If all the doors are closed, look for the window

"You can blame circumstances, but backsliding always begins in the heart (AW Tozer)"

We were driving back from Kommetjie yesterday and I had 2 hours of quiet time in the car to think. There was no talking and I knew that Nick was thinking too. We’d had a fun weekend but as soon as there are quiet moments, our thoughts usually revert to the question of “What now? How do we move forward? How long before the break through?”

I am usually an optimist of note, but my faith took a knock at the end of last year (which I will tell you about sometime) and I am ashamed to say I didn't fight for it like I should have. So increasingly I have noticed out-of-character pessimistic sentences dropping out of my mouth over the last few months. Nick even said to me the other day “Oh no, no, no, no, NO! There is only room for one pessimist in this family. It has never been you, it doesn’t suit you, and it will never be you. That place is taken!”

I think I can sum it up by saying that my usual prayer to God over the years of “I know it is coming!” recently turned into “Is it coming?” and then subconsciously into a quiet “It’s not coming, is it?”

Unbelief! In a God who has only ever been good to me. In a God who sent His only son to save me. Tears fill in my eyes as I confess that because I can't believe I opened the door to it and allowed it in. Unbelief is a very dangerous sin to toy with. I listened to two David Wilkerson preaches today and in the one, he spoke about unbelief. 

What is unbelief for a Christian? It’s not the denial of Christ. It’s not going so far as to say “God doesn’t answer prayers.” No, we would never say that.... It is the quiet nagging thought in the back of your mind that says “God does answer prayers. Just not mine.” That is the sin of unbelief in a Christian, and it is not to be toyed with or fed or justified… not even for a second. It is rooted in self and ultimately leads to the death of your faith, your joy and your peace. When you allow unbelief in, first of all it grieves the heart of God. And second of all, you turn to your own answers, your own plans and fear becomes the rudder for your life.

If we were to write down every miracle we have seen in our lives, most of us who have walked a road with Christ could write a book of testimonies. There have been miraculous moments of provision, moments of breakthrough, moments of freedom, answers to prayers, healings, and lives turned around… And yet, when the crisis comes, we sometimes forget about all the Lord has said and done and we panic… “The hardest part of faith is the last half hour.”

As we neared home yesterday, I turned to Nick and spoke my thoughts out loud:

“I choose to hope. For the sake of my body, for the sake of my soul, for the sake of my spirit. I choose to hope. Even if there is no earthly reason to do so. Even if all the natural evidence points to the situation being hopeless - I CHOOSE TO WAKE UP EVERY MORNING WITH HOPE. If my hope is sick, I am not going to kill it. I’m going to give it medicine and make it well again! I need it. I’m going to treat it like the precious gift it is and feed it and nurture it.”

Hope stems from the belief that everything that happens to me has been sifted through the hand of a God who is loving, good and sovereign. Hope says no matter what it looks like - God is in control, He loves you and He knows what He is doing. He is busy fulfilling His plan for your life. He is the author and the finisher of your faith. Do not let go of the promises He has given you. 

There is a thread that runs through the Bible when it comes to the promises of God…. Every time God makes a promise to someone, the first thing He does is sentence that promise to death... We hear the promise, we know it’s God, it settles in the sand of our heart like an anchor – and then God rolls in death upon achievement of that promise. The promise doesn’t die – but all human means of achieving the promise dies... And as death rolls over every human possibility of fulfilling the promise, we have what David Wilkerson calls a “window or faith” …. a precious moment in the Lord when we come to the end of all of our human efforts and nothing has worked. At that moment, we can choose to doubt God, or we can choose to say “I don’t understand anymore, Lord. I don’t know why I am going through this. As people look at my life, they may doubt you Lord. But I WILL NOT! And if I live like this until I get to glory one day, so be it!”

People speak about “windows of opportunity”to get things done, but God works with “windows of faith”. A window of faith appears when there is no possible human plan. If you can figure it out, there is no place for a window of faith… But when you can’t figure it out, THAT is where your window of faith appears. As every bit of human hope dies in the promise, there appears a glorious window of faith for you to believe God when circumstances seem to show there is no hope.

We think that we need all of our ducks in a row for the promises of God to be fulfilled, but God does not operate out of human wisdom. When there aren’t even any ducks in sight and we have cried and prayed and fasted and come to the point where we say “Not my will, but yours” – THAT is when He moves.

If you’re in an impossible situation, don’t waste your window of faith. When you find yourself in a situation you don’t understand at all, think to yourself “God, you’ve given me an opportunity to have faith in an impossible situation. Just like Abraham. Just like Joseph. Just like Noah. Just like David. I am not going to waste this opportunity that I have to stand in the ruins of my situation and declare GOD IS GOOD! As for me, I trust in you. And I will trust in you until my last breath. Even when the people around me doubt your goodness, Lord, let it be known that I will not.”

The Bible says we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses… here are some things that some of these witnesses said when all the doors of human possibility closed and their window of faith appeared:

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” – (JOB)

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we WILL NOT serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (SHADRACH, MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO)

"Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (STEPHEN - RIGHT BEFORE HE WAS STONED TO DEATH FOR HIS FAITH)

“Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbours and an object of dread to my closest friends— those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.  For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life. But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” – (DAVID)

“"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (JESUS – RIGHT BEFORE HE WENT TO THE CROSS)

To become a legend of the faith, we need to embrace impossible situations and use them as an opportunity to trust in God against all the human odds. Like Will Marais says “When I am surrounded by the unknown, I go back to what is known! God is good. God is love. God is sovereign. And God is merciful. And that is all I need to know.”

#SONA - Sometimes a slap in the face is good

Last night was a nice cold wake up call for South Africa as we all sat watching our State of Nation Address degenerate into what looked like a big bar fight with half the room leaving before the President could continue his speech. Some of them were forcibly removed and others walked out of their own free will. It was a shocking moment in our history that left most of us stunned and silent.

Then when the president started speaking again, he didn’t even address the chaos or even attempt to lead us through it as a nation… he simply laughed and carried on with a mind-numbingly boring speech that brought us no hope or inspiration whatsoever. There was your moment, Commander-in-Chief. You missed it. You could’ve been human. You could’ve shown your heart for this country... But you didn’t. I could literally hear the sighs across the nation as we covered our eyes in front of the TV and shook our heads with sadness and embarassment.

But the country needed that wake up call… Let’s be thankful for it because the issues are there whether we are aware of them or not. My policy is to always find out sooner rather than later if I am in the pooh. My husband is a builder and I have had a few conversations over the years with subbies who have overspent and underperformed. Instead of sticking our heads in the sand and hoping it will sort itself out, we go to them and say “Ok, give it to us straight. How much pooh are we in here? I would rather know now than later.” I think every South African should be asking that question right now.  It’s a good question to ask because “Lala Land” always ends with an ice cold dose of reality sooner or later. Rather know what you're facing so you can try and be part of the solution. 

I don’t want to go on too much about Zuma because a lot has been said about him already…. To be honest with you, I have my hopes pegged on the other people in parliament – The ACDP, who even though they are a small party have done great things for this country and continue to do so… the DA, who even though I disagree with their policies on a few issues are at least providing great services in the Western Cape and are not shy to stand up to Zuma... and Cyril Ramaposa .…

Ah Cyril… you are positioned for greatness. You could well be taking over a nation in shambles, a nation that is desperate for hope, guidance, unity and the feeling that we are all equally respected and protected by our government. You are being handed a baton that is in shreds, BUT if you manage to pull it together and leave a united, inspired and hope-filled South Africa by the end of your term, what a legacy that will be! People of all colours are looking to you to reverse the damage done by our current government and put us back onto the road that Madiba started us on. There are many heartbroken #ProudlySouthAfrican people looking at their passports right now and doubting whether there will ever be true honesty and integrity in our government again. 

I am one of those that believe it is possible. We have overcome so much as a people. We are a nation of overcomers! We just need a good, strong, honest leader who cares. You are being lifted up in prayer, my friend. Please rise to the challenge. If you consider everyone in this rainbow nation whenever you make your decisions, and not just one group of people, it will not be long before the entire nation will give you their trust, their hearts and their gratitude - and your name will go down in history next to Madiba’s as another president who led this amazing country through stormy waters safely to the other side. We've seen it happen before. Let's see it again.

#PrayForOurNextPresident

The Blood Moons and the nation of Israel

Since the beginning of this year, I have been wanting to write a quick and simple blog about the series of blood moons that are happening in 2014 and 2015 and their link to the nation of Israel but I have kept putting it off. Until now.

Hope I can make it as readable as possible because it is very interesting.

On what dates are the four blood moons set to occur in 2014 and 2015?

There is a tetrad of blood moons taking place in 2014 and 2015. “Tetrad” means “a group of four.” So that is two blood moons per year for two years.

Every single one of these four blood moons is occurring on the date of an important Jewish Holy day:

1. The first one is on the 4^th of April 2014 which is the first feast day of the Jewish Passover.

2. The second is on the 8^th of October 2014which is the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

3. The third is on the 4^th of April 2015 which is again the Jewish Passover.

4. And the fourth is on the 28^th of September 2015 –which is the Feast of tabernacles

When a set of four blood moons occurs over two years with each one occurring on a Jewish Holy day, this is called a “Biblical Tetrad.”

How many Biblical Tetrads have there been before this one in 2014/2015?

Since 1AD, a Biblical Tetrad has occurred on these holy days a total of seven times.  In 2014-2015, it will be the 8th time. After this, it will not occur again for another 500 years. 

What has happened during the previous Biblical Tetrads?

In the past, the rare appearance of four blood moons on these Jewish holy days have always coincided with major events for Israel and the Jewish people. Let’s look at the last three Biblical Tetrads:

The Biblical Tetrad of 1493 – 1494 

In the year before this Biblical Tetrad, the Spanish Inquisition issued decrees enforcing that all Jewish people either convert or leave Spain. As a result, thousands upon thousands of Jews were heavily persecuted and forced to leave Spain. In the very same year that Spain issued the decree banishing Jewish people, Christopher Columbus founded America – which later became a safe-haven for many Jewish people.

The Biblical Tetrad of 1949 -1950 

In the year before this Biblical Tetrad, the State of Israel was established following the holocaust and Israel became its own nation. A very big day on the biblical calendar because it fulfils many scriptures where God promised that He will draw his people back together from all the corners of the earth and make them a nation once again. This is the only time in history that a nation has been scattered and countryless and then gathered back together and given back its land and independence. There are many, many scriptures where God prophesied that this would happen:

Jeremiah 30:1-31:40 “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

Isaiah 43:5-6 “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth”

Amos 9:14-15 “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.”

Deuteronomy 30:3 “Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.”

Isaiah 11:12 ESV  “He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

These are just a few scriptures, but they show to us that when God gathered together the Israelites and gave them back their nation in one day, it was in direct fulfillment of his promise to them.

Then right after Israel became a nation, a military coalition of Arab states and forces declared war on Israel. Unbelievably, this brand new, tiny nation won the war against this big, strong coalition of surrounding states and as a result, retained the area that the UN General Assembly Resolution 181 had recommended for the proposed Jewish State and also took control of almost 60% of the area allocated for the proposed Arab state. And a Biblical Tetrad marked the occasion.

The Biblical Tetrad of 1967 and 1968

In 1967, the Six Day War against Israel occurred. In spite of heavy attacks from its neighbouring countries, Israel won decisively within a period of six days - a significant event in Jewish history and once again marked by the Biblical Tetrad.

So what does that mean about these blood moons set to occur in 2014 and 2015?

I don’t know. But what I do know is that if history is anything to go by, a Biblical Tetrad of blood moons occurring on the Jewish holy days in 2014 and 2015 is something to sit up and take note of.

History has shown that every single time there is a tetrad of blood moons that fall on important dates in the Jewish Calendar and specifically the Passover, something very bad happens against Israel and God delivers them from whatever happens. 

God says specifically in Genesis 1 v 14 "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years."


Acts 2v20, Joel 2v31 and Rev 6v12 all speak very specifically about blood moons and say that they will occur “before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.”

Prophesies about future events

With regard to the events still to take place in Israel, there are many prophecies in scripture about what has happened and what is still going to happen.

In Zeccharia 12 v 2 God said "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves." 

Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 reveal a detailed prophecy about a future war campaign against Israel. This war is referred to as the Gog Magog war. The Bible lists the countries that are going to join in alliance against Israel. In recent years, those countries have already started forming the alliance referred to in scripture.

The book of Daniel refers to the coming peace treaty with Israel and the involvement of the antichrist. And the book of Revelation tells more of what will happen during the time.

Romans 11 tells us that Israel will be saved! (Romans 11 is a really interesting chapter to read).

There is just too much to say on the subject of Israel. As you start to go through the scriptures. Israel is everywhere – in the old and new testament - which tells us that it is a subject that is very close to God’s heart. As Christians, we must watch carefully as Biblical prophecies come to pass in Israel. We see clearly in scripture that nothing that happens in and to Israel is random to God.

I've changed my vote in this upcoming election

There are two things you need to note about this blog before going in so you are not sorry to have wasted your time reading it :)

1) It is aimed at people who value their freedom of religion and freedom of expression, and

2) I’m a Christian so the views expressed herein are in line with my beliefs.

As most of us are now aware, the Human Rights Commission of South Africa has recently been pushing at the boundaries of freedom of religion and freedom of expression in South Africa. There is a recent case where they have taken on a church in the Western Cape for preaching out of the bible that parents can use moderate spanking as a form of discipline for their children. 

In spite of the fact that:

 1) moderate parental spanking is not illegal in South Africa so the church was in no way breaking the law, and

 2) the church was preaching in accordance with scripture and thereby exercising religious freedom,

the HRC nevertheless opened an investigation against the church and there is a real current threat of a law on the cards in South Africa which states that churches, synagogues, mosques and any other religious institutions may not preach (amongst other things) any portions of their scripture which advocate discipline by spanking. For those of us that don’t believe in spanking, this may seem like a small thing – but the issue at stake here is not spanking. The issue at stake is religious freedom and the state being able to veto what can and can’t be preached in any pulpit, which in effect gives the state the power to outlaw portions of scripture. Spanking may be the first issue, but when the state starts to legislate what can and cannot be preached out of the Bible, Torrah, Quran or any other religious book, this is not something to be taken lightly.

Another two subjects where the state has threatened to curb freedom of expression and religious conviction are those of abortion and homsexuality. The state does not want any religious institution to be able to preach in its own pulpit that abortion or homosexuality is a sin. At this point some people’s backs get up, but again the issue is not whether you are for these things or against them. The issue is - are you allowed the freedom of conscience to be for or against them. Are you permitted to exercise your religious belief or conscience without the state interfering and saying that you may not preach out of certain portions of your scripture. It is easy to get side-tracked by the issues but the real issue is the freedoms that are currently at stake. 

State interference into religion, belief and conscience is a slippery slope. It may start with an issue that causes you to say “Thank God the State is interfering there and curbing that freedom!” But sooner or later an issue of conscience that is close to your heart will come up, and if the state has already set a precedent of being able to curb the freedom of belief and conscience of its people, it is very difficult to reverse that precedent. 

Recently, in Cape Town a man was arrested for imparting his beliefs that abortion is wrong. He did so in a non-violent way, merely exercising his freedom of belief and expression and was taken to court  for doing so. The question is – Should a government agency have the power to curb the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of expression? Freedom of expression does not mean we like or agree with what other people are saying. You may hate what I’m saying, but you should value my right to say it – because as long as my freedom of expression is alive, so is yours. Voltaire summed it up nicely when he said "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." 

At the moment, there are too many examples of state intervention into religious freedom to even mention and the number is growing everyday. So much so that last year, the religious institutions of South Africa felt the need to join hands across religions and say “No more.” The forming of the body known as “Religious Freedom SA” and the fact that it has in a very short space of time grown in number to represent about twelve million South Africans of different faiths should tell us two things:

1) the threat is real, and

2) South Africans are thankfully not going to take it lying down.

When I vote, these are my important factors (we all have different factors which we take into account but these are mine... because this is my blog - lol):

1) Which party is doing the most to try and protect the freedom of all religions in South Africa? 

2) Which party is anti-abortion? This is a personal one for me and I don’t expect everyone to feel the same but my personal belief and logic is as follows: I believe that the taking of a life is murder. I’ve held that belief since I was two bricks high and I first found out about the concept of a baby being killed inside its mother’s womb. I actually won our school’s public speaking competition at the tender age of eleven taking on this very heavy subject, so it is something that is close to my heart and has been for a long time. I don’t believe that you can say that it is acceptable to kill a baby at 24 weeks (like our law does) but not at 25 weeks. Was there a “magic fairy dust” moment between 24 and 25 weeks that suddenly makes the baby worthy of the right to life? The lack of logic astounds me. If a baby is a baby at 25 weeks then it was a baby at 24 weeks, and 23 weeks, and 22 weeks… I’ve seen a scan at twelve weeks and I saw a full little body with every little part already formed. I saw the baby moving and I heard its little heartbeat so no-one can tell me that a 12 week old baby is not alive. In my second pregnancy, they put a little shocking device on my stomach to test my baby’s reaction in the womb and see if she was okay. I will never forget as the little shocker went off, I watched her heart rate climb as the fear came over her. She felt the shock and she felt the fear and her little heart rate skyrocketed. Pro-abortionists like to call these little people “tissue” in order to mask the reality of what is really happening, but if little fully-formed human beings are merely tissue, then I have three little balls of tissue running around my home, each of which I would’ve had the right under South African law to kill in the womb if had I wanted to do that. The point I am making is I personally believe abortion to be murder of the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society. The law states that if you are willingly involved with a crime or if you know about it and do nothing, you are an accomplice to that crime. So if I vote for a party that supports what I believe to be murder, then I’m an accomplice to every little life that is taken and there are approximately 80000 taken every year in South Africa. So I personally cannot vote for any party that supports abortion.

3) Which party, although not advocating any particular religion holds firm to Judeo-Christian values and will govern upon those values for the good of ALL people regardless of their religion?

4) Which party is free of corruption and will tackle corruption head on?

5) Which party is a friend to Israel - Again, this is a personal factor for me as a Christian and is quite important to me in deciding how I vote. 

Those are my five "must-haves". We all have different ones but, as a Christian, those are mine. As far as I know, there is only one party that ticks all these blocks so that will be the party I vote for. 

I have in the past always voted DA because logic told me “We need one strong opposition party in South Africa.” It never actually occurred to me that in South Africa, the parties rule by proportional representation. The South African system is not a “first past the post” system meaning that the winner takes all and the losers wait for the next election. In South Africa, the number of votes any party gets is directly proportionate to that party’s seats in parliament and ultimately its voice in parliament. It’s actually a wonderful system because all the minorities are heard, from the EFF to the FF. All of them will get their proportionate number of seats in parliament and will get to have their say on the bills that get passed in this country. The EFF will no doubt provide the left voice, the FF will provide the right voice, the IFP will bring the Zulu voice, the DA will bring the liberal voice and the ACDP will bring the Judeo-Christian voice. Every seat each of these parties get, makes their voice louder in parliament. The logic of “Vote for the strongest opposition” would apply in a “first past the post” country but it does not apply in a “proportional representation” country. In a proportional representation country, every person can and should vote their conscience. I think the only question one should ask before voting is: “Which party holds the same values I do so I can be sure they will bring my voice to the halls of parliament?” 

I remember Diana Ross saying once “Every decision is made either out of fear, or out of faith.” As a Christian, a fear-based decision will be “I need to vote for the strongest opposition.” A faith based decision will be “If God can work through a donkey, then He can work mightily through a few upright men in parliament.” Like I heard someone saying last night “One person plus God is a majority”. So this is the first time that my vote will be about conscience more than strategy. When I stand in that voting booth, I know I am not going to be alone in there and I will stand account for where I put my X.

The reason I’ve written this blog is not to enforce my views on anyone but to encourage you to vote your conscience in this election (whatever that may be) and to make sure you know the policies of all the parties before putting your X down. That is all.

Where does our strength come from?

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice!” (Phillipians 4v4)

Why does God repeatedly remind us to rejoice, regardless of what is going on in our lives. It’s a very foreign concept to human nature. “Rejoice in all circumstances,” He says. In all circumstances? What happens if I’m going through hell? What happens if nothing is working out the way it is supposed to?"

“I will say it again. Rejoice!” says the Lord.

The bible says “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8v10) So the first thing the enemy wants to steal from you, is your joy. Just like a robber who goes straight for the safe because he knows the most valuable things are in there, so the enemy goes straight for your joy. If he can get that, he knows he has robbed you of your strength in the Lord. Like Samson lost his physical strength when his hair was cut, so we lose our spiritual strength when we lose our joy. So when God says “I will say it again, rejoice,” He is repeating himself like a loving father trying to tell his child something of great importance. As our eyes move anxiously to those things that are of temporal value,  God reminds us to focus on that which has eternal value.

I remember long ago a pastor saying “Satan cannot sow seeds in a grateful heart.” This has stuck with me because I have found it to be so true. None of the enemy’s seeds can grow in the soil of a grateful heart. But an ungrateful heart is the perfect soil for his seeds to flourish. Gratefulness is a state of mind. It’s the difference between getting to the end of the day and say “Lord, thankyou that I had my daily bread today. True to your word, you have provided everything I needed for today,” as opposed to “What about tomorrow? I had enough today, but will there be enough tomorrow?” …Same circumstances, different heart… The first heart is safe from losing its joy, but the second heart is on dangerous ground.

I believe thankfulness and joy are intricately linked. The bible says “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5v18) Again those two strange little words: “all circumstances.” Give thanks in all circumstances. Can God possibly mean that? Yes…

Joy is not happiness. Happiness is a feeling you have when things are going well. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and it is not dependant on circumstances. The most confusing thing about people who know the Lord is their supernatural ability to praise through the worst of situations. The world looks at that and says “Is that person honestly using their last breath to praise the Lord? Their God is not saving them and yet they praise.” The world stares at that in wonder, shock and sometimes disgust. They don’t get it. And it’s not something you can “get” if you don’t have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. We all know the story of Job, a righteous man who lost everything – his possessions, his children, his health. The world responds to those circumstances like Job’s wife did: “Just curse God and die.” The world says “Wake up buddy, your life sucks and your God is not coming.” But the Spirit living inside of a true believer responds like Job did: “Though you slay me, YET will I praise you!” Like Shadrach, Mishack and Abednigo who were put into the fiery furnace for their faith and said “My God is able to save me, BUT EVEN IF HE DOESN’T, I will not bow down to your God.”

I have so many examples of people I know personally who have passed through the fiery furnace and kept their joy. The bible says that the kingdom of God is made up of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That’s the kingdom of God so it cannot be shaken. Where the kingdom of God is, you will see righteousness, peace and joy, even if it is out of place in its surroundings. No-one can not conjure it up in the flesh. It is supernatural and it can not be shaken. I look at Jeremy Camp who married his young bride who had cancer, full of faith that God was going to heal her. I will never forget the video I saw of her thin and sick and unable to get off the couch and using all the strength she had to raise her arms to praise the Lord. She died shortly after that, but that image of her is stuck in many minds around the world.

The bible says believers are salt and light, and there is never a time when that light shines brighter than when they are suffering. Everybody understands a person who is happy when things are going well. Nobody understands a person who shines joy and sings praises when everything is being stripped from them. Our greatest opportunities to shine for Christ come when we don’t understand… Because when earthy understanding ends, supernatural peace and faith begin…

“And the peace of God which TRANSCENDS all understanding will guard yours hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4v7)

Nothing but the blood

I need to write about my God today. I have mixed emotions about everything else so I come back to the rock. The rest is sand and it can’t be trusted. It moves around with the wind and changes everyday. But not God. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The Alpha and the Omega. He doesn’t change like shifting shadows. And He can be trusted.

On my way to work this morning, Nick and I were quiet because our minds were full and spilling out our thoughts at that stage wouldn’t have helped. We were deep in our own minds and probably both praying. Then God used Gareth Cliff to speak to us. I laugh as I write this because people doubt the sovereignty of God, and here God uses South Africa’s best known atheist to speak to us. Somebody who denies God often was used by the God he denies. The irony was amazing to me.

We have had miracle after miracle happen recently. It’s the kind of miracle that happens when you need to cross a raging river by walking on the rocks, but there is only one rock at a time for you to stand on. As you step off that rock into the torrent, the next rock appears from under the water and you say “Phew. If that rock didn’t appear, I would’ve drowned in these rapids.” There are two ways of looking at these kinds of miracles. You can either be in awe of God that even the rocks obey Him as He raises them up under your feet just before you fall and drown. Or you can be angry. Why is there no bridge? Why must every step I take be so frightening. Why must my veins be pumping with adrenalin everyday because of the fear of my next step when others are driving across this torrent on a beautiful well-lit, engineer-designed bridge.

First off, you need to realise that the bridge you see others crossing is an illusion set up to trip you up by the enemy. Yes, we have an enemy. The Bible says he prowls around like a lion seeking whom he may devour. His native tongue is lying. You can be sure that every time he whispers anything in your ear, it’s a lie because that’s the only language he speaks. The Bible says he seeks only 3 things - to steal from you, to kill you and to destroy you. You can’t forget about him. He wants your faith, he wants your hope and ultimately he wants your soul and he’ll do anything to get it using his most powerful tool - lies. That beautiful bridge you think others are walking on is a lie. Everyone has their own set of stepping stones across the torrent. Many fall and are carried away, but the just shall live by faith! Come on! I want to shout it out like Braveheart “The juuusssttt shall livvvee byyy FAITH!”

As born again believers, we have two choices everyday – Am I going to live today in faith or in fear? Only two choices. You are living by one of them whether you realise it or not. You can recognise fear in the fact that you try and retain control over everything because you don’t really trust God with it. The words of fear are “God, I’ll just hang onto this one because I think I know better what needs to happen here than you do. You can have the unimportant stuff. This is too important to trust you with.” And you recognise faith with the words “I am not my own. I trust you. Not my will, but yours."

Faith can only come when the gospel is deeply rooted in your heart. The gospel is not just necessary for justification and then we leave it behind. No! It is the gospel that justifies and it is the gospel that sanctifies. You don’t say to a new born again believer “Ok, you have heard the Gospel, you have accepted Jesus, you are now justified by your faith. The cross has done its work, let’s move on! Now we teach you how you are supposed to live according to the bible.” No! The Bible says that the Gospel is the POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION.” In other words it is the only power that takes us to our salvation.

What is salvation? Many will say salvation happens the moment you are born again but salvation is far more all encompassing than that moment. According to the word of God it is

1)      Righteousness (justification)

2)      Sanctification (more of Christ in your life and less of you) and

3)      Redemption (being raised up on that last day.

Salvation consists of all three of these things. So if the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation that means the gospel is required every single step of the way in our journey. We need to constantly be reminded of the cross, of the lamb who was slain before the foundation of the worth, of the power of the blood sacrifice that was made on our behalf and of the fact that we are made righteous because of what Christ did that day at Calvary. We are righteous because of Him. From that place of constant awe at the gospel comes the power unto salvation, which includes righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Something hit me like a ton of bricks last night when I was thinking about these things and talking to some friends. The power for change is in the cross. No amount of teaching will bring the power required for change, it doesn’t matter how brilliant a teacher you are. All teaching should start with “This is what Christ did. Because of what He did, you are justified by the pure and powerful blood of the lamb and you are made righteousness. Your sin is therefore not counted against you. Can you believe such grace? THEREFORE… (and the teaching about what the bible says about holy living should start).” Most preaching today around the world starts after the THEREFORE and leaves the first part out… The gospel is used once off for salvation and then the teaching and preaching is separate from the gospel. This is not what the bible teaches. The gospel is to be front centre everytime we meet anywhere in his name. It is the starting point and the ending point. In between, the bible teaching happens but it happens on top of the foundation of the gospel. So the gospel is actually the middle point as well.

Once you are a born again believer, the gospel never gets old. It has the power to grip your heart anytime of the day and no matter how often you hear it. Never will a born again believer say “Oh no, is this preacher talking about the cross again (sigh)?” If they do, then I have to doubt whether they are in fact born again. The gospel unlike anything else in this world grows in power in our heart the more we hear it, it does not lose its power because of “over-use.” Never, as preachers, should we think “My preach was about the gospel last week, so I can’t go with that subject again. I need fresh material. No, we preach the gospel every week. Not as an add on at the end of the preach aimed at justification of non-believers, but as the power unto salvation which includes the sanctification of the believers who are sitting there.

Now that I have finished writing this, I have quickly googled to see if someone else has said it better than me and I found good old Spurgeon. Many, many years ago...There is nothing new under the sun – just a constant enemy who knows where the power lies and will do anything to avert the eyes of the church off the cross and onto ‘christian living’.

“Leave Christ out of the preaching and you shall do nothing. Only advertize it all over London, Mr. Baker, that you are making bread without flour; put it in every paper, “Bread without flour” and you may soon shut up your shop, for your customers will hurry off to other tradesmen. . . . A sermon without Christ as its beginning, middle, and end is a mistake in conception and a crime in execution. However grand the language it will be merely much-ado-about-nothing if Christ be not there. And I mean by Christ not merely his example and the ethical precepts of his teaching, but his atoning blood, his wondrous satisfaction made for human sin, and the grand doctrine of “believe and live.”

Cliches - how true are they?

I was thinking today about some of things we say and realised that so many clichés are simply not true. It’s amazing how when something gets said often enough, we start to assume it’s truth. The fact is that when something does not line up with the word of God, it simply is not true. God is not wrong - we are. Let’s play the truth game.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them - NOT TRUE

This one basically means that you are only supposed to give someone one chance. Once they mess up, they’re out. You don’t see them as a person who made a stuff up, you see them as a person who is a stuff up. This is the pole opposite to what the Bible says.

“The Peter asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times but seventy times seven times!” Therefore the Kingdon of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold – along with his wife, his children and everything he owned - to pay the debt. But the man fell before his master and begged him “Please be patient with me, and I will pay it all” Then the master was filled with pity for him and released him and forgave his debt. But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time: “Be patient with me, and I will pay it,” he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said “You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I have had mercy on you? Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. That’s what your heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from the heart.” Matt 18 v 21

Where there is smoke, there is fire – NOT TRUE

The truth is that where there is smoke, there is smoke. Only God knows if there’s fire. One thing I’ve learnt is that no matter how many rumours or how bad the gossip, nobody knows the real story. Most of the time, we’ve only heard one side of the story and the Bible clearly says “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” (Proverbs 18 v 17) There may be lots of smoke, but only God knows what really happened and especially WHY! The Lord says we are not allowed to judge the motives of others. In other words, the minute we say “I know why they did that”, we are sinning. 1 Thes 2 v 4 says God alone examines the motives of our hearts.

Safe upon the solid rock, the ugly houses stand. Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand – NOT TRUE

This is a saying I lived by during the beginning of my University years and I’ve got to say: it is the most stupid of them all. No matter how shining your palace is, if it’s built on sand it’s gonna be rubble when the storms come - underwater, smashed up and broken to pieces. Because my husbands a builder, I’ve learnt that we need to check the ground under any house before we start. If it’s too sandy, we may build a “palace’ on it but it will crack and break and soon look like the Addams Family house. That’s what happens to any house that is not built on the foundation of Jesus Christ who the Bible calls “the rock” (1 Corinthians 10 v 4 and many other places in the Bible).

The Bible says: “Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the wind beats against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”- Matthew 7 v 24-27

Forgive, but don’t forget – NOT TRUE

1 Corinthians v 4 says that “Love keeps no record of being wronged.” This is a tough one. When someone wrongs us, as humans we love to put it in our pocket and save it for a rainy day. Next time they make us angry, we dust off everything that we’ve saved in our pocket and show it to them. Our little record of wrongs. God says no, we are not to keep a record of wrongs. With forgiveness, comes forgetting and most importantly, A CLEAN SLATE. Everyday. If God’s mercies are new every morning, then ours should be as well. New every morning for anyone who needs it. Mercy is not holding someone’s sin against them. God shows us mercy and we are to do the same.

He says He our sins from us “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103 v 12) and he says “I will never remember their sins.” (Hebrews 8 v 12).

We are to forgive in the “same way” that God forgives us, and that is remember it no more.

Trust no-one, love few, learn to paddle your own canoe – NOT TRUE

We are not supposed to love “few”, we are supposed to love everyone – even our enemies.

Jesus says “You have heard that the law says ‘love your neighbour’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children as your Father in heaven. For He gives sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there in that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind to only your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” – Matt 5 v 43 – 48

And now that we know we need to love, we know also that we always need to trust because in 1 Corinthians 13, it says “Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” When you do not trust someone, you are not operating in God’s perfect love. We are called to trust and believe the best of people and God will judge and discipline. So often we try and take God’s job over...

God helps those who help themselves – NOT TRUE

Do you know how many people believe this little one? Some people even say it is in the Bible! It isn’t. The Bible in fact tells us the exact opposite of this. The fact is that God helps those who seek first His Kingdom:

“So don’t worry about these things saying “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, and He will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6 v 31

If you have a personality that likes to always have everything under your control , ie “I trust myself, more than I trust God” then this scripture will make you uncomfortable… But it is in the Bible and it is true. If we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, God promises to meet our needs. If we don’t believe Him, then we need to speak to Him and ask Him to help us in this area to trust Him enough to seek first His kingdom and not seek first “helping ourselves” because nowhere in the Bible does it say “God helps those who help themselves…”

Charity begins at home – NOT TRUE

This one basically means that we only look out for the needs of ourselves and our family. Everyone else must look out for themselves. This is so not how the Kingdom of God works. While we are definitely called to look after our family, we are also called to look after our family in the Kingdom of God.

“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.” - Romans 12 v 13

“And all the believers met together in one place, and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need” Acts 2 v 45

“If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to me, they will not be without their reward.” – Mark 9 v 41

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord – and he will repay you!” – Proverbs 19 v 17 (I love that one. What a beautiful promise from our Lord.)

Eye for an eye – NOT TRUE

Eye for an eye leaves the world blind. In the old testament, before Jesus had died and risen and paid the price for the sins of all who believe in Him, they use the words “eye for an eye.” In the New Testament, it says “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.” – Matt 5 v 38 - 42

And Romans 13 v 17 says “Do not repay evil with evil,” so the Bible is clear on this point.

Sum up

Nobody can live the way the Bible says if we are not in Christ and He is not in us. We can try, but we will fail. The standard is too high. The good news is that it is Christ who saves and the minute we are born again, we are made righteous! All our sins are washed away as far as the east is from the west. Do we then suddenly behave like perfect people – No. But because of the precious blood of Jesus that paid the price for every sin we will ever commit, God sees us as righteous. We’re still sinners, but it’s paid for. It’s remembered no more. And from the moment we are born again, God starts a process with us called sanctification. Christ living in us starts to show in our lives and people will start to see the evidence of that because we will do things differently to the way of the world. Outside of Christ, we have no chance of ever getting it right. No amount of “human will” is enough.

The starting point is here: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish but have everlasting life.” So the one requirement is to believe, then God takes over and does the rest as you yield to Him and His ways.