Closer to God

The three wise men preparing for the Sunday school pageant last Sunday morning

1 December 2010.

Psalms 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

Life has many challenges and none so more than trying to do the right things at the right time. Most of us wake up in the morning without any intention of going out to do harm to others or to ourselves, we usually wake up and start our daily routine. If there is something special happening we will think about what we are going to wear, how and when we get there, what we  will say and so on. Our minds fill with thoughts of the day and by the end of the day these thoughts have brought us to the point of either a good or a bad day.

It is good sense to actually draw near to God in our thoughts, which then impacts on our actions and this helps in the day to think what is right and when should we do what is right. It is in this process that we learn to trust God more, as we bring thoughts about God into all our thinking and so in what we do. In this way we start to do things that is different to what would normally have done, the result is, is that we start to do the extraordinary, and we become extraordinary people. Routines become times of thought and this results in us being nearer to God, while we brush our teeth, have breakfast, drive to work or whatever. When we think about things of God in what we do each day, God draws nearer to us.

Be encouraged today to draw near to God.

David

Point to ponder: God wants to be near to you.

Question to consider: Are you drawn to be near to God?

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

Thirsty?

The WA take a new direction ... no more cakes, but still plenty to buy for Christmas. Get in line for the raffle. Only R5 a ticket. That's Marianne and Christine showing off what's on offer this Sunday.

30 November 2010.

Psalms 42:2  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

How many of us truly thirst, or even understand the concept of thirst? Many years ago I was in a place where we only had a litre of water to drink in a day, the climate was hot, dry and with no real shade except low thorny scrub. If you walked you had no shade, if you tried to sit under the shade, you usually sat on thorns, flies would pack you for the moisture from your eyes. When you walked the flies would sit in the shade of your back. When you thirst like that you understand what it is not to have water and from then on water is very precious.

Do we thirst for God as we would thirst for water in the middle of the burning dry heat of the bushveld? How thirsty are we for God? When we find a pool of cool clean water under the shade of a tree, we do not leave it, and if we do we know where it is, so that when we are thirsty we come back to rest and quench our thirst. Sitting under the tree thirsty is not enough, we have to drink in order to have our thirst filled. Jesus said if you are thirsty, come to Him and He will give you water of everlasting life, once you have drunk of that you will never thirst again!

Be encouraged to sit at the pool of Living Water, under the shade of the tree of life, and drink your fill, it is freely given.

  

David

Point to ponder: We need to be thirsty before we quench our thirst.

Question to consider: Are you thirsty for God?

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

Jesus seat

The St Mark's Christmas Pageant .... a word of encouragement from the director Norman Mangena

29  November 2010.

Matthew 7:1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.

What is amazing is the number of people who live as if the world turns around them and what they want. In some ways this is OK, but is a bit of a challenge for those who have to live with them! There is a certain amount of arrogance about it in that they believe that what they want is always correct, that they are never actually wrong and then they love to criticise every body else not realising that people observing them, see the hypocrisy in what they say and do.

This happens in society and also within the church, and the church seems to attract people who believe that because they belong to a church they are better than anyone else. And besides they sit on the Throne of Jesus asking Jesus to move over, as they obviously will do a better job in judging others. The sad part is that they do not have patience, nor tolerance, they only love those that suits them, and they do not suffer people who have different opinions to them. The Holy Spirit is absent from them in their daily lives and though they may think that they are right with Jesus Christ, they cannot be, because they are not right with their neighbour.

Be encouraged today to be right with others, no matter who.

  

David

Point to ponder: If we are angry with others, we are angry with God.

Question to consider: Are you sitting in Jesus seat?

Our webpage: www.chf.yolasite.com

It was a magical Christmas Pageant

The caste of the 2010 Christmas Pageant in action ... thank you children and thank you also to our birthday girl Veronika Macher  and Norman Mangena, who scripted and directed the production.

Wow what a production the Sunday school put on this year's Christmas Pageant. Veronkia, could not have asked for a better birthday present, as the young ones recounted the story of the birth of our Saviour  to a rapt congregation.

She and Norman, were on hand to snap the caste into action when concentration was lacking, which was not often I might add. Felix was also on hand to assist with the rehearsals, so this was a grand team effort. No straw was to be had this year, but the baby Jesus made, excellent use of a continental pillow. God bless you all and thank you from all of us who had the privilege to be at church today.

We also welcome new members into the congregation and it was grand to hear their commitment to assisting with the running of St Mark's and its initiatives. Solomon hit the nail on the head when he said we are here to work for Christ.

The Men for the Master held their AGM on Saturday and the association has pledged itself to grow membership and look after the spiritual well being of our flock. Many excellent ideas were forthcoming and we'll have more that these projects soon.

Blessings,

The St Mark's Editorial team.

 

Friends

26 November 2010.

James 2:22-23 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God.

One should never underestimate the value of friendship, true friends have built a relationship that allows their feelings to be shown and through which they have an honesty that allows freedom of expression. This requires communication which allows a person to say how they feel, what they desire, what their dreams are without fear of rejection by the person who is their friend. This implies that there is no need to manipulate or control the other person to meet your needs. When one speaks in innuendo’s, vague concepts or about a third party when you are actually speaking about yourself is dishonest and so how can one be a friend when you are dishonest?

Abraham, David and a number of other Bible giants where considered to be the friend of God, and the reason why God considered them to be friends is that they did not hide who they were from God and they spoke honestly to God, and God in return spoke to them. So it is not wrong to pray how you feel, to pray from the heart, to speak love words to God, and to cry out in pain and betrayal. God considers us to be His friend, we need to act like one.

In the same way we need to be honest in our friendship with others, our spouses, our children, let us stop saying one thing and then doing another. True friendship is the only way to display true love, and this we do because God has done this for us.

Be encouraged today to be a true friend.

  

David

Point to ponder: God is our Friend.

Question to consider: Are you a friend of God?

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

Be reassured!

25 November 2010.

1 John 3:19-20 By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

What a wonderful reassurance to know that God knows everything and that He knows our hearts. Even when we may forget about God during the day, even when we are so focused on self that our thoughts are not about others, we need to remember that God knows our hearts, and He knows the love that we have.

We are of the truth, even when we feel far from God and when we are not in the right place for whatever reason, we cannot change what we are. We are of the truth therefore the truth of who we are must dominate us even though we are not always conscious of the fact. We find that we condemn ourselves for non performance or inadequate responses, but when we genuinely have the right attitude towards the truth of who we are we need to find that comfort that God knows.

Be encouraged today not to allow your hearts to condemn you, but to be reassured that God knows everything.

  

David

Point to ponder: God knows everything.

Question to consider: Is your heart reassured?

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

An inspirational tale from Elvis

Elvis Fokala has been surfing the web down in Cape Town and sends us this message of hope

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.  He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help."  There were only a few coins in the hat.


A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.


He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.


Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"


The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."


Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?


Moral of the Story:  Be thankful for what you have.  Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

Face your past without regret.  Handle your present with confidence.  Prepare for the future without fear.  Keep the faith and drop the fear.


The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling.  And even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!


If you appreciate this message, please share. You may touch someone's heart today and forever.


Blessings,


Elvis Fokala.