Contemplation

'Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.' (Philippians 4:8)

Why Forgive?

Our world is full of hurt and offended people. After all, who has not - however inadvertently - offended or hurt someone, oftentimes those whom they love the most? Even more important, who has not been hurt or offended, even by those whom they love the most?

It's a sad fact of life that it's easy to offend; it is even easier to be offended. What's not so easy is to forgive. If only forgiveness came as easy as offence. What a better world it would be.

If we demanded fairness and justice in every aspect of our lives, we could never forgive - or for that matter - be forgiven.

Perhaps, by forgiving, we help ourselves; we get free from anger and rage and hatred that can destroy our lives.

By forgiving, we help break the cycle of hatred, revenge and often violence that does so much to damage the world.

Look to the cross, only as we realise what we have been forgiven can we begin to forgive others.
14th July '6

The Silversmith

'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.' Malachi 3:3...

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of bobbly, silver rock over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such hot spots; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, not only had he to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that's easy, when I see my image in it"!
26 July 07

State of Mind

The bumble bee's wings are too small for its body and so, aerodynamically, it's not supposed to be able to fly. However, the bumble bee does not know this and so, because it wants to, it flies!
7 January '6

Now That's Fast!

Regarding the Lion's Den, Gabrielle said, "Daniel, I was by the Throne of God when you began to pray... but before you finished, I was by your side!"
7 January '5

Abortion?

A woman is pregnant... She already has 8 children; Amongst these, 3 are deaf, 2 are blind and 1 retarded. She also has syphillis. Would you advise she aborts? If your answer was 'yes', you've just killed Beethoven!
16 July '5

World War II Saying

"There are no athiests down fox-holes!"
7 January '5

Miracles?

You don't qualify for a miracle until you have a problem that nobody else could solve, but God!
25 July '4

B E L I E V E

Because

Emmanuel

Lives

I

Expect

Victory

Everytime
15 July '5

Fatherly Gifts

Everyone likes to give presents to their children and share in the pleasure of seeing them open something they have always wanted...

In the West, how much time would you say, on average, fathers spend with each child daily?

Statistics show it has fallen to 37 seconds!!!
7 January '4

Stats & Facts

The moon is 224,000 miles from the Earth. Any closer and the tides would rise and flood the Earth! The sun is 93,000,000 miles from the Earth. Any closer and humans would roast. Any further and humans would freeze solid!
19 March '7

Work's Psalm

The Lord is my real boss, I shall not want;

He gives me peace when chaos is all around me, He gently reminds me to pray before I speak, To do all things without murmuring and complaining.

He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions, that I might honour Him in everything I do; even though I face absurd amounts of emails, system crashes, un-realistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors and an aging body that does not co-operate every morning.

I will not stop, for He is with me; He raises me up when they fail to promote me, He claims me as His own even when the company threatens to let me go.

His faithfulness and love are better than my bonus cheque. His retirement plan beats any that there is!

When it is all said and done, I shall be working a whole lot more for Him.

And for that I shall bless His name, Forever and ever, Amen.
May 08

New Year

God is good and ever faithful!

Another year is upon us and to tell you the truth, I really would not like to have to go through another year like last year! What is going on? Is this the beginning of birth-pains?

If there is even a small possibility of this being the case then it is my belief that we ought to start looking upward.

My prayer is that we will indeed make the most of each day throughout 2009. Making it our duty to stay focussed on the mission that God has honoured us with in spite of whatever may come our way to distract us.

Let us also be praying for each other remembering those who are already in the struggle.

May God bless all that you are planning to achieve throughout this year and may He give you both strength and meekness to execute His will with precision, care and duty.
2 January 2009