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Stewarding Peace

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Dear friends, let's just be honest for a moment. Quarantine has taken its toll. For the women - the moms, let's just be real: we haven't worn jeans in months, our nails are all grown out and we can't remember the last time we were alone. Some private time would feel pretty good right about now wouldn't it? Thank the Lord we are entering some normality now.

During this time however, a lot of added pressure and tension can fill our souls and thus our homes. What does the atmosphere of your home feel like? What words are you speaking into your world? The Word of God says something very important: "...for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

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Excellence and Creativity

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What is excellence? You’ll find that most people have a different opinion of what excellence is. Some say that it’s a set point on a bar graph. You either meet the goal or you don’t, and whether you do or not is determined by the excellence of your product or service. Others will say it’s a set standard that has to be met in order for people to accept your product or service. These perceptions of what excellence means are not only misguided, but they are also unbiblical. Author Harold Best determines in his book, Music Through the Eyes of Faith, that excellence is simply “(…) the process of becoming better than I once was”. In other words, excellence is about learning and growing to better oneself. One’s talents or skills may not be perfect or even meet the guidelines of what is considered to be the industry standard, but excellence in what you do is determined by what you put into it. It says in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

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The Weapons of Our Warfare

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Racism is evil. This statement alone defines both the nature as well as the source of racism. It is demonic and comes from hell. It is an invention and scheme of the devil to get people to do his dirty work for him, namely to kill and destroy each other. I think activism is important. I think peaceful protest is affective. My fear is that in our attempt to show solidarity or prove our allegiance to the cause, we will fight this battle on fronts that will not lead to victory; but only to more destruction and more death. I believe the Lord has given us keys to combat injustice, and that it is time to grab them and use them intentionally and consistently.

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Pentecostal Fire

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Pentecost weekend is upon us. It is on the day of Pentecost that we remember and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus. It was the fulfilment of a hundreds year old prophecy by Joel. The promise that the Sprit of the living God would be poured out on all flesh. Those of us within the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement have a deep sense that celebrating great works of God in the past, carries a key to experiencing those same wonderful acts in the here and now.

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Kingdom Politics

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Jesus never was a political figure, nor did he aspire to be one. In stark contrast to what the Jewish population of the time expected the Messiah to be, here stood not a person that was ready to take power from the oppressing Roman forces by means of political or military activity, but someone who would gain the world by giving his life.

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Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

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The desire of a true follower of Christ is to know Him more, to go deeper into the relationship that He has called us to. As we go deeper into that relationship we see how the Holy Spirit uses us more and more for His glory. But often and quite typically, people get so focused on the next thing that they forget about the foundation. It’s so easy to want the power of the Holy Spirit, like Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8:18-19; the fact is that the power of the Holy Spirit isn’t the goal but a result of our relationship and obedience. Without a firm foundation, it can be abused.

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The Lordship of Jesus Christ

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King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is declared in many worship songs and read in church almost every week, but is JESUS really LORD? I have spent much of my adult life so burdened by Matthew 7 where Jesus says, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord! Will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter...many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name.” We sang songs in your name, we “worshiped” you and we love you. The way this question is answered has eternal ramifications. John 15:14 - “You are my friends if you do what I command!” When we allow Jesus to be Lord over our lives, HIS Spirit leads us for HIS glory, not ours. Our job is to say “YES” to God in total, complete obedience.

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Leading By Example

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Being in leadership in most churches is a case of trial and error — trying to figure out what seems to work, what seems to be effective, and what most people respond to. This process can be very frustrating and difficult, causing much hurt and misunderstanding along the way – not only to the ones you are trying to lead, but also to yourself. The question I ask myself is: what kind of leadership style do I want to have? What kind of qualities others might appreciate and wish to emulate?

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Called and Anointed Ones

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The children of this generation, will face challenges non before them have had to face. The shifts in culture and law are ushering in a new reality, wherein we cannot simply trust everything that is presented to us from our society, culture, or even our governments. The days of standing tall in the face of severe adversity may be a new reality sooner than we think. The ability to stand tall and stand for Christ, can be hard for anyone, especially without the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. It is for this important reason that we must be praying for our Children to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. There is no “arrival” on this journey. The journey begins the moment the child is born. The only thing that changes, is the level of understanding. God’s calling and gifts are on them from day one.

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The Beauty of God - A Violent Splendour

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God is beautiful! That is an odd statement to make - especially for men. It presents a hurdle for many of us to consider God in that sense. It is however, a simple fact of reality. The Father is beautiful. The Son is beautiful. The Spirit is beautiful. First, God is the absolute of every concept of reality we have. In other words, the only reason we can even perceive of a thing like beauty, is because God himself is absolutely beautiful. If not, beauty would cease to have meaning. Second, God’s beauty is by far more deep and dangerous than the beauty of human kind. Our beauty is fair, his is furious.

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The Effects of the Spirit’s Breath Upon the Efforts of Man

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Jesus walked in the fullness of the measure of the Holy Spirit. He was fully led and directed by the revelation of the Father’s will through the working of the Spirit. It is no understatement to say that Jesus’ life and ministry were greatly impacted by the breath of the Holy Spirit, freely blowing through the heart and mind of the promised Christ. The Holy Spirit desires to do the same in us. Not a lesser, downgraded form of his breath; the exact measure that changed the atmosphere everywhere Jesus set his foot.

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The Expectation We as a Community Bring to the Worship Meeting

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We all want to be part of church communities where miracles happen. The minute you meet Jesus you realise, anything can happen in his presence. Lives can be changed in an instant, bodies healed, the oppressed set free. The greatest of all, are those awesome moments when a greater measure of the glory of God is revealed to us. We were made to live for his glory and to celebrate his presence. So how does this become the norm instead of the exception? I think the secret lies in what each individual brings to the table. What each of us brings to the house of God.

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The Davidic Model of Holistic Worship

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Have you ever heard worship lyrics that encourage us to “lift our hands”, “dance” or “shout unto God with a voice of triumph”? Whether you like it or not, you probably have. There seems to be a very extroverted quality to modern worship songs, our bodies are supposed to be engaged. So why aren’t they? Is it even biblical to implore people to be active in worship? Let’s explore this in the handbook of worship, the Psalms; and in the life of its greatest champion, king David.