God is watching over us - part 1.

It is now the second time that I have seen something exceptional whilst flying. 

Previously I have seen that my aircraft made two shadows on the ground - and this has occurred on two separate long flights. It is impossible for an aircraft to make two shadows, and this puzzled me very much, specially because the shadow was on the left side. 

I had thought at the time that it was the Lord watching over me - and I still do, but scripture says in Psalm 121:5 ... the Lord is thy shade/shadow on thy right hand - so I am still waiting for some explanation.

The second sight was recently. I was flying above the clouds and a halo was formed around my aircraft shadow on the clouds. I publish the photo here - which I personally vouch for, since my wife took it. I am again quite sure that it was the Lord watching over me.

The promise must die first

We know the promises of the Lord and know that they stand fast, but time and again we reach a place where we feel that the Lord has left us in the lurch and not fulfilled his promise to us. We then become disheartened and even angry with the Lord.

However, if we reflect on the matter we will find that the Lord has not left us in the lurch, but that we misunderstood the promise or did not grasp the time for the fulfilment of the promise correctly.

In any case it is not simply a matter of promise and fulfilment that go together like cause and effect – although it does have a lot to do with this as well.

A promise from the Lord is akin to his Word going forth and we can also apply the parable of the sower to it. The sower sows these promises, but some fall next to the road and are eaten by birds, a portion falls on rocky places and is scorched and some are choked by weeds. Even those that fall in good soil do not come up immediately.

When one looks at the old pilgrims in the Bible, one notices that for them also  promises did not come up immediately. I quote a few examples of people who received the promise, but never the fulfilment  (because God determined something better for them):

1. Hebr. 11:32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak and Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, v.34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. V.35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. V.36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. V.37 They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins; destitute, persecuted and ill-treated -  v.38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. V.39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.

In Hebr. 11:13 the scriptures also say - All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

Those for whom the promise indeed went into fulfilment, it also took a long time – until they became disheartened and bade the promise farewell. For them the promise first had to die.

          1        Jacob received the promise that his brothers would bow before him, but it cost him slavery, prison and a famine before it came to pass.

          2       Abraham had to leave his family and journey to the Promised Land, but it cost him famine in Canaan and an embarrassment in Egypt before he could go and live there – and even then he neglected the promise by allowing Lot to live there.

          3       John the Baptist had the promise of the Lamb of God and later had to ask – Are you the one who was to come?

We receive the answer in 1Cor. 15:36 - How foolish, What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. V.37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed… V.38 But God gives it a body as he has determined.

So also with the seed of the Lord. He fulfils his promise after he has sown it in the shape of a seed and awakens it in a shape as determined by him, but he awaits it like the farmer: 

Remember the scriptures in James 5:7 – Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

We also just have to wait for the promises until our souls have received the early and late rains, because the Lord also awaits them patiently.

As best example I hold up to you the promise of the Father in John 3:16 - For God so loved the world…

Here he says nothing about the Lord Jesus having to die – yet that promise had to die on the cross so that we could receive the promise of salvation and John said ahead of time, but did not realise, that the Lamb of God first had to die.

Will we then not see the promise from a distance and believe and welcome it and, like the farmer, patiently await it?        

PK Odendaal July 2008  

The Simplicity of the Gospel

One of the aspects which drew me to our church was the simplicity of the Gospel. When the Lord saved my soul, many churches, preachers and other persons gave me their version of the Gospel and eventually I found it so complex that I was completely confused. What worried me even more was that I could not testify to other people because I was not able to understand such a complex gospel or to carry it across.

When I entered the church as a novice, my expectations therefore were the same as that of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:11 – “I thought that he (Elisha) would come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?”

The Mayonnaise Jar

Priorities in your life are very important. They will determine your every decision you make, the course of your life and ultimately tour destiny.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough;
remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and started to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

Noah's Ark Life Lessons

All I need to know I learned from Noah's Ark
* One. Don't miss the boat.
* Two. Remember that we are all in the same boat.
* Three. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
* Four. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old someone may ask you to do something really big.
* Five. Don't listen to critics, just get on with the job that needs to be done.
* Six. Build your future on high ground.
* Seven. For safety's sake travel in pairs.
* Eight. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
* Nine. When you're stressed, float awhile.
* Ten. Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals.

* Eleven. No matter the storm, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Grief and sorrow

I attended the funeral of the dearest 22 year old daughter of a friend of mine yesterday, and afterwards I had to take the time to consider grief and sorrow.

They are demanding enemies.

Kings and Priests

We know that we must (one day) reign as Kings and Priests. I have had a statement given to me recently, by a friend fo mine, that we are now reigning as Kings and Priests over the earth. I think, no doubt, he bases his statement on :

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

My first reaction was - no - it cannot be. The time has not come, we are only Priests, because we serve reconciliation and atonement with God through the the Blood of Jesus Christ as in :

Fill my cup Lord!

Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could satisfy
And then I heard the Savior speaking
Draw from my well that never shall run dry

There are millions in this world who are craving
The pleasures earthly things afford
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord

So my brother , if the things this world gave you
Leave hunger that won't pass away
My blessed Lord will come and save you
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray

Chorus

Fill my cup, Lord I lift it up, Lord
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul
Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more-
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole

I wonder - have I done my best for Jesus?

I wonder have I done my best for Jesus,
Who died upon the cruel tree?
To think of His great sacrifice at Calvary!
I know my Lord expects the best from me.

Refrain:

How many are the lost that I have lifted?
How many are the chained I’ve helped to free?
I wonder, have I done my best for Jesus,
When He has done so much for me?

We'll talk it over....

Tho' shadows deepen, and my heart bleeds
I will not question the way He leads;
This side of heaven we know in part
I will not question a broken heart.

Chorus:
We'll talk it over in the bye and bye.
We'll talk it over, my Lord and I.
I'll ask the reasons--he'll tell me why.
When we talk it over in the bye and bye.

Verse 2:
I'll trust His leading, He'll never fail,
Thru' darkest tunnels or misty vales;
Obey his bidding and faithful be
Tho' only one step ahead I see.

Verse 3:
I'll hide my heartache behind a smile
And wait for reasons till after while.
And tho He try me, I know I'll find
That all my burdens are silver lined.

An old but beautiful song!

To be Obedient

1 Samuel 15:22 “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed, better than the fat of rams.” Here we see how upset Samuel was that Saul took matters into his own hands and not follow the right protocol, by choosing to not be obedient to God. This was the beginning of his fall. Had he had respect for God and their traditions and obeyed it, he would have been blessed.

Who Am I - Casting Crowns

Suicide Watch.

The age old question: Can you go to Heaven if you commit suicide?

How will we know? It's not like we can pick up the phone and ask them. Although I cannot conceive that our merciful God will not have any circumstantial clause where we can be forgiven and still go to heaven, I understand that it is a great sin and one the Bible warns us against. I also know that a lot of people have been saved by the bell so to speak, like the murderer who hung on the cross next to Jesus. When he realised Jesus is innocents and took accountability for his own sins with true repentance, God told him that they will be together in paradise that same day. 

Why would you want to take your life? It is so unnatural, that even people who commit premeditated suicide, almost always end up with scratch marks on their necks, hands, or car handles, as evidence that they wanted to quit at the last minute, but wasn't physically capable of doing so successfully.

Striking up a conversation with God - Part 3

Conversing with God - Part 3 - by P.K.Odendaal - 23 June 2011.

The question I wish to ask is - How can we fulfill our obligation towards God to strike up a conversation with Him ?

My view is that we need all the skills we can muster to communicate all these things to God. He wants to know what our problems and aspirations are, how we feel, what we think of Him, what we like, how we adore His creation, how we adore our fellow men, what He can do for us. what do we like and what don't we like and a myriad other things. We need to communicate with Him on all levels.

Chris Barnard wrote a very basic prayer (Prayer for the Earth) by someone he knew, and I repeat and translate it here as best I can :

Striking up a conversation with God - Part 2

Conversing with God - Part 2 - by P.K.Odendaal - 23 June 2011.

1. God wants to talk to us.

This is His main need and the reason why He created Adam and Eve, and it 'made'  His day when he could go to them every evening to talk to them.

Gen 3:8  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.  v:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (He is looking for them to hold conversational communion with Him).

2. God wants us to have our own thoughts, ideas, feelings etc.

Striking up a conversation with God - Part 1

Conversing with God - Part 1 - by P.K.Odendaal - 23 June 2011.

Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir.

This adage is a corruption of the nursery rhyme : Baba Blacksheep, have you any wool?

But, it says so much and has a very subtle innuendo of blaming the person spoken to for being dictatorial in the sense that one cannot do or say anything that undermines his authority - so the most one can do is give him a totally useless reply, confirming one's subordination to him, but saying less then nothing. It is also a veiled accusation of the misuse of power by the person spoken to.

And this is the way some of us talk to God.

Checkmate?

“The King is the most important piece. When he is trapped, his whole army loses. The King can move one square in any direction. The main goal of chess is to checkmate your opponent’s King. The King is not actually captured and removed from the board like other pieces. But if the King is attacked (‘checked’) and threatened with capture, it must get out of check immediately. If there is no way to get out of check, the position is a ‘checkmate,’ and the side that is checkmated loses.”

We all know what the game of chess involves. Now there used to be a painting in the Louvre art museum called "Checkmate", painted by Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch. It is now in private hands after being sold at Christie’s in 1999. This painting depicts 2 chess players, one is satan whom appears arrogantly confident, and the other player is a man who looks forlorn. If satan wins, he gets the man's soul.

Do you have a life verse?

Why should I have one?

Do you have a verse you can recall when you feel discouraged or angry? A verse that can comfort and calm you. A verse that can encourage you to stop looking at the current problem and look at the bigger picture? When God was tempted, what did he do? He quoted scripture! Matthew 4. Shouldn’t you do that too when you feel you can’t carry on anymore? That is why it is so important to know your Bible.

Today when you get discouraged, why not quote a Scripture from the Bible?

Baptism in Water

It is the identification with the Death and Resurrection of Christ . Baptism was ordained to have a unifying effect on members of the body of Christ. Baptism should not be an empty ritual – an outward act carried over from past traditions. 

Baptism should carry meaning and have a positive effect upon the believer. “Being Born Again” is only the beginning of the life in Christ. The words themselves imply a beginning – and growth! Salvation is a process the believer now launched upon. This is the salvation process – being rooted out of this evil world and moved on toward completeness in Christ.

the Blood of Jesus Christ

The phrase "blood of Christ" refers to the Work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Blood represents judgment - the judgment for our sins while Christ was bearing them on the Cross (His spiritual death). The physical death of the animal in the Old Testament sacrifices is analogous to the spiritual death of Christ. "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Pet. 2:24

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Cor. 5:21

The Fall of Adam.

The Fall of Adam - by P.K.Odendaal - 26 June 2011.

I get some questions from time to time - specially from non-believers - who ask why God could not have foreseen that Adam would fall or whether is was an experiment that went horribly wrong.

Of course it is neither of these and I wish to discuss this in a logical and simple way, although I must say from the start that there are also other aspects of this that we do not know, for God also had other considerations which He did not tell us of or which we may not understand.

To get to grips with this, we should first look at the fall of Israel as a nation which will give us some insight into the fall of Adam.

The facts of Israel as a woman, is that God married her and that he wanted to gather he under His wings as a hen gathers her chickens - now that is real close. (see Luke 13:34)

Israel however had other plans and a free will and drifted into idol worshop with their golden calf (Ex. 32:4), and whoredom as in Num 14:33  And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.

There are also many other instances of this.

Eventually, God had to give her a bill of divorce : Jer 3:8  And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. v:9  And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

This error was due to their free will and was expected as anyone with a free will will sin as we have seen with the angels who rebelled against God even before Adam was created. A third of them rebelled against God and went into damnation.

If you take anyone into a house of sin with enough time and money, liquor and women or whatever other distraction we may conjure up, chances are about 100% that he/she will sin. So sinning with free will is a given and God knew it even better than we do.
However, God wanted mankind to have free will so that He can have a friend likened unto Himself who could, with Him, enjoy creation and enjoy God. It was so important to God to give mankind free will, even although He knew man would sin. The only thing he needed to do then was to send His Son for their sins, which He knew He would do. If one reads about the fall of Adam one sees that God immediately had a plan to save man and one gets the impression that God all along had that plan, even before Adam sinned. Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (This is a reference to the crucifixion of Christ)

Returning to Israel. God had to leave Israel for a moment to save the gentiles and then return to them again as Paul so aptly describes.

Rom 11:11  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. v:12  Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? v:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. (In part means - God also had other considerations)

Now we are ready to return to Adam and the able words of John Wesley will tell the story more fully.

'Was it not easy for the Almighty to prevent it ? - He certainly did foresee the whole ... But it was known to Him, at the same time, that it was best, upon the whole, not to prevent it. He knew that ... the evil resulting from the former was not as the good resulting from the latter, - not worthy to be compared to it. He saw that to permit the fall of the first man was far best for mankind in general; that abundantly more good than evil would accrue to the posterity of Adam by his fall; that if 'sin abounded' thereby over all the earth, yet grace 'would much more abound'; yea, and that to every individual of the human race, unless it was his own choice ...

.. Mankind in general have gained, by the fall of Adam, a capacity for attaining more holiness and happiness on earth than it would have been possible for them to attain if Adam had not fallen.
Unless all the partakers of human nature had received that deadly wound in Adam, it would not have been needful for the Son of God to take our nature upon Him ... there would have been no room for that amazing display of the Son of God's love to mankind .. It could not then have been said, to the astonishment of the hosts of heaven 'God so love the world that He gave His Son.'

... What is the necessary consequence of this? It is this : There could then have been no such thing as faith in God thus loving the world, giving His only son for us men, and for our salvation ... the whole privilege of justification by faith could have had no existence'

My own words : As we know from the duality of life on earth, that after Adam ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that good and evil would co-exist on earth, and it is for us to prevail over evil.

Just so free will and sin will co-exist, but we must choose.

Fasting

WHAT IS A FAST?

Fasting is part of the Christian faith life. In a fast, one chooses for a set time to do without something that is hard to do without, in order to focus on spiritual growth. It refers to the denial of the needs of the flesh in order to enhance our spirit and get closer to God. Fasting should also increase the power of prayer manifold. By us putting even our most basic urges and needs into a lower priority than the task at hand, we can put our whole selves into it.

Lord, make me an Instrument of Your Peace

The Peace Prayer of St. Francis apparently dates from the early part of this century, and was found in Normandy in 1915, written on the back of a holy card of St. Francis, from which the name comes. It takes a true and tested Christian, to write something like this:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

Radical Obedience to God

Luke 5:1-7 &  John 14:15

Jesus said 'if you love Me, you will obey Me'.

Your obedience to God's Word in your life is the most important step in fulfilling your destiny and finding His blessing.

Obedience is not always an easy task. The choice of obedience can make you nervous, uncomfortable and even unpopular with others. However your decision to obey the Holy Spirit's leading in your life on a daily basis is your platform to true success.

After spending all day trying to catch fish in the river, Peter and his men were about to give up. That very moment, Jesus turned up on the scene and asked him to cast his net one more time on the other side. Peter was understandably hesitant. He was an experienced fisherman who had been trying all day.

However, he chose to obey the word of the Lord.

Noah chose to obey God despite never seeing rain. Abraham chose to obey God and took Isaac to the point of sacrifice until God stepped in. The rich young man, whom Jesus told so sell all his things and join them, couldn't obey. What an opportunity did he not give up! If only he knew.

God requires radical obedience from you. He asks you to heed His words and obey them. Follow His precepts. Apply His principles and allow the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Your obedience is the greatest expression of your love for God.

Bethink yourselves.

Bethink yourselves - Leo Tolstoi - abstracts.
Article by P.K.Odendaal

Well, I take my hat off for Leo Tolstoi, who was not afraid to tell the Russian rulers what we are afraid to tell our rulers.

Just a few of his statements to bring us back to earth and to our mission. He gets the name of the words from a citation of Jesus Christ. Tolstoi knew very well that war was not about who was right, but rather about who was left.

All over Russia, from the Palace to the remotest village, the pastors of Churches, calling themselves Christians, appeal to that God who has enjoined love to one's enemies - to the God of Love Himself - to help the work of the devil to further the slaughter of men.

Let everyman interrupt the work he has begun and ask himself : Who am I? From whence have I appeared, and in what consists my destiny? And having answered these questions, according to the answer decide whether that which thou doest is in conformity with thy destiny.

This unfortunate and entangled young man (The Tsar) ... confidently thanks and blesses the troops whom he call his own for murder in defence of lands which with yet less right he calls his own.
... but how can a believing Christian ... take a gun, or stand by a cannon, and aim at a crowd of his fellow-men, desiring to kill as many of them as possible ?

If there be a God, He will not ask me whether I retained Chi-nam-po with its timber shores, or Port Arthur or even that conglomeration which is called the Russian Empire (from being taken by the Japannese in that war), which He did not confide to my care, but He will ask me what I have done with that life He put at my disposal; - did I use it for the purpose for which it was predestined, and under the conditions for fulfilling which it was intrsusted to me? Have I fulfilled His law?

Therefore, for a religious man there is no question as to whether many or few men act as he does (resisting war and maybe getting shot for not participating in it), or of what may happen to him if he does that which he should do. He knows that besides life and death nothing can happen, and that life and death are in the hands of God whom he obeys.

I cannot act otherwise than as God demands of me, and that therefore I as a man can neither directly nor indirectly, nor by helping, nor by inciting to it, participate in war; I cannot, I do not wish to, and I will not.

The Bible - spiritual value

The Bible:

This Book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of Salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers.

It’s doctrines are holy, it’s precepts are binding, its histories are true and it’s decisions are immutable.

Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy.

It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you.

It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword & the Christian’s character.

Here paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed.

Christ is the grand subject, our good it’s design and the glory of God it’s end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory and a river of pleasure.

It is given to you in life, will be opened at the judgment and be remembered Forever.

It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour and condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

The Bible - some interesting facts

The Bible contains 66 books, written by 44 authors over a period of about 1500 years. The 39 books of the Old Testament were composed between 1400 and 400 B.C., the 27 books of the New Testament between A.D. 50 and 100.

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time. How many Bibles do you think are sold in one year? 150 million! There are over 4 billion Bibles in print and yet most people have not yet heard the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Knowing that the Bible is written by God, is there any evidence to prove this supernatural words and of the Bible? There is. From history, archaeology, science and prophecy we have a lot of evidence to show that the Bible is indeed the word of God. Let's look briefly at it.

Historical evidence: First of all, they are over 24, 000 ancient copies of portions of the New Testament. The closest in all other books is Homer's Iliad, which has 643 ancient copies

Secondly, the Bible itself does not have any contradictions within it.
Thirdly, the external evidence for the Bible is incredible. There is a Roman historian named Tactitus and a Jewish historian named Josephus that both support the historical accuracy of the Bible. Also, there were 17 secular historians, who wrote about the death of Jesus by crucifixion. This could not have been made up by men, and shows that external historical records support the Bible.

Finally, no one has been able to identify one historical mistake anywhere in the Bible. If man did write the Bible, we surely would have found mistakes after 2000 years. But there are none.

Archaeological evidence: There have been more than 25,000 archaeological findings relating to people, places, and events in the Bible. And believe it or not, not one of them has contradicted anything in the Bible. That in and of itself is incredible proof of the Bible's trustworthiness.

So if we can believe the historical and archaeological evidence for the Bible, why do you think it's hard for us to believe the spiritual part of the book? Well, let's investigate and see.

Fulfilled prophecies validate the Bible:
Did you know that approximately 25% of the entire contents of the Bible is prophecy. That means about 25%, predicts future events. And to this date, every single one of them has come true to the smallest detail, except the remaining prophecies about the return of Jesus. Statistically, there is no way any man can predict the future with 100% accuracy.

Travelling Lightly - Part 2

Travelling Lightly - Part 2 - Baggage

So here we are to explore what baggage we are carrying on this pilgrimage and why we carry it, whilst we know we will not need it.

The first part of this baggage is our Own Thoughts and Opinions, and they are indeed the heaviest kind and the most destructive, we can carry. In aviation parlance it is known as carrying dangerous goods - like explosives.

Have you heard these remarks from yourself or other people?

·    I thought that ....

·    If I had known that ...

·    But I was taught to ....

·    Nobody told me .....

·    I will never .....

·    It does not make sense to me ....

·    Beware of him .....

·    This theory is not proven ....

·    It can't be God talking to me ...

·    That is clearly wrong ....

The other is our opinions :

·    This team is the best ...

·    I don't think it will work ...

·    I like ....

·    You cannot trust ....

·    Beware - it has happened to a friend of mine ...

·    These people are .......

·    These churches are ....

·    I have been through this, and let me tell you ....

·    Take my advice ....

These are the basis of our thought processes and they control what we will believe and what not and what our attitude towards things is.

Most of these thoughts and opinions are based on our perspective of our previous experience, and you can bet, having seen only one side to this with our limited vision, we are mostly wrong.

An easy example to demonstrate this is just listening to a person discussing why his team lost the last match. His team was the best yes, but ....

We get so wound up and intoxicated by the strength and exuberance of our own knowledge and wisdom that we cannot see the wood for the trees.

Let us look at some examples from the Bible.

God wants Moses to do this exciting, historical exodus, but rather than listening and doing he has this argument with God relating to his previous experience and his pre-conceived ideas :

Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

Exo 4:13  And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.(Get somebody else)

God's Angel spoke to Gideon :

Jdg 6:13  And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

Jdg 6:15  And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

The prophet ELisha tells Naaman to wash himself on the Jordan River to cleanse him from Leprosy  - here are his opinions :

2Ki 5:11  But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

2Ki 5:12  Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

Jesus Christ tells Peter that he will deny Him and that He is about to die :

Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Mat 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Mat 26:35  Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.

You and I go around with the same types of opinions, thoughts and apologies, and we miss the blessing which is laid away for us.

If we wish to have an exciting walk with God, we need to forget what we have learned because God moves in mysterious ways.

This luggage withholds us from a free and exciting walk with God.

Next time before you utter that stereotyped excuses, first think and say - why not. Someone once said - People dream of impossible things and say - How can that be, but I dream of impossible things and say - Why can't it be.

Just a personal thought from my own experience :

I have been to many Churches in my life, and when joining each Church, I had to learn fast what the policies, rules, beliefs, do's and don'ts of that Church is, and why all the other Churches are wrong. Then I used to cling to that framework for life and death, believing it to be the do all and end all of my salvation, only to go to a next Church and find that that was all wrong, and here your next set of beliefs are .... and so it went on for almost 50 years, until I came to the realisation that these opinions only add to the luggage I carry. So these days I am travelling quite lightly with regard to these. There is nothing true in life and in the Church, as the truth is only in Jesus Christ - so much so that Pilate in desperation asked Jesus Christ - What is truth? Here is a learned man who thought he knew the truth, but in this crisis hour, he realises that there is no such thing in human affairs.

We need to know that these pre-concieved ideas is a built in mechanism to protect us from the dangers of this world - to not fall into a trap someone else fell into, but there are no danger in serving God - so let go and let God have His way !!!

Skatryk kerke in `n brandarm wêreld (Beeld 09/09/29)

Rykdom hou `n groter bedreiging in vir die kerk as armoede.


Paul Verrayne het nou die dag by `n konferensie oor teologie in die stad (aangebied deur Pen) gesê dat die kerk in Suid-Afrika waarskynlik net soveel eiendom soos die staat besit en bygevoeg: “And we all know what Jesus would have done with that!”

Die afgelope tyd het ek vir `n hele paar kerk-ooms gevra waarom dit dan nodig is dat gemeentes sulke groot somme geld op belegging moet hê. Hulle antwoord was dat dit `n sekuriteit is vir die moontlike maer jare wat voorlê, `n belegging in die toekoms van die kerk.

Travelling Lightly - Part 1

Travelling Lightly - Part 1 - by P.K.Odendaal.

A variation on the theme is the crux of creativity, so, after writing a blog on Minimalism, I am back to spiritual things and wonder how heavy is our load on this pilgrimage we are on. What luggage have we brought along, and who carries those we can't. Why can we be minimalists in the spirit.

Maybe I should not even try and figure out, because the load we carry for someone else is not heavy - remember the song - He aint heavy, his my brother.

But it is really the load we carry ourselves for ourselves that is soooo... heavy.

Back to scripture :

Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

What are these loads. Lets look at our houses, which are temples of God, and see what we have which we do not need to carry. Maybe we should start at our  store-room where we have heaped up the bitterness and accusations against our fellow men, but on second thoughts - that would be too painful. We will rather carry it than discard it with pain. So leave that for a moment.

What are we carrying that would be of help to us when we enter that Celestial City? Do we fit the decription of the dog in 'The Prophet' where he talks about giving ?

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the over-prudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the Pilgrims to the Holy City?

I can think of quite a few things that one can carry that would be useless to us when we enter that City. These things are :

1.     Earthly possessions, wealth and vast amounts of money.

2.     Bitterness and accusations.
3.     Sins we think are too painful to confess.
4.     Emotional pain and other baggage we are too afraid to address here on earth.
5.     Wordliness and fashions and that which is fashionable.
6      Hatred and racial hatred.
7.     Hardness of heart. The seed of the Holy Spirit will not grow on the stoney places of our heart.

There are many others, and maybe you can help me with some which I wish to address in this blog series.

I don't know about the future, but know Who holds my hand

I don't know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from it's sunshine, For it's skies may turn to gray.
I don't worry o'er the future, For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him, For He knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow, And I know Who holds my hand.

Ev'ry step is getting brighter, As the golden stairs I climb;
Ev'ry burden's getting lighter; Ev'ry cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining, There no tear will dim the eyes,
At the ending of the rainbow, Where the mountains touch the sky.

I don't know about tomorrow, It may bring me poverty;
But the One Who feeds the sparrow, Is the One Who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion, May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me, And I'm covered with His blood.

Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow, And I know Who holds my hand.

THE PRACTICE OF SELF-SACRIFICE IN MARRIAGE

"It is easy to say we love God when that love doesn't cost us anything more than weekly attendance at religious services. But the real test of our love for God is how we treat the people right in front of us--our family members and fellow believers. We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in His image." (Commentary from the Life Application Bible in reference to 1 John 4:20-21)

Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated LOVE to us, in its truest form. The Bible says: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility

Religions and Philosophies - Part 3 - Buddhism

Religions and Philosophies - Part 3 - Buddhism
by P.K.Odendaal - 3 May 2011.

In this part we will be looking at Buddhism, which is regarded by some as a religion, contrary to its own claims, and it has a following of about 400 million people - more than the number of Protestants belonging to congregations. It is the second oldest philosophy in the world, only exceeded in age by the Judaic/Mosaic one).

The movement was started bySiddharta Gautama who was born in ca. 560 B.C..

Easter 4 - Christian / seccular tradition?

What’s with the bunny?

There is a lot of confusion regarding what Easter Sunday is all about. For some, Easter Sunday is about the Easter bunny, colourfully decorated Easter eggs hunts. Most people understand that Easter Sunday has something to do with the resurrection of Jesus, but are confused as to how the resurrection is related to the Easter eggs and the Easter bunny.

Like Christmas, the date coincide with a completely non-related pagan festival. Dating Easter in conjunction with the vernal equinox and full moon had nothing to do with the Biblical account of Christ’s resurrection or the Passover. The only thing that is Biblical regarding when Easter is now observed, is the fact that Easter is always on a Sunday.

Is smoking a sin?

This question is one which is asked much more frequently in modern times since more Pastors are taking a hands off approach to Church correction. You are more likely to hear things like, 'it's a matter of Christian liberty, so use your individual conscience.' In light of this attitude, it is possible that many Christians who smoke may have not even considered this an issue, or not even realized that it could be sin.

While no one in our day who is in their right mind would ever say smoking is a good thing, incredibly many theologians have nevertheless taken the indefensible position that 'this' doesn't mean it's a bad thing either. They place smoking into some sort of cosmic 'grey area,' and categorize it as a matter of conscience. When one chooses to look at things more from a personal rights viewpoint rather than strictly the scriptures, it is easy to blur the line between good and bad. When searching through scripture and considering all of the pertinent facts, I believe that the only 'honest' answer that we can come to regarding this question, is Yes. Smoking is a Sin. And it is a sin on multiple levels. It usually goes with defiling the body of Christ, bondage, addiction and selfishness.

Religions and Philosophies - Part 2 - Judaism, the Religion

Religions and Philosophies - Part 2 - Judaism, the religion by P.K.Odendaal - 23 April 2011.

Today we start our study with Judaism, the Religion. There is also Judaism, the Philosophy which we will address in the next part.

As per our definition of a religion we say Judaism is a Religion which believes in a superhuman controlling power and especially in a personal God entitled to obedience and worship.

The God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the Christians.

Religions and Philosophies - Part 1 - Introduction.

by P.K. Odendaal - 17 April 2011

Part 1 - Introduction.

We have been asked by some of our readers to explain the different Religions and Philosophies in the World today. It seems that there is confusion between the different religions and philosophies in that people do not know which of them are religions and which are philosophies.

The definition is quite easy in that a religion is the belief in a superhuman controlling power especially in a personal God entitled to obedience and worship. A philosophy on the other hand is just a set of rules to explain our lives in a (non religious) way that we can understand, and it provides rules to live by.

Most religions also have a philosophical part and in the discussion I will differentiate between the religions and their philosophies.

In this regard I classify the religions and philosophies as follows and in the chronological order (from ancient to recent) in which I will discuss them.

Religions :

1. Judaism
2. Christianity
3. Islam

Philosophies :

1. Mosaic philosophy
2. Buddhism
3. Confucianism
4. Christian philosophy

If I feel led, I will also discuss some other philosophies.

Of course I will look at them mainly from a Christian viewpoint, but I will try to review them without bias, as many of them provide valuable insights and perspectives that we can live by.
For instance, most of them are not mutually exclusive which I will demonstrate with an example.

One school of thought might say that we must live healthy lives to live longer, and another one that we must exercise daily to live longer. This is two very different viewpoints, but they can co-exist in any longevity program.

The other point I need to make is that some philosophies, like Buddhism, are thought by some people to be religions, but they do not conform to the basic definition of a religion as I have given above. Just to say that Money is a religion and Mammon is a god, as it is practised by some advanced capitalist nations who worship it, does not make it a religion. It has to conform to the basic definition. For some people football might be a religion, the way they worship it, but that type of religion and that type of god is not what I am talking about.

So my first guest to appear will be Moses... until next time then ...

The Grace of God

THE PRAYER THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good", but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot anti-abortionists and called it justifiable.

Testimonies

What is more powerful than a personal testimony? Visit our Testimony link and get inspired! If you wish to have your testimony published here, send it to us via facebook, publish it as a comment of this post, or email it to us.

Should you wish to receive our blogs via email, let us know too.

whatafriend.christian@gmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you!

A dialogue between Sir Thomas Moore and William Tyndale

A dialogue between Sir Thomas More (A man for all Seasons 1478 - 1535 A.D.) and William Tyndale (1494 - 1536 A.D.) - from Transcripts of their debate.

Written by P.K.Odendaal - February 2011

Foreword for all my Dialogues

Note by the Scribe (writer) : This piece was compiled with the latest facts and interpretations of History and the Bible. It is, after all, an unfinished work as the dialogue will only be conducted after the rapture when everyone will know everything, but it is also conceivable that it has already taken place, because there is no clear scripture that says one first has to go to a place of detention before inheriting your prize - be that eternal life or eternal damnation.

In any case, chances are that this would be a very accurate transcription of that dialogue. Part of this is of course speculation.

The intent of this dialogue is to bring the false theories, false statements, frailties and errors of humans to light, whilst confirming the events of the Bible which has stayed true for 3 300 years.

The reason that I have chosen these two characters is that both are the best mankind had to offer in these fields - Sir Thomas More as a man for all seasons and his triumph and failure as a man of the Church and William Tyndale as an exemplary example of a Man of God and of human excellence, resilience and tenacity.

Although I have tried to interpret the Bible and History as accurately as possible, I have had to use my poetic license to fill in the gaps, but I have not stretched that license unduly. If I have unduly criticised someone, due to my ignorance, I beg their pardon beforehand. I do, however, give them the benefit of the doubt as I am writing this with hindsight which is 20/20 vision, whilst they did this in uncertain times, in doubt, with partial knowledge, in the heat of the moment and some under pressure and duress.

More : Tyndale!!! What have you done again!!!!

Tyndale : I can't help it if these other clergymen do not like what I say and do not agree with me.

More : But John Bell says that you defy the Pope's policy, and as under-treasurer of the Exchequer I want to know what is going on.

Tyndale : Well, I said that the Pope was not the only representative of Christ on earth, but that every believer was.

More : It seems to me that you are also becoming one of those Reformers who want to change the world. It is not our duty to change the World - it is our duty to serve the Pope! Our King Henry VIII made it clear that he would support the Pope against all these heretics like Martin Luther. You can be glad Pope Leo X died last year, otherwise he would have excommunicated you. Pope Adrian VI, the last non-Italian Pope for the next 456 years, is busy with the Counter Reformation, and here you are busy undermining him. This is the last time that I will be lenient with you!!!

... somewhat later ...

More : Bishop Tunstall tells me that you want permission to translate the Bible into English. Where do you come at such outrageous ideas!! You know it is forbidden to translate the Bible into English since 1409 under the Constitutions of Oxford!!!

Tyndale : I feel that God has called me to do this, and I can read and write eight languages. I also obtained the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1512 and the Master of Arts degree in 1515. I also feel that the Bible should be available to all Englishmen in their native tongue, so that they can understand it.

More : Don't you realise that once we have an English Bible, every peasant will interpret it in his own way and the Pope and our Archbishop of Canterbury and ourselves will have no authority or power over them. I am presently helping our King Henry VIII with a rebuttal against the statements of that ape, drunkard and lousy little friar of a Martin Luther.

You know that Pope Leo X declared our King as the Defender of the Faith and excommunicated Martin Luther, and I must support our King in this fight against the Reformers and Heretics. We will never allow these Heretics in England.

Having God's Word available to the public in the language of the common man, English, would mean disaster to the church. No longer will we control access to the scriptures. If people were able to read the Bible in their own tongue, the Church's income and power will crumble. We would not possibly continue to get away with selling indulgences (the forgiveness of sins) or selling the release of loved ones from a church-manufactured "Purgatory". People would begin to challenge the Church's authority if the Church Officials were exposed as frauds and thieves. The contradictions between what God's Word said, and what the priests taught, would open the public's eyes and the truth would set them free from the grip of fear that the institutional church held. Salvation through faith, not works or donations, would be understood. The need for priests would vanish through the priesthood of all believers. The veneration of church-canonized Saints and Mary would be called into question. The availability of the scriptures in English is the biggest threat imaginable to the Catholic church. We will not give up without a fight.

Tindale : You leave me no choice but to defect to Wittenburg to do it there. I have already told one your clergymen who said : "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's" that : "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!"

.... somewhat later ....

More : Tyndale!!! How do you get these illegal Bible translations into England!!!

Tyndale : I have people who smuggle it in for me by way of wool bales on the ships. You are a bit late to condemn me now, as Bishop Tunstall has already condemned me in October 1526, and issued warnings to booksellers and had copies burned in public.

More : The King has asked King Charles V to have you apprehended and returned to England. I have also read your a reponse - An Answer unto Sir Thomas More’s Dialogue - to my rebuttal of Luther, and I have responded thereto with more than a half-million words in the Confutation - written in the form of a dialogue between you and me - a document thicker than the Bible.

What I said, in the main, was that you changed the meaning of the Bible in your translation so, that the teaching thereof is false and in line with the belief of these heretics, and it will instigate other heretics to follow suit.

Tyndale : But when King James will publish his version, he will incorporate 70% of my Old Testament translation and 90% of my New testament translation unaltered. Will King James also be a heretic?

Nevertheless, I will go into hiding in Antwerp or Hamburg and you will never find me. You have no jurisdiction in those Cities.

More : I hate you with an insatiable hate, you hell-hound in the kennel of the devil!!!! The Pope rules the World and I will get you from anywhere - be it by hook or crook.

Tyndale : You should not hate me. We have so much in common - rather support this effort of mine.

We were both disdainful of the Middle Ages, eager partisans for the new learning of the Renaissance, opposed the annulment of the King's marriage to Katherine of Arragon, loyal subjects of the King, prepared to defy the King to death, and I have a feeling we both will one day die a martyr's death.

The King is going to secede from the Catholic Church and he will need an English Bible to use in his newly founded Church of England. I know this. My friend Thomas Cromwell sent Stephen Vaughn to me while I was in hiding in Holland, asking me to retract my heretical opinions and come back to complete the full translation of the Bible into English, but of course I did not trust the King and stayed in exile.

More : Maybe you forget the fate of John Wycliffe - called the Morning Star of the reformation, although he died a hundred and thirty years before it started - who translated large parts of the New Testament into English on hand written manuscripts.

He was exhumed, 31 years after his death, on the orders of Pope Martin V, burned at the stake as a heretic, his bones broken and his ashes scattered in the River Swift.

Tyndale : I do not fear the Pope - I fear God!!!!

..... somewhat later ....

Tyndale : Why have you paid and sent Harry Phillips to betray and abduct me from Antwerp? He was a real conman - who provoked my trust before binding me and delivering me to the Pope. He said you paid him to do it.

I found him (Phillips) an honest man, handsomely learned and very conformable, so I shared my beliefs and secrets with him, not knowing it was to be the betrayal of the century.

When he called on me on May 21, I invited him to dine with me with the words : "You shall go with me, and be my guest, where you shall be welcome." As we left the safety of the English House, Phillips insisted with a great show of courtesy that I lead the way. He pointed at me to identify me to the imperial officers he had brought with him from Brussels. The arrest was quiet and easy. The officers said later that they pitied to see my simplicity when they took me.

More : I wanted to find you and burn you at the stake so that all the water in the world will not be able to quence you. I will stay loyal to the Pope - even if it costs me my life!!!!

You know I have already, as Lord Chancellor, imprisoned and interrogated Lutherans, sometimes in my own house, and I have sent six reformers to be burned at the stake. Your burning will be the crown of my achievements.

Tyndale : It will one day cost you your life, for as soon as King Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, he will inflict on you the death of a traitor, which is known as hang, drawn, and quartered. This means that you will be hanged by the neck (not dropped through a trapdoor, but slowly lifted off your feet) until you lose consciousness, then you will be taken down and revived, then castrated, then disemboweled and your intestines burned in a fire, then you will finally be put out of your misery by beheading, after which your head will be placed on a pike on London Bridge and your body will be cut into four quarters to be sent to four parts of the kingdom and displayed there as a warning against treason.

And what is more - this fate will befell you even before my death. Beware that you do not fall into the trap you set for me.

More : There is no way I will be treated like that. I am the Lord Chancellor and if I am to be charged with thwarting the divorce of the King, I will take the way of the coward and just say nothing.

(Note by Scribe : It turned out later that Sir Thomas More was beheaded with an axe only and 15 months later William Tyndale was strangled and burned at the Stake. If one looks at the accomplishments of both these characters one must admit that that of Sir Thomas More certainly was useless and destructible.

Sir Thomas More was, after all, not a Man for All seasons, but only one for the Pope's Last Season in England. The misnomer of Man for All Seasons was just a name the writer of the play by that name gave him, to bring some commercial credibility to a totally misguided man. If there was really A Man for All Seasons, it would certainly have been William Tyndale.

The author of A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt, says this in his Preface : Henry VIII found what various voices had urged for centuries, that the supposed Pope was no more than an ordinary Bishop, the Bishop of Rome. This made everything clear and everything possible. If the Pope was not a Pope at all, but merely a Bishop among Bishops, then his special powers as Pope did not exist. In particular, of course, he had no power to dispense with God's rulings in Leviticus 18, but equally important, he had no power to appoint other Bishops.

For if the Pope had not the power to appoint Bishops, then who did have, if not the King himself - the King by the Grace of God. Henry's ancestors, all those other Henries, had been absolutely right; the Bishops of Rome. without a shadow of legality, had succeeded over the centuries in setting up a rival reign within the reign, a sort of long drawn usurpation.

Many wars were fought, just because of this usurping of the power of Kings by the Pope - but that is another dialogue.)