Thoughts and Other Things

I recently preached a message of this title and it still resonates in my heart. We read from 1 Samuel 1, a very popular text. Focus is obviously always on Hannah, but God drew my attention to Elkanah’s cry, Love’s cry, His cry. “Elkanah her husband would say to her, ‘Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” 1 Samuel 1:8 This cry of his is based on the fact that He loved her, and out of love, he made provision for her, covering her weakness (see verse 5). But Hannah had a rival, and she was more conscious of her enemy than she was of her husband. We’re told Peninnah would provoke her whenever they went to the temple, provoking her on the basis of her weakness, her infertility. She would provoke her in order to irritate her, provoking her until she’d cry and not eat (see verse 6 and 7). Note her rival’s timing and her intention. Note her target and how we are only told of the provocation after we are told that ...

As I mentioned in the post before this, I missed out on a really awesome youth  service that my best friend organizes for our youth group every new years eve. While she was filling me in on how everything went, she talked about a message a young lady shared with them. The message was about scars and it touched me, even not hearing it from it’s speaker. It caused me to seek out this young lady and ask her to share her message again on this platform. Her name is Sanelisiwe Kheswa and this is what she has to say about dealing with scars. DEALING WITH SCARS       SANELISIWE KHESWA In order to deal with scars, we need to change the way we view our scars. Do not look at them as signs of failure, look at them the way a soldier looks at his wounds after battle. As they heal they become proof that you succeeded in fighting and winning, not failing. Seeing them as symbols of failure is the wrong way to look at it as scars are a sign of strength and a reminder that you hav...

So 2016 gave me a big fat ‘in your face’ as it left. I had a little accident with my poor baby Olaf Blue (my car) and had a visit to the hospital (nope, it was not to visit my mother who works there). And so I spent New Years’ Eve nursing a drip while Olaf sat with a nasty bruise on his bumper. Way to end the year huh? I was thrown out of my plans completely by these two events, financially and work wise. I had plans with what I would use my thirteenth cheque on, with a car to pay off and a qualification in the works I had my hands full. So I obviously did not anticipate a trip to my car dealership and a referral to a panel beater (who I swear charges you for all the other years you’ve never needed them). I had a cross-over service to attend and minister at, an all-night youth service to serve at...none of that when your insides prefer to play outside for the day. So I went into the New Year with a clear reminder of Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the...

In the first part, we introduced the theme of the importance of doing marriage God’s way if it is to work. We concluded on two points extracted from Genesis 2:20-23, that according to God, marriage is exclusively between two people of different genders. Now we move on to the next two points which are based on Genesis 2:24. “ Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh .” (KJV) 3. Man must leave and cleave The way this verse begins reveals that it is closely connected to the previous. The reason why a man leaves his parents is based on his state of being awakened to the woman that is presented to him. Without being informed by God, Adam, awakened from a deep sleep, realized who Eve was and what she meant to him. This is the basis of a marriage; not beauty, not riches, not skills and abilities, but worth. If you marry for any other reason other than this as a man, you will completely fail to leave. Because withou...

I recently officiated a marriage and before doing so I addressed a subject which has been in my heart for a while now. I’d like to share with you four of the eight points I shared pertaining to the foundation of marriage and how it’s meant to work. (I’ll do this in two parts since each point is quiet lengthy). I’ve wrote before about how God is the founder of marriage and because of that, He defines it, not society and its culture. God owns marriage and it can only work if it’s done His way. One major thing that informs the way God ordained marriage to work is His purpose for it which is beyond the two people who form part of it. Ephesians 5:31-32 speaks of this, pointing out how the union between husband and wife stands to bring light and understanding about the relationship between Christ and the Church. Let’s look at how he’s set it out to work on the basis of Genesis 2. 1. Marriage is between two people When no suitable helper (singular) was found for Adam, God put Adam to ...

Good things have happened in my life lately (I had my first article published in a magazine and turned twenty five – good things happen in October I say). But I’ve amazed myself in that amidst the good, my eyes couldn’t keep off the bad that was there before the good, the bad that just refuses to go away no matter what new good things come my way. This is what caused me to focus on scripture passages that speak about hope, because in a situation that doesn’t respond to my faith, my hope is challenged. The Bible has so much to say about hope and one consistent thing is how those who choose to put their hope in God will not be disappointed (see Isaiah 28:16; 49:23, Psalm 25:3, and Romans 5:5). Reminding myself of this truth made me conclude that if I felt the result wasn’t what I had hoped for then I shouldn’t stop hoping. There’s a lady I like who embodies this truth. Funny enough, none of the women mentioned in Mark 5 are called out by name, instead, we identify them by their condi...

It’s such a common mistake to think that you understand something completely when you only understand it in part. It’s a mistake that can mean living a life that is only half of the life that you’re supposed to live. I learnt this while study Ruth. After she had met Boaz and received favour from him, she went back to her mother-in-law Naomi who was pleasantly surprised by what she had gleaned. She knew that it had something to do with the owner of the field who had to have taken notice of her, so she asked where Ruth had worked. (This struck my heart, I realized that my success has little to do with me and my hard work, and plenty to do with the field I’m working in. If I am in the right field, the one I’m called for, the Owner shows favour to me by throwing serendipities along my path. This doesn’t mean me working isn’t necessary, it is, Ruth worked alright; but it means I always get more than what I worked for. Sometimes our frustration with being successful isn’t a reflection of m...