For sale

29 November 2012

1 Corinthians 9:18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may make the gospel free of charge, not making full use of my right in the gospel. 


Over the past few weeks we have been caring for the English Bulldog puppies and all six of them have shown distinctive traits and their loving natures. Now comes the crunch when you have to sell them. You just cannot sell them, as they are registered with all the KUSA requirements and the price to a certain extent is controlled by the value placed on them by organisations such as the Bulldog Club. But no matter the price, it is hard to see them go to other homes.

In some ways when we preach and teach the Gospel it is like giving somebody else something precious, which cost Jesus Christ all, just so that we might be able to bring His salvation to others. I wonder how many people realise how precious is the gift of life that Jesus has given us. So no matter how precious the message we are never able to put a price on it, because Jesus gave it to us free, so we freely give it to others. we cannot put a price on it like puppies, but we are able to be aware that it cost Jesus His suffering and life.

Be encouraged today to be aware that the Gospel is not for sale.

David

Point to ponder: The Gospel is for free.

Question to consider: To whom have you given the Gospel?

The in box

28 November  2012  

         

Proverbs 6:11 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond, and want like an armed man.

What I like about this time of the year is the thoughts of what has been achieved and looking ahead to next year with the promise of new opportunities. It is also the time where one clears the thoughts of the past and to allow oneself to dream of things that just maybe. One can get caught in the trap of the old ways and all the old negative thoughts or you can just take all of that captive and bring them as hostages to the feet of Jesus Christ.

It is like sitting at the desk, untidy with an overfull and neglected in-box, and then you start to sort it out, the bills one side, letters the other, filing in the files. With a little time and some organisation, the desk is neat and the in-box is empty. When I worked in the corporate world my ideal in life was to keep my in-box empty and some else’s full. In the same way when it comes to our Christian life we keep moving all the things that choke up our thinking either into the rubbish bin or we move into Jesus’ in-box. That way we find our thinking is neater and the opportunities even greater.

Be encouraged today to keep your in-box moving and the your mind tidy.

 

David

Point to ponder: Allow Jesus to control your in-box.

Question to consider: Is your desk as cluttered as your mind?

Prayer Power

27 November  2012    

       

Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

One must never under estimate the power of prayer and the resultant answers. We needed rain, so we prayed and we had lovely rain, a good soaking 45mm and this has filled the dam to half. We received a bill for rates from the local municipality, and on approaching them this will be reversed as we are still exempt from paying rates. We are reviewing all aspects of VAT and making sure what the right option is. So in all these things we see and consider how Jesus is answering our daily prayers.

When we really think about it, we start to realise that even before we pray Jesus is aware of our every need. So why should it be even surprising when prayers are answered? When we pray with the expectation that our prayers will be answered it changes our concept of prayer and it builds our expectations which in turn grows our faith that God answers prayer.

Be encouraged today to pray with expectation for those things that are on your heart.

 

David

Point to ponder: Jesus answers prayer.

Question to consider: Do you pray with expectation or doubt?

Authority

Joyful thanksgiving service at St \mark's on Sunday

 26 November  2012           

Matthew 8:9 For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."

Under whose authority are you? Many people struggle with authority and most often they are rebellious which they are able to hide from those under whose authority they fall. Every person on earth is under the authority of God, and it is God who in His gracious wisdom has placed people in authority over others. sometimes we choose those we want to have in authority over us, other times it is chosen for us through circumstances we cannot control.

When we recognize that we are under the authority of Jesus, then we are accountable to Jesus and responsible for those things He has called us to be and do. Sometimes we need to recognize the authority of others over us at the place we work at and where we live. Our parents have authority over us and the way we respect their authority determines how our children will respect us. Authority must be respected, and the person with authority needs to use that authority with respect. Even Jesus recognized the authority of Pontius Pilate, so we too need to respect and understand authority in our lives.

Be encouraged today to recognise the authority of those around you.

David

Point to ponder: God assigns authority.

Question to consider: Under whose authority are you?

Taxes

23 November  2012           

Matthew 17:27 However, not to give offence to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."

In this text the question of paying Temple tax came up, and in order to pay the tax Jesus Simon Peter on His instructions went and caught the fish, just as he was told to do. So we understand that as Christians we pay our taxes and we trust that God will guide us in how to do this. Here at Linga Longa we pay VAT and up until now because we are a church we have been exempt from paying rates to the local authority. Yesterday we got a bill to pay.

This is difficult and when you have not budgeted for something, so when it comes out of the blue, it would be wonderful to go fishing and find that fish with a gold coin in its mouth so we too could pay the rates. So as we go through life, we all need to be able to handle the unexpected and the challenges that this brings. Some things we are able to control and others not, so in simple faith we rise to the challenge trusting that God will provide.

Be encouraged today to trust God in all things.

David

Point to ponder: Even Jesus paid tax.

Question to consider: Are you able to handle the unexpected?

Blessed rain

22 November  2012          

Psalms 65:12-13 The pastures of the wilderness drip, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Yesterday on the way into town, the person that has the watermelons pulled us over and was very concerned that we think that he is using all the water from the dam. At 08:10 the outside temperature was 31 degrees, and it was very hot, all I could say to him is that we all need to pray for rain, if the dam is dry only rain will fill it. We went on our way and the day just got hotter.

God is faithful and He does answer prayer, and late afternoon we had 20mm of good steady rain, enough to give the land a soaking, although it may not have filled the dam, it would have helped enormously. Last night we prayed and gave thanks for the rain. We continue to pray that we will have rain in its due season and that the dams will be full.

In the same way when our lives are dry and our spiritual dams are empty we need to pray that God will reign in us and refresh us with His Holy Spirit. So when we need it His Spirit that dwells in us will give us the strength and the energy to carry on, no matter what.

Be encouraged today to pray for God’s reign in our lives.

David

Point to ponder: God reigns.

Question to consider: Is it reigning in your life?

Pray for Rain

21 November  2012       

    

Matthew 5:44-45 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

One of the things that one learns in a rural community is the need for rain, not a couple of drops but a good steady shower that feeds the ground and causes things to grow. Hail, wind and a few drops of rain although a blessing is something which does not always help. When the dams are dry and rain passes by on each side of you, there is a tendency to become anxious and you ask the question why no rain? Yet the Bible tells us that it rains on the wicked as well as the righteous, and when we examine our hearts it has more to do with our relationship with God than the need for rain.

There are times when God answers prayer for rain, and we need rain here at Linga Longa, not only for us but for large areas in Limpopo where very little rain has fallen this year. The tragedy of drought is something that brings hardship to many, and we all need to become more conscious of the precious value of water, not just when you do not have it. Maybe it isn’t raining in Limpopo because there are those who are not loving their enemies and praying for those who seem to be persecuting them? Just a thought.

Be encouraged today to pray for rain in Limpopo and other areas where rain has not yet properly fallen.

  

David

Point to ponder: God causes the rain to fall in its season.

Question to consider: Have you ever experienced drought?

Keep your word

20 November  2012    

       

Matthew 5:37 Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

One of the things that is a problem and will always be a problem is those people who say one thing and then do another. They will say and promise that they will come to visit, and then they never do, they promise to keep in touch, yet even as you hear the words you know in your heart that they do not mean it. How often are there people who say that they are Kingdom children, yet their word has no value.

When we say something, we do what we say, even if it is going to be harder than we thought, it also means giving up what we are doing and then do what we promised to do. A liar is a person who speaks from a heart of untruth, and when we say something we need to be conscious of what we say. For when we speak as Christians we speak with the heart of Jesus Christ and not our own, so we should be careful of what we promise to do.

Be encouraged today to be aware of the words of promise you utter.

 

David

Point to ponder: Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

Question to consider: Do you keep your word?

Kingdom principles

19 November  2012        

   

Matthew 13:11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Making decisions is never easy, especially when the decisions involve others. We look at all the facts as we understand them, in faith see a desirable outcome of the decision and then we implement that decision. Yet when the decision is made and we get to where we wanted to be we find that this is the last place we could ever be content. Something is missing. So we start the process all over again and then find we return to the place we started from. Still finding something is missing.

What is missing is not the place where stay, or what we have or even our family, it is actually something we cannot actually describe, it is that deep desire for meaning. We cannot find this within the world, we cannot find it in others, we are only able to find it through seeking. Jesus describes the missing component in our lives as the ‘Kingdom of God’ this is the life lived in and through Kingdom principles. These principles are contrary to those of the world and so are not dependant upon the world and world meaning, but rather a sense of purpose from within us. For Jesus tells us that the Kingdom dwells within us, search the world and you will never find it, for you find it only in the hearts of those who desire and seek it.

Be encouraged today to be wise in your decisions.

 

David

Point to ponder: The Kingdom of God is within you.

Question to consider: Do you live by Kingdom principles?

GentleHands

 16 November  2012        

   

John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

The grape bush growing wild has many bunches of grapes forming on the branches and these branches are soft and difficult to lead onto the fencing and so helping it to grow as it should. When you try to force the branch it tears off at the main stem and you loose not only the branch but also all the fruit it is carrying. So one needs to be very gentle and with much care help the branch to the fence. If you do not care for the fruit, and you force it, it will hurt the vine.

In the same way when we need to be lead on the right path, God is gentle and His Fathers hand leads us to those things in life that will support us and train us in the direction we should go. He is patient and kind, so that we are able to reach the goals in life we should achieve and in so doing bear much fruit. Sadly we forget that we need to be gentle and kind with ourselves, often hurting ourselves to get where we think we should be, rather than where the Father is gently leading us.

Be encouraged today to recognise the Fathers hand.

 

David

Point to ponder: The Father is your Gardener.

Question to consider: Do you allow the Father to lead you?

Bush or vine

15 November  2012      

     

John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

The grape vine in the garden is growing and the fence that it used to grow on has been removed, without the guidance of the fence the vine is shooting all over the place, it is now a bush. Sitting there thinking about what to do, the ground is hard, the sun is hot, the smell of dust on the leaves of the vine as well as its own perfume, also reminded me of what it must have been like listening to Jesus. Sitting there and imagining hearing the voice of Jesus, ‘I am the real vine and my Father is the Farmer’. 

My vine is growing all over the place, it is so thick with leaves that one cannot even see the grapes, it needs the discipline of the fence to guide it. In my mind I think the fence is the Word of God that leads it to be a vine rather than a bush. As a bush it is of little use, it needs to be a vine and so it is with us. We are also vines and not bushes, without the guidance of God’s word we will never be vines. Sadly there are many that are bushes and will never be vines because they do not allow God’s word to lead them, or they reject God’s word happy just to be a bush. In this way we choose either to be God’s vine or the world’s bush.

Be encouraged today to be a vine rather than a bush.

 

David

Point to ponder: You are God’s vine.

Question to consider: Which are you, a vine or a bush?

Obey

14 November  2012         

  

Matthew 1:24-25 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.

As one reads the story about the birth of Jesus in the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, we read the story but sometimes over look the detail. In the first three chapters Joseph hears God and obeys, there is no debate neither argument, he simply obeys. The result is that Joseph did what was required in and through obedience.

How often do we need to respond to God’s word in simple obedience? When we read scripture it is obvious to all those who read that God wants us to what is right, right for God, right for others and in consequence what is right for us. We please God by being obedient to God, when we do what pleases us and it is not right then we are not obedient. Many of us want the blessings of life, yet we are not obedient, so the blessings we do have are fleeting, when we are obedient to God these blessings remain.

Be encouraged today to be obedient to God.

  

David

Point to ponder: God’s people are obedient to God.

Question to consider: Are you obedient?

Vision for next Year

13 November  2012    

       

Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but every one who is hasty comes only to want.

Yesterday a close friend of mine asked me what my vision was for next year. My answer was that I had not really thought of it but I will simply wait on the Lord. Yet this is a very serious question which most of us do not think about, what is your vision for next year? We all seem to do the same old and our habits determine much of who we are and it is these that usually deters us from achieving what we need to do in order to follow our vision.

In fact most of us have sketches of ideas, but few have plans to achieve them. The need to first vision of how you see yourself, your family, your work, your home, etc. guides you in the way you plan, set out what to do, when to do it, how to do it and most importantly why you doing it. No matter what your situation within that situation there is always room for a better vision, it is through vision that we see tomorrow, and when we see tomorrow we have faith. So what is your vision for next year?

Be encouraged today to ask yourself what your vision for next year is.

 

David

Point to ponder: With vision God directs our steps.

Question to consider: What is your vision for next year?

The World is a stage

12 November  2012      

     

John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

All of us live in different worlds and in each of these worlds we put on the learnt roles that we need to play in order to be comfortable in that world. As we think of this we realise that these are all learnt roles and we are the play actors on the stage. Yet in all these roles the one constant is who we really are, the more real we are in these roles the more true we are to who we are. Many people play these roles and lose themselves in the process.

There are those people who have become so practised in these roles, that when they are required to retire or do something different, they just cannot change roles. The role that they have played in life determines who they are to themselves, and at some stage in their life they allowed the role to control them.  It this that traps them from being free to who God made them to be and the role holds them bound. They also cannot describe themselves without telling you the what the do and the role they play in life. We need to change the stage we are on and move from the stage of the world to that of Jesus Christ, where who we are is bound in who Jesus Christ is.

Be encouraged today to be true to yourself.

 

David

Point to ponder: Stop play acting

Question to consider: Who is your stage master

God's will

9 November  2012

 

Matthew 8:3 And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

In this text we see the willingness of Jesus to reach out to others and so bring healing to them. This also clarifies the fact that it is God’s will that all be healed and so when we say God’s will be done we are implying that healing will take place. Yet we know there are those that are not healed and we often do not understand why, although there is a correlation between God’s will and being in God’s will.

When we claim to be in God’s will then we need to recognise that we do what God wills us to do, so we should not choose to sin. For it is sin that separates us from God, and the wages of sin is death. Simply we need to always examine our lives in accordance to God’s will and not our own. The most dangerous problem that we face is when we rationalize our sin, believing that this sin will not harm us, it does.

Be encouraged today to seek God’s will and live it.

 

David

Point to ponder: God’s will is to heal.

Question to consider: Are you in God’s will?

Your history

6 November  2012

 

Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

What impact have you had on history? Now this for some may seem to be a silly question, yet each of us are part of history and we are history in the making. First there is our personal history, that which involves our own experiences relative to who we are. Then there is our family history and the way each of us has influenced the behaviour and relationships with each other. Then we have the history of our community and various roles we all play within it. This in turn results in history of our nation and this world. Each of us make a difference.

So when we look at our past we need to ask ourselves what do we learn from it and how do we change for the better because of it. Our day that we have today is new, each with its own promise so it is a wise person that does not repeat the errors of yesterday. Sometimes the situations of history traps us in the present so that we seem to be a hopeless cause, the reality is that we are able to accept our history but make new history in this day. So each of us has the choice to make this day count and change history for the better.

Be encouraged today to make a change for the better.

 

David

Point to ponder: His story is the history of Jesus in this world.

Question to consider: What is you story?

Prophetic words

5 November  2012

 

Psalms 22:16-18 Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet-- I can count all my bones--they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots.

This Psalm is about the crucifixion of Jesus and is a reflection of the accuracy of the prophetic message found in it, written many hundreds of years before. The beginnings of Rome is based on the story of Romulus and Remus and that having been discarded as children  they were breast feed by a wolf. The Roman Standard Bearer also wore a wolf skin around his shoulders and so these soldiers were known as dogs, vicious, fearless and extremely loyal to the legion.

As Jesus hung on the cross so these ‘dogs’ Roman soldiers fought over his possessions and then agreed to gamble for it, which was their normal practise. This is amazing and must provoke thoughts of how accurate the bible actually is when seen in light of history and the prophetic. In the same just as this has unfolded so prophecy continues to unfold and soon, very soon Jesus has returned.

Be encouraged today to remember the Bible is prophetic.

 David

Point to ponder: The bible is prophetic.

Question to consider: Do you believe the prophetic?

Expressing yourself

2 November  2012

 

1 Peter 3:3 Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

A youngster no matter whether a baby or puppy the more it cries the more attention it gets, and when the others are quiet on thinks that all is well. So when we check we need to make sure that we are not distracted by the sounds but rather by seeing things as we should. In the same way in the church we find that there are those that we always hear, while there are others who we presume are content because they are always quiet.

We need to far more observant and in so doing see with the eyes of compassion into those needs of others which are often never verbalised. It is like allowing a child in a candy store and when they do not respond we must wonder why. Often we have never been allowed to express ourselves and so we do not know how. In the same way we need to realise we need to have received something before we can give it to others and this applies to most things in life.

Be encouraged today to not be ashamed to express how you are.

 

David

Point to ponder: We need to speak to be heard.

Question to consider: Are you still or noisy?