language, to say the least.
And everyone plays cricket everywhere on each and every available space.
And the people are really friendly, everywhere, without expecting a tip or anything else in return. It is genuine friendliness.
And the tilting rolling heads from side to side meaning I agree, I agree! The more they like what you are saying the more the head rols from side to side.
I saw pilgrims, barefoot, carrying heavy idols as punishment, travelling alone or in groups until they reach the temple where they will pay their vows.
I saw signs saying 'Bollywood movies are shot here'.
I saw sunsets sublime, sunrises like an artist's palate, I saw the sun reflect on a lake, I saw the moon from our window, I saw colourful sahri's, dohties, and I saw innocent children run free; I saw great poverty and I saw great wealth; I saw streetsweepers accepting their role in this life graciously and I saw proud businessment swaggering into hotel lobbies; I saw faces that will remained engraved on my memory stick forever, with wrinkles and lines and piercing eyes that burn into you telling you what has taken place for thousands of years in a moment's glance...
Ah, India, a land of mystery and a land of beauty, a land of contrasts and a land of deep sorrow, yet silent joy.
Will I go again? Who knows. I hope I will. India is Incredible.

The Script for the New Year

2010-01-20T18:13:00.003+02:00

Here we go again!
The New Year has begun. It is 2010. Things have increased with a speed, as Nola says.

When you take a horse out of the stable it is sluggish and you have to spur it on to go on a trot. But when you have reached the end of your excursion and turns its nose around to go home it suddenly receives renewed energy to get back to the stable!

Amazing how the finishing tape spurs runners on to put in their best effort.
We tend to slow down at the end of a year and to pick up speed at the start, don't we. We need to learn how to pace ourselves. We need to know our own rhythms. We cannot keep track of other people and what they are doing.

We cannot run the race of faith without patience. Patience is the stabilizing force that keeps faith upright. Telephone poles used to have strong iron cables to keep them upright. Today they seem to stand on their own, but they do have some kind of re-inforcement.

Let us look on the bright side of life as we start out. There is someone up there watching over us.

I watched Paul Newman many years ago playing Rocky Marciano in a black and white movie that also had a cameo role for Steve McQueen. It is a kind of feel good movie. You feel a few feet taller when you walk out of the cinema. Then I saw Zabriskie Point and felt horrible when I walked out: there was something that made you feel like destroying property. Movies have a great effect on life. So does TV. But the most important visual imagery should be on the inside. The movie you have of yourself.

Each one of us has a movie. We play the starring role. We recollect things that happened to us and we tend to settle with the image projected about us by others. But deep thought and accurate words about ourselves can actually change the movie script. We have an amazing ability to write our own script. We can choose the scenes. It is a divine ability. We can help others to create a better movie for their lives by speaking encouraging words to them and by building them up rather than breaking them down.

We have to learn to ignore and spit out all the negative information we receive from those who mean us harm. Just like a computer security is set to remove all the spam mail and all the junk mail without any effort, so we have to build a positive stronghold of faith within ourselves to cope with all the curve balls life throws at us. We need to be able to handle all the unfair criticism, all the jealousy and envy, all the hatred and all the pain.

We overcome by faith and faith works by love. To love is to be patient and kind and show goodness and mercy to others. You are patient with the one you love. You speak kindly to those you love.

God is patient with us. He is longsuffering towards us. He waits for us to understand His lovingkindness. He does not reject us when we make mistakes. He does not treat us according to what we deserve. His goodness leads us to repentance. He could have been severe but instead he reveals his love to us. That amazes us. We sing 'Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now I'm found, I was blind but now I see' with the songwriter who was a slave trader and experienced God's mercy when they faced a storm on the high seas that threatened to destroy their vessel. When they made it safely to the shore, he wrote the song that describes all our experiences outside of God's love and care.

When we begin to rewrite our own movie script of how we see ourselves in the light of God's love we see the picture changing before our very eyes! And then we can love others because we have experienced God's love.

May the New Year bring the desired changes in all of us to the betterment of others and to the greater glory of God, as Mike Wood, my Aussie buddy likes to say.

Imagine a world without Christmas

2009-12-25T12:13:00.002+02:00

For many years we did not celebrate Christmas just to break the hold of the religious traditions on our lives: forced to give presents no one really appreciates, forced to buy a Christmas tree and decoration, with a star at the top or an angel dangling dangerously until its fall to the earth eventually when one of the grandchildren run into the tree; the endless Christmas Carols all sounding the same every year; the pageants in the church hall with actors cloted in pyjamas and bath robes and towels around their heads, the girls fighting about who should play Mary this year, the baby doll Jessu with the stark eyes staring into space; the cardboard donkeys and the wise men who do not understand a thing about astronomy; the shepherds who never know where to kneel and the angels on the staircase anouncing peace on earth and goodwill among men until we hear the news on TV again; the well wishing and the forced joyous celebration, tapping every ounce of religious experience out of every Christmas service; the endless choirs robed like angels, sweating in the African heat, the silent unspoken wish for a white Christmas in South Africa; the old folks that wear Santa Claus outfits in the summer heat; the bells of reindeer, the smells of the roast; the Jews and Muslims making a killing out of the Christian spending, coming up with novel Christmas gifts every year and the record producers who force their stars to make yet another Christmas Album for profits sake, Amen.
Enough already...the pagan practices of the tree and other decorations, mixed with the consumer magic of Father Christmas in the shopping centre, the Christian faith that Jesus was born from a virgin, the National Geographic and History channels on TV trying their utmost to disprove the fact with all their theories and scientific nonsense...
But after all said and done, imagine a world without Christmas...at least people thinki about Christ once a year. No, maybe twice. The other time would be at Easter.
So a baby Jesus and a suffering Saviour on the Cross is non-threatening to all the other religions of the world and even atheists and agnostics put up with it.
In a sense, Nola, my wife is right: Christmas and Easter are the final Christian outposts in a world gone crazy.
There is always a movie on TV about the Nazi's and the British not fighting in the trenches on Christmas day, but having a game of football and sharing their chocolate bars and cigarettes and hidden whiskey with each other...just for a day. Tomorrow we kill each other again!
Christmas being one of the last Christian bastions, we need to reform our thinking about it and at least compose a few fresh Christmas Carols of our own that would really be a joy to all the world. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas is after all not a hymn to sing in church!
So, we changed our approach and held our first ever Christmas service in our reformational church in Cape Town again in 2009.
It was wonderful - because of our long lay off we have shed all the unnecessary religious trappings of tradition and discovered uniquely fresh reasons to celebrate the miraculous birth of the Son of God.
As a friend of mine indicated: He left no tangilbe evidence behind once He left the earth, but He left us His Name. Joseoph and Mary's obedience to call Him Jesus like the Angel instructed them to do, ushered His name into the earth so that we who believe could use that Name in prayer - and not like Hollywood only in swearing and cursing because they try to discredit that wonderful name...
Christ was born in Bethlehem, in Judea, yes, 2000 years ago, and it is good to remember it, but when someone accepts Christ's sacrifice for their sins, and He becomes their Lord and Saviour, they are born again, or Christ is born in them and thus we celebrate the birth of Christ all over again!
Nola sang a new Christmas hymn in a prophetic way and we'll have to listen to the CD to learn it for next year! It was glorious and powerful and we soared in the spirit like eagles on the upwards drafts of heatwaves, lifting us higher and higher until we lost touch with earthly ways of celebrating Christmas. It was a whole new experience!
I preached about Paul's message to the Galatians: my little children for whom I labour again to see Christ formed in you...an apostolic take on the Christmas story!
(It should all be on our website soon: www.harvesterchurch.net)
And there was great joy in our dancing while we worshipped - and we celebrated the joy of knowing Jesus Christ and having fellowship with each other as children of the Living God. The peace we experienced passed our understanding because we were made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross of Calvary! What a joyous Gospel! What a way to celebrate Christmas - His Name is our greatest gift that we can still share with each other today!
Merry Christmas to all who read this blog, then, and a happy New Year to you all - from a different perspective, I hope.
I really couldn't imagine a world without Christmas...when that happens, when they take away Christmas from the calender, it is time to leave the earth and look for the new heaven and the new earth Jesus promised to go and prepare for those who love Him and look for His return.

Crown the Year

2009-10-23T10:17:00.002+02:00

I preached a sermon from Psalm 65:11 about the Lord crowning the year with His goodness and making His paths full of abundance, literally drip fatness!
When the end of the year is in sight, we want to slow down, fade out and begin to bail out. But like a good athlete we have to learn to run through the tape and not to slow down before the finish line. Many athletes could have broken world records if they had not slowed down. Let us learn to finish what we started with gusto, with the same energy and enthusiasm as we began. Let us put in the extra effort when we feel we can almost give up. That is where it counts.

Paul the apostle once said to a young disciple called Timothy, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith and now there is a crown of righteousness awaiting me!

As a young boy I was quite and athlete: I normally came first at school and at inter-school sprints. I came 3rd in the entire West Rand Primary School Area, which made me an easy choice for right wing in West Rand Primary School rugby team. It was easy to run away from the opponents who wanted to tackle me and dive over in the corner for a try!
My dad accepted a pastorate on the East Rand by the time I was at high school and I had my tonsils removed. I had also shot up and became somewhat clumsy (something I still haven't recovered from fully!)When I attempted to run durint the trials I came 5th. It was a schock to my system. I remember how I hated sitting on the grand stand watching all the other athletes compete. It felt like I didn't belong there. By Standard 9 I trained hard and became the leading 110 metres hurdler at the Cape School where I finished my matric. Because I skipped a year of school by completing two years in one, I was a bit young, 15 in matric competing against U/19's. But I won anyway.
In the final race the athlete in the lane next to me jabbed my foot with his spikes as we went over the second hurdle. He lost balance but kept on running; I hit the dirt nose first and felt like begging the earth to please swallow me up! But something inside of me urged me to get up and to finish the race. I hardly hit the ground or I was up and running. I caught up with the rest of the athletes and passed most of them. I came second - it was an amazing feeling. My nose, hands and knees were bleeding, but standing on the winner's podium was an amazing sense of achievement and personal satisfaction.
Sometimes we have to go through some things in a year that makes us stumble, fall, get hurt and panic; but the word today is to get up and go on: the race is not over. Run until you run through the finishing tape. Do not stay down. Do not be discouraged. Your year will be crowned with goodness. There is still hope, there is still a victor's crown awaiting you.
Put your faith in the Lord who will crown your year with goodness!

David's Heroes

2009-10-02T23:10:00.001+02:00

We all saw Kelly's Heroes in the late 60's that made movie stars out of Donald Sutherland and Kelly Savallas with their wacky portrayal of soldiers hunting gold rather than glory with the eventual shoot out between a youthful Clint Eastwood and a German Pantzer tank!
But there are a few heroes whose names are not even important that became David's greatest heroes in his army. He had men who killed giants just like he did when he slew Goliath and then he had men who fought until the sword cleaved to their hand, but the greatest three were of a special kind.
One day David simply sighed in remembrance of the water from the well of Bethlehem where he grew up as a boy. He longed for a drink from that well. But Bethelehem had fallen into the hands of the Philistines and there was no way that he could get hold of that water.
But three of his soldiers heard the expression of his desire and decided to risk their lives to fetch that water for their leader. They set off and fought their way through the garrison of the enemy and fetched a pale of water for David.
When they brought the water to him, David was astonished at their act of bravery.
'I can't drink this water1' he exclaimed and explained why he said that: 'this water is the blood of these men!' Then he poured the water he so much desired out on the ground as a drink offering before the Lord his God.
What a lesson of servanthood. This act of theirs got them promoted above all the other great warriors to be called the greates three of them all. What qualified them? They were not commanded to risk their lives, they were not even sent: they simply heard the heart of their leader and decided to fulfil his wish.
Reinhardt Bonnke the German Evangelist that has shaken Africa once said that Jesus's desire is souls and therefore he will go he does not need to be commanded to win souls for Jesus.
I am a sent one to other lands and I often go because I hear the desire of the Lord that said, Go into the all the world and preach the Gospel and make disciples.

About a month ago we had our monthly Band of Brothers meeting in our church and I simply mentioned: 'wouldn't it be great to have my life long friend Mike Wood and his wife Mary at our summit this year?' Nobody said anything. An hour after the meeting I got a phone call from one of the men that informed me that they had decided to bring Mike and Mary all the way from Australia and pay for their tickets!
It made my eyes shoot full of tears.

Mike had been one of my mentors throughout my life and I owe a lot to him. I am in no position to pay his air ticket, let alone his wife's. But the Band of Brothers clubbed together and raised the funds to purchase the air tickets.

We have just returned from the summit where many of my friends from other parts of the world attended; Graham from Birmingham, Jako from Houston, Duncan and Bev from Sowerby Bridge and Alaster and Simba from Zimbabwe, besides all my friends in church and from Johannesburg and Pretoria. What a glorious time we had in the presence of God - we even went on for an extra day! Words cannot describe what we experienced - and it was all because of a few guys who heard my heart's desire and acted on it on their own expense to bring it to pass! They are heroes of Harvester, this Band of borthers! God bless them.

Heroes are close enough to their leader to hear his heart and to know his desire. It means more to do what someone really wants than to server them with what you think they want!

9/11

2009-09-18T06:05:00.000+02:00

9/11 Remembered…
By Andre Pelser
(Based on some notes I made in my dairy taken from the Washington Trade Post)

Hundreds of small fires were burning everywhere…
Rescue workers were walking knee-deep in the ashes of the Hellscape…
The global prestige, the wealth towers crumbled to the ground and buried thousands of people near a fountain where the inscription read, ‘The Triumph of the Human Spirit’.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the world turned black. Human shock caused people to jump from the skyscrapers, desperate beyond comprehension, 100 storeys high. The voice of a little girl rang out among the cacophony of other sounds, ‘Look Mommy!’ as she pointed to the figures plunging downward.

The sky scrapers served as chimneys as the floors collapsed. They resembled smouldering cigarettes from the Long Island Express Way. Most of the highly compensated labourers in the world worked in those towers.

Jet-A standard aviation fuel produces 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. The explosion of the Jet Planes, at impact, caused the excessive heat to melt the metal, brick and glass…the heat was too unbearable for anyone to survive.

Dave Wilkerson prophesied it would happen…ten years ago. He said the bodies of people would evaporate…no one believed him and called him a false prophet of doom. He said the wickedness of drug addicted traders who play with the fortunes of others will be judged severely. He said New York will be shocked. He said the Trade Towers would be removed…

A mile away people sat idle in parks, drinking Salvation Army grape juice…
A few hundred yards away the children’s play ground stood untouched near the river terrace. Daisies grew tall in bright sunlight and the hippopotamus statues had no dust on them at all. Song birds chirped in the bushes.

A commodities trader that saw how the second jet struck Tower Two ran to his computer to buy gold shares. He watched the price shoot up to $280 an ounce! Minutes later the exchange shut down. Business and Trade had come to a sudden halt. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre, erected in 1973 no longer existed….Babylon had fallen…businessmen cried because no one could do business there anymore.

In a movie theatre across the street from the World Trade Centre, the film ‘Ghost World’ was still being screened.

I turned 50 on that fateful day and cried most of the afternoon and evening…because
I was there in 1973 when these buildings were erected…I was there in New York, living in an apartment in 89th Street East, with my Puerto Rican friend, Victor Ferrer, who gave me his leather Bible cover for my Thomson’s Chain Reference Bible. His Mom thought she looked like Marilyn Monroe with her blond dyed hair.

I visited the United Nations building, the Twin Towers and the Statue of Liberty and have some pics to prove it! We climbed up and up in Lady Liberty’ s stairs right up to her crown from where we viewed New York from a completely different angle. We went up into the Empire State building. But the Twin Trade Towers were an enigma to us: why build such tall towers?

JFK said, ‘people ask why go to the moon? I say, why not!’

When I look at my faded photo’s in my album, I wonder about a lot of things. I also wonder why 9/11 happened on my 50th birth day. What is the significance for me? Eleventh of September will never again be the same for me. Every year they remember those who died in that cowardly act of those Muslim militant extremists who high-jacked the American planes and flew them into the Trade Towers and other targets.

The world will never be the same after that – I knew that much. Things have changed, for ever! I wonder what actually changed in me.

Write, write, write

2009-08-31T12:10:00.002+01:00

It is quiet in Llaregyb, just the bible black fishing boat bobbing sea...Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas, the poet extraordinaire, Irish by birth. Somehow those lines came back to me this morning as I sat at the desk, hoping for some fresh inspiration to write.
I remember George Bernard Shaw saying how he contributed to the Life Force by disciplining himself to write every day. Somehow I picked up on that and write something wherever I am, at the airport, in a hotel room, at home, in a train, in a restaurant, and I remember how I used to write from an early age, even in my room as a school boy.
When the teacher gave us five topics to write an essay I would write about all five and let her choose which one she wanted to mark. And then in Matric I wrote excercise books full for my friends to read - just because I wanted to write. I have never stopped writing.
My shelves and my metal trunks are full of notebooks from an early age. Whenever my granny told some of her unforgettable stories about the life of Afrikaners in Vrede, and in Brixton, I would go to my room and scribble them down. I intend to publish a book about Oum Jannie's stories and I want to turn it into a one-woman-drama with my daughter Yve who is expert at communicating with an audience as an actress.
Pilate made a statement that bears repitition: what I have written is written. Nothing can change that. What is not written is forgotten. There is so much in life that is forgotten because nobody wrote it down.
My stint as a journalist for the Afrikaans newspaper Beeld taught me to be accurate with words. I was a court journalist. If you do not give an accurate report you could be arrested. So every word counted. It disciplined my writing.
We have given out over 350 000 free Harvest Times newspapers over a period of two years just before the change of the century. I have written copiously, manuals, books and sermons as well as short booklets and tracts.
Somewhere someone will read something I have written and it will change a life it will sow a seed it will be a blessing it will meet a need.
Napoleon's statement the pen is mightier than the sword bears repitition and wherever I go if people tell me their stories I encourage them to write, write, write. And if they don't I keep notes in my little Moleskine notebooks of the outline of what they shared with me.
It passes the time to write and it is not a waste of time either, because it is preserved for posterity.
The man that encouraged me to keep a notebook was Camus, the nobel prize winning novelist from Algiers and France who was also a goal keeper for France in his hey day but died in a tragic car accident at the age of 40. He was an existentialist and some of his philosophies are not what I believe at all, but his lucid mind and his turn of phrase and keen observation inspired me for a life time to always keep a notebook handy. Because what you did not write down you forget.
If parents would remember to do this they would enjoy the treausre of their children's antics even more. Photographs do not do justice to any memory. It is a two dimensional reminder, whereas a written paragraph preserves the feelings on paper and gives perspective on multi-levels to preserve for ever.
Thanks to the Jews who preserved the writings of Moses and the Prophets for us and for the churches that preserved the writings of the Gospel writers and the epistles fo the apostles. Where would we be if it wasn't for them? We would be nowhere at all.
So in all my writing I comfort myself with the thought that someone somewhere woudl read what I have written and it would serve to improve their lives and benefit them far beyond my comprehension today.
There is much going on today on the Internet, Facebook, Twitter and all, but in the end writing is a key to preserving the present and to remind us of the past and help to predict the future.
What have you written today?

And the Seal leaped!

2009-07-20T10:17:00.000+01:00

After a long session on the paddle ski, he ditched it on the beach and took to the surf board. Within a jiffy he was behind the waves and waited for the perfect one – ala Kelly Slater! The waves broke right for him. All he had to do was to paddle hard enough to catch it!
Then it happened…the perfect wave came and his little arms flashed like windmills to get into the wave! He took it and rode and rode and rode almost for 40 seconds – like those magical rides at Jay Bay’s Point or Super Tubes!
When he bailed out of the wave he threw both his hands up in the air and let out an elated scream of utter joy! I could almost hear him say (like he normally does): ‘this was the best wave of my life! (Like Wing Nut and his friend in Endless Summer normal do).
Without hesitation he turned the nose of the board around and paddled back in. To our amazement the next wave was just as perfect and he caught it again and rode it all the way to the beach. Then another and another one!
The ocean then offered a time for him to catch his breath and a lull in the set of waves came for a while. He sat out there on his board – not a care in this world.
Then the moment came that I will never forget as long as I live: a seal took the next wave and surfed past Hilton, turned and stuck his head out of the water and looked at him on his board. He was close to him. And then the seal leaped! High into the air it went and dived back in, like Dolphins do, all around Hilton in a 270 degree circle!
The absolute joy of creation seemed tangible at that moment. The seal smiled and wiggled his moustache! The sheer exuberance of being alive in God’s creation exploded in our sight!
Nola and I were close to tears sitting under the umbrella in the shade, watching this spectacle of joy.
‘You can see God’s hand in creation!’ Nola quipped.

Two Days in Boston

2009-07-20T09:43:00.000+01:00

Boston, Massachusetts
The Bostonians refer to Boston as the cradle of liberty and the hub of the universe. It is in fact the birthplace of a nation. You can take a walk down Freedom Trial and visit the house of Paul Revere; you can smell the familiar fragrances of Bean Town and spot the designs of Newbury Street and eat roast duck in Back Bay; or slurp clam chowder in North End – yes this is the place of the great Boston Tea Party!
Harvard University has set the pace for education since its inception and great scholars have become great men in this great nation of America.
The public parks are neatly and exquisitely manicured and nothing is out of place: even the color schemes of the flowers are grouped in such a way to soothe the eye of the beholder.
But the park that stands out among them all is definitely Fenwick Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
The whole world listens to the Boston Pops orchestra and every art lover visits the Gallerie D’Orsay. It is not too far from the JF Kennedy library.
For the adventurers there is ample opportunity to go and ski in the mountains of Vermont or climb the Appalachian Mountains.
The theatre district has much to offer to theatre buffs and tourists and the latest shows and bands are on a list of what’s available at night time.
The great malls and tall buildings are impressive and yet not as intimidating as New York Central, and the people in Boston are friendly and have time to chat to a stranger when they are approached.
Mary Baker Eddy’s Christian Science Museum is in the heart of the city. This is where she wrote all her books.
There are many cathedrals and church in the city as well and they have exciting programs on offer each Sunday.
The flow of traffic is slow and orderly and you will never see so many expensive cars together in one place as you would in Boston.
The obvious opulence of the city is part of its attraction: yet there is no arrogance among the people.

Respect breeds respect

2009-07-20T09:31:00.002+01:00

Something else that was most noticable in America was the upsurge of respect. People greet you and treat you with respect. When I asked an attendant at Atlanta International Airport at midnight where the public transport exit was, the old man pointed me in the right direction and added: 'You're welcome, Sir!'
Street vendors, restauranteurs, hotel receptionists, shop owners, taxi drivers and people that you meet everywhere seem to have a new sense of dignity and regard for other human beings that shows itself in respect.
Someone once said that respect is the best form of self defence. When you speak respectfully to someone who reviles you, it disarms them completely.
Because of my army training, I understood the respectful salutes very well and quickly fell into the rhythm of calling other men 'Sir' when addressing them. It gives you a sudden rush of well-being!
All of a sudden it is a pleasure to be alive. For a moment you feel like royalty, like someone who deserves a certain respect and it takes nothing from you to reciprocate.
Come to think of it, it takes the same breath and the same energy to speak respectfull to others as it does to be disrespectful. It is a matter of choice. Or perhaps it is a matter of breeding.
America has a way of infiltrating society with its own values whenever they want to. It seems that there is a new upsurgence of respect wherever I travelled in America. It was obvious. When you buy a train ticket at a railway station or on the tubes they thank you and add, 'Sir'. It is a pleasure to do business with Americans on the phone. The respect makes you want to do the deal!
Sarah in the bible had a way with Abraham, the father of our faith. She respected him and even called him, 'lord'. This is going a further step, climbing even higher on the step ladder of respect!
When women respect their husbands they inspire them to do great things and to accomplish great feets. When children respect their parents it brings great joy to the hearts of the paretns who give their best to raise them.
All of us can do with a bit of respect these days - the times are hard and nothing comes easy, but respect costs nothing at all. We can all give and receive a bit more respect that will enhance our society as a whole.
Finally, respect towards God and God's Word, the Bible, and the institutio of a church will cause a revival of a new nature: the fear of God brings wisdom and perhaps we all need more wisdom than we realise.
Well, perhaps it starts with a bit of respect towards ourselves. But that is another chapter.

OMG in USA

2009-07-14T14:42:00.002+01:00

What struck me on my recent visit to the United States of America is the abbreviation of the use of the Name of the Lord in vain in the local newspapers! OMG represents the most commonly used phrase on American TV and in daily conversations instilled by Hollywood and the media: Oh My God!
The Bible clearly states that you shall not use the name of the Lord your God in vain. There are clear indications of punishment awaiting those who use the name of the Lord in vain.
The old Jewish holy men did not even dare to mention the word 'GOD' nor would they dare to write it, but preferred the respectful version, 'G-D', in their manuscripts to honor the commnandment not to use the name of the Lord in vain.
But Hollywood and the American TV moguls have succeeded in teaching this generation to liberally use the word of the Lord in vain and they glamorized it as fashionable and common. They took something sacared and made it as common as a dirty rag.
The other thing they succeeded in was to use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as the most common swear word in movies and TV. The actors never use the name of Buddha or Mohammed in vain. Nor do they swear by using the names of Darwin, Voltaire or Rousseau, or Karl Marx or Freud. It is always ' Jesus Christ - this' and ' Jesus Christ - that'.
Now the latest fad is to abbreviate it in the age of technological slogans based on abbreviations - the underlying implication being that if you do not know what the abbreviation stands for you are obviously not enlightened.
OMG appears in newspaper articles, magazines and soon the TV commentators will start using it and then it will be part and parcel of the movie and TV scripts and then in daily use by teenagers...
America, America, America when will you realise that God has blessed you and preserverd you until this day? When will you admit that it is His goodness and mercy that has made you what you are? When will you remember the warning that using his name in vain is punishable for generations to come? When will you admit your part in influencing the world to curse and use the name of the Lord in vain?
Isn't it time to repent and change your ways?
You call it old fashioned to believe in the bible. You talk about the post-Christian world as if it is gone and as if true believers are no longer part of the world. Yes, you want them to leave and will be glad when they do, for they still prick your conscience and stab your hearts with the Word of God. But you prefert to turn your back on God and follow your own stubborn ways.
I pray for you, I pray for you that you will realise your error before it is too late. Every other kingdom and realm that rejected God were rejected by God. Think of the great Empires throughout history: the Medes and Persians, The Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the British Empire, the Communistic Empire, and now the American Empire...
My voice might be a lonely voice in the wilderness, but I have to raise it for the sake of the ones in your midst that still keep the godly standard according to the Word of God as it is recorded in the Bible.
By shortening the phrase, Oh My God, to OMG, does not reduce the punishment awaiting those who use the name of the Lord in vain.
Turn, turn, turn before it is too late, my friends.
I literally thank God on my knees for all the good America has done for the rest of the world and when I go to preach in that great land I see it as a small part of the debt the rest of the world owes to America, just to say thank you.
My heart bleeds for you America: hear the message I am trying to convey - in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.

We all need someon we can lean on

2009-07-13T14:43:00.003+01:00

I felt I wanted to share this with you, I thought of putting it on the testimonies on the website, but couldnt find anything to select where I could write. Last week Sunday when you prayed for me, I cried, at first because of the emotions and the hurt, but afterwards it was something else, something I could not explain and didnt understand. God, being the loving God He is, later revealed it to me. For the very first time in my 38 years, I laid my head on my fathers shoulder, and sought refuge. Prophet Nola, and yourself, and my Godly parents. I have never had either a mother or a father figure in my life. God allowed me to lay my head on your shoulder, and know the love of a father, for the first time in my life. It is an experience I cannot describe. All I can say is that it was something I needed and will always be grateful for. We dont always realize what emptiness is in us, when we grow up without the love of a mother and father, and its sad that people who dont give their life to Jesus, will always unconsciously seek to fill that void with the wrong things. So I am glad that I am where I am, because here, in my church, my Harvester home, is where He fixes me bit by bit. And He fixed something in the picture I have of a father, in human form and in the form of God. Thank you Jesus for that experience.

Thank you for being a father.

This reminded me of the time in Australia when I was at my wits end as a missionary. I had no one to turn to and no one to ask for help. I was a stranger in a foreign land and I had a wife and two kids to take care of. I ddin't mind going without food or shelter, but I just couldn't bear the thought of not being able to provide for them. The offerings in Australia were so small wherever I preached that it hardly covered my petrol or hotel bill. Sometimes I drove 800 KM to a distant little town and then couldn't make it back on the offering. Sometimes I had no money left for food. It looked like the end of the road for me, a dead end.
I cried in frustration as I prayed to the Lord, telling him that missionary work was too hard and to unrewarding. In fact I took out all my frustrations in prayer. When I finished praying I thought God might desert me and never pay any attention to me ever again. Instead I clearly and distinctly heard a voice in me that said,'It's ok to cry on my shoulder. I have broad shoulders. The government of your life is on my shoulder. From now on many people will cry on your shoulder too.'

I never knew how many times this would repeat itself in my life. The above letter is simply an indication of many, many others that have said the same thing. I still need the Lord's shoulder to cry on sometimes...even after 27 years as a missionary. Nola and I have managed to raise three kids, one of them married with two kids of his own and also in the ministry with us. God is faithful. He is our Heavenly Father. But sometimes we all need someone we can lean on - down here!

Go and express yourself

2009-07-06T09:55:00.002+01:00

Bob Woolmer, that tragically died during the world cup in India, coached South Africa and Pakistan respectively in International cricket. He coached Boland Provincial side to success which made the selectors take note of him.
One of the players of Boland, John Commins, became captain of South African A side (which really is the 'B' side to the International Protea team)and also played a game for the Proteas. When he was asked about his rise to the top he had the following to say about the Bob Woolmer: 'He picked a side and then told us, do not worry about being dropped from the side. You are picked for the next 5 games. Go out there as a batsman and express yourself. I have confidence in you, that is why I picked you!'
That approach took away the pressure of fear of failure and suddenly the Boland team became a force to be reckoned with.
Fear of failure is self-talk that minimzes potential during performance. By reducing that inner resistance one can perform at higher levels to one's full potential.
An electric train can pull a greater load than a steam engine. It makes contact with the electric wires by the two pantographs located on top of the roof of the unit and then a small lever, about six inches long, is placed in the resistor and slowly drawn backwards to break the resistance which releases the power of the electric current to move the entire train forward.
That little lever is the most important piece of equipment the train driver possess. He carries it in his pocket and never leaves it lying around. Without it the train is stuck.
There is a little lever that all of us have, but do not always use. It is called faith. It is a gift from above. We tend to use our lever of doubt more often than the lever of faith. Faith overcomes the fear of failure.
Paul gives a piece of advice in Galatians where he tells us that faith works through love. John the beloved disciples gives us a further notice that perfect love casts out all fear. Those who fear are not made perfect in love, yet.
Paul advises us in Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So in a nutshell, if we hear what the word of God (the Bible) tells us and we believe it is God speaking to us, we will receive faith because we know our heavenly Father loves us, and we will overcome the stumbling blocks of fear that spoil our potential.
The gift of faith is a special edition that is given by the Holy Spirit at the right time. First Corinthians 12 tells us about the gifts of the spirit. As we desire these gifts the Holy Spirit distributes them to us.
Through the gift of faith the heroes of the bible have accomplished great deeds for the sake of the people of God. David slew Goliath, Moses led Israel through the Red Sea, Noah built and ark that saved his family from the flood, Samson slew 1000 Philistines. Some intellectuals propose that all these stories are mere allegories and that none ever happened...what a surprise they have waiting for them when they one day actually meet those characters who will tell them how it actually happened!
When I told the story about Bob Woolmer's advice at our annual Men's Camp in Hermanus, one of our younger brothers, a prize winning wedding photographer added the following insight which is worth sharing with others: Bob Woolmer's advice is captured in the writing of Paul when he says, we are positioned in Christ Jesus, by faith, and there is no fear of being dropped from the team, as long as we believe it him, so we can go out there today and express ourselves to the best of our ability, knowing our position is secure!

Sometimes a little bit of chaos is necessary

2009-07-02T17:32:00.003+01:00

When galaxies collide new space is formed. It looks chaotic and it is termed a black hole but that is how creation of the universe continues.
The chaos in our lives is sometimes a necessity to open up new creativity within us or lead us onto another dimension of living. All artists require a bit of chaos to be creative. Just as need is the mother of invention, so chaos is the basis of creation.
In Genesis we read that the earth was dark and void and chaos was on the deep...and then God spoke the words of creation...let there be light! And light has continued ever since, frustrating the scientific minds of generations and baffling the intellect of atheists who want to explain creation without a creator!
Hebrews 11:3 tells us by faith we understand that the worlds were created...which worlds? The astronomers inform us that there are many worlds out there in outer space and last year the French astronomers discovered at least three new earths! Jesus made a strange prediction to his disciples before he left the earth supernaturally: I go to create a new heaven and a new earth...our minds cannot conceive it all. We have to simply believe that it is true.
But there is an angle that made sense to me some time ago: when the writer of Hebrews (whom many believe to be Apostle Paul)says by faith we understand the worlds were created by God, then in terms of our human existence we could interpret it that my world, your world, Wayne's world, all the worlds of each individual, the worlds of every family, the private and collective worlds we live in have all been created for us...
The chaos we sometimes experience in our 'world' is a necessary 'evil' to get us to see higher heights and to plunge into deeper depths of understanding. God's creative power requires a bit of chaos in order to rearrange our worlds...
Think about it: if all the chaos in the universe where stars burn out and galaxies collide is necessary to keep the centrifugal force working to make human existence possible on planet earth, then maybe the bit of chaos you and I experience from time to time is a vital ingredient to our own personal development.
It does not make much sense otherwise. The best we can do is to believe that we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works before the foundation of the world so that we might walk in it. It is after all God at work within us both to will and to work according to his good pleasure.
That is why we are all so entirely different, some want to scale mountain peaks, others plunge into the bottom of the ocean, some want to go to outer space and some discover lost tribes in dense jungles...some work in banks, some collect garbage, some want to sing and dance and others want to build skyscrapers...who put the collective genius in mankind? There must be a God who masterminded it all. Yet we are not mere puppets, but we choose to co-operate with our Creator in order to access his wisdom and his divine resources.
A little bit of chaos is sometimes a good sign that it is time to move on. When we keep our faith focussed on Christ Jesus, no matter how hard it may seem, a solution arises within our hearts, like the daystar announcing the morning light, and it grows brighter and brigher until the noon day when the sun is at its zenith.

Reinhard Bonnke's Advice

2009-06-01T16:20:00.003+01:00

Before we immigrated to Australia as missionaries, I went to see Reinhard Bonnke in his office in Witfield. I asked him for advice. How do I reach a nation? He has reached South Africa and Africa as a German missionary.
He got up from behind his desk and paced up and down with his hands behind his back - it reminded me somehow of the Fuhrer!
What shall I tell this young man? He murmered to himself.
Then he stuck his finger in the air and raised his voice and spoke to me:
' Have a fierce determination to succeed!' and then he repeated it. Then he looked at me attentively and said, 'And break the snail's shell in your thinking!'
Armed with those two words of advice, Nola, Aje and I set sail for Australia to Call a Nation!
I ended up holding 56 concert campaigns all over Australia in cities and small towns and saw thousands of souls saved. We helped to plant 4 churches and ministered in many other churches. We had two major concerts, one in Festival Hall, Brisbane and one in The Dallas Brooks Hall, Melbourne.
The bilboard outside the Festival Hall read, 'Wednesday Elton John, Saturday Andre Pelser!' Poor Elton he could only get the Wednesday slot! Almost 2000 people came to the concert. We let them in for free - all our concerts have always been free and all we relied on was an offering.
The Dallas Brooks hall saw over a thousand people attend. Some amazing things took place that night. Several people agreed that they saw a huge angel behind me. Wherever I moved it moved.
I went to small Outback towns and ministered in vacant shops in the afternoons. Sometimes we just found a dilapidated building and held the concnert in there. In Yulamambri the whole town came to the concert! It needs to be said that there were only 21 people living in the town. There were 22 in the audience. One from a neighbouring village!
We had much opposition from pastors and even experienced blackmail from spiritual leaders, but in spite of all the setbacks and rejection we kept soldiering on until we finished our mission in Aussie.
We met Reinhard Bonnke in the Melbourne Full Gospel Businessmen's World Conference and he invited Nola and I over to his breakfast table. He asked how things were going and when I shared it with him he threw his hands up into the air and said,'thank God he did not send me to Australia!'
I have kept diary of our time in Australia with all the details...some too hard to read out loud again...but Reinhard's advice stood the test of time. We are still following his advice today.

Jonny Wilkenson's lesson

2009-05-16T14:08:00.005+01:00

That famous drop kick that helped England win the World Cup in Rugby in 2004 will remain a sporting high light forever. The Cup is named after Web Ellis, the schoolboy in the little town of Rugby in England that so desperately wanted his team to win the soccer football match, that he picked the ball up and ran through the defenders to place the ball in the back of the net! Little did he know that he had just invented a new game that would be played all over the world for a long time to come!
Back to Jonny Wilkenson. Jonny was an extrememly dedicated and committed player from an early age. He was the first out on the field to practice and the last one to leave. He would kick a thousand balls before a test match just to perfect his art of kicking with both legs. By the way the famous drop kick was done with this 'wrong' leg: he booted it with his right leg and not his usual left foot with which he broke all the records for points scoring in his era.
His mother was so nervous when he played that she used to go grocery shopping while the game was being televised. When he won the cup for England she was in the shopping mall when someone told her: your son has just kicked the winning drop kick for England!
In his book, Playing Rugby My Way, he gives some of the most expertise coaching tips to young boys (and girls) who want to improve their game. He exposes his techniques of kicking, drop-kicking, grubber-kicking and line kicking; he tells how he draws an imaginary line from a specific point on the ball through the posts to a lady sitting in the stand behind the posts and aims to put the ball in her lap!
He reveals the secret of tackling an apponent by aiming to hit him with your shoulder on a spot on his shorts or on his leg; he instructs you how to side step an attacker and how to guide the ball when you pass it to a team member, either to the left or the right. Jonny even encourages young players to eat their vegetables and fresh fruit!
He admits that he was a fanatic, a spartan as far as practicing was concerned. He never allowed himself to rest at all and tried to reach perfection in his skill. He never allowed himself the simple pleasure of wallowing in his success at any time.
But when he turned 30, after multiple serious injuries, he realized that he had not enjoyed his life at all.
Then he wrote another book to tell the young sportsmen to learn how to take time out to go to the beach or play the piano without feeling guility about not practicing...it was a bit late for Jonny whom we all admired as one of the best fly halves the world has ever seen! But it is not too late for our youngsters to take a tip from someone who has been out there and designed the T-shirt for success in sport and worn it for a long time!
The most amazing aspect of his famous drop kick is the fact that he booted it with his wrong foot! He normally kicks left footed, but when the moment came he turned to the other side and slotted it over with his right foot! He obviously practiced this for many years until the moment came to use that acquired skill.
Obviously his opponents did not expect him to kick off the wrong foot so they were compeletely taken by surprise.
There comes a moment when all the hard work and practice pays off - as in rugby, so in life.

Surfing's the key to good batting!

2009-05-16T13:56:00.004+01:00

The Indian Professional League (IPL)T/20 competition is currently being held in South Africa due to the unrest and danger in the subcontinent since the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Pakistan by militants. International cricketers no longer felt safe in open stadiums in India and therefore the competition shifted to South Africa where it is drawing full stadiumns. As the competition enters the final few weeks the top run scorer is Matthew Hayden. He has notched up at least 100 more runs than his nearest competitor.
In an interview to ascertain the secret about his top form he mentioned two major aspects: number one: he has retired from the International Test Match scene and has no concerns about being picked or left out of the Australian test squad. Number two: he says he spends more time in the Atlantic ocean than on the cricket field during the competition.
Matthew is a surfer and his present form in surfing has overflowed into his batting. He says he is very relaxed at the crease and simply expresses himself in every innings.
In a long outdrawn series such as the IPL one can think and play cricket all the time, but one needs to have a balance, according to Hayden. Surfing takes his mind of the strenuous demands that top level cricket can make on any batsman. He also has no stress regarding his selection and therefore he can bring all his energy, his experience and his skill to bear on the IPL competition and above all enjoy what he is doing!
It is absolutely a pleasure to watch him cart the ball from all the world's top bowlers to all corners of the field (well, a cricket field is an oval, but the simile would bear up under the present circumstances!).
All of us need to find a way to balance things in our lives: we need to know when it is necessary to take some time out. It has to do with the Sabbath. Unless one has a Sabbath's rest on a regular basis you pay the price in some other way: either through stress or sickness or some other form of repayment for not resting.
Mat Hayden gives us some good advice here and his present form as a batsman is enough proof in the pudding! (Once again a strange simile but it would do the job I think).

Outside my Comfort Zone

2009-05-14T08:53:00.004+01:00

Steve Waugh's autobiography 'Out of my Comfort Zone' has wonderful insights into the life principles of a man that really made it to the top in International Sport and managed to stay there for a very long time.
The writer of Hebrews in the Bible tells us to imitate those who through faith in patience inherit the promises. Both Steve and his brother Mark showed promise as young cricketers and kept on working hard at their game to become one of the few pairs of brothers to play on the International scene at the same time. Steve easily acknowledges that Mark is the better cricketer and he does not hesitate to say he never thought of himself as better than all the other players. He admitted that there were many other better cricketers than him - but there were definite reasons why he not only played for Australia but also captained the national team for so long.
Many guys do not travel well. They always complain about the conditions in the sub-continent when they have to go and play against India or Pakistan or Sri Lanka. They get sick from the food or the water, the hotels are not up to standard and the cricket facilities are not what they are used to. Others miss their wife or family too much. Some just make it misreble for all the team members and they have a negative influence on the team. With the result that they never get picked again...
Steve learned to travel well and his secret was simple: learn to live outside your comfort zone.
As a youngster Steve had bad skin and he was bashful. In school he sat at the back of the class and combed his hair over his forehead to hide his acne. He had not technique with the ladies and admired his brother who had the knack he lacked.
As a batsman he had no great shots but he was willing to take a bouncer on his body instead of trying to hook the ball and be caught at fine leg. He gutsted it out with many painful blows to his body. He had a lot of problems with his physique and often had to take tablets just to stay on the field.
But he learned to play as if he would be the man of the match giving it everything he had all the time - even when he didn't feel up to it. It earned him the respect of his team mates and eventually the captaincy.
He had to overcome his own defiencies in every area of life just by staying out of his comfort zone and in the end that is where he spent most of his life. He married a lovely girl and they have 2 daughters and a son.
When asked what his greatest moment in life was everyone expected him to refer to some specail moment on the cricket field, but instead he said, it was when his first girl was born!
Both brothers hardly ever saw their family for almost 11 years because of the demands of International cricket which kept them busy for almost 11 months per year. This was a great sacrifice - out of their comfort zone.
There is a price to pay for any achievement in life, that is why Jesus said you have to consider the cost of something before you embark on it.
I have spent a lot of my time travelling to other lands and have had to be a man alone most of the time - it was a sacrifice for both Nola and my family as well as a hard thing for me to do: but I can safely say that I have reached over 50 nations now with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! And I am still batting...out of my comfort zone.
Most people just want things the way they like it all the time and never venture outside of their comfort zone. They never taste the adventure that life has to offer. it is all out there - outside your comfort zone.
Think about it!

Steve Waugh's advice

2009-01-02T11:30:00.004+02:00

One of the best pieces of advice to any batsman is something Steve Waugh wrote in his autobiography, 'Out of my Comfort Zone': he says the best thing a batsman can do is to watch the next ball! This sounds uninspiring and matter of factly, but any batsman who has been at the crease for a long time will know that sometimes you play and miss, or you attempt to play the wrong stroke and then your mind playes games with you and the opponents will chirp you with all sorts of taunting messages to intimidate you! The best thing you can possibly do at that stage is to forget about the previous ball and about what you did wrong and concentrate on the next ball!

As we step into the New Year, we all know we are going to face new challenges, and as last year proved, we did not do everything perfectly right every time! But we have to learn to forget what is past and to concentrate on the next ball!

Sometimes it is hard for us to forget, because others remind us of our failures and mistakes all the time! Someone once brought up something which happened nine years ago and threw it in my face! I was flabberghasted! That person kept something in their heart for 9 years to use it as a weapon at the right time! Can people be so mischievous? Oh, yes! We need to check our own hearts too! What do we harbour deep within against others that we might not be aware of right now?

When Jesus taught His disicples about faith and prayer, He said they should also learn to forgive as they pray, so that the Heavenly Father can forgive them as well. We sometimes hear people say, 'I'll forgive but not forget!' If God had to do that with us, we'd have no chance at all! Luckily God is not a man and He can forgive and forget: when we confess our sins He forgive us and casts them into the deepest part of the sea of God's forgetfulness and never thinks of them again! he removes it from us as far as the East is from the West! Can't we learn to practice the same kind of forgiveness? Paul says we should become imitators of God who forgave us for Christ's sake. There's the key! We forgive for Christ's sake! We don't forgive because they deserve it; we don't forgive because we feel like it: we forgive because Jesus Christ died for them and their sins as well! It is a step of faith to forgive someone what they did against you.

Children forgive easily. And they forget. That is why Jesus said, we need to become like children again. Kids can cry and then forgive and carry on playing!

We need to forget the previous ball and concentrate on the next one! This helped Steve Waugh in his long test match career. He said that he was often out of his comfort zone as a batsman or a bowler and even as captain: but he learned to concentrate on the next ball and not to allow his mind to mess with him!

Paul encourages us in his epistles to imitate him. He had learned the secret to forget what is past and to concentrate on what lies ahead: the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Jesus, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross and despised the shame in order to finish what He came to do: to give His life as a ransom for many!

This would be the frist message I needed to hear at the beginning of the New Year, forget what is past and stretch yourself out to that which lies ahead! We have to face the next ball by faith, because we don't know what the bowler is going to bowl at us! We don't know what life is going to dish up, but if we can forget what is behind and concentrate of what lies ahead, we give ourselves the best chance to succeed!

The joy of a batsman is the fact that he is still batting out there in the middle, even though he played a bat shot, or even though he was dropped by one of the fielders! The joy we have is that we are still here, we are still alive, we still have a chance to do something and all that is required of us is to give it our best shot!

Bat on! Concentrate on the next ball! Focus on what lies ahead!

Jesus promised believers that the Holy Spirit would lead and guide us into all things and show us things to come! That is like knowing which shot to play when the next ball is delivered! Once a batsman plays and middles the ball, it breeds confidence to keep on batting!

Life is more important than food or clothing and even more important than failure or success! We have a wonderful opportunity to do some new things in the New Year - let's concentrate on the next ball!

The Ghost of Christmas past

2008-12-25T21:09:00.003+02:00

The character of Scrooge that Charles Dickens created has haunted us all ever since his creation! The stingy old man that had to face the Ghosts of Christmasses past before he became compassionate over the Christmas period seems to pervade the entire human condition at this time of year.
Throughout the year people do terrible things to each other and suddenly, just before christmas, they put on the breaks and skid to a halt, to be kind towards each other for a day or two, even if it is only sharing a family meal!
In actual fact Jesus came to show us a completely different life style: He went about doing good (all the time, not only at his birthday!)healing all who were oppressed of the devil for God was with him (all the time!)
My friend Mike Wood in Sydney Australia, who has always stimulated thought and discussion with his sharp wit and questioning mind, sent me an email today on Christmas day to pose the question: what are we really celebrating,the historical or personal event of Christ being born?
With that he obviously refers to the 'born-again' experience of those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord. When he is born in a life it is the true Christmas, in other words. This is a spiritual birth and not a natural one.
So in effect Mike said, 'happy birthday!' to all the believers who had already accepted Christ and are celebrating their next birthday in Christ, rather than simply remembering the historical event as a religious observance.
Quite reformational, I think.
It is good that all the world celebrates the event - all do not celebrate Easter though! Yet is is good to have moments of high celebration where everything comes to a halt and people observe the goodness that life can offer rather than the dismal, depressing rat race they are involved in.
So let the Chinese, the Russians, the Indians, the Argentinians, the Alaskans, the Americans, the Europeans, the Africans, the Australians all go ahead and celebrate Christmas, but let them not wait for the Ghost of Christmas past to remind them to be compassionate!
The life that Jesus Christ offers those who believe in him, actually celebrates His goodness every day, not just on Christmas day! It is possible to enjoy the spirit of Christmas every day of your life if you have Christ within the hope of glory!
As the earth had to receive a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, so our hearts can receive the resurrected Christ by faith and His Holy Spirit can begin to change our lives and give us His kind of divine life. This life is called Eternal Life and is freely given to all who will confess their need of Christ's sacrifice for our sins and who believe and confess that God raised Jesus from the dead - in other words, believe in a living Christ not just a dead, historical event.
This could change Christmas experiences forever, for whoever dares to believe!
Don't let the ghosts of Christmasses Past haunt you any longer trying to be a better person, but let Christ change and remould you completely form within - by His Spirit so that you can celebrate Christ's birth in you every year, rather than remember him as a little baby.
Impossible?
Well, everything about Christ Jesus' life is impossible and miraculous: from his immacualte conception, to his virgin birth, to his death and supernatural resurrection from the dead and his divine ascension on high. So we can also expect His promised return - in the same way he went up, in a cloud, as the angels promised his disciples who saw him ascend.
His miraculous life is available to all who would believe. How about you, my friend?

Cool Hand Paul

2008-12-10T18:38:00.003+02:00

News often reach me a bit late, because I'm often away from news - somewhere in Nigeria, or Zimbabwe or in Korea! And when I discover something that actually means something to me, I feel robbed, as if it happened while I wasn't around.
This happened to me when I found out that Paul Newman passed away. He was 84 and his second wife, Joan Woodward held his hand as he stepped over into eternity. She gave up her acting to let him pursue his acting career. She made a few movies but mainly raised the family.
The first movie I saw Paul in was 'Hombre'. He played the part of an Apache scout. Although he did not have many lines to deliver, his piercing blue eyes stare, captivated my attention. It made me feel that I too would like to act one day. Then I saw 'Somebody up there likes me' that told the Rocky Marciano story. Steve McQueen also had a small part in it. And then I tried to see as many of Paul's movies as I could: Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,The Sting, The Color of Money, Hustler, The Mackintosh Man and several others. His non-chalance way of actor's studio way of acting as the anti-hero really made me like the roles he played. But he liked motor racing most of all. It excited him. He played in a movie about a motor car racing ace, but I can't remember the name of it. All I remember is how he turned around and hit the guy that was messing with his wife. And I remember the way he slept, with his arm over his eyes.
I've read that he doesn't like to watch his own movies and that he shaves in the shower so as not to look into the mirror. His family says he was down to earth and likeable, just like the roles he played.
He had his share of troubles, lost his son through a drug overdose, but he managed to stay married for many years to the same lady. They lived away from the Hollywood glits and glamour.
With his salad dressing he made $200 million and gave it all away to charity!
Robert Redfort that starred with him in probably two of the best ever buddy movies (Butch and Sting)said,'I've lost a friend'. He died because of cancer. The doctors said that he could probably live longer if he used certain medicine, but Paul and his wife Joanne decided together to 'let it go'.
How short this life span is. It is a hand's width. Today you are here and tomorrow you are gone. Paul Newman was definitely one of the actors that inspired me to act and now he is gone. All that remains is a memory and the movies he had made.
It is an era that closed with him. The Steve McQueens and Paul Newmans are now off the center stage and new young actors step forward...but, alas, its only for a while.
Yet, if someone made you feel good, it was a life well lived. Paul always made feel good movies, mostly.
Somebody up there loves me, made you feel taller as you walked out of the cinema.
Cool Hand Luke made you realise you can have fun - even in prison!
Butch Cassidy gave you a sense of the joy of living - even in a Western!
The Sting almost convinced you to bet on horse races because him and Robert Redford had such fun in their wheeling and dealing!
Thanks Paul, God rest your soul, if a movie was ever made about your life I think it should be called Cool Hand Paul!

Tying Shoelaces

2008-12-09T14:57:00.003+02:00

One of the most frustrating things to me was tying shoelaces, three, four times a day! Until at the impressionable age of 19 I saw my uncle tie his Barker English leather round point shoes and make a double knot! That discovery saved me a lot of time and lot of wasted emotional energy - about shoelaces!
Remember the first time you tied your own shoelaces? It took all the concentration you could muster, while chewing your tongue on the side of your mouth and hoping you will not get your fingers caught in the knot.
Then it happened: your shoes were tied! And you could walk off, proudly, knowing you accomplished a seemingly impossible task, all by yourself. Only to discover, a few hours later, that you had to redo everything. The whole process had to be repeated, labouriously.
Well, a double knot is the key.
I saw how my uncle enjoyed tying his shoes properly.
'Shoes must fit tightly to keep your feet in shape. Its no use to have your foot move about in your shoes. You will develop all sorts of problems. So if you tie the laces properly it keeps your feet in the right position in the shoes and you can walk around town without having to check if your shoe laces are still tied.'
I've often thought about that...if you know what to do, it is a pleasure doing it.
And obviously vice versa: if you don't know how to do something, it is a pain!
This applies on all levels, really!
If you don't know how to bake a cake, you hate it. If you don't know how to do book keeping or administration, you hate it. The same with budgeting, with paying accounts, with making a bed, with tidying a cupboard, with stacking things in the garage, with keeping your school notes, with filing your correspondence and bank statements...the list is endless. Think about it.
The things you like doing are things you were trained to do properly - and you saw someone actually enjoy doing it.
That is how I discovered cricket: Andre le Roux taught me and showed me how to enjoy it. He always had a smile on his face when he coached me in their back yard. And even though he was much older than I, he never made me feel 'small'. He invited me to come and watch where he played for Florida Park High's 1st XI. I would pack my sandwiches and ride on my BSC three-speed bike to spend the whole day in the sun, watching them play. I drank water from a tap on the school grounds. Cold drinks were too expensive in those days!
And I saw how my mother enjoyed praying, how my father enjoyed pastoring a church, how a prophet enjoyed prophesying and how a preacher enjoyed preaching, how someone enjoyed working with a computer, how my father enjoyed driving a car, how a cook enjoyed making spaghetti and how an old black man relished making porridge!
The first one to teach me to play the piano was our gardener...I was 5 years old in Benoni, 2nd avenue, Northmead. When my parents went out in the morning he would come into the house, wash his hands and tell me to never tell my parents that he played the piano. He would jam for an hour and I would stand next to him and watch how he played, 'In the Mood' and other favourites. No wonder that when I play in other countries they say,'you play like a black man even though you are white!' The same with my Hammond Organ playing, because African Americans taught me in Miracle Valley, Arizone.
Think about the things you can't do or do not like doing: you have not been taught or trained by someone who actually enjoyed doing it. It is the art of the tutor to instill the love of the subject into the pupil.
Think of the subjects at school...which ones you liked and ones you hated...
Well, Jesus Christ, came to teach us how to love one another and He showed us how to enjoy it! For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
The thing you love is easy to do, isn't it? You feed the cat because you love the cat.You put up with things in people that you love. You care for a babay because you love the baby. If it is not your baby you won't last three days!
Something birthed in your own heart is something you will stick to and never give up, because it is part of you. If someone else tells you what to do you soon get tired of it.
Your treasure lies where your heart it.
But today's sneakers and running type shoes have no laces. They use velcro and take away the joy of tying laces! But the lesson still remains the same!
It is the little things in life that makes life worth living. The art is to find enjoyment in doing the little chores of daily living. Washing dishes, making a bed, ironing...clean the pool. You don't have to study Bhuddism before you fix your motorcycle with concentration - just learn from someone who loves what they are doing and receive impartation that will change your life.
Jesus said,'I have come to give you life and life more abundantly!' He knew how to live. Its the best to learn from someone who knows what he is doing. He later on said, 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life - no man comes to the Father, but by Me.' Either He spoke the truth or He was the greatest conman that ever lived!
My experience so far, as a believer, is that He knew exactly what He was talking about. So I became a follower of the Man from Galilee...and I'm enjoying it!
John the Baptist said of Him,'I am not worthy to tie His shoelaces...' Think about that for a while!

School closes

2008-12-04T06:19:00.003+02:00

Schools closes. A note in every dairy, every calender. The next note is, school opens. This happens several times per year. Parents design their year and their days around the school calender.
But today is something more significant than that. Our youngest boys is finishing his Prep School Days. He went to the same private school from grade 0 to grade 7 and today they are leaving that building. They will not play on those fields again. They are going to College next year, God willing!
How can I say thank you for all the things the good Lord has done for our boy during these 8 years? He kept him, protected him, strengthened him, gave him favour, helped him to excell at academics,sport and music; he built his character through all the adversity and the opposition he had to face; he learned how to put up with certain things he could not change; he knows how to stand his man; how to make strong decisiotn that he alone could make and that will influence his future; he learned to stand for what he believes in; and he took his punishment when it was handed out.
It is the last time he will put on those clothes. It is the last time he will wear that cap. He will fold away his first team cricket clothes and keep them in his cupboard for a while.
It is the beginning of a new chapter in his life.
All parents experience it with their children.
School closes. School opens.
Today is one of those days, but today is just more special than other days.

Everything is becoming old too quickly

2008-11-26T11:11:00.004+02:00

Grabbed my old cell phone and had to think hard to remember how to use it. New one is on my mind. Old used to be something we threw away after many years of use. Worn out, rather than merely old. But in today's fast paced techno age things become old before they are worn out, simply because the Japs have found a way to update things faster than we can use them! What a turn over of money! No wonder phone dealers build skyscrapers within a few years of starting their company!
Everyone is talking at me...the old song said...can't hear a word they're saying...well that has come true, finally. Everywhere everyone is talking to someone else, even when they are walking next to each other. In the tubes in London it was most noticeable. Everybody was absorbed with their little palm toy and secretly smiling to themselves. Some hold the phone to the ear and talk to no one at all. It is comforting just to look occupied for a moment and not to appear alone...
Desperately lonely people everywhere...
And everything is becoming old so fast - young people are old before their time and have to handle the pressures of life and the problems of the world in their essays and their speeches...
No time to play...just work, work, work.
And sport is no longer just a game: everyone has to be professional because they see it on TV and the parents and teachers demand perfection at all times!
No wonder young people are looking for a way out - they want to remain young and be kids again!
Clothes become old before you have worn them out because fashion houses determine the look on the street. Suddenly your style is 'out' and something else is 'in' and those who are out do not fit in any more.
Israel wore their clothes and shoes for 40 years without wearing them out. God saw to that. But not today. Today the fashion demands that clotes be out of date within a season.
Buy a deodorant stick and you think you have 6 months supply. But open it up and you will see it is empty inside with just enough to last for a month! They deceive you - even with packets of chips...just wind, with a few chips in the bottom corner!
The Chinese diluted babies milk and added plastic to make more cash and killed many kids...the price of greed.
Things become old too quickly these days...we need the old buildings and old wisdom and old antiques to give our lives value...we need the old, old Gospel truths and hymns and songs and heroes of the past in order to give us a platform for today.
Don't discard everything you have to replace it with new things.
Keep what is valuable.
Everything is new in the spirit realm...all the time.
Look at the old with a new eye. Renew your mind but remember the old as well.
The Lord is called The Ancient of Days...because He is the same yesterday today and forever!

Blues Band in Benin

2008-11-22T22:41:00.006+02:00

Harvester Blues Band backed me in the great all night concert in Nigeria a week ago! What an experience! I always wanted to do blues music in church, but the church world wasn't ready for it back then. In worldly circles my blues were too preachy for their liking so I never really fitted in anywhere!
But finally the dream came true - in Nigeria!
Pastor Godwins arranges an all night worship conference every year in November and all the world should be invited to it. It is a blast and a blessing all packaged in one! It is held in the athletic indoor stadium in Benin city. People come from four different countries to participate and attend. The best music equipment is hired from Lagos and the musicians practice all year for the event.
The choirs and solo artists all blend into the flow of the evening and the people are so responsive: they sing along and praise the Lord, but also enjoy the music because many of them are trained musicians.
The sheer artistry of pianists like Dr. Chidi and Romeo is absolutely stunning to hear and then Benin has their own Scott Joplin that entertains the crowd every year with lively syncopation.
The entrance fee is purchasing the DVD of last years concert. About 7000 people filled the auditorium and hundreds were standing outside.
When it was time for us to perform we went on stage that was especially built for the occasion and settled at the instruments: Aje behind the drums, Greg with his own harmonica mike, Dale plugged in his guitar and JP tuned his bass. Leigh was ready to do back up vocals and dance! I moved in behind the electric keyboard.
We started with a slow, solo number: Man Alone. Every time I got to the part: you were a man alone, but now...you can count on me! The audience sang along.
The next number was Preacher Man Blues. It is a fast blues song and young people everywhere got up and danced as we sang. They repeated the phrase, 'Preacher man blues' with me everytime! Then we did, 'Memory of me' that starts with the words, 'If I go away...'Pastor Godwins said the song made him cry because the song made him think about what he would leave behind and how he would be remembered one day. The last song we did was 'How can I say thank you' that starts off slowly but picks up the beat as we go along. It could not be recorded with a click track in the microphones - if you know what I mean.
We sweated so much in the 26 Celcius night that Greg, our blues harp player became known as our very own 'water feature' on stage!
Oh, how we laughed and had fun together on the 6 day adventure! But we also had many deep and serious times, sharing life experiences and explaining our understanding of the way the Lord works with each of us. Sometimes we sat around the lunch table for several hours and sometimes we shed tears...
On Sunday after the concert four of us preached in different churches. I preached about 'The Man Born Blind' in the Believers Church where pastor Samuel Osaghae and his wife Gladys are the overseers. I got down into the sand where the people were sitting on wooden benches and smeered the red mud that I made with spit, water and dust on my face to demonstrate the mud balls Jesus made for the blind man. When he sent him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam he became 'a sent one' and was no longer a beggar! The people praised the Lord when the blind man got his sight!
How else could I describe a tour with the Harvester Blues Band? So much happened in five days that it would take volumes to try to tell it all...Jesus did so much that all the libraries of the world could not contain all the things he had done!

Quantum of Solace

2008-11-20T12:18:00.005+02:00

Watching Daniel Craig as James Bond in this years Bond release was what one expected: action, stunts, clever repartee in the dialogue and they usual distrust of the 007 agent willing to risk his life without ever being thanked for his labours by those who sit in offices and direct the procedings of the world's economy. Like the Minister said, (my summary)'if we only do business with men of integrity who would we do business with?'
Craig's personal rendition of the Bond character has moved away from the pretty boy suave image of a Pierce Bronsan. He has brought manly strengh but also a human weakness to the role that makes it both admirable and empathetic.
Without bad language or unnecessary nudity or sex scenes the Bond movie succeeds in keepin our attention rivetted to the screen because of good acting, excellent directing and editing.
The antagonist's Quantum project in the middle of the desert only has evil intentions: he wants to destroy all the earth's water resources so that he would control the water supply to all the countries of the world. But Bond outsmarts him as one would expect from Ian Flemmings secret agent.
But the line that stood out for me in the end was some advice Bond gave to his female assistant:'When adrenaline kicks in one has to compromise.Take a deep breath...and do what you have to do.'
As a cricket coach I often remind players to enjoy the exhiliration that comes with reaching a half century or a century, but then they have to take guard again in order to concentrate. Bond's line has given me better understanding of this coaching principle.
It is the adrenaline that kicks in that causes concentration levels to drop. The high brings imbalance. Take a deep breath...is sound advice at any stage!
If one would take a deep breath before saying harmful words in a moment of rage, it could save relationships! Taking a deep breath when one hears bad news could help to absord the blow. Taking a deep breath when one is praised or honoured will help one to stay humble. Taking a deep breath when one is unfairly criticised is an antidote to feeling rejected.
Compromise is normally seen as a weakness and a negative concept.But Bond's statement has raised compromise in my estimation as a tool to be used in life and not merely something to avoid.
Perhaps it is a timely word of advice for some of us right now, to find some solace in our sitaution! Take a deep breath before you go on! The oxygen to the brain will restore the balance and the sanity.

Lessons outside the classroom

2008-11-03T08:21:00.004+02:00

All of us face things we do not like. Sometimes the situation we find ourselves in, is not something we can extricate ourselves from when we feel like it and we just have to plough through all the upsets and difficulties until we find a way out!

School life is not enjoyable for most people, because some teachers hate what they are doing and take their frustrations out on kids. It is not easy to be a teacher either, because most kids have no discipline or manners at home and make it impossible for teachers to manage a class full of kids!

But there are certain lessons in life that we do not learn in the class room.

In my school days teachers were still allowed to issue corporal punishment. I attended an Afrikaans Boys High school in Brakpan called Stofberg. This was more like a military academy. Cadets and rugby were almost worshipped at that school.
Teachers would give you six of the best for anything they could think of and sometimes you received beatings for no reason at all. They had the habit of giving the whole class a thrashing to punish one boy for doing something wrong. When we asked a teacher why he beat the whole class his answer was,'Just in case you do something wrong today!' This was the cruel, sadistic humour we had to put up with - and no parents ever complained!

Ou Skellie, (Mr. Steenkamp) who looked like a skeleton to us, and that is where he got his nickname, used to either pull your short hair above your ear while talking to you or pinch you under your arm and turn the pinch so that you had a bruise for days! My mother once saw the bruise on my body as I got dressed and when she finally got the truth out of me phoned the headmaster, who did absolutely nothing about it.

To give you an idea, in Standard 7 I received 171 cuts! We used to mark them on the red stripe on the inside of our blazers to compare with each other during breaks.
During rugby practice they used to hit you with a kweperlat (a twig from a quince tree) or with the rope attached to their whistle if you dropped the ball or did not scrum properly.

Because I was artistic and got almost full marks for essays and because I played piano, I was regarded as a 'sissy' and constantly mocked and bullied. Why I still went to school is a mystery to me. I hated every moment. But I cherised the challenge to try and get 100% for tests or exams. And I found a sport that I could beat them all at: cricket.

Cricket was almost non-existent in Afrikaans schools in those days because it was regarded as an English sport.We had no cricket nets, so I got my dad and a builder to build the nets for us. We got Dennis Lindsay the Springbok wicket keeper to coach us. I'm still delighted by the fact that I bowled him with the first ball he ever faced from me - in our school nets! He predicted that I would become the next Springbok off-spin bowler.

The teachers had no knowledge of the game and the only coaching you received was normally the coach shouting, 'hit the bloody ball!' or 'catch the ball!'
I went to the local library near the town hall to read up on the game and spent hours in front of the mirror correcting my batting strokes. I also went down to the club cricket nets and used a dust bin as wickets to bowl at. A white handkerchief was used as my marker and every afternoon I would go and bowl for hours until I mastered the technique of bowling off-break balls that spun into the batsman.
One day something amazing happened...

The opposing team only had to get another 20 runs to win the match, with 4 wickets standing. When it was my turn to bowl, I took 6 wickets in 7 balls against Nigel High. Five wickets were taken in succession - almost a double hat-trick! And then there was a dot ball. With the first ball of my next over I took another wicket and the whole team was out! It was like a dream. No one could believe what had actually happened.

The next day it was in the newspapers. I was contacted by the selectors of the Eastern Transvaal schools team and before I knew it was playing for my province! In this way I fought back against the system and used my skill to make room for me in the school.

No matter how harsh the circumstances or how unreasonable, character is shaped by facing the situation and negotiating your way through it until you come out on top.

My parents pastored the Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Brakpan and that is something I was mocked about throughout my school career in Stoffberg, because most of the boys belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church.

But after 5 years my dad took the call to move to Cape Town where he pastored the Maitland assembly and I went to Milnerton High, a school where I got opportunity to express myself in cricket and in the other love of my life: drama. But that is another story...

Do not envy the rich

2008-10-30T10:43:00.004+02:00

Charlise Theron the Oscar winning South African actress from Benoni received a shock when she was charged for wearing the wrong wrist watch at a social event in Los Angeles! She did not wear the watch given to her from the company that is sponsoring her. It was a mistake! But she has to pay $150 million to them as a punishment! When they interviewed her she was flabberghasted and said she could not believe they would do such a thing! It would probably swallow up all her life's earnings up to date!
The Psalmist continually warns us not to envy the rich or famous. The Psalmist also warns us not to take note when wicked people prosper and wonder why God allows it. He says that he almost backslid pondering these things and envying other people's wealth. The way of escape for him was to go into the sanctuary and pray about it until he had a revelation that gave him a new perspective on life in general. A word of the Lord came to him that reminded him to, 'look at their end'.
There are many books telling you how to get rich and how to imitate self-made millionaires, but these books do not tell you how these men ended up. As a young man looking at the path of life ahead of me, I investigated many aspects of life and studied the lives of great men to learn from them. Many books told you what to do and how to go about it, but in the end I decided to take the Bible, that old black Book that has withstood the test of time, to be my Road Map in Life.
When I realised that money is not the key to happiness and wealth is not the measure of a man's success, I turned to the riches Christ had to offer and decided to sell all that I have several times, give to the poor and to follow Him in the Way!
Nola and I have lived our lives as missionaries by this adage found in Scripture: there is he who scatters abroad and yet increases; then there is he who keeps back more than is necessary and it tends to poverty.
We have not stopped travelling abroad to other lands to spread the Good News of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, namely that God was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to Himself and if anyone would believe with their hearts that Jesus Christ died for their sins and that God raised Him from the dead, would be saved if they confess Him as Lord!
The blessing of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow to it! When God begins to bless you there is no turning back! If generation after generation would continue to server the Lord faithfully he will increase their blessing and eventually begin to multiply it like he did for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Another verse of Scripture that guided our lives is the one where Jesus said, 'if anyone gives up houses or land, father or mother, or possessions for My sake and the Gospel's, he would receive 100 fold in this life and eternal life in the life to come, plus persecutions.'
Persecutions come when God blesses you because people are envious and jealous and begin to hate those who have found the favour of God in their lives by faitfully serving God and humanity.
I believe we need to make a decision individually, but also as a family, like Joshua and say, 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord our God!'
The Lord's financial operating system works in any economy of the world: Malachi prophesied and said, if you would faithfully bring in the tithes and the offerings and sacrifices to the Lord's house (the accurate church), He would pour out a blessing that there would be no room to receive it! He will even give back to you what you have lost over the years! Then the Lord invites us all to test him in this matter!
If people would realise that the best investment and the best financial business to be in is to serve the Lord with your finances, the world would turn out to be a wonderful place, because the love of money is the root of all evil.

How planets are formed

2008-10-16T12:40:00.003+02:00

A lady stood in front of me in the church building in Brooklyn, Pretoria where Nola and I pastored the last church before we moved to Cape Town to pursue our apostolic ministry, and said, 'I have a word from the Lord for you!' She owned her own insurance company and was not one of those dilly women who constantly tried to be spiritual, so I was prepared to listen to her.
'Don't look to the stars; look to the planets!'
With that she walked away and I was left standing in limbo. What on earth could that mean? I knew we had many 'stars' in our large congregation; sport stars, business stars, music stars, acting stars and some who just thought they were stars! But I was stumped when it came to planets!
I read up on some astronomy books and discussed it with Nola and the kids, but then I left it behind me. The word just didn't make complete sense to me. But it haunted me. It stayed with me.
A long time after that, when we already lived in Milnerton, Cape Town, I revisited Pretoria and knocked on the door of a prophet who has since moved to America (it ssems that all prophets end up there in the end!)
As I walked into his office he said,'have you been studying the universe lately?' How on earth could he have known. I thought to myself.
So on my return to Cape Town we made a concerted effort to go to Sutherland, where all the nations of the world have their Observatories. It is the place in the Southern Hemisphere where the skies are the clearest. There are no industries nearby for an area of 70 kilometres.
We attended some lectures - which, I must be honest, were far too scientific for my brain that looks for scripts to act out as an actor! But at the end of a lecture the scientist opened the floor for any questions.
'I have a question,' I ventured out,'what's the difference between a star and a planet?' At first I thought everyone would laugh at my foolish question, but instead, the man commended me,'that is a good question!' I felt relieved. It felt like we were all back at school in a classroom situation. The man continued his explanation:
'A star burnes on its own gas. When the gas is burnt up it uses its last gas to become a shooting star. A planet is a group of stars that have given up their own identity and uses their energy to melt together to form a new planet. The planet has no light of its own. It relies on the sun to make it shine! Just like the moon.'
It solved my riddle...
Unity is only obtained by those who are willing to lay their lives down for a cause. C. T. Studd, the old English cricketer who gave away his entire Eaton inheritance in order to be totally reliant on the provision of God as a missionary to China and Africa, said, 'if Jesus Christ was the Son of God and gave His life for me, then the least I can do is give my life to him!'
Half hearted efforts in life, luke-warmness, hesitancy not only causes delay, but eventual defeat! Whole hearted effort brings results in every area of life. If someone is not really with you, it will show up in due time, but so much time was wasted in the interim!
When everyone has their own agenda it is difficult to create unity. Unity comes only from people willing to give up their own ambition in order to serve something far greater than themselves...the Christian martyrs serve as a prime example of people who were willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Christ.
But even in sport, Mike Hussey, Mr. Cricket, as he has become known, the Australian batsman that is second only to the great Sir Donald Bradman in test averages, tells in his biography how he made up his minde to give cricket his best shot, even though he was just an average player, with a slight build and often self-doubting person. When he had made up his mind, he gave it all he's got and he has earned the respect of those who doubted him as well as his team mates. But in on the last page of his book he says he wants to be remembered as a team man and a good bloke who also played some good cricket! He is sold out to what he chose as a profession!
If you and I can take a page out of his book, we may be able to turn the tide in our affairs of life as well!
Instead of trying to be a star, lets form planets that outlast the stars!
This has become the definition for our church and our church network; we are not looking for stars, but for faithful people who are willing to give up their own ambitions to make the dream of Jesus Christ come true: a church where He is truly the Head of the body of believers! Paul reminds Timothy to only appoint faithful men who are able to teach others also - avoid the big talkefs and the ones who only rely on their giftedness!
A plante finds its orbit around the sun...but that is another chapter altogether!
Remember, stars might shine bright for a while, but eventually become shooting stars!

The Lazarus story

2008-10-09T11:39:00.003+02:00

My Yorkshire friend John Waller ran a bible college in Ghana for ten years and had some amazing experiences during that time. One of them was the story about a church plant in a little village where there was no electricty. He took a small generator along and showed the Jesus Film in an open space in the market.
Before he went he prayed and told the Lord, 'we need a Lazarus or something similar to start the interest in the church in that village!'
At the conclusion of the movie he gave an altar call and many people gave their lives to the Lord. One of them was the town drunk. Everybody knew him. When he came forward the people were astonished.
His name was Lazarus!
John took one of his young associates with him on the missiona and asked him to remain behind to establish the church. When he asked the crowd who had space for the young man in their home, Lazarus was the first to offer his place. It turned out to be a shack and the boy had to sleep on the ground, just like Lazarus.
But the young man was willing to rough it in order to establish the work.
Many times God chooses the most unlikely person to get a job done. He uses the foolish things, the despised and rejected ones so that no man can boast about anything in His presence!
John and his wife Trish spent ten years of their lives in Ghana and could write a book about all they had experienced. When I encouraged him about writing the book, he remarked, 'what about all the unsung heroes in Ghana that have far greater stories to tell?'
John came close to death on two or three occasions due to Malaria attacks and a brain tumour. He has recovered but his body has suffered severely. But he is full of praise to the Lord for the opportunity for adventure that they had in Ghana.
Today he is pastoring an Elim church in Barking, London. With his typical Yorkshire humour he said, 'I've been to Toronto blessing and now I'm barking!' We shared a good laugh together.
He used to be a rugged truck driver before he got saved and became a preacher. Its a hard life, but he loved it. Trish has stood by his side all these years and her dedication and discipline has been the back bone of their ministry over the years.
The genuineness of their faith and friendship has been a pillar of strength to Nola and me over the years and we honour them as a man and woman of God who remained faithful in spite of untold hardships and even when facing dangers for the Gospel's sake.
The Pentecostal Church in Ghana invited him back for the inauguration of their new president recently and he enjoyed going over the old familiar hunting ground that he knew so well.
There are many more stories I can tell about John and Trish, but today I just wanted to tell the Lazarus story! I can say, 'It is written!' now!

Do you speak Yiddish?

2008-08-22T15:32:00.010+01:00

The Pope and the Rabbi had a religious debate but the only problem was they Pope spoke Italian and the Rabbi Jewish. They agreed that it would be a private, silent debate. The Pope raised three fingers and the Rabbi raised one. Then the Pope waved his finger around his head and the Rabbi pointed to the ground. After some thought the Pope brought out the Holy Communion wafers and a chalice of wine. the Rabbi took out an apple from his pocket and gave it a bite.

Later the Cardinals (not the American sports team!) met with the Pope to satisfy their curiousity about the discussion. The Pope explained his version of the silent debate as follows:

'It was very enlightening! I said we believe in The Holy Trinity and the old Jew said there is only one God! Then I told him that God was omnipresent, all around us and he said God is right here with us now. When I explained Holy Communion with him to tell him that Christ died to forgive our sins he clearly understood all that and took out an apple and gave it a bite to remind us of the original sin in the garden of Eden! We communicated so well it was amazing!'

The Jewish community enquired of the old Rabbi how the meeting with the Pope went. He made some rude signals with his hand and stuck three fingers in the air, so I warned him not to waste my time by pointing my finger at him. Then he told me to leave by waving his hand about his head and I said, I'm staying right here! I wasn't going anywhere until I found out what this meeting was about! After that he relaxed a bit and took out his lunch and I took out my lunch!

I really have no clue what the debate was about!'

Bruce Rudnick told me this story many years ago and recently a lady in the church reminded me of it. It's one of those classic tales that is hard to remember. It has to be told accurately or it looses its punch.

Today Bruce has changed his name to Baruch and he lives in Israel, near the Negev, the last I heard. We used to have great times together. He is a sculptor and an artist and a whole lot of fun - as Jewish people can be.

I just found out recently that my ancestry might have been Jews from Holland! Pelser is a well known Jewish family name in the Netherlands! No wonder I have always enjoyed Jewish humour so much! And I've always had Jewish friends wherever I lived. Maybe it is a natural attraction! After all, Jesus was a Jew too!

Paul writes in his epistles and says a true Jew is not necessarily one that is circumcised in the flesh but one who is circumcised in the heart, by turning to Christ Jesus for salvation and leaving the Jewish laws and ceremonies behind.

Anyway, here are two more Jewish jokes that Jonathan Rael told me: Abe and Hymie meet up in the street and Abe says: 'so Hymie, how is it that you don't ask me how's business?' Hymie replies, 'ok, Abe, so how's business?' and Abe responds, ' Ag. better you don't ask!'

A Jewish lady travelling in a train compartment sat opposite a young man who was reading a newspaper. She was a bit bored with the long journey and wanted to make some conversation.

Jewish lady: 'Young man, are you Jewish?'

Young man: 'Excuse me, Ma'am? No, I'm not Jewish!'

After a short pause she asks him the same question three times.

Eventually he explodes with agitation and firmly denies the association: 'Lady, I'm telling you, my mother is not Jewish, my father is not a Jew and I'm not Jewish at all, ok?'

The Jewish lady lets the matter rest for a while and then picks up the thread of the conversation again: 'Excuse me, young man, but are you sure you are not Jewish?'

In utter desperation the young man surrenders to her pressure and admits, 'ok, lady, I'm Jewish, ok?' He hopes that this is the end of the endless reparteee, but alas, the Jewish lady pulls his newspaper down and points her finger to his face and concludes, 'but you don't look Jewish!'

Time for Spring Cleaning

2008-08-21T06:44:00.003+01:00

They call it Spring Cleaning. It's that time of year when the garden and the garage get cleaned up. Without trying we gather boxes of worthless goods and the garden develops its own undergrowth of weeds. We ask ourselves the same question every year: how did we manage to gather such a lot of rubbish! Trailer loads of stuff is carted away to the garbage dump and suddenly we seem to have a bit more space in the garage, things look a bit more organized and the garden has a fresh look about it. We even plant a few new plants to decorate and beautify the place. And then we tackle the office...our cupboards and our mail!
Life's like that. You stay busy with things and little unnoticed details creep into your life and eventually squeeze important things out of your schedule by demanding urgent attention. We tend to feel guilty about it and wonder why we allow it. But really. if we think about it honestly, none of us necessarily choose the unnoticed things.
I read a scripture in Proverbs that said, spiders are even in the palaces of kings! Think about that: how on earth did they get in? Who invited them in? Who opened the door or the crack in the wall? Did they jump on someone's clothes to carry them into the palace? Did the wind blow them in? Before you know it you have to have tall feather dusters to clean the corners of the ceiling from cobwebs!
They say that little foxes spoil the vine. The problem is that you cannot always spot the little foxes until they have caused some damage. Then you hunt them down. By the way, have you notices how the foxes are increasing in London since they banned the age old tradition of fox hunting? You see them everywhere, in the parks and in the streets, crossing the road into someone else's backyard to scavange the duts bins for some left over Macdonalds!
In the parable about the sower, Jesus explained how good soil produces the best harvest. He describes the problems with the other kinds of soils by saying the roadside allows the birds of the air to eat the seeds sown, the rocky soil has no depth and the plants wither in the heat of the sun, and thorns choke the soil that is not properly prepared for the sowing season. He goes on to describe the things he defines as thorns: being anxious about life, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things creeping in. There we have it again, those creeping things! Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression according to King Solomon. So it is useless to try and treat depression, it is merely the fruit of all the things that make you anxious. We have to deal with the things that cause anxiety, one by one, and depression will disappear like mist before the sun!

Riches in itself cannot satisfy althoug it can make life much easier. But the love of money is the root of all evil. One cannot serve Mammon the money god and God, our Heavenly Father, at the same time. You either hate the one and love the other or vice versa. Mammon is a hard slave driver, but our Heavenly Father desires that we prosper and be in good health, even as our souls prosper. There is a balance in the divine order of things.

The most important Spring cleaning we have to do from time to time is in our thoughts and in our attitudes. Wrong thinking leads to wrong speaking and wrong actions. Paul the apostle tells us to renew our minds so that we may know the good, acceptable and perfect will of God for our lives. This we do by paying careful attention to the Word of God allowing it to address issues in our personal life that need to change - to remove the cobwebs in our hearts and minds. Things do creep in, sometimes creepy things!

Repentance is a wonderful way to Spring Clean our souls! The Greek word for repentance means to turn around one hundred and eighty degrees! About Face!- as they used to give orders in the army. (Yes, I did my stint in the army, for almost ten years, every year for about a month, in the Commando's! Just thought you might like to know!)

Asking God to forgive our sins, for Christ's sake, not because we deserve it, is a wonderful antedote for the spirit that needs Spring Cleaning! John the apostle wrote in his first epistle if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If all unrighteousness is dealt with all that is left is righteousness!

My father once picked up a Jewish man rushing to get to the synagogue.
'Why are you in such a hurry?'
'Today is an important day. It is the day of atonement. Today all our sins will be forgiven.'
My dad posed a difficult question: 'You don' t have to answer me, but what is your greatest sin?'
'It is easy to answer that: keeping my shop open on Saturdays which is the Sabbath!'
My dad thought about it and then said, 'tomorrow is Saturday. Will you open your shop again?'
The Jewish man hesitated and then raised his shoulders and opened his hands in a typical Jewish gesture: 'What can I do? Business is business!'

Spring Cleaning, comes once a year, in any race!

But it is good to be reminded that we have the opportunity to clean things out. It is fantastic to know that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that He is able to forgive them and also cleanse our consciences! What a privilege to have such a Friend! And to know Him and God who sent Him is the true definition of Eternal Life, according to Jesus' own description. To know Him is to have permanent Spring Cleaning going on in one's life! Wow!

Holiday in Cancun

2008-08-02T17:43:00.003+01:00

The liquid turquoise water of the Atlantic... in the bay of Cancun...The picture is indelibly printed on our memory sticks! Never will we forget the warmth of the water, the 9 different hues of turquoise as your eyes scan the horizons! The waves lifted you up, ever so gently, and put you down again, with ease.
I took my family on a holiday of a life time. Unforgettable. Much needed. Full of surprises. Most relaxing. A bonding experience - the enjoyment will bond us together. Just say the words, Cancun, and we all swoon...under the spell of the Mayan Mediterranian holiday resort.
Nola loved it so much. She could live there. Yvette took all the pictures we need to prod our animated conversations about the holiday. Hilton remembers the day a life saver offered him his surf board to surf the waves: 'I surfed in Mexico, man!' Yve took the pic to prove it!
And the food! Exquisite cuisine, Mexican style, even for breakfast, spicy and fresh.
But when one returns from Paradise the real world hits you in the face: our home was broken into, all Nola's jewelry stolen! Bills needed to be paid - immediately! Attacks on you personally from family members that do not understand you. An old dispute about a third party car insurance payment that was never paid and now summoned to court! Book keeper wants to see you! Applications for next years studies! Computer malfunction when you need it most! An investment that you have to cancel due to certain complications! Plants died because they were not watered! Bird cage has not been cleaned for ages!
Then you close your eyes, my baby, and think of Cancun, a place where there is tranquility and rest and all the meals are included, all the drinks paid for, and all you have to concentrate on is enjoying yourself to the hilt!
Heaven on earth? Yea, for a while. But that is what holidays are meant to be. We decided that we would not talk shop or church or business or school or anything that would detract us from pure, unadulterated enjoyment! Our brains rested, our bodies were bronzed and our souls purged! We slept late, we hardly knew what was going on in the world - our cell phones were switched off and we did not watch the news, no news from our part of the world anyway - we did not know the rugby score, nor the cricket - everything was just Cancun, Mexico.
Yvette and I drove three hours by bus to get to Chichen Iza, the great monument of the Mayan Indians that is now the 8th Wonder of the World. Think about El Dorado, the cartoon, with Kennet Brannagh and Kevin Klines incredible voices, or the movie, The man who would be king, with Sean Connery and Michael Caine in the lead roles and you will know what I am referring to. The place of gold where they made human sacrifices. They played a strange ball game and the player of the match was sacrificed to their pagan gods. (On that day you tell your son, 'don't play so well, my son, let the other guy win!') It was interesting, yet horrifying to learn about these ancient cultures.
Nola and Hilton went horse riding on three estates and ate a scrumptuous meal outside under a grass umbrella. That night we swopped stories about our day - like we did every day.
What a day. Shall we ever forget it? Nor will we forget the other days. It was a treat to the senses and a rest for the spirit.
We came back refreshed - able to face the necessities, the routines, the challenges and lets call a spade a spade, the problems we had to face and we faced them one by one, by the grace of God!
Hilton was chosen for the provincial hockey team for Primary Schools and had to play a tournament in the first week! But he was so well rested, he scored all the goals for his team and helped them to win the tournament! Bravo! He did not ever practice anything during the holiday.
Sometimes all we need, is not more motivation, more energy drinks, more analysis, more guts - all we need is a fantastic holiday - a Cancun of our own somewhere, out there, away from it all, where we don't know anyone and where we can't speak the language and where all we have to do is rest and relax.
It is called a Sabbath's rest - even our Creator rested on the 7th day. We'll I'm sure he did it in Cancun!

The Old Evangelist

2008-06-02T16:53:00.005+01:00

A friend that has recently gone through a traumatic divorce in ministry wrote an email and told me about the secret of a great evangelist, Smith Wigglesworth, who had a heart of compassion: he said to someone, 'I am a broken hearted person: I miss my wife so much, but it keeps my heart soft towards God and people.'
Then I thought of a song my parents used to sing in church, 'He died of a broken heart for me'. As a kid the song had sad tones, but I did not have the savvy to grasp the intent.
I often got full marks for writing essays in Afrikaans. In fact, when the teacher wrote the topics on the board I used to write essays on all topics and often even suggest some topics to the teachers! I wrote note books full of essays, and sometimes when I read them to my willing mother, I used to cry while reading to her! Sentimental? Romantic? Perhaps, but I have learned that a soft heart can touch other hearts...
The Question is, how do I keep my heart soft? A hard heart is unbearable...to have and to live with. Bitterness of heart, unforgiveness, unbelief, hatred...all these things make a heart hard. Such a hard heart cannot produce a good crop. It spoils the seed of the word of God and when persecution comes for the word's sake it has no depth and the plant withers and dies in the heat of the sun...
Well, the seed of the word of Life can also be choked by the deceitfulness of riches, the anxieties of life and the desire for other things creeping into a heart. The good soil is the soul that is soft towards God, that understands, and it produces 30, 60 and 100 fold harvests!
That's from the parable of the sower.
Back to Smith Wigglesworth. He was a rasping bully of a man who treated his wife so badly that he often locked her out of the house because she went to church. When he woke up to get the daily newspaper and bottle of milk on the porch she would get up and greet him kindly. Her prayers and soft heart eventually broke his hard heart and he converted and became a preacher - a great preacher! He raised 22 people from the dead, apparently!
But his wife died not to long after that and obviously he missed her - he must have had memories of how he treated her! Obviously he wanted to make up for his foul behaviour and somehow he translated this into good deeds for others.
It was a known fact that he often wept when he asked people how their spouses or children were.
He had some things that softened his heart. He knew who he was and what he had done. He had received forgiveness, but the memory of the one who remained kind and patient with him, kept his heart soft throughout his lonely ministry years.
Don't we all have some things that could make our hearts soft? Or do we persist in having hard hearts? All of us have things that we wished we had not done, and things we hated when others did it to us. But we can turn these memories into our favour and let them soften instead of harden our hearts, by forgiveness. Sometimes we have to forgive ourselves...often!
How frail we mortals be!
But my friend shared his broken heartedness with me and I throught about it - if it softens our hearts, then a broken heart is a good thing...
Then again, Jesus is anointed to heal the broken hearted and set the captives free! But the memory of his kindness and patience towards us all makes me weep, at times, and keeps my heart soft! Patience and kindness are after all the first two qualities of divine love as defined in I Corinthians 13:4-9 (Its worth reading!)
So, what has broken your heart, my dear? What has caused you grief? Are you going to let it make you bitter and twisted and harden your heart or are you going to use it to soften your heart so that you can have compassion on others - like the old evangelist?
Those who sow in tears, shall reap in joy!
One day the Lord will wipe away our tears and say, 'well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the Joy of the Lord!' What a day that will be!

What a transporting moment of joy it will be
When we meet face to face
The One we have known heart to heart
All these years!

No arrests for emotional abuse

2008-03-21T11:45:00.003+02:00

Parents who abuse their children emotionally cannot get caught or be imprisoned. Physical abuse is punishable by law, but what is worse? Physical pain that eventually recovers or emotional scars that stay forever?
My daughter Yvette wrote a play about emotional abuse and won a prize for the best script for drama. She also directed this physical theatre piece and won acclaim for it. When we went to watch it, I saw grown men weep in front of me - the one had tatoes on his muscular shoulders and wore a white vest. His head was shaven and he had a goatie beard. He was a really tough looking character, but his heart was deeply touched by what he saw on stage...
One amazing theatrical touch to portray the harshness of the mother towards her daughter was nothing short of brilliant, even though I say so! Instead of having water in a sink bath tub to wash the daughter they filled it with rice. Yes, rice! When the mother used the rice to scrub her daughter's body and rinse her curly hair, the effect was tangible in the audience...people squirmed in their seats, feeling the callousness of the woman who felt nothing for her own flesh and blood.
The play is simply called, 'And then she cried...' and the actress Liezl won the best actress award at AFDA in Observatory. A couple we invited also wept during the performance. It was too close to reality. The husband was treated like that by his mother.
How many homes are there where children are mistreated by parents? How many homes are not broken? How many parents are not divorced? How many homes have peace and joy? In how many homes is there constant fighting and swearing? How many children suffer under the hatred their parents have for each other? Where, oh where, is love?
The youth dilinquency problem is an indictment against parents. In Scotland more kids run away from home than anywhere else. I saw it on TV and read about it in the newspapers. When the police caught a girl that ran away from home they asked her why she did it?
'I don't want to be at home anymore. Any place is better than home. My parents always fight and hit me. I am always alone at home during the day. They are never there. When they come home they fight. I hate it. I want to go somewhere else.'
Where is home sweet home? Where is the Christian ideal of a family? Has the church failed to produce Christian homes in the world? Then the church's doctrine has obviously veered off the beaten track and adhered to the teachings of men, rather than the doctrine of God. Perhaps the church is to blame for the mess the homes are in. Perhaps the church needs to reform before we think of reforming the world.
Yvette wrote the play based on stories she heard about what my wife went through in her parent's home. She read up about emotional abuse and drew from her research as well and put it together in a play. I want to make a movie about it - no matter how painful it is, because the world needs to know...
Day by day, we meet young children with pain in their hearts because they have been emotionally abused by their parents...
And children are innocent, they are quick to forgive, they trust so easily - yet once they are broken they end up with diseases, physically and mentally and the shocks they had to live through spoil the rest of their lives...
Does God care about children? To them belong the kingdom of heaven. If anyone harms the least of them, they are touching the heart of God.
We need to train parents, educate parents....Crosby, Stills & Nash sing, 'Teach your children' and halfway through the song they change the line to, 'Teach your parents well, your father's hell will slowly go by...'
Today is a good day to bring about a change in our lives at home. Today is a good day to appreciate each other. Today is a good day to hug our children and tell them we love and appreciate them, no matter how well they perform at school or in sport or playing their instruments of music.
Schools have become so demanding that children hardly have time to be kids anymore...that is why they break out over weekends and do silly things...
Many African children are tired of all the funerals and endless church meetings they have to attend every weekend...they have no time for themselves anymore.
We have to stop this madness and call out for help for all the children suffering emotional abuse in their homes, in boarding schools and those who have no homes...just like rolling stones...
Bob Dylan sings, 'How does it feel to be without a home, in the great unknown...just like a rolling stone!'

Breaking the sound barrier

2008-03-16T17:55:00.003+02:00

The brilliant movie The Right Stuff depicts the courage of pilots who pushed through the sound barrier with ill-equipped air craft that almost fell apart in their effort to fly at new speeds. There are unforgettable scenes of nerve wrecking, riveting excitement as men defy all odds to enter new dimensions of flight. This determination eventually led to space craft and put the first man on the moon!
Pushing the envelope has become common terminology once Hollywood got hold of it - because they only do it in movies! In the unreal world of the cinema anything is possible and the Sc-Fi movies prove that. Nobody believes what they are seeing anymore and the stunts of ordinary actors and actresses with invisible ropes and safety gadgets are no longer impressive to the cinema boffin who now knows that the flames and fires in movies are not real and nobody can really dodge bullets as in the Matrix - its all trick photography and the cameramen compete for the Oscar!
But there are still real men out there...there women...real people who are not 'pushing the envelope' but breaking through in whatever field they are involved it in order to bring new hope and blessing to a tired, worn-out world (Sting's phrase in 'The River Flows...down to the sea').
In order to push through in something you have to have True Grit (A John Wayne movie for which he won an Oscar!) and a fierce determination to succeed.
From an early age we learn to ride a bicycle...at first our conscious minds desperately try to master the two-wheeler and many falls and hurts later we find a way to balance and stay on top!
And voila! There you go - full speed ahead.
The same applies for driving a car - at first the nervousness of trying to concentrate on all the pedals and movements of changing gears and co-ordinating it all - a nightmare at first, but soon everyone is speaking with cell phones and driving at the same time with a CD playing in the back ground and then they still wave at friends passing by in the traffic! Amazing...
Pilots do it...first in simulators then in the real deal...the other day my plane wobbled when it tried to land in a terrifying head wind at Edinburgh airport and the wings almost hit the tarmac before the pilot had the presence of mind to take off again and circle...I prayed for the winds to cease...and they did. So together we (the Lord, the pilot and I) did a splendid job providing the safety of the passengers!
Then when I returned home, on the 6 O' Clock News, Nola and I saw a Lufthanza plane going through the same motion my plane experienced - only this time the wing hit the ground and the plane spun around and someone had a video camera handy to film it and sell it to the broadcasting station! The pilot made a U-turn and took the plane back on the runway to avoid overturning and crashing it! It takes a certain kind of steel nerve to be a pilot - with 300 lives in your hands!
When we were small (and Christmas trees were tall...B-Gees, remember?) we used to sing, Jesus Saviour, pilot me! Now I understand a bit better...
But it takes a plunge of faith for a mother and father to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord in these days! It takes a holy fervour to live a sanctified life amongst all the perversion and corruption we face in the media every day.
It takes a church with schutzpah to reform from traditions to God's standards given in Paul's apostolic epistles.
It takes a lot of practice to be a good batsman or bowler. It takes a lot of practice to be a good musician that can flow prophetically when the Spirit moves...
But we have to push those boundaries back!
What are you facing that you can push further? Take courage and do it! God is with you!

Characters on the Tube

2008-03-04T12:12:00.004+02:00

The characters on the tube that caught my attention did so, largely because I was sitting opposite them in the train and had nowhere else to fasten my attention except on the explanation of the Piccadilly line in London's underground system. The group I observed were a admixture of a cosmopolitan United Nations!
On the left we have the Iranese (Lebanese?) Mid-eastern mischle bound rough neck with a shaven head and bulging arm muscles, strong hands, large nose and thick lips...but fast asleep and harmless with his head leaning against the glass partition separating the compartment from the sliding doors. On the right hand side (and imagine these two prize fighters in a ring!) we have the well-dressed English businessman, thoroughly modern with suit and white shirt, but tie-less as the Europeans do! He stares straight ahead of him, into nothingness, as if no one else exists.
Next to him is a Turkish girl, poor but hopeful to make it in her new homeland, which is foreign to her. She takes out a little hand mirror and does her eye make-up as if now one is watching and admires herself by turning her head from side to side and pouting her lips.
Adjacent to her is a heavy metal freak with tatoos all over his body, sporting a bandana with black and white skulls. When he stepped into the train he chose to sit on that seat where the Daily Tube Newspaper was lying. Instead of picking it up he sat on it, probably to show his defiance against society as a whole. His face is flaky and his nose red and sore from all the nose rings matching his ear and lip rings. He looks like a display window in a pawn shop with all the rings on his dirty fingers with nails that are equally spoiled and black! His walkman blasts the music into his ears at such ear piercing volume that the rest of us have to endure the overflow of the noise!
Then, quite out of character, he opens his black sling bag (it has to be black!) and takes out...wait for it...a Time Magazine and reads it with great interest!
When he got up the Turkish girl grabbed the crumpled up newspaper, straightened it out and showed off her skill of reading a newly acquired language, but it is obviously not great because she paged quite rapidly through the newspaper.
The businessman next to her strayed and peeped at the headlines for a while, before correcting himself and looking straight ahead again. But it wasn't long until he strayed again and this time kept reading over her shoulder for longer spells, the two of them making a silent duet!
In the middle perched a wannabe model with matching high collared black coat, black slacks and black silk stockings, grandiose make up, matching rings and hair decorations, designer sling bag over the shoulder resting on her lap...but her shoes gave her away...brown hush puppies! This suggested that she had a long way to walk to work - which wasn't doing modelling at all!
Bleak House sat next to her. Well, meaning by that, of course, a dull looking up-town girl with no effort at all to do make-up except an eye-liner. You get the message: make-up takes so long to put on and you only have to take it all off again at night when you get home, so why bother in the first place?
The only other person that could fit on that line of seats was an Easter-European with a slit-eyed expression of a Russian Mafia mobster that never looked at anything or anyone. Perhaps he was on a life-threatening mission?
Then a thought occurred to me: 'And God loves them all!'
Who could love a muscle bound rough neck from the Middle East? God does.
Who could love a boring English gentleman? God does.
Who could love a wannabe model who will never make the grade? God does.
Who would love the working class girl with no make-up? God does.
And who would love a mobster from Eastern Europe? God does.
And the heavy metal freak? God loves him too!
So, if God could love all these characters on the Tube Train in London, he could surely love you and me as well? Just a thought for the day...

The Crumbling Flake

2008-02-15T10:56:00.005+02:00

Nothing is as brittle or as tempting as flake, Cadbury's flake chocolate, that is! Open one up and put it in front of any person and before long the flake will have its way! Its so different from other slabs of chocolate, so easy on the tongue and so satisfying! It is simply irresistable!
We used to have a saying, 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' in the old days. But I think we need to upgrade it to, 'that's the way the flake crumbles!' In the old days the cookie jar was the forbidden territory for boys and it was placed on the highest shelf in the pantry and only opened at special occasions - when there were visitors.
But every boy (and girl) sooner or later discovered the treasure jar and tried to get up there, by stacking chairs on top of each other or climbing up the racks and pulling things down in the process!
Sting sang 'How Fragile We Are' with a nice bossanova rhythm to it. It was somewhat of a tear jerker and we all thought, how true, how true!
Yet with escalating violence and crime in every nation of the world, wars and rumours of wars, it seems that humankind has forgotten how brittle we really are. Not soft, but brittle.
I know Cowboys don't cry and real men are hard, but the Man of all Men also wept on occasions. the shortest verse in the bible is, 'And Jesus wept'. He was at the grave of Lazarus, his friend, who died four days ago but he had no inside information to go there. He only did what His Father in Heaven told him to do. When he arrived on the scene, Martha and Mary both scolded him for coming so late: if you had been here he would not have died!
And so He cried. He cried because of their unbelief that He is the Resurrection and the Life. He cried because He found it hard to explain to people who He really was. He found it hard that they refused to believe in Him. He also felt sorry for his friend having to go through this ordeal. But it did reveal the brittle state of life: his friend passed away and he wept.
Funny how funerals bring out different things in different people.
I spoke at a funeral of an African lady in Stellenbosch last year and saw how the family and friends loaded bunches of bouquest of flowers around the coffin and how they praised her for about three hours and gave money to her family and told the whole world what a great person she was. Afterwards they slaughtered some cattle for a mighty funeral party! It must have cost an arm and a leg to pay for all the entertainment - ala African style.
When I was given five minutes to say something, I only needed two. This is what I said: 'Why do you wait till someone is dead before you give her flowers? Why do you wait till someone's dead before you praise her and tell others what a wonderful person she was? Why do you wait till someone is dead before you give them money? Why don't you give flowers while someone is alive?' And then, I sat down. I did not cry. I just sat down.
As we walked out of the hall, young people grabbed me by the arm and whispered: 'thanks!' Outside a grey headed old man leaning on his knob kierie took me aside and said, 'what you said here today needs to be spoken all over Africa! We honour the dead more than the living!' The young people came to me and said, 'we are so sick and tired of all the funerals we have to go to every Saturday and the funerals are all day! We have no life of our own! We work six days a week and then have to go to funerals of family and friends, because if you don't go they say you dishonour the dead person. And Sundays we have to go to church and you know our services - they last for 5 hours!' I heard the cry of the youth and that made me want to cry!
Traditions are squeezing the life out of the youth of our country!
Who will liberate them? Who will tell them life is more important than death? Even though life is brittle and can end at any moment?
It is the brittle state of life that makes us seek a strong tower, a place of refuge, a rock of defense, someone like our Lord Jesus Christ, who is a help that has been tested in many ways ans never found wanting.
He took on the brittle state of human life in order to feel what it was like to be a man, and then he said, he has compassion on us, he is touched by the feelings of our infirmities, because he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin! Absolutely astonishing that he went through all the temptations without ever giving in to anyone! That is why all the Da Vinci codes and other conspiracy theories are constantly trying to prove that he had to have some secret love affairs in the silent years and that he must have had children born out of wedlock - and such rubbish!
But here was a man that would not give in to an open flake in front of him! He understood the brittleness of it all and conquered it in order to succour us in times of testing and trials.
By the way, I have just finished the flake Nola put in front of me before I started blogging! Go and enjoy one too, because Jesus paid the price for us and overcame everything so that we can be free to live life depending on His grace and His power to help us overcome things in our own lives.
There's nothing flaky about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Nothing at all! It is solid and it helps us in our flaky human existence to find solace and comfort at all times, knowing that He cares for us and understands us better that we can understand ourselves.

My Servant Shall Succeed!

2008-02-04T20:44:00.000+02:00

My servant shall succeed in his task and be highly honoured. This is a prophecy in the book of Isaiah that my mother sent me throughout her lifetime. Whenever I got discouraged, whenever I did not know which way to turn; when it looked like all was lost and that my life was going nowehre; when there was no financial profit in all the things I did; when I was rejected by the church leaders and my ideas squashed; when I wanted to throw in the towel on many occasions she would simply cut out a piece of paper on which she typed the words on her old black Remmington type writer with the black and red ribbon: 'My servant shall succeed in his task!'

Being a missionary in the modern world without the backing of any organization who want to own you and squeeze you into their own mould, is certainly not an easy task! You never budget because you do not know where the money is going to come from this year! You never plan a holiday because you do not know who is going to offer a holiday home for you in December! There is no pension scheme, nor medical aid - it is a journey of total faith - and praise God for His grace and mercy, I have travelled this path for over 35 years now, 30 with a wife and family and I can testify with confidence: it works to trust God for everything! But I admit it is not for the fainthearted or squeemish.

If God decided you are going to be successful - then everything will work together for your good if you love Him and you are called according to His purpose, which is to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, the first born among many brothers.

The secret lies in the fact that you have to choose to become God's servant. It is His servant that shall succeed in His task.

Ephesians 2 tells us that we are the workmanship of God who created us for a specific task and how he empowers us to complete that task successfully. He created good works for us to walk in. So your divine design is actually the secret of success - not just wordly drive and selfish motivation!

I once wondered what the Lord meant by telling his disciples to look at the lillies of the field and the birds in the air...then I went to sit on the side of Table Mountain where there are a lot of lillies every day for a few hours and just look and lie on my back and watch the bird in the air. I pondered and meditated but didn't quite get it.

Suddenly the revelation came to me one day - unexpectedly! The lillies are where they are supposed to be and the birds are where they are supposed to be! Only the surrelaist painter Salvador Dali would paint lillies in the air and birds planted in the ground!

Lillies do not try to be birds and birds do not try to be lillies. In being what they were created to be they do not have to toil or labour and the Creator sees to it that they are clothed and fed! To feed all the sparrows in America would bankrupt the governmnet in no time! God takes good care of his creatures.

So in order to be God's servant we should first of all learn to be ourselves, first. Then we can do what we were designed to do and have success as a result. Success is not a place you arrive at. It is a lifestyle.

Moses told Joshua to meditate in the word day and night and to observe what to do and then he would make his way prosperous and have good success. After Moses passed away God repeated the same words to the young man. Read the book of Joshua to see what he accomplished through meditation in the Holy Scriptures!

All I wanted to do was to play professional cricket and be an actor! There was no such thing as professional cricket when I was young (a bit before my time) so I became an actor. After many years I became a missionary. While in Australia I heard these words on the inside: prophetic actor! I became a preacher that acts out the prophetic word of God when I preach - and I still help to coach cricket wherever I can!

So, by just being honest with who I really was, I was enabled to raise a family, by the grace of God and to put my children through school, bible school and university. The youngest one is still at school. It is a miracle if you consider that most places I go to as a missionary cannot afford to have me there. We do have a church called Harvester that helps me from time to time, but not all the time.

By being faithful to the call I received as a 12 year old boy when Aunty Raper the old prophetess came to our house in 65 Gardener Avenue, Brakpan, and prophesied, 'Young man you have a calling from God. God will use you in other lands!' I was able to live and raise a family! My wife needs a medal for sticking with me! But she also has a call. When met her I asked her what she wanted to do with her life. She said she would like to be a missionary and an actress. I realised that our paths were the same - and she was pretty, sporting and talented! So I popped the question and later on she accepted!

I cannot measure my success but I know I have had some success already and I do not live for one day when I am successful. I enjoy one day at a time and try to live life to the full - as a servant of the Lord, perhaps not perfect, with many shortcomings and weaknesses, but at least sold out to be a servant of the Lord and willing to go to other nations.

What is it that you were designed to do? What is in your heart, if you are honest? A man's gift will make room for him: wherever it turns it prospers! My gift is to talk to groups of people, on stage or while preaching!

The Hole in the Doughnut

2008-02-03T09:03:00.000+02:00

I remember distinctly how Dr. Gray explained the story about the doughnut to us at Miracle Valley, Arizona - and that was in 1973! just goes to show that if a story is worth repeating it is worth repeating! (We are in 2008 now!)
There was a moment in a meeting when the Holy Spirit melted every heart and people started acknowledging their pride. A second year student at The Valley got up and summarized his feeling about himself in the following words:
'I used to think I was something. But I am nothing. Nothing at all. You know the hole in the doughnut? That's me! That's what I am - just a hole in a doughnut!'
It was very touching and everyone agreed that we are nothing compared to Christ Jesus. He is and should be everything to us.
Later that afternoon a group of students were talking about returning to do the third year of practical ministry training at The Valley. The young man who used the figure of the doughnut in his confession, indicated that he was also considering coming back for ministry training. Some of the other students teased him by saying, ' Man! You can't preach!'
At this point Dr. Gray walked passed and overheard the young man responding in the following manner: 'I can preach just as good as anyone of you can preach! In fact I can even preach better than some of you!'
Dr. Gray laughed and cleaned his throat a litte and then remarked: 'Suddenly the young man was no longer the hole in the doughnut!'
I'll never forget that story...
Whenever I think I'm the doughnut, I remember that image.
Isaiah talks about the sieve of pride and those who say they are 'Holier than thou'. The African Americans at The Valley used to talk about some people who were, 'holier than thou; deeper than deep; too high to come by!'
Sport is a wonderful leveler. Just when you think you are unbeatable you have a bad day! There are a few exceptions like Tiger Woods who just seem to get better and better as he grows older. But he revealed the other day that he never thought he would have 9 major golf titles behind his name at the age of 32 - some humility in that statement, don't you think?
Pride comes before the fall. That is not a saying - that is the truth. We have all experienced in some way or another. The person walking with their nose in the air, cannot see the banana peel on the pavement and the consequences are appalling!
When they said The Titanic was unsinkable, an iceberg proved them wrong...a piece of ice sunk a ship! When Muhammed Ali kept announcing that he was the unbeatable champion of the world, he got knocked out and suffers Alzheimers disease for the rest of his life. When John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ he was gunned down by a madman. The moment Lucifer wanted to take over the throne of God he was cast down like lightning from heaven. When Herod spoke like a god, and people honoured him as one, he fell down and worms ate him up. Horror of horrors!
Well, we are all flesh and have nothing to boast about, that is really all I am saying. When someone else falls, we should not rejoice but go and help to pick them up. He who stands should take care that he does not fall in the same way as the person he is judging.
How quickly this life passess...like a shuttle, says Job, a shooting star through the air, and it is gone. Moses says it passes like a shadow. He described his eventful 120 years as a hand width...

I love a crispy doughnut with some icing on it! But whenever I eat one I am reminded of this story and it is a good time to take stock of one's own life. Our own assessments of our lives are not always accurate. That is why our Good Shepherd sometimes allows trials and temptations to come in situations we would not have chosen for ourselves or for our dear ones, so that we can be reminded that we have nothing to boast of in the flesh.

All we have and all we are have been graciously given to us. We are simply to be grateful for what God has allowed in our lives. We receive correction from him and take the instruction that adversity and suffering bring. Our faith is tempered by these things.

In a moment of disappointment remember to look for the mercy of God in it: it is by His grace that we are not consumed, because we are like the flower of the grass, today it is here and blossomes, then the wind blows over it, and it is gone!

But in the midst of this temporary state of being, we have an option to add eternal value to our lives by putting our faith in Christ's offering for the sin of mankind: by believing he died for me, He imparts eternal life into my being and I have this hope in me that I will forever be with the Lord, no matter what happens after this life!

So, in myself I am just the hole in the doughnut, but in Christ, I add taste to life! But because I know my source and substance, I am thankful for the opportunities offered to me daily to do what I can do in order to be a shining light for Jesus, in spite of my own deficiencies and weaknesses. All the glory of any achievement goes to my Maker. I am nothing without Him.

He is the real doughnut! He is the Master Piece of God's Creation! He is everything to me!

A Lesson from the Manchester United's Air Crash

2008-02-01T16:57:00.000+02:00

At the end of this blogg the lesson will be learned...it is a lesson we prefer not to learn, if we are honest. It is not one we would choose to learn. The lessons Jesus taught His disciples were often of this nature.

Jesus of Nazareth made statements that were totally out of this world. No one on earth could perform what He required. For instance: if you but look on a woman to desire her you have already committed adultery with her in your heart. How on earth can any man survive just walking down the street? Then he comes with this one, 'pray for your enemies!'
David in the Old Testament did that one all right! But he prayed, kill my enemies, wipe out the remembrance of their name on earth, let nothing they possess remain! Destroy! Wipe Out! Erase!
Well, I don't think that is what Jesus had in mind, do you?
Why does Jesus make things so terribly hard for us? Why does he add impossibility to each New Covenant command? He comes up with things like, ' Be perfect!' and right there most of us bow out of the arena of faith, because we know who we really are deep inside and none of us dare claim perfection of any kind, if we are painfully honest.
But I have discovered that truth is only known in the excercise of it. In other words, first do the commandment and then you will find out how it works, or if it works!
It takes faith to do something that you don't have a clue about doing.
So, I started praying for my enemies. First of all, I had to make it clear in my own mind who my enemies were. Were they really my enemies, or only people I don't like? Did they harm me on purpose? Did I ever try to forgive them? Was I too sensitive? Was I unforgiving?
In the Clint Eastwood movie The Unforgiven Clint has this real cowboy moment when he is about to step out of the bar where he has just dealt with the bully sheriff of the town and tells anyone who dares to shoot at him in the street that he would kill them, kill their wives, kill their children and kill their horses and burn down their houses! That about summarises how most feel about their enemies!
Here's Christ, hanging bleeding and dying on a rugged cross, dripping blood and convulsing as his body tries to get away from the source of pain of the nails through the hands and the feet but is not able to, and listen to what He says: 'Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!'
Of course they knew what they were doing: they were crucifying him and they were past masters at such cruelty which the Romans learned from the Phoenicians, but just perfected the art and making it a public display of horror.
Why on earth would he say such a thing? So that the Father's will in heaven could be done here. The kingdom had to come down from heaven to earth and His bleeding body, torn apart for our sins and wrongdoing, became the entry point. Will we ever understand the price he paid? I don't think so. It boggles the mind. Yet He showed us how to pray for our enemies and what to pray.
Dr. Gray, my mentor at Miracle Valley, Arizona, used to repeatedly tell us: prayer changes things and the thing it changes most is you!
Most people think prayer is a magic wand that you can used to get what you want and get your will on earth done in a jiffy - as if God is the genie in the lamp that we must just rub up in the right way with our faith confessions and then he appears to do our will. This false teaching crept in through teachers who wanted to sell books and tapes and appealed to the ego of men and women who never understood the message of the cross: that of denying yourself and taking up one's cross before even starting to follow the Messiah.
Perhaps we need to rethink our motives for praying. Perhaps we have been given the wrong perspective. That is why we cannot pray for our enemies.
When you pray for someone that is your enemy (real or imagined) it changes your thoughts about that person. You begin to intercede for someone and the effort begins to work inwardly, on you, changing you from the inside, until you no longer see the enemy but only another human being, maybe at fault with you, but maybe ignorantly so, being misinformed, hurting, find ways to express the hurt towards you in order to still their own pain and misfortune...
The mind boggles...but somewhere in this mind-field of emotions there is a glimmer of hope that we may just grasp the bit of truth that was at the basis of Christ's commandment to love one's enemies...
So, in spite of how impossible it may seem, in spite of how difficult it may be, just mention the names of those whom you regard as enemies, whom your children at school regard as enemies, whom your family regard as enemies and say the Christ words: 'Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!' And see what happens if you do this regularly...
If a man's ways please the Lord, He even makes his enemies to become his friends...eventually!
If all mankind could make this effort in Iraq, in Palestine, in Kenya in South Africa would it not bring about a change that nothing else could?
Nice pipe dream! Well, so is Old Trafford, a field of dreams for Manchester United fans - but remember that Sir Matt Busby's Babes paid with their lives in the air disaster on 6th February 1958 when the plane crashed as it took off in Munich. That pain and suffering aroused the sympathy and admiration from United fans across the globe that is still the Legacy of the team 50 years later, wherever they arrive at an airport, people have an awe, a respect that is different than their reaction to any other sports team. All those young players lost their lives before they could really enjoy their game. The mystique of just how good they could have been will always remain a mystery but helps to establish an affection for the club in the hearts of people everywhere. Those who died will never be forgotten.
The way Jesus died for us, innocently, creates even a greater sense of awe and respect for the Son of God, who gave his life to make us champions in the game of life - to help us do the impossible, to overcome the unsurmountable and to pass the uncrossable, all by faith in His Name that gives us strength in our weakness to be more than conquerors in this world.

Heath Ledger dies

2008-01-23T16:37:00.000+02:00

Heath Ledger dies. I wrote those words in my pocket sized notebook that I habitually carry around with me. A Portuguese pastor in Benfica referred to my notebook as my 'camera', because he constantly saw me jot down details wherever he took me.
As I drove to fetch my son at school I saw the Cape Argus headlines on the telephone pole posters: Heath Ledger dies.
When I wrote those words, I thought at first to write, Heath Ledger died. But it was too past tense, too distant, too long ago. The present tense sounded better. The newspaper editor obviously agreed with my way of thinking.
But how sad, how utterly sad, whether it was an accident or suicide we will never know. The 28 year old actor, understudy of Mel Gibson, found dead in his NY apartment. He was nominated for an Oscar in Brokeback Mountain.
It is a flashback to James Dean's youthful tragedy.
Just the other day, we agreed that if anyone ever could play the part of Jonny Wilkinson, it would be Heath Ledger. They look like twins. Jonny kicked over a last minute drop kick in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final vs. Australia and won the cup for England.
Few people know what actors and actress have to go through in their daily routines and the stress levels they handle in order to entertain the public. Tragedies are common among celebrities. Think of Marily, Elvis, Jimmy Hendrix...
People are not made to be worshipped. Only God can handle that kind of adoration.
Some people make little gods out of their own children. Some make idols of their pastors. People love to create idols. Americans are past masters at it. The rest of us can probably learn to be a bit more lavish with praise.
But, I'm off to the beach to surf in the sunset with Hilton and Mac the border collie!
Tomorrow is another day...
By the Grace of God we are still alive...God rest Heath's soul and comfort his family and friends.

God speaks German

2008-01-16T20:27:00.000+02:00

God speaks German

Wow! I forgot that God created all the nations of the world and scattered them by confusion their languages. So He does speak German as well. I learned German at school, at Cape Town university and through correspondence with Unisa. I remember the first few lessons at university so well - I didn't understand a word the professor was saying, but eventually got used to the sound of the foreign language and passed reasonably well.
When I went to Germany the first time I could help myself in the street and in restaurants. We helped with some ministry all over Germany and then helped a couple in Berlin that spent three years in our church. But after that I never returned.
One day I had a dream. I dreamt I was with the elders in heaven. They said, 'you are known up here!' The one said, 'I see you are reading your French bible?' The other added, 'dont' stop reading your German bible either.' This was proof enough that they knew me, because no one knows that I have both those bibles next to my bed, permanently. Then another one told me it was about time I started playing piano again.
So I have been diligently reading bit by bit in those bibles for almost a year now.
When we were on holiday with some friends I heard the Spirit tell me in German to return to Zurich, Switzerland, where I made my vow to serve God and humanity. I should go to the church where Frau Fleischmann worshipped and build a memorial in the spirit for her. She was the least in that assembly and the only one willing to take me in. When she sent me to climb the mountain after 4 days of heavy snow fall, I had my supernatural encounter with the Lord on a snowy mountain side and made my vow.

I should go and tell that church that as a result of the least of their members showing kindness to a stranger, that body of believers have a share in the 40 odd nations I have been to as a missionary. They should be encouraged that the least of their members have a major share in a ministry that has touched so many nations. This should stimulate more good works amongst them to realise what they do to the least of the disciples of Christ Jesus, they do to Him and there will be a definite reward.
I believe God speaks to you in the language you read in the bible and are prepared to offer prayers. If you do King James, He will speak King James to you. If you do Portuguese, He will respond accordingly.
But this message in German surprised me, because I have never considered going back to Zurich to that church...I only thought of Fray Fleischmann, the poor old widow who had mercy on a stranger...
Nothing we do for God goes unnoticed and unrewarded. May this encourage all of us to do what we can when we can - even for strangers at our door...

The Greatness of Fairness

2008-01-11T19:25:00.000+02:00

How fair is fair? Who could decide what is fair for everyone involved? Who could possible be fair to all parties? Only God our creator could be considerate to everyone and make sure we all get a fair deal - eventually. There are those who have all they want right now; there are those who wait a life time and never seem to get it. There is a promise of an after life where those who gave up things for the Gospel's sake will get 100 fold rewards: those who gave up houses and lands, mothers and fathers, sister and brothers, possessions and wealth will receive 100 fold in this life and in the life to come plus some persecution in this life.
Isn't so that when you get, others want? Gary Player said after winning a golf tournament all the charity organizations wanted his winnings! If someone is known to be rich he is envied and people curse him behind his back. Envy, jealousy and hatred go with the package!
Reinhard Bonnke a German missionary to Africa received a brand new BMW as a gift from a friend and suddenly his sponsorships diminished for his missions! Only after he got rid of the new car did people start giving again.
There seems to be a balance in the universe: some get it now, some later, but the good Lord sees to it that we all get our fair share of love and hatred; abundance and lack; praise and criticism; acceptance and rejection. For how would one appreciate acceptance if you have never tasted rejection?
A mother was worried about the ego's of her two boys when she baked the first pancake and introduced the subject with the line, 'if Jesus was here he would certainly take the second pancake!' So the one boy said to the other:' Ok, Jake, you be Jesus today!'
In our home we had a situation that seemed impossible to solve: Nola has to go to UK and Scotland to minister about praise and worship and she and Mimi one of her friends from Pretoria is going along with her. They want to visit Holland and Italy on the same trip. Initially I thought it was a bit long, but they insisted, so Graham in Birmingham helped me set up the tour.
But a few nights before Nola's departure Hilton our 12 year old turning 13 voiced his opinion: 'I don't want you to go away for such a long time, Mom!' Nola is the mainstay in his preparations for his Music Scholarship for College and he also talks a lot to her before going to bed. I'm his sports coach and buddy at this age! (Surfing, golf, cricket!) So I understood his tearful plea for her to cancel the trip.
I was thinking, 'how will I ever be able to set all this ministry up for Nola again? Will they ever believe me if I say, this time she is really coming to you?' I made peace with the fact that she would not go. Nola cried in bed and said, 'why must things be so hard?' She has given herself to her children for a life time and went without many things for the sake of raising children and being in the ministry with me. It's not been easy!
The following day Eben our travel agent suggested, 'why don't they go for a shorter period?' I approached Hilton with the suggestion. 'Last year Mom went to France for two weeks and I handled it well. But three weeks is too long!' So I asked Nola if she would cut out the week in Holland. Mimi could still go. She consented. So we did not have to cut out any ministry appointments and Mimi could spend some time alone, something she always wanted to do and everyone concerned received a fair treatment in the end.
The Spirit of the Lord is a spirit of counsel. He leads us and guides us into all truth and shows us things to come!
There is a balance in nature, in life, in sport, in relationships - we just have to learn to trust. Look at Nelson Mandela: 27 years in prison and then President in our nation and an International person of the Century! Joseph sold as a slave and thrown into prison and then becomes the Prime Minister of Egypt and eventually feeds his entire family! Saul persecutes the church and then suffers greatly for the sake of the Gospel but writes more than half of the New Testament: the glory outweighs the suffering.
There is a balance: a fairness in everything, in the end, if we can learn to put our trust in our Maker who alone is wise enough to give everyone a fair deal!

They shoot presidents, don't they?

2008-01-08T22:20:00.000+02:00

'They shoot presidents, don't they?' my little boy asked. It reminded me of the '70's movie, 'They shoot horses, don't they?' starring Jane Fonda and Michael Sarrazin, having to endure a dance marathon till the last couple that remains standing on the dance floor wins the prize!
Butho got assasinated in December and everyone knew she was going to get it - from Al Quaida.
I saw a programme on Carte Blanche on Sunday night about an Economic Hitman. Who on earth knew there were such jobs up for grabs? It was the confessions of a Hitman. He explained how he used to get money, power and women for corrupting the minds of African and Asian leaders to secure the investment of Trillion and Billion dollar American companies to build airports, develop mines and export oil from these nations by vowing to keep the leader in power as long as he plays along with them.
Thus Saddam Hussein got nailed when he no longer played into the hands of the American Money Muscle Men. So did many others. They die in strange ways: air crashes, accidents, shootouts...
The Hitman got his revelation on a mountain overlooking a sugar plantation when he realised how slaves built the plantation and then got angry at slave traders. Then he came to the sobering conclusion that he himself was a Slaver (as he put it) and decided to resign from his highly compensated job and began to expose the dealings of these giant corporations that rule the finances of the world.
But nothing much will come of it...if they take him out it will be proof that he was right. So they will just sit it out.
'There's trillions to be made during war situations, like Vietnam and Iraq,' he said. 'Africa is a Hitman's paradise! We corrupt the leaders and they corrupt their nation! And I got paid to do it!'
Suddenly every news cast, every movie, every novel took on a new dimension after hearing the confessions of the Hitman! All the King's Men with Sean Penn and Jude Law and Anthony Hopkins suddenly looked different when we hired the video to watch it for the second time. Politicians using people to further their causes, digging for dirt in people's lives to blackmail them and to set them up as targets!
But I found a lot of these things in the church world where I came from: the trappings of man's organizations are all the same, everywhere!
I used to be starry eyed about the church world until I went through the mill several times and learned the hard way how corrupt the so-called 'men of God' are - still just as human as the next man in their congregations. Power mad, ambitious pastors use the same systems the worldly organizations use to build their ' fast-growing' churches. They bully people into submission to the Lord' without letting the people know that they are the actual 'lord' the people are bowing to!
How often have a heard disillusioned pastors tell me when they resigned from another pastor's church that they were threatened with the words, 'I'll open up a church opposite your church and close you down!'
Yet, in all this power-mad, greed-festering, cess pool of organized religion, there are the souls who have been tempered by the fire and have come out purer, not without weakness, but a more humble, meek soul, with a real desire to know God in truth. These souls are the salt of the earth.
Business people tend to call the ones they make money out of as the salt of the earth - those simple individuals who do not know how to make money!
But there is a kingdom, an invisible one, there is a reality beyond the one we can measure in earthly standards, a heavenly domain that responds to an upright heart, a sincere plea: it is the kingdom of heaven. The true Gospel of the kingdom of heaven produces a quality in a soul that none of the forced religions can imitate! Blessed are the poor in spirit.
There is a drum beat in the spirit realm that the soldiers of the cross march to. That beat is heard by people all over the globe and in every denomination and network where the heart is turned towards truth. Slowly but surely, these souls are being drawn together, and there is a recognition of kindred spirits when they meet...like: 'It feels like I've known you all my life!'
But there is a price to pay: it is free but not cheap to enter that dimension of relationship.
Perhaps that is the narrow road that Jesus spoke about, that few will find?
Religion and Politics and Business make people dance until they drop. Presidents are appointed and assasinated. Nothing has changed. These things will go on and on and nothing will stop it until the final day when the kingdoms of this world will be become the kingdom of our Lord and He shall reign forever more and in His kingdom righteousness shall reign and those who did business otherwise will no longer be able to operate but will weep, for Babylonian systems will no longer be applicable, in politics, religion or business...
Then presidents and horses will no longer be shot!

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

2008-01-03T10:15:00.000+02:00

Lucy in the sky with diamonds...a little drawing the late John Lennon's child brought home from school that became a Lennon/MacCartney hit and which religious spirits interpreted as the LSD drug anthem! From and innocent picture to a banned substance! How proposterous.
Yesterday I returned home from a lovely holiday with friends at Eersterivier, felt rested, and ready to face the new year, when I opened the emails and found messages such as ' Barbara passed away in Portland...' and Stephen Stills is being operated on for prostate cancer on his birthday'...on today the 03 of January 08.
Emails have opened up a whole new world of communications. The IT world is ever expanding like the universe, so in a sense it is writing in the sky again...
Here's an amazing picture, which my friend Jako in Houston sent me: while the Aussies were frantically celeberating the New Year (they get it first because it is the most Eastern country) a skywriter was scribbling the letters J-E-S-U-S across the dawnlit sky.
Luke Skywalker became Luke Skywriter! The Gospel of Luke was actually written for the audience of one man! One man! All that trouble! Who on earth would do a thing like that? Luke did. And he was a physician and an historian. He wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts to Theophilus, a dear friend!
Would you show your love to a friend like that? To take on the task of researching the life of an amazing man until you can write a book about it, but not try to make any money out of your effort, but simply dedicate it to your friend? Luke never thought his work would be taken up in the volume called the Bible! He had no materialistic goals set for his serious task. He simply did it for a friend.
Yet, today, 2000 years later we are still reading it...Now that is famous is ever there was any fame attached to a letter to a friend! And so many kids around the world are called 'Luke' - even in Star Wars they chose the name Luke Skywalker!
There is something in the sky that makes you look up, not down. When you are downcast, look up, and suddenly you feel so much better! Hills and Mountains have a way to draw your eyes ever upward!
Aje's school song at Kenton Primary in Alberton had the logo: 'Ever Upward!' It stayed with me since that time. (I was on that school committee, you know, and helped with coaching cricket...somethings I did at most schools my kids attended, except of course Herschel the girls school Yvette went to).
So Lucy in the Sky, Luke Skywalker, and the Skywriter in Sydney all have something in common: they make you look up...into the blue yonder, into the future, into the possibilities of the year that lie ahead.
Jesus is the lifter of your head...in the Jerusalem days, people with debts they could not pay would sit at the entrance to the city with their heads bowed their eyes downcast, because they could not look anyone in the eye, because of their debt! Then if a beneficiary would approach them that decided to pay their debt, he would touch their chin with his walking stick or rod and lift up their heads to look him in the eye. That was his way of saying, your debt is my debt now, you are a free man! You can rise up and look people in the eye again!
This act of kindness was rare, but it did happen frequently enough to make the Psalmist write about it that his Lord is the lifter of his head!
Today the Lord Jesus Christ is willing to touch you and say, 'I have paid your debt of sin on Calvary! You no longer have to be bowed over and downcast: you can look people straight in the eye again! Your self-worth is worth something again! I give you your dignity back again! You are debt free and you may go on from here! Your debt has been cleared! Look up! I am your Saviour!'
Here is a tone of victory, a tone of hope, a tone of glorious forgiveness and joy of salvation! To all who would respond, it becomes a reality! Accept him now and say a prayer for healing for Stephen Stills on his birthday that his operation will be a success and that there will be a speedy recovery. He has blessed the world with such beautiful songs and music. And say a prayer for the comfort of those in Portland who will miss Barabara...
Help to pay the debt of someone else, a son, a daughter, a friend or associate, you will lift their heads and improve their self-worth tremendously! Jesus did it for us. Lets do it for others.

Smile, Jesus loves you!

2007-12-22T09:37:00.000+02:00

At the end of a year people think about a lot of things: what happened and what is going to happen next year? There is a lot of sadness and a lot of unfulfilled things, but also some sense of accomplishment and achievement as well as hope for the future. We are creatures of hope, otherwise we won't carry on.
A great secret is thanksgiving. The root word of thanks in Greek, is 'think' - so if we think a bit we have a lot to give thanks for! Out of thanksgiving the new goals and objectives should arise naturally. The most important thing is to think of others as well, not just yourself.
I once asked Hilton, my youngest son, at the end of the U/11 rugby season, 'what was your greatest moment on the rugby field this season?' Without hesitation he said, 'when I beat the Sacs flyhalf and gave that pass to Ty to score his try!' I must admit I was somewhat surprised. I would have thought that his greatest moment was when he kicked the winning conversion in the last minute to win the game for his team! But he was not thinking of his own achievement but of his involvement in the team!
Jesus said we can learn much from little children and so I learned!
In this time of Christmas people are thinking about buying presents for others. It is a good thing, although we should have learned by now that we ought to have good will throughout the year and not only at the end!
A thank you here and there, a kind word to people who do dull, routine work such as cashiers and people at toll gates, could just brighten up someone's day. A word of cheer, a joke shared, a piece of encouragement at the right time, a smile - these things cost us nothing and sometimes they are the greatest gifts!
Let your friendliness be known, Christ is at hand. This apostolic command has much substance in it. When we let our friendliness be known, people will experience Christ, close at hand.
Well, sometimes we have to be friendly to ourselves as well. We all do stupid things and even things we are ashamed of and wonder why on earth did I do it? It is painful to be reminded just how human we are at times. But I think these things are allowed to happen so that we do not think of ourselves more highly as we ought to think. Pride is an over estimation of oneself and under estimation of others. Inferiority is just the opposite. Humility is therefore a balanced, truthful estimation of one's self.
But the problem is that most people do not know who they are! Especially christians who go to seminars to discover their purpose in life! I am amazed how gullible believers are! They try so hard to believe that they are easily deceived! Faith is not an effort - it is a gift! But because preachers make merchandise out of people believers are led astray by cunniningly devised schemes and programmes that eventually make slaves out of the redeemed of the lord!
Oh, we simply have to learn to be thankful and to trust the Lord for tomorrow.
The old adage is still true today: I don't know about tomorrow, but I know who holds tomorrow!
So, saint, think for a while what is there to be thankful about during the past year and begin to place your trust in God for what lies ahead. This should round the year off and you will find that He always crowns the year with goodness!
Smile, Jesus loves you!

What's in a friendship?

2007-12-17T13:33:00.000+02:00

There are friendships that last and there are friendships that don't. What's the difference? It's hard to tell. But there has to be some sort of heart connection in order for any friendship to survive. I have found in my life that some friends are only for a short period of time, but there are some that last a life time. The ones that last are the ones you should make a special effort to retain. It is not so much how you service the friendship that makes it work, but the heart felt attitude towards someone.
A friend is not a necessarily perfect. A friend has faults. You accept the friend with the faults.
I once sat in a restaurant somewhere in America and the African American waitress slammed four giant glasses of ice cold water onto the wooden table. I was irritated by all the water on the table as the condensation slid down the glasses and onto the table. I called the waitress back.
'Look at the table: it's wet! And to tell you the truth I didn't even order the four glasses of water!'
'Well, you get the wet with the water, baby!' she replied and shrugged my complaint off with a wave of her hand.
Later on someone told me why you get water the moment you sit down in a restaurant in America: because someone choked to death in a restaurant and because there was no water on the table the family sued the restuarant, made millions and caused the restaurant owner to close down because he went bankrupt! Since then you get the wet with the water - whether you like it or not!
In a friendship you get the wet with the water as well!
Jesus called some ordinary guys to come and learn from him for a few years and then there was a twist in the tale. At a certain point in time, in John 15 we read about it, he said to them, ' I no longer call you servants, but my friends!' And then He qualified his requirements for friendship: 'you listen to what I tell you and you do what I ask you!' Simple! A friend always makes an effort to do what you ask, no matter how busy they are, and also knows when to listen and when to speak.
Plato described friendships that work only one was as a burden: the one who sees and advantage in a friendship is only a friend as long as he can take advantage. When the advantage is no longer on his side, he breaks the friendship and hates the one who did not give him what he wanted! I have been disillusioned by such friendships until I reread Plato again. ( I studied drama, languages and philosophy at UCT).
Well, there you are and there you have it - some thoughts for the holiday season about friendship. Think through on it and see whether you can determine who your real friends are!
Last year I experienced one of the high lights of my life: a few of my university friends met together in the south of France to reminisce under the Mediterranean sky for a week. And what a week it was! It reunited the friends after 35 years and each one told his story - some stories made us laugh and some made us cry, but we have been in contact every since and we are planning a get together in the USA this year when one of the guys turn 60!
In closing, let me say this, the best friend to have is Jesus...he will hear you when you call, he will keep you when you fall, and he is never too busy to be there for you! Try Him if you never have - it has divine dividents!

Ketchup? Of course sir!

2007-12-13T21:39:00.000+02:00

I sat in a restaurant in Benin City, at the Plaza hotel, mind-you, but it is not the kind you might expect in the good ol' USA! Here the only American thing is how they greet you: ' Yuh ah wulcum suh!' Everyone says it: from the security guard at the boom gate, to the receptionist, to the waitress, and they say it every time they see you. After a week you begin to accept the fact that you are welcomed!
So as I sat, waiting for my belated breakfast (you wait quite long for any orders, it is African time as far as everything is concerned including food on the menu) they brought my omelette, flat as a pancake. There were hints of ham and tomato. No cheese today. I wondered if I should roll it up or add some flavour and after due deliberation chose the latter as the better option.
'Any tomato sauce here?' I enquired of the waiter.
' No,' came the reply.
'Any kind of sauce?'
'We have ketchup.'
'Ok, I'll have the ketchup if you don't have any tomato sauce!'
'Yuh uh wulcum suh!'
It took a while for the ketchup bottle to arrive. I thought of a ditty we used to say at table: 'shake oh shake the ketchup bottle: first nothing will come and then a lottle!' The waiter finally arrived with the bottle of tomato sauce - at least that is what is written on the label. I tried to take it from him, but he seemed quite possessive and withdrew the bottle, informing me in no uncertain terms that he would pour the ketchup on my food. That he did - he unscrewed the top and poured in onto my flat omelette in no small measure! And then, this is the crux of the story: he proceeded ceremoniously to lick the top of the bottle clean with his protruding tongue!
My eyes were riveted on the ritual - surely it is a ritual because it was done in such style and audacity, I gathered that he had at least done this a thousand times before. There was no hesitation, no qualms, no inhibitions, no fear of man!
He closed the bottle with the lid. It was clean. Licked clean. And now, my eyes slowly lowered to my plate and my stomach turned...I had doubts, lots of them, and qualms, overwhelmed by them, and I was inhibited as well, but my fear was not the fear of man, but the fear of the ketchup that was poured from a previously licked tomato sauce bottle.
And all the other waitresses observed and watched as if to determine if this white man from the deep south would be man enough to stomach the sauces from this part of the world.
I took a deep breath and raised my knife and fork as a good soldier would, said, goodbye cruel world and plunged into my omelette, with such dexterity that before anyone could say Jack Rabbit I had consumed the entire helping and licked my own lips clean. I did not need any help doing that! No Sir, I was man enough to lick my own lips. If a man could not lick the communal ketchup bottle clean, then the least a man can do is lick his own lips! That I did, with aplomb!
'Did yuh enjoy yuh meeel Suh?'
'Yes, I did. And thanks for the ketchup!'
'Yuh uh wulcum Suh!'
I have never in my life seen a cleaner ketchup bottle or tomato sauce one either!
The next morning I ordered oats. Yea, oats, the stuff horses eat. Its very good for the digestion they say. I convinced myself that I needed no ketchup for the oats porridge. The waiter approached me after the oats: ' Yuh not havin omelette tuhday, Suh?'
'Not today, no!'
'Yuh wulcum Suh!'
As I strolled out of the punishment camp of a restaurant, I thought to myself, not today, not tomorrow and not ever again! My thoughts were so loud in my head that I turned around to see if anyone else heard what I was thinking! But they all went on their merry way doing their chores, waiting for the next prey to ask for tomato sauce.
Yea, a cruel place, Africa! One has to walk silently in the jungle...and bring your own ketchup bottle through customs!
Yea, this is based on a true event. There are more instalments of this nature awaiting the brave blog reader!

Just so wonderful to know

2007-12-10T21:46:00.000+02:00

So wonderful to know
By Andre Pelser
(A song composed after a Sunday night service in Cape Town)

Oh it’s so wonderful to know
That someone loves me so
It’s so marvellous to know
That someone loves me so

It’s not an old fashioned love song
It’s oh so real to me
It’s not an old fashioned love song
It’s so real to me

Oh the love of God
Is real to me
Oh the love of God
Is real to me

It’s so marvellous just to know
He loved me first
It’s so marvellous to know
That He loved me first

It makes me feel secure
It makes my heart pure
Just to know He loves me
It makes me feel secure
It makes my heart so pure
Just to know that Jesus loves me
Love so divine and it is mine

I know I don’t deserve it
But I’ll take it anyhow
It’s not just an old fashioned love song
No, it’s real to me right now

Oh, it’s so marvellous to know
That He loves me so
He gave His only Son to die for me
Oh it’s wonderful to know

Save the Whale

2007-12-05T13:59:00.000+02:00

'Mazing! (as Jackie Chan would say) how people would feel consciencious about things they can do absolutely nothing about, somethings like, 'Save the Southern Wale' or global warming that very few individuals even have a clue about. There are those wealthy individuals who would even contribute to causes that sound worthwhile for the planet, such as O3 solutions to the O-zone and the world raises billions to do aids research.
When we prayed for a prostitute who had aids and three physicians confirmed that she was cured, we wrote a letter to The Cape Times to say, God can do something about aids, for free! The letter was replied to on the front page the following day! In fact we were on the street posters on every light pole in the city streets: 'pastor gives false hope to aids victim!' Unbelievable but absolutely true.
The world would much rather believe the lie and keep on spending global fortunes to preserve the lie than to believe the truth that is gratis.
This was the case with Jesus. When he died and rose again, the soldiers were embarrassed because two angels broke the seal and rolled away the stone that was on the grave and they could do sweet blow all about it. When they reported this to their superiors and to the chief priests, the religious leaders concocted and paid for a lie that is still spread among Jews and other unbelievers, even to this day! They paid the soldiers a handsome sum of money to go and tell everyone that Jesus' disciples came at night and stole his body away while he slept, implying that he never really died. They also promised to protect this lie and if anyone told the governor about the soldier's bribe they would appease him. This is commonly reported among the Jews until this day!
How sad that money can preserve a lie! How sad that people prefer to believe the lie!
You see it everywhere, in schools, in business, in churches, in sport, in music competitions, in tournaments, in award ceremonies...there are associations and secret societies that preserve the lies they believe in and they make sure that there are 'soldiers' who would be prepared to spread their lies for a large sum of money.
How about this: a young man told me about a new job that he had taken up, how the previous guy was given a large sum of money to 'take the rap' on behalf of the top directors in order to protect them from public disgrace and so that the company could continue after a giant scam was exposed that could have ruined them. The man gladly retired after being singled out as the only person responsible for the corruption and lived happily ever after! Now it is the young man's job to clean up the mess.
These people exchange the truth of God for the lie and worship adn serve the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. They do not like to retain God in their knowledge. Therefore God has given them over to a debvased mind to do those things which are not fitting being filled with all unrighteousness...undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving and unmerciful. Those who practice such things are deserving of death but also those who approve of those who practice these evil deeds.
Come with me to some places I go to and do missionary work, at the airport or in the street, and you will see how bribery and corruption has become an acceptable life style. No wonder the judgment of God is upon the nations of the world today.
As we learn to judge ourselves, we would do well, to judge ourselves according to the written word of God, The Bible, and I am sure as we reform the world around us will reform as well. That is a start to changing the world...at least!

Speech Gives Us Away

2007-11-27T15:54:00.001+02:00

George Bernard Shaw said that only a small percentage of people contribute to the life force. He obviously included himself as an author. He had his set ideas about life and how to live it. It is clearly seen in the musical My Fair Lady where a conceited English gentleman by the name of Higgins transform a lowly flower girl into a posh lady by correcting the way she speaks. It is beautiful and very entertaining and one of my favourites.
In this account lies some seeds of reform that can bring about change. Mr. Higgins is an astute student of phonetics. He recognizes any English accent and can write it down in his notebook phonetically.
Peter was caught out at the fireside when a little servant girl accosted him with the fact that he was one of the disciples of Jesus. He denied it but eventually his speech gave him away. You sound like one of Jesus' followers. I always wondered how that sounded? How would Mr. Higgins have noted Peter's way of sounding like Jesus? If only someone had jotted it down we could all have copied it and imitated the Lord! But no one did. It remains an enigma!
But something in Peter the fisherman must have changed from walking around with the Master for almost three years. Something in his vocabulary must have been affected, something must have indicated that he sounded like Jesus, otherwise that comment would not have been made.
I sometimes wonder what I sound like. I don't like listening to any recordings of my preaching nor like to watch any DVD or video. I never liked watching me act on film either. It is such a vulnerable state - to watch yourself perform.
The performance demands the unveiling of a soul and that moment is intimate: it is you and the crowd, or if it is a film, you and the camera. Then it is over. To watch it again is embarrassing to say the least and the very core of the performance lies in the self-forgetfulness of the moment. You almost become someone else in order to reveal your heart. You perform.
I have been called to Perform The Word of God as a prophetic actor. Sometimes, while I am preaching I totally forget where I am and get completely honest with my audience about deep laying issues. In order to illustrate a truth I often forget myself and afterwards, when I think of all I've done, I cringe! I wonder if I should rather stop preaching and go back to acting, but then I remember the vow I made in Switzerland and the vow I made when Yvette was born in Sunnybank, Australia.
Many people say they see themselves when I act certain things out. Some say they heard the Lord or saw the Lord in me. That is the ultimate. I don't know how to perform the Lord or sound like Him, so He must have shown up somewhere during the Performing of His Word - maybe only in their imagination or in their mind, I don't know. I cannot control this appearance or revelation. If I could it would not be the Lord, would it? If I could switch it on or off I would be the magician and I could then display the Lord whenever I choose. That would be a form of witchcraft and spiritism.
Peter did not know when they would see the Lord in Him. Unfortunately it was in his worst moment of denying Christ three times before the cock crew, according to Jesus' prophetic warning to him. He went out and wept bitterly that he did not live up to the moment. But that is the difference between him and Judas Iscariot. Instead of weeping and seeking forgiveness Judas went and hung himself. He was too proud to admit a mistake.
Peter made mistakes, he was rebuked in front of the other disciples, he said the wrong things at the wrong times, he cut of Malchus' ear when they came to arrest Jesus in the garden and Jesus had to heal it and put it back on! He deserted Jesus and followed at a distance. He was not near the cross like John. He went back to fishing...back to his old ways...until Jesus showed up again and gave him three chances to repent from the three denials.
Then Jesus gave him a three fold commission: feed my sheep, feed my sheep, feed my lambs!

Peter chose to change. He waitied for power from on high and became the first person to preach under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and 3 000 people got converted to Christianity from Judaism!

Eventually people not only saw Jesus in Peter they tried to get into Peter's shadow to get healed by Jesus! Amazing tansition! He not only sounded like Jesus, but acted like Him as well. When they were arrested the chief priests took notice of him and John that they had been with Jesus. They were unlearned fishermen, but they had been with Jesus!

That is the key to change! That is the key to Reform! That is what this apostolic reformation is all about! The Spirit intimated to me, ' reform to be conformed to the image of Christ!' That is how we are going to change the world. When each one of us desires to spend more time with Jesus and to conform to the image of God's Firstborn Son, we are going to sound like Him, act like Him and people are going to try to get into our shadows to get healed by Him.

Can a blogspot change the world? Yes it can! Translate this into any given language and send it out to the world! You have my permission! I Andries Jacobus Pelser, known as Andre, give you permission to translate these words into your language and distribute it for the glory of God.

We can change the world

2007-11-23T10:00:00.000+02:00

My favourite group of all time Crosby, Stills and Nash (CS&N) sang ' We can change the world' in Graham Nash's song about Chicago. It starts off with, ' so your brother's bound and gagged and they tied him to a chair, would you please come to chicago just to sing, in a land that is known as freedom how can such a thing be fair, won't you please come to Chicago for the help that we can bring, we can change the world, re-arrange the world, its dying...to get better!'
How can we change the world with blog spaces? How can we communicate reforms in society, reforms in hearts and minds, is it a shot in the dark, a voice in the wilderness, or just shadow boxing, everyone trying their best to express their feelings, like a radio announcer hoping somebody out there is listening and not knowing if there is an audience!
Unfortunately CS&N spoke out against all rules and regulations ('who needs them?') in their song about changing the world. One has to remember that they were from the Woodstock Love and Freedom Hippie Generation that promoted free sex and drugs - that is the kind of world they wanted and which their songs inform their fans about, ' if you can't be with the one you love, love the one your with' (Stephen Stills).
So although they are my favourite group, their kind of new world order is something I have distanced myself from. Their gospel is not the Gospel I preach. So although I enjoyed their high riding harmonies and their unique sound on the guitars, I cannot agree with their philosophy.
We already know that free sex and drugs have almost destroyed, not changed, the world.
I will write more later - off to school to watch Hilton swim and ride a box cart!

What can I do for you?

2007-11-01T06:13:00.000+02:00

Bob Dylan on his Saved Album sings, ' You have given me everything, what can I do for you?' It is a reminder of what Saul asked Jesus when he was knocked of his religious high horse on his way to Damascus to kill Christians who followed Christ, to drag them out of their homes, imprison them and approving their stoning like he did with the first Christian martyr, Stephen. Imagine his surprise when Jesus said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, and then Jesus said, it is hard for you to kick against the goads!
You goad cattle to go into the dire straits of a cattle dip! Goads are sharp pointed sticks that prod you in the right direction.
Here was Saul with written permission from the Sanhedrin to destroy the first church and he was thinking he was doing God a favour. But when Jesus appeared to him, he was struck blind (temporarily) by the blindening light and he fell off his horse and heard a voice speak to him, because he could not see.
His first reaction was to ask, ' who are you Lord?' Then Jesus told him who He was. His second question was, ' What can I do for you?'
Either it was a wonderful Jewish salesman speaking or someone scared out of his wits, or it must have been his trained habit to respond in a similar fashion.
I once asked a friend of my father who was a very successful book keeper in Krugersdorp, Oom Joubert, what made him so prosperous. He said, 'Andre, when someone walks through that door I think, what can I do for that person!' Here lies the secret: he did not think, 'how much money can I make from this person!'
It is the thought behind the words that give weight to them. Many times I have walked into shops or restaurants and walked out again, even though I was asked, ' Can I help you?' Just because the words were insincere and empty.
In South Africa waiters and waitresses normally do it just for the tips. They do not get salaries, so it is a cheap way to staff the restaurant by hiring students. They are all studying to become something else than waiters. Their hearts are not in what they are doing. They will tell you so. Then why be served by them in the first place?
In Portugal, even in the tiniest sidewalk restaurant, old men, dressed smartly in bow tie and waist coat (black) will ask you if they could help you and actually mean it with all their hearts because they are plying their trade and wish to do nothing else: this is their lives! What a difference it makes to be served by professionals!
In life we do a lot of things and try a lot of things, but when we can truly say, 'what can I do for you?' and mean it, we will find our destiny and enjoy a purposeful life - instead of seeking our purpose with five easy steps as some books and seminars sell it to you!

From my Window

2007-10-25T15:26:00.000+02:00

From my window at Hotel Costa de Prata in Figeuira da Foz, Portugal, I could see the coast, the fishing harbour, a large open space with cobble stones, a few parked cars and an ancient stone building, almost in ruins, but with a notice of hope: a company has bought it to restore it! What a message lies there!
It is fenced in and secured with special boardwalks for pedestrians in rue Eugeneiro Silva. Most people walk past without giving it the eye. It is nothing to look at, really! The windows are all broken and the roof is rusted, the plaster work has been eroded and fallen off revealing the raw stonework underneath. The iron rails in front of the little balconies are brittle with rust and the marble slats around the window panes and door frames are riddled with holes and cracks.
There is no one inside. There are no birds nesting in the roof or crevices. The building in its dilapedated state is utterly forsaken...its former glory totally forgotten.
In the silence of the October morning Ihear the old building whisper, 'I once was a magnificent edifice...' but the stifled words are shut off from its mute mouth, the door space has been cemented in. Inside is nothing but dirt and dust - its not fit for human occupation now.
But there is a sign outside that says, 'under construction'! This is a sign of hope, a note of faith, a light in the darkness.
Someone saw potential in this old ruin on the beach front. There is someone who is prepared to go to great expenses and trouble to restore it to its former usefulness.
Paul wrote an epistle to Philemon in which he tells him about his former slave Onesimus. Onesimus means ' useful', but Onesimus stole from Philemon and the slave was imprisoned. Paul was innocently imprisoned for the Gospel's sake and found Onesimus in prison. He made a convert of him and sent him back at the time of his release to his former master, Philemon, with a letter from Paul.
In the letter Paul reminded Philemon that the latter owed him his life and that he wanted him to take Onesimus back, not just as a servant, but now as a brother in Christ. He that once was useless to you has become useful in the ministry! Paul offered to pay Philemon anything Onesimus might still owe him. Then Paul ended the letter by saying he will soon visit Philemon as well.
All of us had our lives ruined by sin. Our usefulness waned until we were no longer of any use to anybody. We were cast out on the ash heap of life. No one paid attention to us any longer. People walked right past us without noticing our need. People avoided us like the plague.
But then the Master builder, Jesus Christ, in his mercy took notice of us and looked beyond our ruined state and saw potential in us that no one else could see!
He fenced us in with his love and began the reconstruction process to repair the damage that sin had caused.
Perhaps there is a life out there that needs that sign of hope to be put onto the building!
Paul pleaded with Philemon to receive Onesimus ' as my own heart. he was once unprofitable for you but now he will be profitable for both you and me. For perhaps he departed a while for this purpose: that you might receiv him forever! If he has wronged you or owes you anythng put that on my account!'
Jesus put all our wrong doing and sins on His account and paid for it on the cross with his own blood - without blood there is no remission of sins according to the spiritual law. Here is the good news: God has accepted his offer to purchase your old ruined life so that He might rebuild it again...
Can you see what I saw out of my hotel window in Figeuria?

Love minus zero

2007-10-17T10:02:00.000+02:00

In Castlecary I caught a program on Dylan on TV and listened how people described him. They showed The Newport Festival, The Madhouse (a Pinteresque play in which Dylan performed the lead role in Britain) and snatches of footage not seen before.
This morning in Birmingham Graham got me onto BBC Music where they feature a lot of Dylan's music and even his own radio programme. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/bobdylan/tvradio/
He sang: 'My love she speaks in silence...with no ideals of violence... at dime stores and gas stations people talk about situations...the night blows cold and rainy my love sits at my window like a raven with a broken wing...' (from Love Minus Zero). Images flow like water in Bob Dylan's songs and remain in the mindbanks of listeners for a life time. They once asked him how he remembers all his songs and he said, a song walks by itself: it is like a footpath in a field, once you find it again you just walk along the path. But he must have an amazing memory!
When he received an honoury doctorate degree for his contribution to the English language at a university graduation he wrote the song, ' The Locusts sang' describing how he wanted to get out of that stuffy place and how the locusts the dark hills of Dakota were calling him away. He described the pomp and circumstance of the academic occasion as follows: 'when I stepped up to the stage to pick up my degree, the man next to me, his head was exploding, I was praying the pieces wouldn't fall on me!'
He sings about ' Hazel, with your dirty brown hair, I would want to be seen with you anywhere!' and then of another love of his life, ' You angel you, I've got you under my skin'.
When Nola and I were invited onto the creative team of Youth For Christ in Johannesburg (in our young days!) we were asked to produce a night of Dylan's music because it became public knowledge that Dylans was now saved and he produced Gospel albums for Atlantic Records. So we did a lot of research and watched some old movies of him and The Band with Robbie Robertson touring through America and we read interview after interview in music magazines like Rolling Stone in libraries (there was no internet in those days to surf around) and put together a one and a half hour programme that we performed in the Old Rosebank Cinema in Orange Grove that became a church (Reg Bendixon, I think was the pastor's name). YFC posted the following on the Bill Board outside the building: ' Dylan Sat 7pm'
By the time we got there we couldn't get in! The place was jam-packed! In fact the stage was full of teenagers and we hardly had space to stand when performing. They were sitting around our feet. I had special front teeth made for the occassion and wore a curly wig and sunglasses and a white hat, but I couldn't sing with the false teeth over my own teeth, so I did without it.
They had to turn many people away - they all thought it was the real Dylan. At the back of the hall the director of the avant garde Market Theatre, Mannie Mannim, stood there and watched the whole performance. Afterwards he squeezed into the dressing-come-prayer-room and introduced himself and asked if we could come and perform it at his theatre. The rest is history! We performed it for the next two years around the county with our own band, The Road Band, and had tours up and down the country, to Durban, Cape Town, Kimberley! Aje our first born son grew up on stage in a way! He had his own little guitar, cowboy hat and boots. (When I worked for Pacofs as an actor he and Nola also toured with me from town to town and sat on stage while I performed!)
One night a man came backstage in the Market Theatre after a performance with tears streaming down his cheeks saying, ' I want to know this Jesus you are singing about!' We prayed with him. This happened everywhere we performed the show. We didn't make money and hardly covered cost, but we covered a lot of ground and reached a lot of people throughout our country. The show was entitled, ' Forever Young' and here are some of the words I remember:
'May God bless and keep you always, may your wishes all come true, may you always do for others and my others do for you, may you build a stairway to the stars and climb on every wrung, and may you stay for every young!'
When they asked Dylan about his faith when he no longer produced Gospel albums he said, 'I've said everything I wanted to say in those albums! I'm a song writer. I write songs. If you want to know what I believe, just listen to my songs!' At one live concert a few years ago he opened the evening with these words, 'Everyone has a hero. My hero is Jesus Christ!' and then sang ' You gotta serve somebody!'
A good idea would be to listen to his Gospel music and find out what he believes and then make up your own mind. He never minces his words - not even when he explains how to get saved!

I learned my lesson well

2007-10-16T10:41:00.000+02:00

There is only one place in the world where the phrase, 'Firth of the Fourth' makes sense: Scotland. A firth is a bay! Scotland is so steeped in history that it would take a life time to relate it all. But there were many interesting anecdotes I picked up in my third visit to this beautiful land with its high black mountains, green flowing hills and valleys and a people with strange accents (of course our accents are strange to them again.) The same word and name could mean two different things in different countries!

Glaswegians are people who live in Glasgow! To us it would means something about glass! Dunoon is a popular place to visit in Scotland, to us in Cape Town it is a squatter village. Sutherland is a wild and wide place but to us in South Africa it is known as the place where all the observatories are located. Elgin in the Cape is known for its fruit, but in Scotland it is Macbeth area, where the witches operated from. Orkney is a little mining town in the West Transvaal, but to the Scots it is the place with precipitous cliffs dropping to the sea leading to the low hills of Orkney, near the Arctic circle.

There are many valuable lessons to be learned in the history of Scotland.

The first town on the border between England and Scotland is called Gretna Green. Here many runaway lovers from England got married by a blacksmith who performed the ceremony over his anvil and tapped his anvil to announce them as man and wife! According to English law young lovers have to be 18 to get married, but in Scotland 16 was the marrying age. They would elope and get the smith to marry them, being pursued by angry parents, of course! Parents struggle to understand the chemistry between young lovers! We need to have faith to allow God to bring people together in his way and his time or else we will experience Gretna Greens as well!

Common Riding is something the Scots do in summer: they ride along the borders on horseback to recall the days of the great raids in the moors! What do you and I remember about our nation's past? Is there something you want to commemorate? They turned evil raids into a pleasant past time for this generation.
The body snatchers were people in Edinburgh who dug up coffins to sell corpses to Medical Researchers who needed to dissect the bodies. This trade fell into disrepute when the merchants started murdering people to sell fresh bodies to the Medics! Greed makes murderers of us all - when the only driving force in life is to make a profit, all morals and ethics get thrown out the window!

John Gray's grave is famous because his terrier, Bobby, watched over his grave for fourteen years after his death. A statue has been erected to commemorate Bobby's loyalty to his master in Candlemaker's Row. Loyalty is something we need to restore in our relationships and our attitudes towards one another and to the cause we give ourselves to. Let us learn this lesson from the little dog, Bobby!
The coat of arms of Glasgow depicts a salmon. It refers to one of St. Mungo's miracles. The queen of Cadzow (now Hamilton) gave her wedding ring to her favourite courtier. The king noticed it and stole the rign from the courtier and threw it into the river Clyde. Then he demanded the rign back from her on pain of death. In despair the queen went to St Mungo and asked for help. He sent a man to the river and bring the first fish he caught back it to him. In the mouth of the fish there was the missing ring! Sometimes we also throw away what we most treasure and we need a miracle to recover it! But, miracles do happen - so do not despair.

The Clyde was a narrow, shallow river until they widened and deepened it to make Glasgow the second city in the Empire because of the new possibilities of trade and ship building! The Queen Mary and both the QE I & II were built in these shipyards. Perhaps we need to deepen and widen our outlook on life in order to be more productive and to enrich our lives!

Sterling Bridge was the place where both Brave heart William Wallace and Robert the Bruce defeated the English armies to bring independence to Scotland in their respective generations in 1297 and 1314. We have to serve our generations like David according to the will of God for our lives to set people free from sin and religious bondage! Let's be brave hearts for God!

Aunty Raper

2007-10-12T09:57:00.000+02:00

Here I go again! Since I was 12 and old aunty Raper came to our house in 65 Gardiner Street, Brakpan, I have literally lived to fulfill a one line prophecy: 'Young man, you have a calling from God and God will also use you in other lands!'
I looked at Apostle Paul's travels and then drew a world map and traced my travels over the years...it turned out to be a work of modern art! There were too many lines coming and going to other lands! I think Paul would have loved to own a jet of his own! Imagine what he would have done - then again he needed the secluded time in prison to write all the epistles. I wonder if he ever thought that his letters would outlive him by 2000 years?
Luke wrote a thesis to Theophilus to convince him of the reality of Jesus Christ and the work of the Apostles. He never thought it would be part of a bible.
Well, someone said, we are all writing a bible, a chapter every day - say, what is the bible according to you? André's Gospel is just like the bible, I suppose: there are good thing and things I would like to forget as well! It is hard to understand how God can forgive and forget. We struggle to forgive ourselves, let alone other people!
Luckily God sent His Son Jesus Christ to come and feel what it was like to be a human being - with all our faults and inbuilt failure systems! Yet, being human is no longer an excuse for making terrible mistakes and being defeated, because Jesus offers his life when we are willing to deny our old lives and to put our faith in Him.
Faith is a strange thing...the moment you are too much aware of your effort to believe it dissipates the substance of faith! It is in self-forgetfulness that we achieve most things. A mother lifts a car at the scene of an accident to get her little child out from underneath the wreck! Ask her to do that at any other time and she won't be able to do it!
So, when I made my life's travel map, I suddenly became too aware of my effort to fulfill an old prophecy and didn't want to trace my steps any more. When I try to be perfect I make such terrible mistakes that I have to hang my head and confess I need some help!
The bubble of the rest of faith is something that brings success, godly success, without much effort. There is no self-talk involved. When we do everything whole heartedly as unto the Lord, we can do amazing things.
God is able to do all things. He gives us ability to do things. When we use our god-given abilities to do things, He is glorified in us. We glorify the one who created us by doing what he enabled us to do!
My dad was a pilot in the Air Force during WWII. Perhaps I have inherited some of his genes for I simply love to fly. So here I go again - off to Scotland this time, then on to Portugal and then back to London and back home again.
If I try to calculate all the costs involved in all my travels it boggles my mind...how on earth was I able to do it for a life time, never knowing where the money for the next ticket will spring from? Let me not think on't...
Something I love doing, that I have been doing for most of my life, that I am committed to do for the rest of my life as long as I am spared and kept healthy is to go to other lands to spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God and to help people to be free...to be themselves...as God made them! No longer slaves of systems and manipulation of others!
I prayed in John Knox's prayer room up in his house in Edinburgh the first time I went to Scotland. There is nothing in the room. Just a cement floor. Well, prayer needs no furniture or outward stimulation, it is an inward journey. So before I go to other lands, I go within, and pray and see in the spirit the land I am going to...I view the Promised Land and then go out to conquer...in the Name of the one who sent me with a simply prophecy from an old lady when I was 12. Who would have believed a little boy from Brakpan would have travelled the globe?

The way Jimmy plays!

2007-09-02T17:30:00.000+02:00

Listening to Jimmy Smith the Master of the B3 Hammond Organ while blogging takes me back to the first time I went into a record booth at a store, armed with a Jimmy Smith LP under my arm, and putting on those old round leather ear phones, boosting the volume and being transported to another world of music altogether!
The only music I was used to I heard in church, really, because we were not allowed to listen to the Beatles as PK's (Pastor Kids). So the almost guilt that washed over me as I stole away into the booth literally excited me in a way. The Pentecostal church made the road to heaven narrower as what it was meant to be.
When I began playing the organ ala Jimmy Smith people in church complained that I'm playing Jazz in church - as if that was a lethal sin!
Then I discovered Bob Dylan and then you should have heard the religious hypocrites lash out. They even got up and walked out of church when I played and sang my own compositions.
Dear Lord, it was God's mercy that I kept on being a believer, although I also finally walked out of the church, because of the condemnation and the lack of knowledge: every Sunday you were preached guilty and hell was held out in front of your eyes in no uncertain terms and you had to hear, 'what if a truck should run you down, young man, as you leave this church tonight, where will you spend eternity?' It is amazing that preachers never invited 'old men' to make right with God, I mean, given all the odds, who is closer to the edge, the young or the old?
Then we would sing meaningless songs about 'I'll fly away oh glory!' I never quite knew what we were singing about, because the pie-in-the-sky religious hype eventually wore me out so that I went on my own pathway seeking my holy grail.
It wasn't until I ended up in the Arizona desert and discovered the meaning of the words, 'Kingdom of God' that I found peace in my heart and direction for the rest of my life. I was tired of singing 'seek ye first the kingdom of God and all things shall be added unto you', and hearing the preachers tell me that you will only inherit the kingdom when you die. So what about the things? What about the things a young man wanted? What used would those things be after I die? It just did not make sense.
But when I worked my way steadily through the bible under the patronage of Dr. Roy M. Gray, the principal at Miracle Valley Bible College, Arizona, I came to Romans 14:17 that explicitly tells us that the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink , but in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. At last I found the kingdom I had been looking for so long: it no longer mattered if I ate halaal or kosher meat, or whether I drank wine or not, the Kingdom of God was on a deeper level - it was within! And what's more, it was my Heavenly Father's good pleasure to give me the kingdom - I did not have to forcibly grab it from anyone! Phew! Whatarelief!
So, as Jimmy, the late Jimmy Smith, I might add, plays us out with Wes Montgommery on Les Paul guitar, I am so grateful that I can listen with peace in my heart to music I really love, without guilt or condemnation, and know that I am right with God through faith in Christ Jesus'complete sacrifice for our sins on the cross of Calvary! This give me joy in my heart and I will not trade it for anything else in life! This is life in the Kingdom of God - on earth!
This is my prayer for anyone who cares to read my blog: may you enter the reality of knowing the kingdom of God and finding the things you love being added to you, in this life, and in the life to come, eternal fellowship with God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and with all the spirits of just men and women who were perfected! May He perfect that which concerns you and I - today - and may we be instruments to extend His kingdom in the hearts of men, women and children as we go about our daily affairs.
I just love the way Jimmy plays!...

Fast Pace Change

2007-08-31T17:47:00.000+01:00

‘Six months ago we would not have believed it was possible to run a DIY computer course on your own computer, with our Head Quarters in America and our software technology in Cape Town!’ One of our IT guru’s confessed to me at our BAND OF BROTHERS monthly meeting at Harvester Reformational Church.

It seems that all things have become possible in the IT business – anything goes! Cell phones are so advanced that they might soon replace laptops or perhaps there is something else being designed as I am writing that will make cell phones completely obsolete within two years! Wireless communication has taken on an ID of its own!

Changes are coming so fast at us that it is hard to keep up! It is like travelling through space: there is so much to discover but we are going to fast!

In the old days we used to speak of ships passing at night – the romantic notion of two slow moving objects with dim lit decks filled with lonely passengers all hoping to find their wealth or happiness in another country, another place.

But today everything has been speeding up – fast and furiously!

When teenagers watch a movie, they remark: ‘it’s so slow…it takes forever to get going!’ So the Bourne Identity trilogy with its neck breaking speed and hand held camera shots capture the attention of the youth because the pace never lets down and the editing is in touch with the modern stressful lifestyle of constantly being bombarded with images and info and having to make quick decisions all the time until there is a blow up or a collapse!

Everything in our age has to be a convenience before people purchase the product! Tokyo’s brand Uniqlo has brought fashion retailing into the age of the convenience store.. It sells nothing but T shirts packed into clear plastic tubes and stacked like so many cans of soda. The store is named UT – and nothing costs more than $12!

The concept of an Internet Café is already outdated! Some people have never even used one! Today the Geek Terminal Restaurant in Singapore you get a laptop to use with a battery charger and any power device you require and power supply sockets are within easy reach of every customer. Wall mounted flat screens display websites and banner ads and anything you see you can buy because the restaurant doubles as a sales agent for Apple and TV makers in Malaysia. Oh, by the way, you can also order food in the restaurant! The next restaurant to open is in Kuala Lumpur and then Dubai and London. The mere provision of a wi-fi isn’t going to cut it any more! (Time, Aug 20, 2007)

Sweden now has one sauna for every five people in Helsinki, Finland! Sauna Bars, Sauna Laundry Café’s, restaurants such as Eatz, and Baker’s night club offers private lounges for 8 people all require reservations at $28 a head for two hours. Even Bowling alleys have saunas in Helsinki!

Just look around you – see what changes fast – and see the pace of change in your neighbourhood as a sign of the times we are living in.

In this fast paced life of constant change…there is an anchor: our faith in an unchangeable God! When everything else changes, He remains the same!

Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever! That is why we can anchor our hopes and our faith on Him. He is always the same! There is no shadow of change with Him. We are securely connected to Him. He doesn’t constantly demand more fees for higher upgrades. He has already paid the full price for a life long membership in His Household of Faith where there are constant supplies of everything we need for this life and for the life hereafter. Only a fool will say in his heart, there is no God!

Then again, living at Sunset Beach, Cape Town, I see the sunsets, every night, and I say to myself, (Sachmo), ‘what a wonderful world’ and I see the ships on the horizon at night passing each other with dim lit lanterns on their decks and yellow dots for cabin lights and I hear the sound of the fog horn in the distance and see the beam of light from Milnerton Lighthouse and the one from Mouillie Point and I think to myself, nothing has really changed much…

Clean up time

2007-08-26T09:20:00.001+01:00

"I can't go to the toilet at school!" Hilton remarked. I thought at first that he had a problem but he assured me that the toilets were in such a terrible state that they cannot be used! It's hard to believe that a school with so many sporting facilities and excellent staff and academic records do not pay attention to the most basic human needs.
When I questioned the vice-head about it he assured me that it actually is a problem - a huge problem and they do not know what to do about it. Two years ago a lot of money was spent on repairs, but the boys break the seats, the break the urinals and the towel rails off the wall, the mess the place up and have no respect for the facilities...and they issue is addressed from time to time at assembly.
"Why don't you give the boys toilet duty to clean the place up - then they will soon keep it in a decent order!" One of the mothers suggested.
"You don't know how parents will react to a suggestion like that!"
Well, perhaps the parents need to come and do the cleaning up after the mess their boys make at school! There should also be a maintenance team and procedure in place to keep it in order.

Why is it like that in public places? What is wrong with people? What is wrong with boys and girls - the one mother assured us it was just as bad at girl's schools!

The problem lies with our values: we are all easily taken up with the outward impressiveness of things, but the inner reality is often ignored...so the school will spend a lot of money to upgrade the entrance so that the first impression is good, but the toilets remain a problem.

Isn't this exactly what Jesus referred to when he rebuked the Pharisees for being so particular about the outside of a cup but inside it is filthy? Isn't this an indictment against humanity that pays so much attention to the appearance of things rather that the inner beauty and the things of the spirit?

Paul warned that terrible times would come in the latter days because of three reasons: people would be lovers of themselves, lovers of money and lovers of pleasure. As a resutl of these three priorities everything else would be sadly neglected! No wonder the preaching of the cross has once again become foolishness to most preachers - they have to preach motivational messages to tickle the ears of the people, to gather teachers to teach what people would like to hear, to satisfy the insatiable appetite of the human ego, instead of crudifying the self-life with Christ so that the life of Christ may be seen...

Dr. Roy M. Gray told me once at Miracle Valley Bible College in Arizona, where I went to study the bible, that a person's real character can be measured by how that person views the Cross of Jesus Christ...If such a great sacrifice does not move someone to respond with gratitude, what else would? People are basically ungrateful and can never get enough of what they want. But when we have crucified the flesh with its lusts, we step into another lifestyle of living for a higher purpose, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the establisment of His kingdom in the hearts of men, women and children.

Maybe it is time to clean up our act together with the effort the school will make to repair the toilets - but more than that , pehaps it is time to teach our children to be grateful again, by setting and example for them! Maybe it is time that people pray a prayer of thanksgiving at every meal to acknowledge the hand of God in providing for them in their basic needs. Maybe it is time to learn to give rather than to live to get. Maybe we need to pay our tithes to the church and tax to the governmnet and not find reasons not to do so. Maybe we need to appreciate each other again and make room for mistakes, but to learn from our mistakes...

Maybe prayer and meditation in the Bible should become priority in our homes again and replace the TV as the principle law giver and standard for our families. Maybe we ought to be thankful just for being alive today...It is a good thing to give thanks - that is the will of God.

I heard the news today O boy

2007-08-26T09:18:00.001+01:00

When the Beatles sang their song, 'I heard the news today, oh boy!' it was pretty tame in those years to hear what was going on in the world. Since then things have increased with a speed! There are so many wars and rumours of wars, that it is hard to keep up with it all today. Violence and corruption have escalated to an alarming extent and the natural disasters are spelling the end-time in such clear signals that only fools would fail to pay attention!
The inconvenient truths as they claim are based on global warming statistics and people are scared about all that might transpire in the near future. Terrorism is making normal life impossible and religious fanatics actually seek heroic exists out of this life - only problem is they always want to take out as many people with them as they possibly can!
The result is basic: people are living one day at a time: I might die any moment so I might as well enjoy today! This type of attituce is often found in times of war. Licenciousness is something people explain to justify actions they would otherwise have ignored. Anarachy grows out of licenciousness, people become lawless...
Where there is no vision, people perish. The Lord laments in His Word, 'My people perish from a lack of knowledge!' And yet at the same time there are prophetic utterances that in the end-time knowledge shall increase! We have to ask ourselves, what kind of knowledge do we lack and what kind of knowledge is increasing in our time. And then we have to make a concerted effort to absorb the right kind of knowledge and avoid the kind that simply wastes our time!
The public media is hell-bent on sensationalism to sell their newspapers and keep people glued to the TV ('Don't go away - we have more for you in a moment!')
What is the role of apostles and prophets of the Lord Jesus Christ in these alarming times? What is the role of every believer? How do we manage our lives and stay in touch with reality in the midst of a world that seems to be spinning out of control?
There is a simple way: there is a short and easy method of prayer that Madame Guyon prescribed to her disciples. When you open your heart to God in prayer after meditating in the Bible (and you must first believe that it is the inpsired Word of God!) then you can simply allow the presence of God to cleanse you from all the dirt and filth of the world, and to commune with you in such a way that your heart will be uplifted and encouraged, and you will sense the comfort only the Holy Spirit can bring!
Try it...now. It does not have to be long...5 minutes is tremendously refreshing!