Monday, June 22, 2009

Fathersday

A week ago, on Sunday afternoon my good friend, Jacques, went for a run, with his 11 year old boy, as part of his preparation for Iron Man South Africa 2010. On the run they passed the casino where an armed robbery took place, they heard shots and fortunately there was something to hide behind. As they lay there, bullets whistled passed above their heads into the trees behind them. He described to me what he felt, and it was obviously a very emotional experience, for both father and son! I am so thankful that they came out of the situation unharmed!

I could not help myself thinking about the spiritual application here. When Jesus talks about this in the Word, He says that we are not perfect and though we feel this way about our children- and then He asks a rhetorical question: “How much more will your Father, Who is Perfect, care for you?” (Matt7:11)

Yesterday we celebrated Fathers day, and what a day to celebrate! Treating and spoiling our dads, especially those who understand their own relationship, as sons of the Father! Fathers day takes on a new meaning when you realise what the Father has done, out of His love and care, for you, and with you! He has placed you in His Own Son, which means that you are no longer a slave, but a son! (even if you are a daughter in the flesh) (Galatians 3:28-29)

Romans 8:15 "[the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!"

What a privilege! I pray that you will have a good week, realising and seeing, just what this means in reality!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Light affliction....

At last, the day has come! Thank you for your patience, and I want to especially thank those of you who prayed for me in this exciting time that we are finding ourselves in!

About six weeks ago, I slowly but surely realized that I am losing my balance while walking and cycling. We prayed about it, and went to see a doctor about the situation. At first nothing could be found and the medication he prescribed did not work so I went to see a specialist who sent me for a MRI, blood tests and a hearing test.

While I was laying in the MRI machine, I felt that the Holy Spirit were showing me that there is going to be something, but that I should stay in God’s Rest. Now, if you read this blog regurlarly, you know that this is what we were busy with, at that specific point in time. And this is what I am still standing in, in His Rest. From there we saw four other specialists of which the last one admitted me in hospital for a few more tests. They found an arachnoid cyst in the membrane of the brain, but concluded that this was not the cause of the balance problem, as it was there since birth. There is also a few other “marks” on the brain scan which could not be explained.

The interesting thing was that they could not find anything further, and I must say they went through my whole body! In the first feedback session the doctor said that I am completely healthy, so much so, that it ‘upsets’ him! They did a Lumber Punch which also showed nothing negative in my body. Blood tests, eye nerve tests, you name it.... and nothing. I am still experiencing the balance problem, but went home on Friday, last week.
On Saturday I did a wedding ceremony and on Sunday morning, the service at our church, which was, needless to say, very special! This is in short what happened in the physical, but what I have learned in this time, is explained in what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in 2Cor 4:16-18:
“Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day. (17) For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!], (18) Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.”

I am completely convinced that I am already healed- I have tests to prove it! The one thing that is clear to me, God wants you and me to know Him, to really know Him. (2Peter 1:2) The ‘unseen’ which Paul writes about here, is more real than that what we see- there is something here, completely simple, that God wants us to see, and that is the ‘realness’ of His Presence in us, with us, and also through us in Jesus Christ.

Although the balance is still lacking and I have a few headaches, God is busy revealing Himself in a very special way to me, and this means, to you as well! There is so much to share with you, and I will do so in the following days, and I pray that you will see how much He really loves you!

Till next time, be blessed!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Fellowship

I want to apologize for not updating the blog as regularly as I would like to, but that will soon change and together we will again focus on Christ, in Whom we live, move and have our being! Today is another wonderful gift from God, He made it for you- to love, to enjoy and to be what He created you to be! I love the verse in Jeremiah which declares that, His mercies are new every morning, it is a new day especially put together for you!

There is a thought in the Word that I would like to share with you, it is found in 1John 1:7:

"But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]."

And what we have seen thus far, is that those who accepted Christ by His Grace, are those who live in the Light and who walk in the Light, and then the Word goes on to say that this is them who have fellowship with one another! Not those who would like to have fellowship, not those who want to have fellowship, but those who have fellowship with one another. This is who we are, this is what we made to be, to be in fellowship with one another.

This is something that I have seen over and over in ministry, that when people spend time in fellowship, their situations, their feelings and their perspectives radically changes , and this is because of the Blood of Jesus and the Word. I have seen negative people become positive in an instance- and you maybe ask "but for how long?", it differs, but that is why we have "unbroken" fellowship with one another.

The key to understanding this principle, is the understanding (Spirit understanding) of our oneness with Christ, the truth that God has included you in Christ so that you could be His child! Literally put you into Christ. (1Cor 1:30) We are His Body, and just as the physical body needs all it's parts to exist, so to the Body of Christ. (Eph 4:16)

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who has fellowship with me, I really appreciate you! Remember, God loves you dearly!