Holy Spirit Power

1 February 2011

1 Corinthians 2:3-5 And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

To be able to preach is to be able to proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand, a message of repentance and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Paul in the context of His audience knew that the people reading his letter would know what it means to be in the presence of a preacher who in his preaching demonstrated the Holy Spirit and in power. All the study of scripture, degrees and diplomas in theology and bible study, only leads us to the feet of the crucified Jesus Christ, no amount of learning or human wisdom can replace the demonstration of the Holy Spirit.

Our faith is not based on a logic or rationalism, it is based on a mystery, and so for many people even theologians they struggle with faith. Faith cannot be measured, it cannot be evaluated, and it cannot be contained, faith is infinite, yet it can be tested, it can be proved, it can be received by all. When we seek answers from human wisdom, we will find human solutions, when we seek answers from God, we will find heavenly solutions. This context must be understood when a preacher, preaches in the name and power of Jesus Christ, and it is this faith that the Holy Spirit responds and is then demonstrated in power.

Be encouraged today to let your faith rest in the power of God.

David

Point to ponder: Rest in God’s power

Question to consider:  Have you experienced Holy Spirit power?

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Weather

31 January 2011

Luke 12:54-5 He also said to the multitudes, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens.

The last few days have been very hot and sticky, and the nights have been warm and humid. There are many things that we need to be grateful for, one of them is a fan. When it is so hot a fan is essential, but it has its down side. We also use a fan to dry biltong and when we are sleeping the air seems to dry, in the morning one’s throat feels like a dry piece of biltong. My wife on the other hand seems to thrive on the cool fan, so she simply says don’t blame the fan, it is my snoring!

Weather is always a topic over which and about which we all can talk about, so it is wonderful leveller of conversation. We look at clouds and say this is what the weather will be like, or we check which way the wind is blowing, eventually we all become weather experts. It seems we are often more accurate in our guesswork than the trained guessing experts we see doing the weather reports. In the same way we are also able to become comfortable with our own opinions about many things, some of which are based on guess work and others on proven information. The problem comes when we consider our own opinions to be the only valid opinion. We need to be conscious of others and what the believe, we should allow people to express their views and in so doing allow them to form their own opinions.

We all have opinions about the weather, as well as about our faith, yet we find it easier to talk about the weather than about Jesus Christ. We should be as certain about our faith and about Jesus to a far greater extent, than the weather which is always changing.

Be encouraged today to allow people to have the freedom to form their own opinions.

David

Point to ponder: Jesus is more important than the weather.

Question to consider:  Are you opinionated?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Looking ahead

Enjoying the Sunshine of a Christian life at St Mark's

27 January 2011

Psalms 133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life for evermore

This morning the area around Linga Longa was covered in mist and the ground was wet with the heavy dew, within a few moments after sunrise and the mist was gone. Sometimes in our lives the problems that come from yesterday, just needs the sun of a new day and they disappear like the morning mist. So when we have problems that seem to drag on, we may just need to bring them out into the sun.

We also need to have things to do that we look forward to, even though we may have anxiety, or stress about other things, they all need to have their time and space. So we need to think and plan about the things we like to do or want to do, so that we build an expectation in us of what to look forward to.

So for Val and I we have been looking forward to tonight since Christmas, tonight we are going to the theatre in Johannesburg and we are going to see the River Dance. So tomorrow we will still be in Johannesburg and we will come back later.

When we understand that God always wants us to look forward to the future then we need to find the things that helps us to do so.

Be encouraged today to look forward to the good things of tomorrow.

David

Point to ponder: Stop looking back.

Question to consider:  Do you look forward to the future?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

God's unchanging nature

26 January 2011

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

I was asked the question whether prayer can actually change anything, if God is unchangeable. Most times we just accept that prayer can change anything, so we do not spend time thinking about it. Yet when a person seeking answers asks that question it would be inappropriate to answer with clichés. Our faith is so imbedded in the nature of prayer, that sometimes we forget about the nature of God. God is unchanging and bound by His own nature, it is impossible for God to change His nature, God does change the circumstances. We cannot ask God to be hateful to someone, because His nature is to love and care, we can pray that God will change the circumstance of that person, making it possible for the changed circumstances to reconcile ourselves to that person. When we reject what God expects us to do and the way we should live, then how will God be able to listen to our prayers?

God has set rules within which we as people need to respond to our situations and circumstances, and when we come to God in prayer we would be foolish to ignore these. God is God unchanging, immortal, ever present, all powerful, all seeing, all knowing, righteous, just, kind, merciful, compassionate, understanding, forgiving, gentle and we will run out of words to describe God. When we understand who God is and in comparison of who we are, we then understand that for God all things are possible. So often we come to God in prayer without examining our hearts, we treat God as if He is our servant, rather than our Holy God. We need to believe that God can do the impossible and is willing to do that when we ask it in prayer, not because of who we are, but because of who He is in terms of His unchanging nature.

When we understand this and humble ourselves before God, turning to Him and asking Him, He will turn to us and hear our prayers.

Be encouraged today to recognise the nature of God in prayer.

David

Point to ponder: God is God.

Question to consider:  Do you understand God’s unchanging nature?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

Warranty

25 January 2011

Proverbs 3:28-29 Do not say to your neighbour, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it" --when you have it with you. Do not plan evil against your neighbour who dwells trustingly beside you.

It is interesting to note some of the ways people look for business and to try to get a corner of the market by giving guarantees. When a problem occurs there is a sense that the customer is wrong and that the error is with the customer and not with the product. In some cases this is true and others not. So when you have a roof repaired and in the contract there is a five or ten year warranty on workmanship, that if the roof leaks in that period they would repair that roof at their cost. When the roof leaks after four years, they will not come and check until you pay an inspection fee, sometimes the company has changed hands or just closed down and reopened under another name, and they use every excuse to avoid fixing the roof at their cost.

So when you do business with people check their warranties, ask for names and proof that they actually have honoured these warranties, but to just accept a salesman’s word without checking, is like trusting the devil to get you to heaven. In the same way we listen and are sold on what other people say and do, and we trust them with many important things. Yet sometimes we trust the wrong people with the wrong things and then we should not blame them but look to the fault in ourselves.

What real guarantees are there in this life other than taxes and death? We live in this life amongst deceitful people in a deceitful world and so we need to be able to find a place where honesty, trust and a right way of living is found. The only place this starts is with us, when we honour our guarantees, are honest in dealing with others, a live our lives in the right way, we may not change the world, but we can certainly change the people we deal with.

Be encouraged today to honour your guarantees.

  

David

Point to ponder: We change the world by who we are.

Question to consider: Do you honour your guarantees?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

Scepticism

24 January 2011

1 Corinthians 2:14 The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Scepticism brings about uncertainty, cynicism, doubt and finally disbelief, the cause of scepticism is rooted in rationalism and loss of hope. As children we grew up with fairy tales, Santa Claus, and the magic of imagination, these are slowly eroded away by the experience of the world and that all that is left is scepticism. Scepticism is a defence mechanism to overcome the insecurities and doubts of something that will happen outside of the persons normality. A person with limited faith, little hope and great doubt most times will be sceptical, as a result they will always drift back to the known, and worldly knowledge based on human understanding.

The spirit of scepticism like all the words ending ‘ism’ is that of the world. Christians do not have the spirit of the world, they have the Spirit of God, God is Supernatural and so when supernatural things happen, Christians accept this as the normality of God. Disbelief in the supernatural capacity of God, is disbelief in God, and each and every time a sceptic rejects the supernatural response of God, they reject God. A sceptic needs to confine God to the limits of their normality and the normality of their world, so the God that they create is the God they understand.

When we accept that God created us and that God is God, and for God all things are possible, then this drives out all scepticism, doubt and disbelief. It is then that we can worship God knowing that God is able to do more than we could ever expect or ask.

Be encouraged to be filled with the Spirit of God and not of the world.

  

David

Point to ponder: Faith is the opposite of scepticism.

Question to consider: Are you sceptical about miracles?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

Scrap Dealers

Kefilwe Matampi ... family and friend


21 January 2011

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God.

It is amazing how much scrap one can accumulate over the years, yesterday was a bit of a clean up day so all the old scrap metal laying around was collected and loaded; off to the scrap metal dealer. The first load was 400kg and the old Bakkie did well travelling with the load, the second load included an old gas stove and refrigerator and the load seemed heavier, amazingly also 400kg. The last load included old rusted barbed wire and a heavy kitchen canopy and the Bakkie took even more strain, amazingly 320kg. We are very pleased with getting all the scrap off the property because it just becomes a place where vermin make there home. At a rand a kilogram we made a much needed R1120.00  getting a R1.00 per kg for the scrap.

There were two things that I learnt, first is that one has to trust the honesty of the  person at the weigh bridge even though a weighbridge slip is not produce and second it is better to get rid of scrap sooner, because it is a major job when you have to take 1120kg away.

I also suppose that in ones life we also accumulate spiritual and emotional scrap and every now and again we should also take it to the scrap dealer and get rid of it. When we realise that when it comes to the issues of our life, our best scrap dealer is Jesus Christ, He has already paid the price for all our scrap, all we have to do is to take it to Him on a regular basis, and so we keep our spiritual and emotional yards clean through prayer. When the scrap is removed there is no place for sin to make itself comfortable in us.

Be encouraged to get rid of all your scrap.

David

Point to ponder: Jesus is a great scrap dealer.

Question to consider:  Have you got any scrap to get rid of?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

Prejudice

The Men of the Master choir .... MoM executive meets on Saturday morning to plan the way forward

20 January 2011

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The question many people struggle with is: can a Christian be a Christian and still be prejudiced towards other people? This is a difficulty that we all seem to face at same stage or another, and this influenced by our own character, experience and exposure which reinforces our prejudices. In a multi-cultural setting as we have in South Africa and in many other places in the world we come across people of different cultures, beliefs and practises. Many of these are so different to what we expect so we reject this and in so doing we reject the person as well. So when people are different to us we should not reject the person and we do not have to conform to there culture, but to transform to Christ.

Christians are supposed to be accepting of other cultures, so when a person becomes a Christian they should then leave their old culture behind and become a new person, with a Christian culture. We need to be very conscious that we need to be open to others, but also to stand firm in correct Christian beliefs and culture. There needs to be a revival of  boldness, a speaking out of what we believe and why. This is why it is so important that we build relationships with people who are willing to be like minded and not with people who reject what we believe in and in the way we choose to live.

Be encouraged to review your prejudices and to pick your friends wisely.

David

Point to ponder: Christians must be different to others.

Question to consider:  Are you prejudiced?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

Nice is not always good

Norah comes bearing gifts on Solomon and St Marks' big day

19 January 2011

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals."

The Lanterna bush is an invasive plant that was brought into South Africa, has a pretty flower and grows easily under any circumstances. The bush itself is covered in tiny thorns, which makes it very unpleasant to remove with bare hands. Its berry attracts birds and in the berry are many seeds, so where ever the bird flies it drops these seeds. With very little water these seeds are soon thriving bushes which then become a blight on the environment, as a result they have been declared a noxious weed and have to removed and destroyed.

It just goes to show that what is nice to look at is not necessarily good, and so we need to be aware of the consequences of what we do. I suppose in some ways we are all attracted to nice things, but when we nurture these, they may not be good for us in the long run. Nice things usually have dangerous thorns to protect itself with, and when we try to remove it we have to be very cautious in how we do it and often we need protection from them. It is far easier not to get these nice things planted in us, than to have to go through the hurt, pain and suffering when we need to get rid of them. Sometimes we also caught up in the company we keep and no matter how we try to prevent them eroding our morals they do. Just as the Lanterna changes the bush, so bad company changes us.

Be encouraged today to be aware that nice things are not necessarily good for us.

David

Point to ponder:  Nice is not always good.

Question to consider:  Have you been hurt by ‘nice things’?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

What you believe

Solomon's ordination ... music in celebration of the Lord

18 January 2011

Matthew 8:13 And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.

What you believe determines how you live. Many of us believe many things, some of these are based on facts, some on emotions and others on what we have been taught or learnt through life experiences. Our process of maturing is largely as a result of our belief systems, the moment our belief system is eroded we will be vulnerable. The question what do you believe is important and we should spend time thinking and meditating on our answers. For example if we believe that our happiness is determined by a third party, then we will devote our time in pleasing them, thinking erroneously that by making them happy, we will be happy, the truth is we can only make ourselves happy.

What do we believe about ourselves, what do we believe about God, what do we believe about the municipal elections? These are just some ways we ask, in order that we start to really understand what we believe. When other people tell you what to believe and keep reinforcing it, does not make it true, or does it only become true for us when we agree with what they say. So if some one keeps telling you that you are to old or to young, stupid or inadequate, because they say that it does not make it true. What makes it true is when we believe it.

Be encouraged today to ask what you believe.

David

Point to ponder:  What we believe is vital.

Question to consider:  Do you believe what other people say about you?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

What do you seek?

Perpetue, David and Solomon .... what a special day for all of us at St Mark's

17 January 2011

John 1:38 Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

The above text is take from the preaching lectionary for 2011 for last Sunday and the question that Jesus asked is the same question He would ask of you and I today. What are you seeking when you follow Jesus? in every relationship there are expectations both expressed and unspoken and this also applies to our relationship with Jesus. What is your expectation of Jesus and what is His of you? When we first start a relationship especially with someone we are attracted to, we have a joy of being with that person, we chat about this and that and all we want is to be with that person. As time goes on the relationship grows and we get to know each other and over the years routine creeps in and we then take each other for granted and so distance starts to occur and we grow apart. The warmth of our first love cools.

When we seek the right things in the wrong way or from the wrong person, then we are on the road to heartbreak, what we are seeking from the relationship cannot happen. A man who is self-centred will remain self-centred, a woman can always learn to cook and keep a clean home, but if she is also self-centred then both of them will always be doing what they want and so there will always be conflict, there has to be give and take.

So many of us seem to be self-centred Christians and our relationship with Jesus is all about us and not about Him and what Jesus wants. In our relationship with Jesus we must put self to death, and only do what please Jesus, in the same way in our earthly relationships we need to put the one we love first.

Be encouraged today to ask, “What do I seek in life?”

David

Point to ponder:  Put self second.

Question to consider:  What do you seek?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

Solomon is at the helm ... and it's official

Session clerk Elizabeth White shakes the right hand of Reverend Solomon Surwumwe ... and it's smiles all around.

Our probationer is no more. The forever smiling Solomon Surwumwe is now the "Reverend" Solomon Surwumwe. He was officially ordained by the Presbytery of eGoli at 15h00 on Sunday as the minister of St Mark's in Yeoville.

The young man from Rwanda, who is married to Perpetue, is the father of a lively son David. And the flock, which he will shepherd for the next three years, like David, looks forward in hope to spiritual growth, joy and happiness as we worship the Lord our God together.

Sunday's service was a celebration of the diversity of Africa as congregants young and old, joined hands on this historic day. Catch all the action on our slide show as we welcome Reverend Solomon Surwumwe.

Blessings,
The St Mark's editorial team. 

Floods

Flood water at Hartbeespoort Dam ... it has been bucketing down

14 January 2011

Matthew 24:7-8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.

The power of water is something very frightening, the amount of water that has fallen in rain over the past two weeks has left many places in this world shattered by its effect. We see this in its spectacular; as rivers flood, homes washed away, cars bobbing down rivers, and people stranded on roof tops, whether this be in Europe, Australia, South America or Africa. Flooding has no favourites and follows its course no matter what man does.

The dam wall at Hartbeespoort ... all the flood gates are open

Sometimes water does damage in the not so spectacular, a slow drip of a water leak hidden in a wall, a toilet valve that does not stop, these things are not only irritating but cause much damage. We may try to control nature, but nature in itself is controlled by its own laws, and not by man, when we understand these laws we may be able to use nature, but never actually control nature. The laws of nature were set in place by God.

As we look around at the world today with the way nature is changing we need to know why, so we turn to science and we conclude that it is global warming, that the pollution of man is destroying the planet. We turn back to the Tree of knowledge rather than to move forward to the Tree of Life Jesus Christ. Jesus warned us that these things would happen before He would suddenly return. Are you ready to meet Jesus today?

Be encouraged today to pray for the world and the speedy return of Jesus Christ.

  

David

Point to ponder:  Nothing happens outside of God’s plan.

Question to consider:  Are you ready to meet Jesus today?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

Foundations

13 January 2011

Luke 6:47-48 Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

When the foundation of a building has not been properly laid there is a great risk that the wall will crack. When these cracks appear they usually break the brick causing the crack to widen along the wall weakest point. Repairing the crack by cutting back in a ‘V’ into the crack and then re-plastering it is the usual method of repair, however, if the foundation is not stabilised the cracking will continue.

In the same way we also need firm foundations in our lives or we will crack up in the walls that make up who we are. So we need to look to our foundations in the areas of our lives where we seem to continually repeat our mistakes, if we start off wrong we will always end wrong. So in our marriages, our family life, our places of work, what are the foundations that these are based on?

 A foundational aspect are those which irrespective of the situation are solid and unchanging, so if our marriage is founded in mutual respect and love, then that is a foundational aspect of the marriage. So if cracks appear in the marriage we need not to only fix the crack, but to repair the foundation.

Be encouraged today to have firm foundations in your life.

David

Point to ponder:  When Christ is our foundation, we are firm and secure.

Question to consider:  Have you cracks that need repairing?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Please if you need to send this to some one please do. If you want any help or advice I will be happy to try and help. dhutt@mweb.co.za

Tainted Water

12 January 2011

Proverbs 5:15 Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.

When we have a lot of rain like we have had over the past week or so, then the rainwater seeps into the underground water and the result is that the one borehole is tainted with the taste of mud. The result is that we have to flush the borehole by running the pump to waste and then emptying the tanks and cleaning them of sand. This is one of the joys of living out in the bush, on the other hand we know our water is drinkable even though it may taste slightly different, because it is rain water that has caused the problem not something else.

In the same way when we are in situations of plenty, when we have plenty money, plenty success, we often do not notice how these things seep into our lives, and before we are aware we are tainted by them. Our flavour for life changes and we no longer taste the same to God, because we have allowed these things to alter us. We need every now and again to flush our systems and clean our situation so that we stop being tainted by the things that stop us from relying on God. When we rely on the things of the world to determine who we are, we no longer rely on God.

So even though rainwater is pure, the way it enters the ground water allows it to become contaminated by what it filters through. So even though our intentions are pure in regard to money and success we often forget that these are also contaminated by the world we live in.

Be encouraged to rely more on God than on money and success.

David

Point to ponder:  Money and Success come and goes, but God is always there.

Question to consider:  What do you rely on?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Attitude

11 January 2011

Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

Our attitude in the way we respond to issues and to other people is important, not only in the way we deal with things, but also in the way we deal with ourselves. In society today we find that our attitude to the decisions we have to make and the situations that we are in determines whether we are able or capable or not. There are many people who break us down, undermine what we do, add on words to what we say, jump to conclusions, and our attitude in how we respond to them is vital for our own well-being.

Attitudes are closely linked to what we believe, what we do and in what we have faith, if money is the root of our stability then our attitude to money will reflect that, if success is our root then our attitude will reflect that. When we start to realise that our attitude towards things in our daily life is a reflection of our beliefs then what should our attitude be towards what we believe about God? If we believe that God is in control of our world and that we are His children then our attitude should be the same, in our world God is sovereign, God is majestic, God is our God in our world. Our world is the world in which we live, not the earth, but the world of our own perception, our own reality and in that world God is King. Our attitude should then reflect that.

Be encouraged today to have the right attitude to life in your world and to crown God King of it all.

David

Point to ponder:  Our attitude reflects our beliefs.

Question to consider:  What is your attitude like?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

Wrong language

10 January 2011

Proverbs 8:8-9 All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands and right to those who find knowledge.

On Friday we went to visit in Frankfort in the Orange Free State, and so I did the daily encouragement diligently and transferred all the address lists onto the laptop. When it came to send it I tried everything that I knew to send it, nothing I did worked. Yesterday I saved it onto a memory stick and came to email it from the desk top, and then found that the desk top could not read it because it was in Office 2010 and the desk top was in Office 2003.

Language and communication are sometimes very strange, we keep on changing our language and its definitions to suit ourselves and then find that we cannot understand each other anymore. In the same way we use language to communicate, but if you understand a word differently to what I understand it, then we may come to a different conclusion and the result is that there has been no adequate communication. Failed communication results in more damage to ourselves than we could ever imagine. We then should take time in selecting our language, our words, our attitudes so that we say what we mean and mean what we say.

Be encouraged today to make sure that we speak the same language to each other.

David

Point to ponder:  Our words are important.

Question to consider:  Do you speak before you think?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com