The Crumbling Flake

Nothing is as brittle or as tempting as flake, Cadbury's flake chocolate, that is! Open one up and put it in front of any person and before long the flake will have its way! Its so different from other slabs of chocolate, so easy on the tongue and so satisfying! It is simply irresistable!
We used to have a saying, 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' in the old days. But I think we need to upgrade it to, 'that's the way the flake crumbles!' In the old days the cookie jar was the forbidden territory for boys and it was placed on the highest shelf in the pantry and only opened at special occasions - when there were visitors.
But every boy (and girl) sooner or later discovered the treasure jar and tried to get up there, by stacking chairs on top of each other or climbing up the racks and pulling things down in the process!
Sting sang 'How Fragile We Are' with a nice bossanova rhythm to it. It was somewhat of a tear jerker and we all thought, how true, how true!
Yet with escalating violence and crime in every nation of the world, wars and rumours of wars, it seems that humankind has forgotten how brittle we really are. Not soft, but brittle.
I know Cowboys don't cry and real men are hard, but the Man of all Men also wept on occasions. the shortest verse in the bible is, 'And Jesus wept'. He was at the grave of Lazarus, his friend, who died four days ago but he had no inside information to go there. He only did what His Father in Heaven told him to do. When he arrived on the scene, Martha and Mary both scolded him for coming so late: if you had been here he would not have died!
And so He cried. He cried because of their unbelief that He is the Resurrection and the Life. He cried because He found it hard to explain to people who He really was. He found it hard that they refused to believe in Him. He also felt sorry for his friend having to go through this ordeal. But it did reveal the brittle state of life: his friend passed away and he wept.
Funny how funerals bring out different things in different people.
I spoke at a funeral of an African lady in Stellenbosch last year and saw how the family and friends loaded bunches of bouquest of flowers around the coffin and how they praised her for about three hours and gave money to her family and told the whole world what a great person she was. Afterwards they slaughtered some cattle for a mighty funeral party! It must have cost an arm and a leg to pay for all the entertainment - ala African style.
When I was given five minutes to say something, I only needed two. This is what I said: 'Why do you wait till someone is dead before you give her flowers? Why do you wait till someone's dead before you praise her and tell others what a wonderful person she was? Why do you wait till someone is dead before you give them money? Why don't you give flowers while someone is alive?' And then, I sat down. I did not cry. I just sat down.
As we walked out of the hall, young people grabbed me by the arm and whispered: 'thanks!' Outside a grey headed old man leaning on his knob kierie took me aside and said, 'what you said here today needs to be spoken all over Africa! We honour the dead more than the living!' The young people came to me and said, 'we are so sick and tired of all the funerals we have to go to every Saturday and the funerals are all day! We have no life of our own! We work six days a week and then have to go to funerals of family and friends, because if you don't go they say you dishonour the dead person. And Sundays we have to go to church and you know our services - they last for 5 hours!' I heard the cry of the youth and that made me want to cry!
Traditions are squeezing the life out of the youth of our country!
Who will liberate them? Who will tell them life is more important than death? Even though life is brittle and can end at any moment?
It is the brittle state of life that makes us seek a strong tower, a place of refuge, a rock of defense, someone like our Lord Jesus Christ, who is a help that has been tested in many ways ans never found wanting.
He took on the brittle state of human life in order to feel what it was like to be a man, and then he said, he has compassion on us, he is touched by the feelings of our infirmities, because he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin! Absolutely astonishing that he went through all the temptations without ever giving in to anyone! That is why all the Da Vinci codes and other conspiracy theories are constantly trying to prove that he had to have some secret love affairs in the silent years and that he must have had children born out of wedlock - and such rubbish!
But here was a man that would not give in to an open flake in front of him! He understood the brittleness of it all and conquered it in order to succour us in times of testing and trials.
By the way, I have just finished the flake Nola put in front of me before I started blogging! Go and enjoy one too, because Jesus paid the price for us and overcame everything so that we can be free to live life depending on His grace and His power to help us overcome things in our own lives.
There's nothing flaky about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Nothing at all! It is solid and it helps us in our flaky human existence to find solace and comfort at all times, knowing that He cares for us and understands us better that we can understand ourselves.

My Servant Shall Succeed!

My servant shall succeed in his task and be highly honoured. This is a prophecy in the book of Isaiah that my mother sent me throughout her lifetime. Whenever I got discouraged, whenever I did not know which way to turn; when it looked like all was lost and that my life was going nowehre; when there was no financial profit in all the things I did; when I was rejected by the church leaders and my ideas squashed; when I wanted to throw in the towel on many occasions she would simply cut out a piece of paper on which she typed the words on her old black Remmington type writer with the black and red ribbon: 'My servant shall succeed in his task!'

Being a missionary in the modern world without the backing of any organization who want to own you and squeeze you into their own mould, is certainly not an easy task! You never budget because you do not know where the money is going to come from this year! You never plan a holiday because you do not know who is going to offer a holiday home for you in December! There is no pension scheme, nor medical aid - it is a journey of total faith - and praise God for His grace and mercy, I have travelled this path for over 35 years now, 30 with a wife and family and I can testify with confidence: it works to trust God for everything! But I admit it is not for the fainthearted or squeemish.

If God decided you are going to be successful - then everything will work together for your good if you love Him and you are called according to His purpose, which is to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, the first born among many brothers.

The secret lies in the fact that you have to choose to become God's servant. It is His servant that shall succeed in His task.

Ephesians 2 tells us that we are the workmanship of God who created us for a specific task and how he empowers us to complete that task successfully. He created good works for us to walk in. So your divine design is actually the secret of success - not just wordly drive and selfish motivation!

I once wondered what the Lord meant by telling his disciples to look at the lillies of the field and the birds in the air...then I went to sit on the side of Table Mountain where there are a lot of lillies every day for a few hours and just look and lie on my back and watch the bird in the air. I pondered and meditated but didn't quite get it.

Suddenly the revelation came to me one day - unexpectedly! The lillies are where they are supposed to be and the birds are where they are supposed to be! Only the surrelaist painter Salvador Dali would paint lillies in the air and birds planted in the ground!

Lillies do not try to be birds and birds do not try to be lillies. In being what they were created to be they do not have to toil or labour and the Creator sees to it that they are clothed and fed! To feed all the sparrows in America would bankrupt the governmnet in no time! God takes good care of his creatures.

So in order to be God's servant we should first of all learn to be ourselves, first. Then we can do what we were designed to do and have success as a result. Success is not a place you arrive at. It is a lifestyle.

Moses told Joshua to meditate in the word day and night and to observe what to do and then he would make his way prosperous and have good success. After Moses passed away God repeated the same words to the young man. Read the book of Joshua to see what he accomplished through meditation in the Holy Scriptures!

All I wanted to do was to play professional cricket and be an actor! There was no such thing as professional cricket when I was young (a bit before my time) so I became an actor. After many years I became a missionary. While in Australia I heard these words on the inside: prophetic actor! I became a preacher that acts out the prophetic word of God when I preach - and I still help to coach cricket wherever I can!

So, by just being honest with who I really was, I was enabled to raise a family, by the grace of God and to put my children through school, bible school and university. The youngest one is still at school. It is a miracle if you consider that most places I go to as a missionary cannot afford to have me there. We do have a church called Harvester that helps me from time to time, but not all the time.

By being faithful to the call I received as a 12 year old boy when Aunty Raper the old prophetess came to our house in 65 Gardener Avenue, Brakpan, and prophesied, 'Young man you have a calling from God. God will use you in other lands!' I was able to live and raise a family! My wife needs a medal for sticking with me! But she also has a call. When met her I asked her what she wanted to do with her life. She said she would like to be a missionary and an actress. I realised that our paths were the same - and she was pretty, sporting and talented! So I popped the question and later on she accepted!

I cannot measure my success but I know I have had some success already and I do not live for one day when I am successful. I enjoy one day at a time and try to live life to the full - as a servant of the Lord, perhaps not perfect, with many shortcomings and weaknesses, but at least sold out to be a servant of the Lord and willing to go to other nations.

What is it that you were designed to do? What is in your heart, if you are honest? A man's gift will make room for him: wherever it turns it prospers! My gift is to talk to groups of people, on stage or while preaching!

The Hole in the Doughnut

I remember distinctly how Dr. Gray explained the story about the doughnut to us at Miracle Valley, Arizona - and that was in 1973! just goes to show that if a story is worth repeating it is worth repeating! (We are in 2008 now!)
There was a moment in a meeting when the Holy Spirit melted every heart and people started acknowledging their pride. A second year student at The Valley got up and summarized his feeling about himself in the following words:
'I used to think I was something. But I am nothing. Nothing at all. You know the hole in the doughnut? That's me! That's what I am - just a hole in a doughnut!'
It was very touching and everyone agreed that we are nothing compared to Christ Jesus. He is and should be everything to us.
Later that afternoon a group of students were talking about returning to do the third year of practical ministry training at The Valley. The young man who used the figure of the doughnut in his confession, indicated that he was also considering coming back for ministry training. Some of the other students teased him by saying, ' Man! You can't preach!'
At this point Dr. Gray walked passed and overheard the young man responding in the following manner: 'I can preach just as good as anyone of you can preach! In fact I can even preach better than some of you!'
Dr. Gray laughed and cleaned his throat a litte and then remarked: 'Suddenly the young man was no longer the hole in the doughnut!'
I'll never forget that story...
Whenever I think I'm the doughnut, I remember that image.
Isaiah talks about the sieve of pride and those who say they are 'Holier than thou'. The African Americans at The Valley used to talk about some people who were, 'holier than thou; deeper than deep; too high to come by!'
Sport is a wonderful leveler. Just when you think you are unbeatable you have a bad day! There are a few exceptions like Tiger Woods who just seem to get better and better as he grows older. But he revealed the other day that he never thought he would have 9 major golf titles behind his name at the age of 32 - some humility in that statement, don't you think?
Pride comes before the fall. That is not a saying - that is the truth. We have all experienced in some way or another. The person walking with their nose in the air, cannot see the banana peel on the pavement and the consequences are appalling!
When they said The Titanic was unsinkable, an iceberg proved them wrong...a piece of ice sunk a ship! When Muhammed Ali kept announcing that he was the unbeatable champion of the world, he got knocked out and suffers Alzheimers disease for the rest of his life. When John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ he was gunned down by a madman. The moment Lucifer wanted to take over the throne of God he was cast down like lightning from heaven. When Herod spoke like a god, and people honoured him as one, he fell down and worms ate him up. Horror of horrors!
Well, we are all flesh and have nothing to boast about, that is really all I am saying. When someone else falls, we should not rejoice but go and help to pick them up. He who stands should take care that he does not fall in the same way as the person he is judging.
How quickly this life passess...like a shuttle, says Job, a shooting star through the air, and it is gone. Moses says it passes like a shadow. He described his eventful 120 years as a hand width...

I love a crispy doughnut with some icing on it! But whenever I eat one I am reminded of this story and it is a good time to take stock of one's own life. Our own assessments of our lives are not always accurate. That is why our Good Shepherd sometimes allows trials and temptations to come in situations we would not have chosen for ourselves or for our dear ones, so that we can be reminded that we have nothing to boast of in the flesh.

All we have and all we are have been graciously given to us. We are simply to be grateful for what God has allowed in our lives. We receive correction from him and take the instruction that adversity and suffering bring. Our faith is tempered by these things.

In a moment of disappointment remember to look for the mercy of God in it: it is by His grace that we are not consumed, because we are like the flower of the grass, today it is here and blossomes, then the wind blows over it, and it is gone!

But in the midst of this temporary state of being, we have an option to add eternal value to our lives by putting our faith in Christ's offering for the sin of mankind: by believing he died for me, He imparts eternal life into my being and I have this hope in me that I will forever be with the Lord, no matter what happens after this life!

So, in myself I am just the hole in the doughnut, but in Christ, I add taste to life! But because I know my source and substance, I am thankful for the opportunities offered to me daily to do what I can do in order to be a shining light for Jesus, in spite of my own deficiencies and weaknesses. All the glory of any achievement goes to my Maker. I am nothing without Him.

He is the real doughnut! He is the Master Piece of God's Creation! He is everything to me!

A Lesson from the Manchester United's Air Crash

At the end of this blogg the lesson will be learned...it is a lesson we prefer not to learn, if we are honest. It is not one we would choose to learn. The lessons Jesus taught His disciples were often of this nature.

Jesus of Nazareth made statements that were totally out of this world. No one on earth could perform what He required. For instance: if you but look on a woman to desire her you have already committed adultery with her in your heart. How on earth can any man survive just walking down the street? Then he comes with this one, 'pray for your enemies!'
David in the Old Testament did that one all right! But he prayed, kill my enemies, wipe out the remembrance of their name on earth, let nothing they possess remain! Destroy! Wipe Out! Erase!
Well, I don't think that is what Jesus had in mind, do you?
Why does Jesus make things so terribly hard for us? Why does he add impossibility to each New Covenant command? He comes up with things like, ' Be perfect!' and right there most of us bow out of the arena of faith, because we know who we really are deep inside and none of us dare claim perfection of any kind, if we are painfully honest.
But I have discovered that truth is only known in the excercise of it. In other words, first do the commandment and then you will find out how it works, or if it works!
It takes faith to do something that you don't have a clue about doing.
So, I started praying for my enemies. First of all, I had to make it clear in my own mind who my enemies were. Were they really my enemies, or only people I don't like? Did they harm me on purpose? Did I ever try to forgive them? Was I too sensitive? Was I unforgiving?
In the Clint Eastwood movie The Unforgiven Clint has this real cowboy moment when he is about to step out of the bar where he has just dealt with the bully sheriff of the town and tells anyone who dares to shoot at him in the street that he would kill them, kill their wives, kill their children and kill their horses and burn down their houses! That about summarises how most feel about their enemies!
Here's Christ, hanging bleeding and dying on a rugged cross, dripping blood and convulsing as his body tries to get away from the source of pain of the nails through the hands and the feet but is not able to, and listen to what He says: 'Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!'
Of course they knew what they were doing: they were crucifying him and they were past masters at such cruelty which the Romans learned from the Phoenicians, but just perfected the art and making it a public display of horror.
Why on earth would he say such a thing? So that the Father's will in heaven could be done here. The kingdom had to come down from heaven to earth and His bleeding body, torn apart for our sins and wrongdoing, became the entry point. Will we ever understand the price he paid? I don't think so. It boggles the mind. Yet He showed us how to pray for our enemies and what to pray.
Dr. Gray, my mentor at Miracle Valley, Arizona, used to repeatedly tell us: prayer changes things and the thing it changes most is you!
Most people think prayer is a magic wand that you can used to get what you want and get your will on earth done in a jiffy - as if God is the genie in the lamp that we must just rub up in the right way with our faith confessions and then he appears to do our will. This false teaching crept in through teachers who wanted to sell books and tapes and appealed to the ego of men and women who never understood the message of the cross: that of denying yourself and taking up one's cross before even starting to follow the Messiah.
Perhaps we need to rethink our motives for praying. Perhaps we have been given the wrong perspective. That is why we cannot pray for our enemies.
When you pray for someone that is your enemy (real or imagined) it changes your thoughts about that person. You begin to intercede for someone and the effort begins to work inwardly, on you, changing you from the inside, until you no longer see the enemy but only another human being, maybe at fault with you, but maybe ignorantly so, being misinformed, hurting, find ways to express the hurt towards you in order to still their own pain and misfortune...
The mind boggles...but somewhere in this mind-field of emotions there is a glimmer of hope that we may just grasp the bit of truth that was at the basis of Christ's commandment to love one's enemies...
So, in spite of how impossible it may seem, in spite of how difficult it may be, just mention the names of those whom you regard as enemies, whom your children at school regard as enemies, whom your family regard as enemies and say the Christ words: 'Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!' And see what happens if you do this regularly...
If a man's ways please the Lord, He even makes his enemies to become his friends...eventually!
If all mankind could make this effort in Iraq, in Palestine, in Kenya in South Africa would it not bring about a change that nothing else could?
Nice pipe dream! Well, so is Old Trafford, a field of dreams for Manchester United fans - but remember that Sir Matt Busby's Babes paid with their lives in the air disaster on 6th February 1958 when the plane crashed as it took off in Munich. That pain and suffering aroused the sympathy and admiration from United fans across the globe that is still the Legacy of the team 50 years later, wherever they arrive at an airport, people have an awe, a respect that is different than their reaction to any other sports team. All those young players lost their lives before they could really enjoy their game. The mystique of just how good they could have been will always remain a mystery but helps to establish an affection for the club in the hearts of people everywhere. Those who died will never be forgotten.
The way Jesus died for us, innocently, creates even a greater sense of awe and respect for the Son of God, who gave his life to make us champions in the game of life - to help us do the impossible, to overcome the unsurmountable and to pass the uncrossable, all by faith in His Name that gives us strength in our weakness to be more than conquerors in this world.