DEATH RATE IS 100%

Here is something interesting… Did you know that the death rate is
100%...
100% of people that died… Is still dead.

Think about this… You will die one day. What will you leave behind?
Let's impact the world!!

Mathys

Love or love?

When we think love we think of something cuddly and soft. The
floating feeling of falling in love and all the nice things that go
with it. Then later in life after you have been with your partner for
a while you realise that love had nothing to do with that feeling.
Love is about caring when it is not convenient for
you, shopping when you hate it, talking when you are barely able to
release a grunt.

Why then is it that people that used to be so in love can hate and
spite one another so badly once they get separated? Sometimes even
using their kids as the weapons of mass destruction...

How fine is this line that separates love from hate?

When God created us we knew nothing about our nakedness (physical
love) yet Adam loved Eve so much that already he accepted his fate of
dying with her. He knew exactly what would happen if he ate the
fruit.

Adam forgot one thing though, that he chose his love for Eve over the
love for God. This should have beenthe end of it according to our
standards.

The amazing part is that
God did not stop loving Adam.

The line should have been crossed we should be hated by God or even
destroyed!

Ah but we never realised that God is the line. He is Love. The power
of such love so extraordinary that no matter how you have
disappointed Him He still died to save you. In fact he is still
counting your hair everyday....

Now that we realise that God's Love for us is eternal and not based
on any feelings lets base our relationships on His type of Love, on
Him.
Next time if you are not sure if something is from God consider if it
is based on Love Godly Love.

Dewald

LIVE LIFE

Some wise words that landed in my inbox this morning:

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed
to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken
probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break
hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll
fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an
old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll
eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh
too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty
seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get
back.
Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.

Dewald

WISDOM

The Bible comes to this conclusion regarding Wisdom:
"Wisdom is to know God and to shun evil"

Know God as you know your wife or friends intimately...

Shun evil - Do not put yourself in a position where you are
vulnerable in that way you avoid (shun) evil.

And all the other joys will be added.....look at Solomon.

ANOTHER CHANCE

If you woke up this morning, congratulations!! You get another chance.
What are you going to do with it?

Mathys

FAITH ONE-SIDED

Faith one sided
Question: Can faith be one sided? In other words, let us say someone
is ill and I pray for that person though they have no faith….can they
be healed on the basis of my faith?
I'm reminded about two stories off hand in the Bible, but one that
jumps out at me is the guy that was lowered through the roof of a
house by his mates so that he may be healed by Jesus. Picture this,
Jesus was in the village for some time and must have walked past this
guy a few times. The guy might have given up hope for all we know.
One of his mates might have been in the house while Jesus was talking
and all of a sudden had this bright idea, got some mates together,
picked him up and dropped him through the roof. Because of there
faith he was healed.
Next time someone around you is down and out, pick them up and carry
them on your faith to God.
Let's do what mates should do, be there for each other.
Mathys

WICKETS, IT'S A BALANCING ACT

Do you have your wickets covered and who is covering it for you in life?
We get so busy and our focus are pulled from one side to the other
and before we know it the area that we thought is okay gets
"wicketed" We have to realise that we can't place our focus on
everything in our life, it's just impossible and you will get worn
out if you try and do so. But in contrary to this I would also like
to add that we can't let our gaurd down in other areas of life just
because we think it's covered. We have to balance life, we have to
learn and know when something in our life is suffering because we
have been neglecting it.
How do I balance my work and family life? How do I balance my
Christian life in this world? How do I balance myself?
Ps.119:9-11
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

I have to search for the heart of the Father, in doing this I will
know what needs to be balanced and what I just plain simple need to
drop.
Mathys

ARE WE ALL JUST MISUNDERSTOOD?

I recently had the fortune or should I say misfortune to stumble
across a blog article with the title Sacrificial lamb on the Samson
blinded blog. See link below to read for yourself.

http://samsonblinded.org/blog/sacrificial-lamb.htm
It was a very negative article about how the Christians cant wait for
the Jews to be pulverized in Jerusalem. I would like to quote from
his site:

"A Christian editor sarcastically commented on one of my articles: "A
simple, inexpensive solution: pulverize Jerusalem. Think of the
problems that would solve." After a few seconds of shock, I realized
the suggestion as the quintessence of messianic attitude toward
Israel. Christians exterminated the Jews for fifteen centuries, and
neither mentality nor Christian religion has changed."

Several comments was made after the article and the importance of the
misunderstanding between Jews and Christians and even Christians and
Christians about the role the Jewish people play was what shocked me.
Some people are under the illusion should the Jewish people be
exterminated the whole world will be peaceful. I think we should
remember Jesus' comments to the disciples to go to the nation of
Israel first and then to the Gentiles. This shows the importance the
Lord put on the nation of Israel who because of their inherited
stubbornness not to conform to their surroundings was able to present
us with a clear message from creation up to the birth of the Messiah.

The lies Satan spread that the Jews killed Jesus has caused great
confusion and divide between two people who should have otherwise
been at peace. Fact the Jews could not touch Jesus until He allowed
it. He volunteered to be our Messiah. He choose the Jewish people. He
has not forgotten them or us his adopted children. He is coming back
for us. Amen

WASTE OF TIME

Got this from one of Baz Luhrmann songs Everybody's Free

"Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes
you're behind...the race is long, and in the end, it's only with
yourself."

Reference http://www.lyricscrawler.com/song/3953.html

FREEDOM WRITERS

For those of you that haven't seen the movie Freedom Writers, go get
it now!!
It's amazing how we can be divided over race or colour but deep down
we have so much in common that we are actually more alike than we
would like to admit.
We have to realize that there is potential in every person no matter
his or her background or dare I say their religion even. How much
greater is it to built up someone of an opposing faith in just being
there for him/her and in this way win their trust and respect without
confronting them first about that which "divides" or make us
"different".

May this movie impact your life and force you to think in a new
direction.

Destiny

I would like to share two things on destiny with you.

-Your destiny is in the people you meet.
Why do I say this? Think about where you are today and about the
people that changed you and helped you to be who you are.

-Your destiny is to change the world.
You were born to change the world, you are here right now because
there is a purpose for you. Believe this and live it!!

DARKNESS WITHIN FAITH

My personal reflections on an article by David Van Biema, Time
Magazine 23 Aug 2007 "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith"

"O God, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self
thirsts for you, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and
weary land where no water is." [1]

The article Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith is written with a
shocking insight into the life of a great woman, Mother Teresa (Anges
Bojaxhiu), and portraying one of her deepest inner battles "the
darkness within faith" [2] that she faced for the biggest part of her
ministry. This "darkness" reflected in letters written to her
confessors, which showed a woman that very much loved God and tried
her very best to do His will, yet still felt even lonelier in doing
so.

On this subject I'm with Mother Teresa and David as with so many
others, when we in all our human failures ask the same question in
times of darkness. Even though we know there is a God we still ask
the question when looking at our situations.
"… that there was no human remedy for it (that is, she should not
feel responsible for affecting it); that feeling Jesus is not the
only proof of his being there, and her very craving for God was a
'sure sign' of his 'hidden presence' in her life; and that the
absence was in fact part of the 'spiritual side' of her work for
Jesus." [2]
Reading this statement strengthens my way of living for God in the
fact that, if the norm in my life is feelings and manifestations I
will fail in troubled times, but if the norm in my life is faith upon
the word of God, I will pull through troubles times. Mother Teresa
could have stopped believing, doing and caring but how many lives
would have been lost by her going on a feeling.

In my life as a Christian there will be times that I feel that God is
just not there. These are the times that I need to start acting in
faith as Mother Teresa did and continue pushing forward for that
greater goal, His kingdom. Mother Teresa said it so beautifully;
"I accept not in my feelings—but with my will, the Will of God—I
accept His will" [2]
Having times of darkness within faith forces me to turn my face away
from that which is around me and face towards my creator, it forces
me to search His will and not mine.

These are not times of abandonment but times of focusing on my
dependence in God.

References:

1 Psalm 63:1 Amplified Bible
2 David Van Biema, Time Magazine 23 Aug 2007

BECOMING REAL

What is it about becoming real? read on......

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the
others. He was so old and most of the hairs in his tail had been
pulled out to string bead necklaces. For nursery magic is very
strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and
wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side
by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room.
"Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out
handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing
that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time,
not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When
you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit
by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It
takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who
break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.
Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved
off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very
shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are
Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

from The Velveteen Rabbit

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/williams/rabbit/rabbit.html
by Margery Williams; illustration by William Nicholson

LIFE

Walk on the wild side
Go Places
Climb the mountains
Dive the oceans
Walk the land
Challenge yourself
Challenge others
Be inspired
Inspire someone

I saw this once on someone's T-shirt sitting at a church service and I was gripped by it. In a way it's me in a few words. This is my first entry onto the blog so come with me and enjoy the journey.

Fear Faith Love

Martin Sheen, actor and star of the award-winning television series
"The West Wing"

Fear is useless
Faith is necessary
Love is everything!