I HAVE.... SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR

I truly have so much to be thankful for...

During May this year, I was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in my bladder. Shocking news.

I was operated on the next day and the tumor was removed. There were no malignant cells found in the lining of the bladder at the time.

Three months later, in August, malignant cells were in fact found in the lining of the bladder, but not in the muscle of the bladder, and the Urologist recommended, and we proceeded, with six chemo therapy sessions, direct into the bladder.

This relatively new treatment procedure in fact entails tuberculosis bacteria being injected directly into the bladder through a catheter. It is a very quick, painless procedure and is not accompanied by the usual nausea and vomiting as with other forms of chemotherapy. It also does not result in the usually expected loss of hair. It does however cause a heightened termperature as the body immune system fights and kills the TB bacteria and, hopefully, also the cancer cells. The body also reacts in unprescribed ways, resulting in short bouts of pain in any of a number of places. The palms of my hands and soles of my feet itched and I felt very tired from time to time.

As I am living alone, my sister Carol very graciously agreed to come and spend the six weeks during the chemo therapy treatment with me, leaving her husband to fend for himself. I truly appreciate this gracious loving gesture on her part and we had lots of  fun while she was here. It reminded us how much we had in common, how well we used to get along when we were young and sharing a flat and it was a wonderful time of laughter notwithstanding the circumstances.

I asked her to let me take her to visit her old Cape Town friends over weekends and told her to feel free to  contact and invite any of her old friends to visit. She phoned an acquaintance we both knew 50 years ago and invited him to come and have coffee with us; he accepted, came over and I now am engaged to be married to him on 8 December, God willing!

WOW!!! That certainly was not what I expected when I was diagnosed and registered as a cancer statistic of South Africa! I have been on my own for 23 years and two weeks before we re-met, I still proclaimed that I would never remarry! A couple of people have since reminded me of that statement!

Well, all I can say is that we both know that God engineered this meeting and that we have His blessing! He also had been diagnosed with and treated for cancer about six months ago, in fact in April this year, and I am very thankful to say that his test results yesterday came back clean and normal! All praise to God for His loving mercy and kindness.

We do not know what the future holds - but neither does anybody else - we just know that our lives are in God's hands and that we are secure in Him. Praise Him with us!

                       " And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,
                        to those who are the called according to His purpose." Rom. 8:28

                        "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ."
                        1 Thess 5: 18

Thank You, Lord, that our lives are safe and secure in Your mighty hands and that You know the end from the beginning.

DO YOU HAVE REASON TO BE THANKFUL?

The second event that was related to me, is this :

A colleague of mine was waiting in her car to fetch her daughter at her daughter's school.

She had her window down for some fresh air, and saw two homeless people, a male and a female, approaching. The male was carrying a small plastic chair which one of them had obviously picked up somewhere.

As they approached, she could hear the male say to his friend:

"Last night I asked the Lord to be good to us today and to provide for us, just like He does every other day."

WOW!!

They have nothing... no home, no car, no employment, no roof over their heads, no bedding, no proper clothing, etc. etc. etc. - yet, he knows to acknowledge and be thankful that God provides their every need every day!

This story silenced me... how often do we grumble with the proverbial loaves of white bread under the arm ... plus a home, plus a car, plus a job, plus, plus, plus....

                      16 Rejoice always,k 17 pray continually,l 18 give thanks in all
                       circumstances;m for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
                       1 Thess. 5: 16-18

Thank You, for every single blessing from Your hand, every single moment of every day, Lord God. Open our eyes to recognize each blessing and to see and respond to the needs of others for Your name's sake.

THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER...

Two tales were told me this week, which absolutely fascinated me... more than that, they were no mere tales, but actual happenings, which makes it even more fascinating, uplifting and worthy of sharing with the rest of the world.

I will only tell you the one today... the one about the elephant whisperer...

This man lived here in our beautiful South Africa. He was an animal lover, especially loved elephants and spent a lot of time with them. He was so well acquianted with the wild elephants, their habits and nature that people who knew him named him the "elephant whisperer"...

Well, I heard of his death  through a radio broadcast the other day.  The fascinating thing is that two days after his death, 31 wild elephants arrived at his home. According to the radio broadcast his wife was said to say that there had been no elephants near his house for a long time... and yet, two days after his death, the time it must have taken these 31 elephants to walk from their home environment to his home, they arrived and circled his house, standing there for two days and two nights without eating or drinking anything. Were they mourning, do you think - paying their last respects to a single homo sapient who had taken the trouble to get to know and understand them, to offer them friendship, love  and understanding across all barriers separating their species...touching their lives with tenderness and compassion? I do believe so. They are known to mourn their own dead as well...

It brought a marshmallow softness in the middle of my chest, and a glint to my eyes, to understand that here was further tangible, unequevical  evidence of the existence, love, grace, mercy, wisdom, power of Almighty God who could install in an wild animal in the veld the ability to understand, appreciate and reciprocate the love and understanding that it had been afforded by a single human creature; the tracking ability possessed by them to know not only in which direction to search but to pinpoint and find the exact location of his home!!! What a performance of displaying grief and respect with quiet dignity when they could instead have performed with violent aggression or even a powerful display of their destructive power. What a joy to know that God cares so very very much, even for the animals... how much more then, will He, who is indescribably wise and compassionate, not give to us, whom He called the crown of His creation,  the same gifts and show us the same mercy and grace....

                          "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal
                           power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from
                           what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Rom. 1:20

Thank You, Lord, for reminding us, through the love and compassion of our fellow human beings, as well as the animals who tread the earth, of your power and invisible qualities. May we strive to honour you by displaying likewise Your nature in extending mercy and grace to all around us.

IN THE DESERT...

Have you ever been in a desert?  Maybe the Namib? Or the Sahara?

I have been to the Namib a couple of times, but that was way back.... I think the last time I visited there was in 1977.

Whilst it is a very arid, dry, thirsty place to be, it has a majestic beauty all of its own. The colours and the contours of the sand dunes are really a sight to behold and to remember.

What were your emotions as you stood in the desert? Awed, fearful, excited? Perhaps you were not as blessed as me to just be visiting the desert; perhaps you had to stay there for a while or got lost in the desert....

Now in Biblical times there were a number of people living in the desert. If you remember, the Israelites, after God brought them out of Egypt, wandered the desert for 40 years! Wow! I do not envy them. To crown it all, the road they had to travel could have been done in 10 days! But God's anger flared up againt them and He took them the long way because of their disbelief and lack of faith and courage :

                    "⁹ For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they dis-
                    couraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the
                    land which the Lord had given them. ¹⁰ So the Lord’s anger was aroused
                    on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, ¹¹ ‘Surely none of the men who
                    came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of
                    which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly
                    followed Me, ¹² except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and
                    Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’ ¹³ So the
                    Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the
                    wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight
                    of the Lord was gone."

But, even though the Lord God was angry with them and did not relent but kept them in the desert for the full 40 years, still, during that period of time, He  was the provider in all of their needs and they saw many , many miracles take place in the desert.

Now in the New Testament, we find John the Baptist also in the desert. He apparently lived their for years as well :

                      " 3. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate
                       being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
                       tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of
                       Abilene, ² while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests,^[a] the word of God
                       came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. ³ And he went into all
                       the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the re-
                       mission of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet..."

He was not there because God was angry with him. No, it had been his natural habitat for some time, and a place where he was easily accessible to God and quiet enough to readily hear the voice and commandments that he, as a prophet of the Lord God, had been waiting for...

Amazingly God skips Tiberias Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Lysanias, and all the rulers and tetrachs in the magnificent palaces and mansions, and chooses John, in his camel hair clothes and grasshopper diet to give a command to! Makes you think...!
Then, of course, we also find the Lord Jesus himself in the desert, after he had been baptised by the same John that we have just read about :

                       4. Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the
                       Jordan and was led by the Spirit into^[a] the wilderness, ² being
                       tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate
                       nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  
                              ³ And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, com-
                      mand this stone to become bread.” ⁴ But Jesus answered him,
                      saying, ^[b] “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but
                      by every word of God.’” ^{c] 5} Then the devil, taking Him up on a
                      high mountain, showed Him^[d] all the kingdoms of the world in a
                      moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “All this  authority
                      I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me,
                      and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if You will worship
                      before me, all will be Yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him,
                      “Get behind Me, Satan!^[e] For^[f] it is written, ‘You shall worship the
                      Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ^{[g]   9} Then he brought
                      Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to
                      Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
                      ¹⁰ For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep
                      you,’ ¹ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your
                      foot against a stone.’”^{[h] 12} And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has
                      been said, ‘You shall  not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”^{[i] 13} Now when
                      the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an
                      opportune time. "

Again, not a pleasant place for Jesus to be for 40 days and obviously nights as well - without food, without water to sustain Him. He could  have made the wrong decisions here. But, again, God Almighty was present even in this situation and honoured His faith and His stance, so that He went from there with all the power and authority that He could possibly need to heal and save as He went along ministering and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

So, maybe you find yourself in a spiritual, financial, emotional, physical desert just at this moment. Maybe you have been there for almost 40 years, or 40 days, or whatever time....

I want to encourage you however, whatever the circumstances, understand and accept that the Lord God Almighty is also present in your arid, dry desert. Not only that, He is intimately acquainted with the circumstances, and He is mighty and able to provide in your every need. You are now in a place where, if you are quietly listening for His voice, you will hear Him talking to you in your desert; He is there to strengthen you and to guide you so that you will not make wrong choices or decisions.

Thank You, Lord, that we may trust in your power, faithfulness, mercy, grace, goodness and wisdom in all circumstances. Thank You that we may know that you are with us, in whichever desert we may find ourselves today and that You are mighty to save and instruct us in Your ways.

STORMS IN OUR LIVES

Yesterday, I received an e-mail, one of the ones I really look forward to, from Mark Visser of Prophetic Equipping Ministries, under the heading the Now Word of God. I do appreciate these e-mails and recommend them to you. Part of yesterday's e-mail dealt with the 3 storms in the lives of Christians. I found it to be insightful and I think it may also be useful to someone out there, so I have taken the liberty of posting his notes verbatim as I received them:

"THE NOTES OF THE 3 STORMS:

James 1; 2   ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials.’
  We will go through storms in life and face trials and tribultions.
  We must discern the storm and respond to each situation accordingly.
 
There are 3 storms of LIFE are:

1.     God storm - Acts 27: 15 - 26
2.     Satan storm – Luke 8: 34 - 24
3.     Self induced storm – Jonah 1: 1 - 4

The storms that I have gone through are: 

1.     God storm – My highs and lows in Life that God has led me into.
2.     Satan storm – Times when the enemy has brought direct demonic attacks into my life, family or circumstances.
3.     Self induced storm – Times when through my disobediance to the Lord, has brought consequential judgement to me.

Sometimes these storms culminate together and become a level 5 storm.
Like a hurricane, tsunami, tornado – a huge storm that invades just nocks me down.

REMEMBER THIS:  you cannot stop what comes against you, but you can control your reaction to what comes against you.

1. At all times and in every circumstance, we must excersice the Kingdom of God through us without restraint.]
2. The Kingdom of God is Love, Joy, Peace and rightousness in the Holy Spirit.

How do you ride out the storm?

1.     God storm – Worship God in the storm - Acts 27: 35 - 36
2.     Satan storm – Rebuke the storm - Luke 8: 24
3.     Self induced storm – Repent during the storm - Jonah 1: 12"

I hope that you will find it helpful in some situation in your life!
 

Thank You, Lord, that we know that You are there in every storm and that, like Peter, we may call upon You, and stretch our our hands towards You, knowing that You are able and willing to help us in our need.
 

LED BY A CHILD...

Last week a team of  friends returned from a missionary trip to Malawi and Mozambique.

The related how at one service in Malawi, in the outback, in a small village, a young boy child, approximately 5 -6 years old, sat quietly in a corner watching the preacher with such avid attention, it seemed as if he did not even blink an eye. Dave, the preacher, said he eventually thought that maybe the child suffered from a brain impediment, or some such ailment...

When they came to the point where they invited everyone to make a decision for the Lord Jesus Christ, this young chap was one of the first to respond.

Dave carried on explaining that part of inviting Jesus into your life is to repent of your sins and ask God's forgiveness for having sinned against Him. This young man immediately started doing just that, with tears and out loud, to such an extent that he moved the adults who had indicated their desire to make a decision for the Lord, to do likewise! And the tears flowed! With remorse they repented, listing their many sins and asking God for His forgiveness!

Led by a child.... whose name is Isaiah!!! Perhaps his name is prophetic? Only God knows his future!

                 "But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the
                 Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." "
                 Matt. 19 : 14

Thank You, Lord, that we are never to old to learn from a child, and never to young to set an example and lead others to the Lord. Help us to treat children and individuals and not to think it unnecessary to lead them to You as well - especially our own children and grandchildren.

A PLOUGHED FIELD WAITING....

The congregation where I have been worshipping for the past almost two years, recently celebrated its 4th birthday.

This was exciting - looking back and realising that as with everything else, it started small. There are only a handful of the congregation who were founding members - our Senior Pastor and his wife and family being, of course, amongst these.

For some time we have been lightly touching on the subject of outreaches to our local community... but that is where it stopped.

Then week before last at the prayer meeting, God spoke through a question our Pastor put to us : "Why did Jesus make disciples and train them for three years?" Each of us had to reply for himself. Well, even the songs we sang that evening turned out to be about sharing, praying, telling, going.... and then two sisters had the same Word from the Lord about going out to Jerusalem, Judea, Cesarea, and unto the ends of the earth to preach the Word of the Lord and to make disciples... and a brother had a vision whilst we were singing about a land ploughed and ready, with big bags of seed standing opened and ready, a man standing at the water pump ready to open up the streams of water BUT NO ONE TO SOW THE SEEDS.... We believe it was Almighty God who spoke to us directly during that prayer meeting.

It was immediately decided that on Sunday at the morning service, Pastor would announce that we are starting our evangelism strategy from the assembly and having our first meeting on Monday evening. We were 14 in total at the meeting (out of a total of approx. 300) and TO-NIGHT we are flooding our local community surrounding the church with pamphlets, tracts and soaking the area in prayer.

It is a beginning... and I do not see an end to this outreach... I know that it is God's will and we shall go forth and grow and grow and grow..... we cannot harvest if we do not sow.

We are also starting a feeding scheme at a local Government Training Hospital on 7 August - just providing sandwiches to the people waiting in queues for hours at out-patients.... and dealing and praying with them...

We are already involved in a Saturday afternoon prayer meeting in the chapel of this  same hospital where we intercede for the patients, doctors, nurses, technical-, catering-, cleaning-, security- staff and where we have services in the said chapel every Sunday morning for patients. Once you get involved and see the suffering in the hospitals, you will not be able to stop reaching out to one and all of them;

and we already are thinking about a prison fellowship outreach as well...

God's timing is always perfect...

Will you not also look around for a field that has been ploughed and it waiting on the sower to sow the seeds? May the Lord lead you to do just that because time really is running out and there are millions out there starving physically and spiritually, just waiting for YOU (and me) to get up in the Name of our Saviour and get going...

                  ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to
                  Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore^[a] and make disciples of all the nations,
                  baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ 
                        teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with
                  you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.^{[b] Matt. 28: 18-20}


Thank You, Lord, that this Word, which You spoke to Your disciples 2000 years ago, still holds good for us today. Thank You that You are also still with us, as You were with them, UNTIL the end of the age, where we are now. Bless your Word and Your work wherever and by whoever it be done, in the Name above all Names, Jesus Christ, the Lord.

PRAYING FOR ONE ANOTHER

Recently I experienced first hand how the prayers of friends and brothers and sisters in Christ sustain in times of sickness or trouble.

I was in hospital for an operation, which in itself was not very big, but the growth that was removed, turned out to be malignant!

It is a shocker to have that word spoken into your life! But, as I said, I could truly feel the weight and the effect of the prayers said on my behalf.

One of the prayers in the Bible which I have always loved was when David prayed to God and said words to this effect :

"Who am I, oh God, that you have brought me and my house thus far?"

I have borrowed his words many times when I have prayed towards God.

Sometimes we do not know exactly how we should intercede for one another. During this last week I was reading Colossians  and was struck by the prayer of Paul for the christians in that assembly :

            

                               To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in

                   Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.  We always thank

                   God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because

                   we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all

                   God’s people — the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for

                   you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message

                   of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing

                   fruit and growing throughout the whole world —just as it has been doing

                   among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.

                   You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful

                   minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the

                   Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not

                   stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the know-

                   ledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit

                   gives so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every

                   way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

                              being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you

                  may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the

                  Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people

                  in the kingdom of light. Col. 1: 2 - 12

^{It is our privilege and our responsibility to pray for one another and we do no more than our duty if we do it every day. I know that my mother, who will soon be 89, prays for each living member of her family by name, every night, and it is a comfort to know that my name also, is to be found in her prayers each time.}

^{Thank you, Lord, for the privilege to pray for one another. Please help us not to neglect this daily duty of love.}

By U skuil ek

Praise the Lord

WHAT IS TRUTH?

Jesus stands before Pilate having been brought there by the Jews. He is accused of blasphemy. See John 18.

Pilate asks Him: "Are you the King of the Jews"?

Jesus explains that His kingdom is not of this world; that His Kingdom is from another place.
This is truth.

Pilate asks Jesus : "What is truth"? but does not wait for an answer. Instead he goes out to the Jews crowding outside and says : "I find no basis for a charge against him."
This is truth.

He asks them whether they want him to release the King of the Jews. Instead they want the release of a prisoner named Barabbas. Barabbas was a rebel, apparently the leader of a rebellion again the Romans, and interesting enough, his name means "son of the father". So in his own right, also a leader with a significant name. It makes for a better understanding why Pilate gave the Jews the choice between Jesus and and Barabbas. (As if there could ever be a comparison between the two.)

So we have the sinless Christ and the rebel Barabbas, being weighed against each other.

Now if we, you and I, have to look at our own lives, our past - who can we compare ourselves to? Jesus or Barabbas?

Never without sin as is Jesus - therefore Barabbas! This is truth!

Before releasing Barabbas, Pilate has Jesus flogged - 39 lashes. By enduring this flogging, Jesus takes upon Himself all our physical suffering. Being exchanged for, and taking the place of the criminal Barabbas, although found without blame, He takes upon Himself all the sin and unrighteousness of us all.
This is truth.

Pilate takes Jesus, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, outside and introduces Him to the crowd: "Here is the man!" He is stripped of His heavenly title and belittled being called just "a man".
This is truth.

                             "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,
                             the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be
                             testified in due time." 1 Tim. 2:5-6

This is truth.

He is slapped in the face, spat on, cursed, swore at, scorned, his beard is pulled from his face, and He takes upon Himself all our shame and humiliation.
This is truth.

Three times Pilate confirms that he finds no blame in Christ. This is truth.

Jesus is handed over to the priests and the Jewish rabble and He carries His own cross, which should have been Barabbas's (and ours) to the place of the Skull. Here He is crucified on the cross and hangs naked, between two other criminals. Total degredation!

                       "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse
                       for us, for it is written : 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree' "
                       Gal. 3:13

He takes the curse which rests on us for our rebellion against God, our disobedience, our inability to live according to God's laws, our lack of love and respect for God on Himself and in our stead.
This is truth.

He gave His life and died in the stead of Barabbas and of ourselves. This is truth.

Before He died, Jesus said : "It is finished!" He had completed the sacrifice in our stead.
Nothing more would ever be needed. This is truth.

He purchased our redemption with His blood and life. This is truth.

But His death would have been in vain if He was not resurrected from the dead. This is truth.

He rose from the grave on the third day and lives forevermore! This is truth!

                     "Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God
                     through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For
                     such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
                     separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens; who
                     does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for
                     his own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when
                     He offered up Himself." Heb. 7: 25-27

This is truth!

                     "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the
                     heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession."
                     Heb. 4: 14

Thank You, Jesus, for sacrificing Your life for all the world, including Barabbas and me. Thank You, that You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Help us to daily live according to Your Truth and to hold fast to our confession.

THE BAPTISM UNTO REPENTANCE

Jesus gets to the Jordan river where John, the Baptist, is baptising all who come to him. We hear him explaining to them in Matt. 3: 11:

                           "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance..."

 - the baptism unto repentance of sin - to become part of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus steps into the water to be baptized and John says to Him:

                            "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
                            Matt. 3: 14

Jesus, the Son of God, without sin or guilt, pure and holy, asks to be baptized with the sinners' baptism unto repentance... why would He do this? It is clear that John, the baptist, also did not understand His actions.

We read in Isaiah 53: 4-5:

                            "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet
                             we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But ,
                             He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
                             iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by
                             His stripes we are healed. "

He became our scapegoat. Took the punishment for our sins on Him. Became us in guilt and status before God.

Jesus had reached the age of 30, which meant that He had attained the age at which He could assume a public ministry or the status of a rabbi. He deliberately chose this, the moment at the Jordan river, to identify Himself wholly with sinful mankind; to take upon Himself the sins of the whole world, assuming our guilt.
Although nobody perhaps realised what was happening, Jesus was in fact publicly declaring, before the people and before God, His Father, His willingness to fulfil the mission for which He was sent to this earth. He was taking the first steps on the road that would lead to His terrible and humiliating death... from this moment on there would be no turning back ... the scene was now set... and this was the first act.

In addition, in allowing Himself to be baptized, He also set the example for each and every person on earth to follow:

Once you have made the decision to turn to God, be part of the Kingdom of God and submit to the will of God and His purpose for your life, once you have repented of your sins, you should make your decision public by identifying with the obedience and submission of Jesus, and die to the old "you" and be resurrected as a "new creation" by following the example set by Christ in baptism . Just as He at His baptism identified Himself as being one with mankind, at baptism in His name, we identify ourselves with Him in His death and resurrection.

Listen to Him replying to John the Baptist:

                              "...Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all
                               righteousnesss." Matt. 3:15

So, also, it is fitting for us to fulfill all that Jesus require of us who decide to follow Him.

Many people are "baptized" as babes and not knowing what it meant or was supposed to mean at the time of their baptism, it may never mean anything more to them than believing that they were given a name at that moment; a human name - although they received their names when it was entered into the Birth Registrar of their Department of Inland Affairs, and they have no idea that they were supposed to receive the spiritual name "my beloved son" at the time of their baptism and that they were supposed to be giving the first steps towards the spiritual purpose and mission of their lives.

Listen to Jesus address His disciples before His ascension into heaven:

                      " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
                      them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
                      Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have comman-
                      ded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
                       age."  Matt. 28: 19-20

But, let us now return to the scene at the Jordan River... Jesus, having been baptised, upon coming up out of the water, hears the voice of His Beloved Father coming from the heavens:

                      "...This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matt. 3:17

Proudly, lovingly, intimately aware and present and part of the proceedings, God the Father, from the heaven above, pronounces His pleasure in His Son, Jesus, whose purpose it is to be the Christ of the world.

What is your purpose? What is mine? How are we able to fulfil our God-given purpose and destiny? We first need to be obedient and submit to His commands...

Thank You, Lord, that we have no reason to ask what your commands are. They are all there, in Your Word, for us to see, to read and to obey. And thank You, that as we obey, you will declare Your love and pleasure in us and lead us to our ultimate purpose and destiny.

THE ANNOINTING OF JESUS

                         "And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at
                         the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil
                         of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But
                         there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said,
                        "Why  was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for
                         more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they
                         criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you
                         trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the
                         poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them
                         good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could.
                         She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I
                         say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what t
                         his woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." Mark 14: 3-9

Jesus is in Bethanie - He was there many times before. Mary, Martha and Lazarus also lived here and we know that He visited them from time to time. Bethanie was not far from Jerusalem, within walking distance
- about 3 miles or about 5 kilometers. Jesus performed the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead in this little town.  We notice that he came here to relax with friends, and to eat. There is another story in the gospels where Jesus sat in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, when Martha was complaining that Mary was not helping to prepare the meal and that she had to do all the work by herself.

But in this instance, Jesus is not in their home, but in the home of Simon, the leper. WOW! Jesus eating with a leper? The mere fact that Simon was at home, eating with Jesus, would indicate that he was no longer a leper but had been healed! Any bets on who healed him?  If he was not healed he would not have been able to stay in his house - he would have had to stay outside the town with all the other lepers, because he would have been seen to be unclean and therefore untouchable. In Matthew 8: 1 - 4 we find a passage where  a leper appeal to Jesus : "Lord, if you want, you can heal me." And Jesus replied: "I want to; be healed". Perhaps it was the same man... if that was the case, Simon would have been a very grateful man and I am sure would have lavishly entertained the Lord with a thankful heart.

Now we read of an unnamed woman - we are not told in this passage whether she is from the same household - maybe Simon's wife - or from another house in the area - could have been Mary  or someone else. Anyway, this woman brings with her a flask, or "vial" with precious, costly, pure oil of spikenard, and she proceeds to break the vial - obviously with the purpose to empty it and not to keep any of it (otherwise she would have had to be able to close it again) and pours the precious annointing oil over the head of Jesus. It is therefore a premeditated action and gift.

Now in those days people were annointed with oil to inaugurate them to the status of priest, or king... Was she annointing Jesus in the sight of all present, proclaiming Him publicly to be her King?  What reason did she have for her behaviour? What motive? It would seem to me that she also must have done it from a loving, grateful, heart. Surely, no one would pour such precious, costly,  pure oil on the head of someone that you care nothing about or had no reason to be thankful to such a person ...

Now, as happens even in our day, people objected to the way in which something so precious was being "wasted" saying that the poor could have benefited much more and the oil used much more effectively if sold and the money used to provide for the poor ... and Jesus turned and stated : "Leave her alone. Don't hinder or trouble her. She has done a good work for me."  The poor you will always have with you and whenever you wish you may do them good." He carried on to say : "She has done what she could."

Now some people find in these words reason to believe that it is not necessary to do good to the poor... but I want to refer you to other words of Jesus, when He said :
               
                 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,
                  then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered
                  before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd
                  divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right
                  hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right
                  hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
                  you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me
                  food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took
                  Me in; was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me;
                   I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Matt. 25 : 31 - 46

And when in this passage of Scripture the believers ask Him where did we see You hungry and fed You, we find that He was in fact saying that every time we see someone in need and help them, we are doing it as unto Him directly. All the more reason for us to help someone whenever we can.

Let's get back to this woman without a name :  She brought a gift; a very precious, costly gift. I wonder whether it was perhaps the most precious thing she possessed? Perhaps something she kept to help herself out in "a rainy day"?

What do you and I have that is precious, or costly, or valuable to us? What do we have to offer Jesus, our Saviour? Would you give it to Him? Even if those looking on would object that you are wasting something precious that could be used more effectively elsewhere?

Perhaps your education - your degree? Perhaps opening up your house to others less fortunate than you? Perhaps using your vehicle to transport those who do not have the means to get to church on a Sunday?
Perhaps your time? What is more precious in this  world we are living in than our time? Perhaps physically looking after others? 

What are the gifts that God gave you that you can offer back to Him for use in His Kingdom? For annointing Him as being King in your life? For proclaiming that He and His Kingdom comes first in your life? Perhaps your life as His servant? To preach the gospel to all nations?

What would Jesus say if you were to do it?

                ^"Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father,
                inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" Matt 25:34

I would love nothing better than to hear Jesus say to me : "She has done what she could".

Thank You, Lord God, for your precious Son, who did not shrink from giving us His very life and blood - the most precious gift any person can give to another. Help us to not shrink from bringing to You that which is most precious in our lives (which was a gift from You in the first place). Help us to spread the pure spikenard fragrance of Jesus all around us.

AN OPEN DOOR

Last Sunday morning I was listening to a minister preaching on this subject.

Whilst listening to him reading this verse:

                 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can
                  shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied
                  My name." Rev. 3: 8

I was reminded of another Scripture:

                   "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out
                    and find pasture." John 10:9

and then another verse popped into my mind:

                    "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." Rom. 11:29

Suddenly, I was no longer listening to the the pastor's preaching. I was instead listening to the Holy Spirit speaking in my mind and spirit. Jesus IS the door. He died for us and did a "finished" work. No one can add to it. "It is done" He said on the cross. He has opened all the doors we need to walk through.

Therefore if He is the door, and if God's gifts and calling is irrevocable, then we do not have to wait for an "opportunity" or for "a door" to be opened unto us to minister or spread the Gospel, or testify. Whatever the gift or calling that God has given you and me, we should use that timeously and untimely, wherever we go. Do not wait for someone to give you a chance to do whatever God wants you to do - just do it wherever you go, whoever you are with, whenever you are awake.

Let us ask the Lord to open our eyes and our hearts to understand that we may ALWAYS be busy with our Lord's business... day and night.

                  "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?" Luke 2:48
                  (Jesus in the temple as a child)

Thank You, Lord, that we do not need to wait for opportunities to be about our Father's business. Help us to remember daily that you have given before us an open door and that no one can shut it  and to act accordingly.

WHOLE BY HIS MERE PRESENCE

Last week at our cell group meeting, we watched a DVD called "The God of Wonders". For those of you who have not seen it yet, it is worth seeing.

The narrators were physicists and highly qualified scientists who set about to show some of the wonders of God's creation, from the different galaxies of stars to the animal world, the plants on this earth, the fish in the oceans and also wondrous things about our human bodies.

One cannot help but sit in awe and wonder as all these unbelievable miracles are being displayed before your very eyes and to begin to grasp the absolute awesome, unrestricted and I almost dare say, the terrible and fearful power and might of Almighty God - and then to sigh with relief understanding that His substance is indeed love.

They proceeded to discuss the human DNA system, explaining what vast amounts of information are being carried by our DNA. Information that have been installed or programmed by the super intelligence of  our Almighty creator God.

They show a computer presentation of our DNA, and what I found most interesting was the way in which they presented the work of enzymes in relation to our DNA system.

Imagine our DNA system being a "ladder" consisting of round pea-shaped balls in long chains. Now imagine enzymes being "a small floating cloud" moving up and down the sides and surrounding the ball shapes of this "ladder". When the enzymes reach one "pea-shaped ball" that is ill, or deteriorating in shape or size, or malfunctioning, the small cloud stops and hovers over that specific "ball" for a while. When it moves on, the DNA "ball" has been repaired!!!

This immediately  reminded me very strongly of certain Scriptures in the Word:

                  "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face
                   of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Gen.
                   1:2

And we know the wonders that ensued...

                    "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our fore-
                     fathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea."
                     1 Cor. 10:1

There was protection and a creative miracle happening under that cloud...

                     "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them
                      the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day
                      and night." Ex. 13:21

The cloud was available 24 hours a day ... as our enzymes are available 24 hours a day...

Thank You, Lord God, that in Your loving mercy You provide for us by day and by night. Help us to stay under the cloud of your protection and mercy.

THE ETERNAL GLORY OF EASTER

 I have just received this as an e-mail from someone. I do not know who the author is, but I place it verbatim for your encouragement and to God's glory. As you read it, glory with me in the fact that He lives! He is truly risen!

The Eternal Glory of Easter …

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen.  

For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal”

– 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

Father when I look at the tangled threads in the tapestry of life I must confess many of the troubles our world face today do not seem light at all.  A panoramic portrait of what is seen can paralyze us.  Often viewing the landscape of lust, the boulders of betrayal, the pesticide of pride, the infestation of injustice, the weeds of wickedness, the pain of poverty and the aching abyss of so many human hearts, the temptation is to only see what seems tragic and often hopeless.

My soul cringe under the weight of it all.  I confess my vision gets blurred when I glare at the reality of what is temporal and what is seen, discouragement and doubt surround us, desperately trying to strangle us into despair.

Yet faith whispers:  “Where hope grows, miracles blossom”.  Is this what Jesus felt when He knelt underneath the crushing weight of Calvary’s Cross?  Did He measure the seen against the unseen on the divine scales of hope?

Did He choose to place the humiliation, the suffering, the pain and shame on the scales of eternity and by faith grasped for the promise of eternal glory? 

How fierce His faith …

How relentless His passion …

How deep His love …

How wide His mercy …

How marvelous His grace …

When the crown of thorns were pressed in, when the lashes of sin were slicing into His flesh, when the stain of humanity’s blood were dripping from His brow.  To us this moment in history seems overwhelming, but to a Suffering Savior it was the momentary hinging on the weight of eternal glory. 

Help me Lord to approach life like Jesus did, yes even the afflictions, the trials and the pain, help me to place the exclamation not on the seen but imprison doubt in the furnace of faith allowing eternal glory to rise on the horizon of tomorrow until it spills all over the universe.  Through grace use my momentary troubles as a vehicle of hope to transport me into an eternal glory, knowing everything I endure on earth will blossom something of beauty in heaven. 

As you lift the veil upon Easter this year let me not stay sheltered in the shadow of the cross but help me to rejoice in the radiance of the resurrection and dance in the glow of the eternal glory, yet to come …