Let the sunshine in

I miss those summer days, when the morning light penetrates through the blinds, past the duvet and right through my eyelids... I stretch out my arms for a good minute with my eyes still closed and just as I open my eyes, i breathe and realise yes, yes surely I am alive... 

I’m reminded of this really great song from a few years back... when the song came out, I couldn't stop singing it. I didn't even know if it was a house or gospel track.. I just remember singing out with my hands raised up high "Leeet the sunshine, let the sunshine in.." 

You're probably asking what any of this has to do with how the earth revolves around the sun... Well, there's this guy Nicodemus in the bible that asked a really important question and I think that song can help us answer it. Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” John 3:4 

To answer the question let's see what the bible says this about Jesus: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:4 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:18-19 

 Well imagine that summer Saturday morning when all that you have to do all day is just be. Picture the morning light penetrating through the blinds, past the duvet and right through your eyelids... there are two things you can choose to do. Firstly, you can ignore the light, even shut the blinds and pull your duvet over your head so that you remain in the darkness and continue sleeping. Secondly, you can choose to embrace the light, open your eyes and heart to the light. 

I dare you to choose the light today, I dare you to choose life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Every morning when day breaks, I hope you remember that the true light of this world stands at the door of your heart and waits for you to open up and "Leeet the sunshine, let the sunshine in" (singing) 

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Haircut

Some time ago I went to get a haircut at my usual barber.  I had just had the worst kind of day ever, one that involved things not going well while my hair was in a state, I had left the house without using a comb, going to an important meeting because I thought I would have time to get a haircut before the meeting (that did not happen). Things from my past were just catching up with me, the wrong financial decisions, the wrong friend/ relationship choices made, I was also feeling stuck in the same job… there were just so many things all at once.

Anyways, when I got there, the guy asked me "what style would you like"? Now normally this is a no-brainer because it’s either brush or chiskop, but my hair was slightly longer than usual. I answered with a hopeless tone because I had a really tough and trying day. I answered and said "any style"...

The barber did not waste any time, he immediately started cutting my hair and I immediately started smiling (almost laughing) because that still voice inside me reminded me of something very important. "But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." Isaiah 64:8. Because of the eyes’ position in the head, I only get glimpses of my head in a mirror from time to time, while my barber sees the whole picture. That haircut experience opened my eyes to a revelation that after all, I do have a maker, I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God who knows me inside and out and sees the bigger picture.

If we could just realise that our heavenly Father is the best barber, potter, doctor, lawyer, teacher, provider, deliverer, shepherd, confidant... then we would all go to Him not with the style or solution that we think is right, but with open arms and the confidence of knowing that He knows best and sees the bigger picture.

My Peace I Give You - Shalom

Father's Day Post

I’m dedicating this next post to my dad. For the longest time my father (heavenly and biological) and I had very little in common. I realise now that this was the work of the enemy, and PRAISE GOD Christ's blood has brought us closer. I do believe that we are living in a world that is not aware of some fundamental realities of how God wanted us to be, and how He still wants us to be.

The enemy succeeded in destroying a few things at the garden of Eden. The one I want to outline is the destruction of family unity which brought about a rift between husband and wife, brother and sister and so on. Adam and Eve were supposed to enjoy God's presence as a family, but after sin, Adam blamed God and his wife, their children fought and one killed the other as we still do until this day.

The enemy has even told us that "mufunzi ha bebi mufunzi" (a pastor doesn’t produce another pastor) waging a war between pastors and their children. And if this wasn’t bad enough we are reminded that the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” Gen 6:3

How many of our parents will reach 120 years? So we have a generation of God fearing people in South Africa that are living to an average of 60 years (compared to the 120 God allowed), who are at war with their children. It is no wonder the scripture says "and there arose another generation after them who did not know (recognize, understand) the Lord, or even the work which He had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals." Judges 2:10-11 AMP

I was touched by the testimony of a certain man of God who was training his 13 year old for the work of the ministry, and had been for many years before that. Parents and future parents should remember their children are not their own, they belong to God and exist to fulfil the greatest commandment which is to love the Lord God with all their hearts, souls and minds.

Let us repair what the enemy destroyed. Let us work harder at developing functional and loving family units that serve the Lord together. "But as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord." The Lord wants to heal our nation, and He wants to do it through the family. I pray that in 2016 this may be our focus in prayer, teaching and practice.

Dear Dad, Happy Father’s day and thank you for remaining in the Lord and never failing in teaching me the Lord’s goodness and mercy. Thank you for ensuring that next generation of Nevhutandas will know and serve the Lord.

Hot or Cold?

I woke up early to attend a funeral this one Saturday morning. When I turned on the hot water, I waited expecting the water to remain cold, not because the geyser had run out of hot water. No, but because of my experience with taps and plumbers. I have lived in places where the plumber gave the cold tap the hot water label, and visa versa. But not this morning, even when I brushed my teeth, the labels were placed exactly where they needed to be.

I'm reminded of the scripture: "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad Matthew 12:30. It's really important that the labels on the children of God be placed correctly on them. One needs to know where one stands and how one is identified at all times. Simon Peter was labelled a follower of Christ and identified with and defended that label all but the one time. Simon Peter denied Jesus at some point. For fear of persecution Peter, for a very short while was against Christ.

If we all have to be honest, the mislabelled taps are nothing compared to clearly labelled taps that do not produce the correct levels of temperature required when they need to. What am I talking about? Have you ever tried taking a shower with lukewarm water in the dead of winter? It's just the worst.

The Bible says in Revelation 3:16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."

The truth of the matter is that we are living in a difficult time. Everything has been designed to stand between us and our increasing fire for Christ. As soon as we get home from work, there are kids to feed, dishes to clean up, Scandal, Generations and Muvhango to watch, a presentation for the following day, and the list goes on... We have replicated the lukewarm church model on a Global scale.

Lev 10:1 reads “Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded”.  I do believe that it is the time for reform, it is the day for a change of heart. What kind of follower are you right now? What kind of follower do you want to be tomorrow? What is the label on your heart? Hot or cold? What is the temperature of your heart for God?  It really doesn't take much to reach boiling point... only draw yourself closer to the source of the fire..

My Peace I give you - Shalom

That Old Man's Hat

I had a really interesting ride in the bus this morning. There was just one person in a better mood than I was. An old man in the seat in front of me. He wore a noticeably old hat with a badge in the centre which had a star...  I didn't want to eavesdrop on what seemed to be a rather captivating conversation between the old man and the guy seated on his right hand side. He spoke in English, TshiVenda and SePedi interchangeably, a true Limpopo man he was. The topics ranged from agriculture to the 10 Commandments even to history, heritage and culture. The conversation was infectious and soon the lady on the far right woke up to lend an ear to the multilingual and seemingly very interesting old man.

Needless to say, this old man challenged me. He challenged the very core of my being (I kept thinking of the song Killing Me Softly) as he spoke… the reason is though that he was unapologetically Christian with a captivating aura about him. He spoke well and people wanted to listen to him. They laughed and asked questions and laughed some more… oh what I would give to have that old man’s sense of humour and audience connection. The old man was funny till the end, right until my stop came up when I noticed his temperament had changed slightly. See the old man (my hero) knew all but one thing, where he was going… He had no clue where he would disembark.

I honestly learned a lot from that old man. I have always considered myself to be shy. I like to keep to myself and bother nobody. It was the first time I saw that old man in the bus today, but he managed to hold a long conversation with people that I normally just say hello to. The lady seated on my right even said “Vha sa rembuluwa namusi!” (translated “If you don’t repent today!”), this referring to the guy seated closest to the old man.

You see I travel a lot, especially by car and bus... I haven't done the research in this age, but many great ministries of the past including that of our Lord Jesus were made possible by travelling. Whether on foot, on sea, walking on the water, (even teleporting). Acts 8: 39-40 says “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.  Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea”.

The old man reminded me of a trip I took some time back. So I found myself driving to Jozi from Polokwane and with 3 hitchhikers, and for 200 km I was fighting within myself asking myself why I wasn't telling them about Jesus. I thought to myself, but I’m shy! what would I say? And the Spirit said "I will give you the words".. eventually I made a joke saying, how can you guys sit in the same car with a prophet of the Lord and not want to know what He has to say to you. The rest of the journey and conversation went the way the Spirit wanted it to, pretty similar to the old man’s conversation.

Please do not undermine or despise the bus you use everyday to work or school, the business flights, the uber rides, carpools... Jesus has placed you exactly where you need to be to spread His gospel. Just like in the case of the old man in the bus, Elijah, Elisha, Philip (who teleported) and many others, there are people whose heavens have been closed up for years. These people’s paths have been set to collide with ours not by chance but by divine connection. All you need to do is open your mouth and begin to speak the words of life. The Bible even assures you that you need not worry when you are brought before the synagogues, and even people in authority (Luke 12: 12) “For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Good Samaritan?

So I've never been mugged and left on the side of the road for dead before... It is not hard to imagine it though, we do after all live in South Africa right? I have seen and heard of many incidents where a person escaped with their life because a thief desired to have their cell phone, a worthless cell phone. I guess that is why I really respect emergency care workers. They are like the modern Good Samaritans. While reading the other day, my eyes were opened to the parable of the Good Samaritan in a way like never before... I surely hope you see what I saw...

The important thing about the parable is that it was addressing a certain question, the question of Eternal Life posed by the lawyer in Luke 10: 25 "master what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" We need to read the parable in that light...

The second thing is Jesus answered and said: in verse 30 “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho (or from Limpopo to Gauteng), and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  So Jesus gave a setting of a man representing mankind and the thieves representing the enemy, for the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). This passage shows how mankind was heading for sure death, helpless and in need of a saviour. So who is this saviour? Let's find out in the next verses…

Verse 31 "by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side." I think Jesus here was assuring the lawyer that eternal life would not be found in the religions or leaders, hypocrites of that time… showing that they could do nothing but pass on by..

Verse 33 "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. (Jesus journeyed from heaven to earth) And when he saw him, he had compassion (for God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son).  34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ (Jesus paid the price for our revival, for we were dead but He brought us to the innkeeper, the Father and paid the price, saying it didn’t matter what it costs,  He would pay, which eventually turned out to be His life). 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Instead of remembering the Good Samaritan as just this good-doer, let's rather see the parable as the story of redemption: that we had fallen victim to the great thief, who robbed us of everything (including our connection to God) and left us for dead; let us rather see that no religious leader or Levite could rescue us but Christ, represented in this story by the good Samaritan.

My Peace I give you - Shalom

With Great Power...

If any of you have ever worked for government, you will relate very well to the next story. I remember the first time I ever Acted as Director in the place of my boss as she was away for a while. I was so excited. I even moved in to her office, her assistant was my assistant, making me coffee and taking my calls and so on. It was a great time. With the great power though, came great responsibility. I had to attend higher level meetings, make decisions that affected many, I could suddenly approve transactions to very large amounts. Do you know what I did with this great power? I shelved everything that needed my signature and reserved comment in meetings as I was afraid to misrepresent my boss...

At the end of my Acting period, I'm sure that my boss wished she had delegated the authority to another more experienced person so that work can be done. I would call her about every decision instead of taking decisions, I would be afraid of authorising large payments, and many other mistakes.

Let’s look at Luke 10:9, 16 NKJV and see what we can learn. The Bible says there "And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’  He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

Jesus had just newly appointed 70 disciples and given the acting privileged to go to every city that he was going to visit, with instructions to exercise powers over sickness and declare the arrival of the kingdom. These disciples executed their duties well and even discovered other powers over evil spirits.

The Delegation of Authority has been signed and it has your name on it. If you don't believe me just look at Matthew 28:18 and 19 "… all authority has been given Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit..."

Fellow harvesters and "acting Christs" please do not make the same mistakes I made of simply enjoying the office of the boss, with all the benefits of His assistant the Holy Spirit and all the gifts without actually doing what the job entails. The job description is simply this, heal the sick and declare that the kingdom of God has come near to the people. Do not be afraid to use the great power entrusted to you, He is the one who delegated you, He assumes overall responsibility for the use of that power. You are well qualified in Him. Your years of experience don't matter to Him, you are not working under your own authority but under His. Do you ever ask a police officer or traffic officer how many years’ experience he or she has before they can arrest someone? No, they start operating from the day of appointment.

Be encouraged, and keep praying to the Father to send more harvesters.

My Peace I give you - Shalom

A Thief Exposed

So earlier this year I woke up very early as usual to get ready for work. Just before I could open the tap to run my bath, I saw a scorpion in the tub. Now please understand that I know the pain of a scorpion sting, it's not pleasant… I almost panicked at first but because I had been stung before and I know it doesn't kill I was relaxed, plus there really was nowhere the scorpion could run to.  See what make a scorpion or even a snake dangerous is when you cannot see them.  So I killed the scorpion and put it aside, took a bath and went to work.

While I bathed, the Lord spoke to me reminding me of the following piece of scripture: "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you". Luke 10:19 KJV. The thing that kept me calm was the knowledge that scorpions don't kill, since one had actually stung me before and I didn't die, I was in pain but I did not die. Rest easy in the knowledge that Jesus says that the enemy's forces will not harm you. Remember even his previous attempts to harm and destroy you that failed. Your testimony always keeps you level headed when confronted by the enemy, David had the bear and lion as his testimony in order to calmly confront Goliath.

The second thing the Lord spoke to me about was the visibility of the scorpion in the tub. See my bath tub is white and the scorpion was really easy to spot. He reminded me of Colossians 2:15 "and having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross". I read in the news earlier this year of a man who stole from a Walmart somewhere in the USA and the judge sentenced him to wear a sign saying "I'm a thief" and stand in front of the store he stole from for 10 days. This judge and our great Judge Jesus Christ made a public spectacle of the enemy. The enemy has been exposed and is WITHOUT AMMUNITION.

The last point we spoke about was on the deadness of the scorpion. I enjoyed my bath, and when I was done. I jumped out and walked to the place where I had placed the dead scorpion, to my surprise, guess what? THE SCORPION WAS STILL DEAD. I had a great moment of revelation because at times, I found myself wasting valuable time fearing and fighting with already dead spiritual scorpions.

I really hope you will be encouraged in the knowledge that Jesus has triumphed over the enemy, all his powers and authorities, and He is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion...

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Toothpick Chronicles

This is also called "The parable of the toothpick at the centre of the biltong"

So I was driving back from Zimbabwe with the Prof, eating really good biltong... At some point I could feel there was a toothpick in the midst of the biltong… Being absent minded, I ate until there was nothing left, not even the toothpick... My stomach started feeling funny, it remained painful until this morning when I drew a lesson from it. It was as if God was saying "of all the biltong in the bag mayest thou eat of, but eat not of the toothpick at the centre of the biltong"

Those that have ears let them hear. Consider the biltong as your garden of Eden, and the toothpick as the fruit of knowledge of good and evil... the biltong as your blessing, your promised land, and the toothpick as the accursed things, idols and false gods, the biltong as your boy or girl friend or fiance, and the toothpick as the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, the biltong as your work place and toothpick as that attractive colleague or assistant..

It has always been a tactic of the enemy to hide your curse or your snare in the middle of your blessing to convince you that it's part of your inheritance or your blessing, like the spoils of war. Consider Eve and Adam in the garden, consider Achan in Joshua 7:1, the Bible says

"But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, … took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel."

It’s simple, eat of every other tree, just leave the one that God instructed you the leave out, enter the promised land, just make sure you obey the commandment of the Lord and take not of the accursed spoils of war. While the Lord is blessing you in your work, your love life, in your every aspect as He said he would, be vigilant that you remember that even in your blessings and victory,  the enemy can find ways to turn that into your curse and disconnect with God.

My Peace I give you - Shalom

The Rapture

The bible in I Thessalonians 4:17-18 NKJV says "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." Such comforting words for all believers, all of God's children wait patiently for this glorious day... I didn't always find comfort in these words because of a dream I had a few years back.

There are a few things that I will never forget in my life. The one is an out of body experience I had, a vision of the end times (to be discussed another time) the second one is a dream that I had of the rapture.

In this dream I saw myself at home with my family, going about our daily chores, in fact I think I was doing dishes. Suddenly in my dream, everyone in my family started to ascend. I was glad in my dream because I understood what was happening. The problem was that I was not ascending, and soon my gladness turned to a great despair… I began to jump in order to catch up with everyone who was ascending to heaven. The jumping did not help one bit. In my dream I saw one thing that would haunt me for years after I had that dream. I saw the shape of the moon in my dream and it resembled a smiley face. Why am I sharing this?

First of all, I believe that dream was shown to me as a warning to me and others that the coming of the Lord is real and it is soon. I believe the dream was shown to me so that I could repent and follow Jesus. I believe that it was shown to me that I can prepare for that day lest I be caught off guard since I was in a state of backsliding and peace with the enemy.

Every so often, maybe once or twice a year I would see that same moon in real life and it would cause me to fall at my knees and repent before God. That shape of the moon became a sign for me over the years that I was not to see heaven and it caused me much grief. Last night I looked up and saw a similar moon shape and my spirit jumped with joy and gladness.

The moon shape sign tormented me for years, it tormented me because I did not want to heed the warning it represented, I was too caught up in the pleasures of the world; I even said to myself, I want to have fun now, I will repent and serve the Lord later.  I'm glad to say that I no longer think that way. My life has been changed, the warning sign has become a sign of hope, hope of eternal life through Christ. What's your sign?

My Peace I give you - Shalom

In the presence of which enemies?

I often wondered where I would get enemies in the time of my blessing.. I wondered how they would get to see and maybe even taste of the great food on the table the Lord is busy setting for me.. This was all until recently (actually just now). I don't wonder anymore because our enemies are never too far from us. Let's look at a famous example in the Bible (1 Samuel 1:2)

So there was this guy Elkanah who had two wives.  The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. This was (still is) obviously not the ideal living situation. Peninnah made an enemy of Hannah when she began mocking her about her barrenness year after year, to make it worse, she would mock her even when she went to worship the Lord in Shiloh. Don’t you just hate it when your enemies oppress you even at church? Displaying their millions, talking about how their children are so successful when you are still praying for a partner?

In some families, barrenness might not be the cause of enmity, it could be health, wealth, education level, marital status, age, gender, political difference, and the list goes on... The point is that there is usually minor differences that cause people in a family unit to not only fall apart but become enemies too.

The Lord is surely going to set a table before all His children. I would like for you to take some time and think about this. If people could invite whoever they consider to be their enemy, how many dinner tables would you sit around before the Lord hosted yours???

It is time for us to put away the Peninnah spirit in our families and communities. It's time to start praying with the barren and uplifting the downtrodden.

If you were also praying Hannah's prayer, fasting that your enemy may be put to shame, make sure you know who the real enemy is. The enemy is the one trying to shatter your family. Forgive and seek forgiveness for having a hurtful Peninnah and a vengeful Hannah spirit.

The Lord is truly going to bless you and lay a table for you before your enemies, please just get the guest list correct before the invites go out.

My Peace I Give You - Shalom

Time Zones

I was chatting to sister Vhuhwavho (Vee) earlier when my eyes were opened to a dimension of faith and the reality of your miracle I had never noticed before. I asked Vee what time it was in the USA Los Angeles, and she mentioned it was 9:40 am Wednesday morning. Now I noticed that it was already Wednesday evening in South Africa. I told her that I was about to prophesy over her about Wednesday. I eventually told her that the prophecy was because I had experienced a great Wednesday and all the great things I said were already done. That is when the Spirit of God spoke to me wonderful words of encouragement.

According to Hebrews 11:1 "NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]."

The Lord said to my spirit, my son you and I do not live in the same time zone, neither do we live in the same dimension. Before I formed you in your mother's womb I knew and approved of you (Jer 1:5) For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Jeremiah 29:11

So while chatting to Vee, I mentioned I was going to church and asked if she had prayer requests. And she did, mentioning prosperous studies and for God to keep her family. I had the advantage of knowing that on this Wednesday, God had surely kept her family safe. You see, there is a reality that exists that we have not yet seen simply because we are in a different time zone. But God has seen it, and also shared it with us in his Word. There is a healing, salvation and peace that has already happened in your physical, spiritual, mental being, in your family,  your work, your marriage, your poverty and barrenness Psalms 113... it has already happened, the evidence is there in His word, for He was wounded for our transgressions, He  was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

His word says “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it”. Isaiah 55:9-11

The Lord has sent me to tell you that even though it seems that the time Zones from heaven to your situation are too many, rejoice in the assurance that "it is finished" it has already happened, believe the word of the Lord and start rejoicing for the finished work and the answered prayer.

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Sense of direction

I remember the first time I ever visited Argentina, Buenos Aires in 2004 or so. I was there with Pastor Dennis and one morning just before breakfast we stood at a balcony to watch the Sunrise. I was doing an undergraduate degree in Geography at the time.

So Dennis asked me a question, "Shalom which way is East?" and I began turning around to get my bearing… It's embarrassing I know, I should have known or remembered the direction of the sun's rising, especially since I was a Geo major. Yesterday I was driving with my little brother to Sandton and he was behind the wheel. The navigator said "in 300 metres, turn left" and within 70 metres, he was making a left turn… I laughed and mocked him saying clearly you were not athletic at school, you didn't run the 100 and 200 metre races, else you would know the length of 300 metres.

Basically I had a challenge with my sense of direction and he had a challenge with distance perception. But how is this helpful? The Lord suddenly spoke to me saying that one should have first of all a sense of direction, a vision and mission in life that is never changing, never wavering, as sure as the sun in the sky. This sense of direction allows you to know your destination.

When you know and have entered your destination in your navigator, trust that the word of God is your only true navigation. Do not try to guess what distance to go before you turn or stop or make a u-turn because humans are not the best with directions and distances.  Even when you are almost at a panic approaching a fork on the road, the word of the Lord will come through and tell you which way to go. Drivers often fear getting lost even with the navigation on, especially in dark times.

Trust in the Lord, Be assured that God will not allow your foot to stumble or for you to get lost. His word says: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Eureka

Many of us will remember Archimedes from junior high school. He's the guy who shouted "Eureka! Eureka!" after he had stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose. This led to his realisation that the  volume  of water  displaced  must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged.

So last night i was reading Luke 6:19 NKJV "And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all." After reading I enquired, what was Jesus saying all night to the Father that Power would ooze out of Him to heal multitudes? And the gentle answer I received was "He was speaking divine mysteries and being edified all at once, and you have been baptised in the same Spirit, begin to pray"

So I prayed for a short while and went to sleep. When I was taking a bath this morning, the gentle voice spoke yet again and I had a Eureka moment. See, the power is there, He has given us power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy Luke 10:19. The question is how much of it is evident in your life or ministry? Enough to heal multitudes? How do we even measure it?

Paraphrasing Archimedes "the amount of His power displaced (goes out to heal) in your life must be equal to the volume of the part of His body he has submerged in your life.

I hope you are having a Eureka moment too as you read this. Jesus is calling us to a deeper walk with Him. People should be reaching out to touch you and I for healing and deliverance from all their torment. Make a decision today to walk in the overflowing power. Allow Christ to be fully submerged in your life and you will see His power displaced and healing multitudes through you!

My Peace I give you - Shalom

  

The Walking Dead

Many of us young people have watched the Walking Dead series. I guess all of us are intrigued by life, death, resurrection and the death of the zombies. By the way, my favourite part of that series was when the good guys found a prison, they kept themselves locked in, and kept the zombies locked out.. This is not a new phenomenon. Have you ever wondered who the series was based on? I think it was based on Lazarus, the guy Jesus raised from the dead. You don't believe me?

Let’s look at John 12:1, 9-11 " Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus."

I guess Lazarus must have had mixed emotions about the whole thing. He died, rose again, and was now facing a plot against his life again. He also must have been the most confident guy ever. I mean if I was Lazarus, I would take comfort in the knowledge that I'm that disciple loved by Jesus Christ. I would not even worry about another plot against my life. Why? If the Jews killed Lazarus again but kept Jesus alive (or even killed him so he could rise on the 3rd day), then Lazarus was still guaranteed resurrection.

John 11:25-26 reads: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

I wish that we could all be as confident as Lazarus. Jesus came for this very thing, that we might have life and life more abundantly. He came that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. The truth is, this mortal body is going to perish eventually. I pray that on that day, we can have Lazarus' confidence. The confidence of Eternal Life that is given freely to us through faith in Christ. John 17:3 says "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Bumpy Roads

As I was driving early this one morning, continuing in prayer, the Spirit asked me "can you feel that?" And in a few seconds I replied yes the road is a bit Bumpy. It was at this point that He revealed to me that there are a few reasons why one feels the road is bumpy while on a journey. The two major reasons being either the state of the car or the state of the road.

Now if we liken the car unto the Christian, and the road unto this journey of life, then one can begin to discover small principles that lead to a safe and turbulent-free journey. Starting with the car.

A car runs on fuel, and needs refuelling often. The more people you carry in your car, the heavier it is, the more fuel it consumes. The more sheep one is shepherding, the more one needs to be connected to the source of the fuel which is the word of God. For in the beginning the word was with God, and the word was God. According to 1 Peter 2:2 the word of God is like milk to our souls, in Matthew 4:4 the word of God is bread unto our bodies. Today's harvesters need to be continually replenished and refuelled by the word of God.

The second aspect of a smooth journey depends largely on a car's wheel alignment. Today's Christians need to have direction and alignment towards the things, plans, mission and leading of the Holy Ghost. Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you... Acts 2:17 and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: your sons and daughters shall prophecy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

The Holy Spirit will be like the alignment for the children of God. They will be able to read clearly the signs on the journey, be it warning signs etc. By now I'm sure the Spirit is talking to you about making sure the car is serviced at regular intervals and that it must be serviced at the original dealership. Christians need to attend conferences and be updated, renewed and encouraged to keep going smoothly, but watch where you get your service from for not all who shout his name are known to Him.

When the children of God have done all they can do to ensure that their cars are running smoothly, the Lord reminds us that sometimes we need to drive on gravel roads and over potholes to reach our destinations. 1 Peter 5:10 ESV "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." James 1:12  paraphrased says Blessed is the harvester who remains steadfast under trial or when the road is bumpy, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Delayed Shipment

I remember this one day, I had ordered a part for my car from Johannesburg and the couriers were taking longer than I could bear. I needed that spare part to make my car whole as soon as possible. When I called the messenger or courier bringing my spare part, he told me he was delayed and still delivering in other parts of the city.

I then decided to take initiative and meet him half way. This was a great faith decision. The centurion who needed his dear servant healed also had a GREAT FAITH MOMENT and made a GREAT FAITH DECISION. This is how he did it... Luke 7: 6. And Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent [some] friends to Him, saying, Lord, do not trouble [Yourself], for I am not sufficiently worthy to have You come under my roof; After the centurion had a revelation of the great power of Christ and that He can speak a word of Healing from anywhere in the world (because he has power over everything everywhere), the centurion made a great faith decision that led to an immediate release of the healing power of Jesus.

My spare part that I had ordered was no longer in Johannesburg, no it was in Polokwane just like the healing power of Jesus was "not far from the centurion's house". The bible says in Daniel 10:12b-13 NKJV says : "and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

The Lord is saying to His children that your blessing, your answer, your healing, your marriage, your job, promotion, and your deliverance have already left the warehouse, there might have been delays... God is saying Right Now, begin to use your GREAT FAITH and say: "messenger of the Lord bringing my gift, my deliverance, I am coming out to meet you halfway, I believe and receive my delivery and deliverance right NOW.

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Jesus in the food chain

For a while I wondered what was so special about the people in the bible who Jesus commended for having GREAT FAITH. Let's explore. So in 2012, I was tasked with writing a foreword for a book that my unit had developed. The task was given by my boss' boss' boss' boss, the highest ranking official, and it was an honour for me to do it. After I wrote the foreword, I got called in to his office and while I was expecting a pat on my back, or a promotion, he asked me to read the first sentence. 

I read the first sentence and he asked "do you see what's wrong with it?". I answered honestly and said "No, it seems fine to me". Then he said "read it again" and that is when I had a Great Faith moment. How? You ask me. I had a divine realisation of who he is in the order of things (in the food chain even), and who pays salary. I had to enlist the help of Lady +mashadi mathosa to help me rewrite that sentence to my boss' satisfaction.

Let's go to scripture: In Luke 7:3, 6 "And when the centurion heard of Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and make his bond servant well". So we see the Centurion using good or normal faith when he sends the elders to ask Jesus to heal his bond servant, but there is a change when we see the next verse. Verse 6. And Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent [some] friends to Him, saying, Lord, do not trouble [Yourself], for I am not sufficiently worthy to have You come under my roof; 

I honestly believe that the centurion had a GREAT FAITH MOMENT. The more people at his house kept maybe telling him of the great works that Christ performed, I believe he had a divine realisation of who Christ is in the chain of command because the centurion said: "I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. ” When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel" 

That joblessness, troubled marriage, sickness, or whatever is tormenting you might be showing you who is boss at this point. But I have come with good news. I believe that even as you are reading this post now, you are smiling because you have just had a GREAT FAITH MOMENT. You are beginning to  realise that Christ is above all in the chain of command, he has authority and has even given us authority over the situation tormenting you right now. Jesus has already said the word of blessing and paid the price for your healing and for all the chains of bondage to be broken. Believe in Him with great faith and receive your miracle in this very hour. 

My peace I give you - Shalom

The leap year

This is your leap year.. (The year where Jehovah fights for you) A year that is not a leap year is called a common year (We will return to this). A leap year is a year containing one additional day added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. I hear the Lord saying that there is about to be a great victory for His people.

The Lord brought to my spirit the story of Joshua just before he and the Lord performed one of the greatest miracles ever recorded. In Joshua 9 we see how the Gebionites deceive Joshua and the Israelites. The israelites are deceived and caused to break the law of entering into agreement with those nations they were supposed to drive out. The children of God neglected to seek counsel of God before entering into agreement with the Gebionites.

Some of God's children are distressed because of some decisions that were taken without proper consultation with God. God would have you know that you need not distress any longer. He has heard your sorrowful heart and just like in Joshua's case, He is about to fight for you.

Let us read about a great leap year in Joshua 10:12-14 ASV "Then spake Joshua to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah hearkened unto the voice of a man: for Jehovah fought for Israel.

Receive the word of God. The Lord is saying to His children that "this is not a common year". He is saying "this is your leap year". Jehova is hearkening unto the voice of His children. The Lord is doing a new level of miracle in His children's lives. He is answering unusual prayers. He is changing the rules of the universe to allow His children to claim their victory and vengeance over their enemies. Jehovah is fighting for you, and He says to you today "fear them not, for I have delivered them into thine hand".

My peace I give you - Shalom

This is a man's world

There's this song I love, "A Man's World".. Especially the cover version by Leela James.  It goes something like “You see, man made the cars, to take us over the road; Man made the train, to carry the heavy load; Man made the electric light, to take us out of the dark; Man made the boat for the water, like Noah made the ark”

Let us give credit where it is due, ‘Man’ is creative, Man saw a need, and created something that would make life easier. Man even created “Candy Crush Saga”; I still don’t get the hype (meaning I couldn’t get past level 82).

Now here’s the burning question; if cell phone apps, cars, trains and pretty much all that was created, was created for a reason, what about you? Do you trust that God has made you for a specific reason or destiny? The Bible says, “Know that the LORD is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep he tends” (Psalm 100:3 NCV). 

Let us give credit where credit is due again… God is the master builder, the ultimate creative. The light bulb was created many years back for a purpose, to provider a way to see and operate in the midst of darkness. The boat to carry us over the waters. The train to carry heavy loads. Even a simple invention like "cool time" serves a purpose in the Limpopo heat. 

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. A light bulb without electricity is useless, the same as an empty vessel. The Lord will not create you, call you to do His work and not give you the provision and tools you need to fulfil your work. How much more purpose do you think your Master Builder has destined for you? You were created by God and for His purpose, and until you uncover that purpose, that hidden treasure, life is never going to make sense. 

What do an iron, a kettle, a stove and a light bulb have in common? They have one master and one power source. You already know that you've been called to be a light in this dark world. Allow yourself to be connected to your power source, and when darkness falls, all will see the power of God working through you. 

My peace I give you - Shalom.

Burning Bush

Have you ever come across seriously heavy traffic and you don't know what is causing it up ahead? I have, the last time this happened, it was because of an accident on the road. I was in a taxi and the traffic was slow because some cars were stopping to look at the scene of the accident. 

The vehicle I was in also stopped and some people went out to see the scene, but I chose to stay and look away.  In a short while I gathered my courage and decided to turn aside and see. It was a horrific sight, just what I feared dead bodies everywhere . What is the Lord saying? 

The bible in Exodus 3:4 KJV says "And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I." Moses was minding his business much like we keep minding our own daily businesses. These days a burning bush is not a special sight; in fact some areas are prone to so many veld fires that they have become a norm. In the same way, adultery, crime, bribery, poverty, oppression and corruption have become a norm, we have become desensitized to them. 

The Lord is saying today that bushes are burning everyday and everywhere around us, at every street corner, hospitals, prisons and even in our communities and families. God is not interested in temporary / half measures. Moses could sense that something was wrong even before the Lord called him.  The bible says: "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand." This act performed by moses was not addressing the real problem. It was a step in the right direction perhaps, an emotional response to a deep spiritual problem. It's not enough to throw R10 to the homeless or go to church and pray once a week. 

When we choose to notice the burning bush and turn aside to look at the dead bodies, that is when the Lord's voice will call us.. He will call us to get His people out of bondage, to go out and preach the good news, to heal the sick, to set the captives free. He promises to even give us the staff or rod of miracles, His gifts of the Spirit. Only turn aside to see the burning bush, pray that your eyes are not hardened or desensitized to the burning bushes around you. The harvest is still plenty, even the bushes are burning everyday and everywhere around us; turn aside to see and hear the call of God from your burning bush. 

My Peace I give you - Shalom

Unconditional love

I laugh a times when I think back to this next story, but I guess it had to happen so that God could teach me something about His love. the bible says in I John 4:8, 12 NKJV "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. "

So I was driving home a few years back and I saw a truck with a driver just stopped by the side of the road. The markings on the truck were familiar to me as that company was co-owned by my father. I was more than happy to stop and approach the driver. I greeted and asked him if all was well and if I could assist with anything? I guess this was me taking care of the family business. The driver went on to say that he was very hungry. I bought him food with a very big smile and went home very glad that I could make an impact in the life of someone. Even better, someone in the family business.

 A few months later I enquired about that company and it was revealed that my father was no longer a part of it. In fact, he hadn't been for many years (including the date of my good deed). My heart was broken. It felt like my efforts were in vain. But yesterday the Lord reminded me of that story. And asked why I felt that my act of love was in vain. In my heart I knew it was because I gave to someone who would never add value to my life or my family. And it was then that God showed me his kind of Love.

The bible says in Luke 6:32-36 NKJV “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."

I do believe that God was saying that I should love all people unconditionally, those in the church and out of the church, those close to me and those strangers that might be in need of a meal by the side of the road. Im glad He could show me the error in my ways. I will definitely try harder to not be selective about who I show love, kindness and mercy to. I hope this speaks to you too.

My peace I give you - Shalom

The parable of the toll gate..

Some of us may never hold a mustard seed In our hands. If Jesus were here in this century I think you would use this example: I call it "The parable of the toll gate"... When a driver in a car that has an e-tag installed reaches a tollgate, they do not go over to the cashier and try to make a payment, why? Because the payment is processed in the e-tag. The driver simply skips the usually long ques and heads straight to the e-toll section, and as always, without fail, the boom gate opens. See the e-tag was made as a response to quicker service at the toll gate.

Where am I going with this? Bear with me... a few months ago when my car had been taken in for repairs, my insurance gave me a courtesy car for the period. And it had an e-tag. This one day while in that car, I gave a few people a lift and after the third tollgate this woman decides to ask me: "hey Shalom, are Tollgates free today because you haven't paid for one thus far..." I wish I had this revelation then that I just got now...

The parable of the toll gate is this: the road represents your journey of life, the tollgate represents the obstacles like sickness, joblessness, poverty, oppression, barrenness etc... and the e-tag is your faith. The e-tag technology is designed to communicate with the Tollgate automatically. Your faith is designed to speak to your obstacle, whether or not your wallet is around, the obstacle will move, the boom gate will open... the opening of the boom is not the responsibility of the driver, the driver only needs to have the e-tag....

As for the question that woman posed that day... the answer is YES all the Tollgates are free forever, the price of your e-tag was paid for by Jesus at the cross. Child of God, drive through that gate with confidence. Drive through that obstacle with confidence, it doesn't matter what the price of that Tollgate is, it has been prepaid and you have been given the key and it is your FAITH...

My peace I give you - Shalom