May you be drawn to the cross - A prayer from Aggie's benedictions

may you be drawn

to the cross

across years and miles

of sorrow and joy

comforted by its harsh form,

longing for its peace.
as you journey,

may you focus

not only on your destination

but on your fellow pilgrims

displaced and searching

in desperate need of Christ.
and may you never

stop walking

though in despair and confused

whatever your burden

knowing that perfect healing awaits

at the cross of Christ.

Citizenship

Today I got my Irish passport! I am very excited. I am a born and bred South African, but had an Irish grandfather. My siblings applied for their Irish citizenship and passports years ago, but the idea just never appealed to me. Last year, I finally applied for Irish citizenship.

I am excited, because I am leaving for the UK on Friday and now I can stand in the 'short queue' on Heathrow :-) I will not need visums for EU countries again, because I am now an EU citizen.

All the excitement about citizenship reminded me of my most important citizenship. I am also a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven. This citizenship carries great benefits and some responsibility - the King of all kings became my Father.

The Creator of the Universe is interested in me and my wellbeing. He cared enough to come to earth and live as a human. He cared enough to take my punishment. He did not do a simple trade-off nor did He write some diplomatic agreement. He paid the full price. I am redeemed because of the price He paid.

And now... I am His ambassador. Paul writes that we are new creations. We are under a New Ruler with new rules.

New rules? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your fellow man as you love yourself. Just that.

Palm Sunday

This Sunday will be Palm Sunday. We will remember Jesus' final entry in Jerusalem. The crowds waving palms, throwing clothes on the ground... and Jesus, the King of Kings making His entry on a donkey. Simple, yet King. Humble, yet Lord of all creation.

I don't think God needs our praise, but we need to praise Him. God made us with the desire to worship and if we do not worship Him, we will find something else to worship.

I started reading through the Bible and often find myself wondering at the Jews - they knew God! They saw the cloud and fire columns! They should have known better than to make a calf! They should have known better than to complain all the time...

But then, don't I do the same? I don't make calves, but I adore technology. I do not complain about manna from heaven, but I do complain about a lot of other things.

May God change my heart so I will worship Him alone. May my praise in this week be true. I pray the same for you.

Welcome to wherever you are

Driving home yesterday, I listened to my Bon Jovi CD. There is a song called, “Welcome to wherever you are” on the disc.

This is a part of the lyrics:

"Welcome to wherever you are
This is your life, you made it this far
Welcome, you gotta believe
That right here right now,
you're exactly where you're supposed to be
Welcome, to wherever you are"

It has a catchy tune. Nice little song, but there has to be more than just that. I did not get here on my own.

God has brought me this far. Ebenhaezer. God brought us this far and He will see us through.

In the Bible we read about a stone which Samuel used as beacon between Mispa and Sen, in remembrance of the defeat they had over the Philistines.

He called it Ebenhaezer (which can be translated as "the Lord has helped us this far" or “the Lord has helped us up to here”) (1 Samuel 7:12).

It will be hard to find a stone to erect in Johannesburg and probably harder to keep it there. Today I want to post this as a rememberance that God is good and helped me this far. So… welcome to wherever you are and remember that God helped you this far.

Lost and found

This is probably not my story to tell, but I love it!

Two months ago we had a meeting at Tom & Lollie's house. There were eight of us around the table. On that day their keys went missing.

This reminds me of the 'lost parables' in Luke. Jesus told us about a lady who had ten coins and lost one. She lit a lamp and searched every corner of her house. When she found it, she called her neighbours and friends and they had a party.

Jesus also told the parable of the lost sheep, posing the question: 'If a shepherd has one hundred sheep and one goes stray, will he not leave the ninety nine and go after the stray?' This is not the way we operate. I think we might have said something like: 'Win some, loose some...' The shepherd did not give up until he found that lost sheep.

Then there is the story of the prodigal son. He chose to leave - probably breaking his father's heart. He practically wished his father dead by asking for his inheritance. People probably gossiped. Yet, when he returned, having nothing left, his father welcomed him home and held a feast.

When Tom & Lollie's keys went missing, they searched every corner. All of us searched our bags and cars, looked in our homes and then made suggestions as to where they could still look. Now, after two months, they have finally found the keys!

It it Lent. It is the season we remember Jesus giving up heaven to come after us, to search for us and call us, to save us from our sins. It is the season we remember His sacrifice. It is the season I am reminded that He is faithful even when I am not. I am grateful that He does not give up on me and I am grateful for the reminder thereof in the keys that have been found.

Being Clay

There are two images in the Bible pertaining to clay that I love.

The one is where Paul writes that we are jars of clay (2 Cor 4:7). We are fragile and yet God chose us to carry His message of Good News around the world and through time. This is a mystery, there are so many ways that would have been more effective.

Once a clay pot is broken, it is beyond repair. In our community, Kleipot (Clay Pot), new members break a clay pot at the Sunday service and attempt to glue it together during the following Wednesday's prayer meeting. Our new members will glue their pot together tonight.

I remember our optimism when we set out to 'fix our pot'. This would be the first 'properly fixed' pot in the community (and history, for that matter ;-)). To start with, we only had one tube of Superglue. We had to go out to buy more. When we ran out of glue again, it was too late to go out and buy even more, so we used chewing gum.

It was good fun. You get to know the people around the table a lot better. It will always be a reminder of the miracle that God chose unadorned vessels like you and me to be the keepers of His message. We carry this message in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives.

We read about the other image in Jeremiah 18. The LORD sends Jeremiah down to the potter's house with a promise to speak to hm there. When Jeremiah gets to the potter, he observed how the potter put a lump of clay on the wheel and turned it. When it did not look the way he planned, he started again.

God then draws the parallel - "I am the Potter and you are the clay". God plans, moulds, forms. God has the power to erase all I have ever been. Yet, this image should not be scary.

It also tells of a God who is full of mercy, shows grace and is prepared to start again.

Today - I am just the clay and God is the Potter. My friend, Tom, commented yesterday that he sometimes wishes that the shaping could be done easier. He suggested that it has to do with the pliability of our hearts. When our hearts are hard it might need the 'devastating experiences' to form it. When our hearts are soft the whisper of our Creator will do.

May God create a clean and pliable heart in me today. May He teach you and me His ways. May He remind us of the miracle of being clay in the Potter's hand as well as broken clay jars chosen to carry His message of hope.

Wrestling with God

Last night we reflected on Genesis 32 at our elders' meeting.

It struck me that God took the time to wrestle with Jacob. He struck Jacob on the hip and Jacob was crippled. Yet we read that Jacob won. After this encounter Jacob still asked the Lord who he was.

God revealed Himself to Jacob in an unlikely manner. He wrestled with him all night. He allows Jacob to 'win', but Jacob is scarred for life. This is hardly the merciful God I imagined as a child. He is God. He reigns the universe. He makes the rules. Yet, He shows an interest in and compassion toward us.

Robert J. Owens writes: "The God of the Bible is not like rice pudding: warm soft and mushy. Nor is He a divine indulgent grandparent who chuckles soothingly and pats you on the head and slips some money into your pocket. He is the sovereign Lord of all reality.

His is the dominion over all that can ever be. He is on no one’s leash. He establishes governments and overthrows them. He builds, and He tears down. There are times when God answers our prayers with a parting of the seas, with an almost miraculous easing of the way. But there are other times when He answers us with toughness and hard, hard challenges.

He is more concerned with what we are to become that what we want. We want help; He wants for us wholeness. We want prosperity; He wants for us maturity. We ask for success and fame; He wants for us the peach of integrity. We ask for pleasure; He wants for us joy. We want what we want; He wants for us all that we need to become persons fit for eternal life. And therefore it is a dangerous thing to ask for God. Because when He shows himself to you it will always be in a way destined to shape your life to Him.

For some of us, the shaping can only be done with devastating experiences."

May God open our eyes to see His involvement in our lives. May we see His care, His hand in our everyday battles and struggles in our lives. May we see Jesus today. May we remember that He is the Potter and we are the clay.