Moments!

My husband the minister

2016-02-25T08:36:00.000+02:00

He is as flawed as any man.

Yes he has a calling. Some might say he has a gift. But one thing he is not is God himself. Although sometime he is perceived as one sadly I can confirm that he is not.
He struggles, he cries, he hurts, he gets mad and frustrated. He also laughs, plays and gets up to mischief like any good minister worth their salt.

He is my husband and yes he is a minister.

At the pulpit on Sunday I see a man who has received a word for us, the congregation. I see the hours of prayer and preparation. The backward and forwards of each well prepared sermon. There are days he gets it right and some he doesn’t. I see a man. A willing man.

To you he might be a spiritual leader but to me his the head of our home. To you he might work one day a week but to me he works seven days a week. To you the standards are so much higher but to me he meets the only standards that matter.

He is a man of integrity. He is a man who holds the liberty and laws of not only this land but God’s very seriously. He is a man who strives to give kindness in times of heartache, love in time of hatred and firmness in times of selfishness.

He will walk with you, pray with you, listen to you and encourage you in what you are walking through.

He gives all that he is all the time and yes sometimes he fails. He aims for action rather than talking about something but sometime the only he can do is talk us through the doing.

The next time you see him. Don’t just look at him as just minister but look at him as a man. A man who is flawed, a man that hurts, a man that loves intensely and yes a man that enjoys life to the fullest.

He is a superhero, a warrior, a scholar, a teacher, a wise man and a gentle soul.

This is my husband and yes his minister.

3 Mantra's to grow your spiritual life

2015-02-17T09:00:00.000+02:00

Spoken by Robyn Keet at the Morning WA at the Glen Methodist Church on the 20th of August 2014

Good morning ladies

It gives me great honour to speak to you this morning. Unlike Raymond or dimples as some of you might know him as I am not a natural spokesperson but I do enjoy teaching opportunities and therefore I am transferring my talk to a series of lessons full of life’s tools.

Today I will be diving into three mantra’s of life especially that of a Christian woman. I will be using examples from my own life but at any times take a few minutes and insert examples from your own.

A mantra is simply a phrase or a term that speaks about a moment, a memory, a lifestyle or simply a choice that we make. It’s a declaration. Today I will only be exploring 3 main mantra’s from my own life but this doesn’t mean that this is it. There are many more that are personal to each one of us. At the end of this talk I will give you a few minutes to think about your mantra’s of life.

Ok, let’s dive in.

Mantra #1: Let your little light shine

“Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119 V 105

At a very young age I gave my heart to Jesus and during that time I learnt my first and most profound lesson about being a Christian and that was in the words of a simple song. “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” These words still speak volumes within my life. The lessons that I learnt from letting my light shine was that we have a responsibility not only as women within our community but also as women that services the King.

As Smanga Bosman so rightly preached about on Sunday we have a responsibility to stand up against the social injustices of our land as well as a responsibility to share, teach, study the word of God and pray for our community. You see we are so good at playing church that we missed being the Church.

So what does that mean – we need to be church? Well simply we have to let our little light shine at every opportunity that we get. This doesn’t mean that we have to do it on our own. It means that when we add our little lights to the lamps that God carries, he will guide us to act, to speak and to be his hands to his people. When we do it on our own we end us failing and feeling exhausted but when you team up with the creator and listen to him you will be able to do things that we thought were impossible.

We all struggle from time to time and our light naturally dims. This doesn’t mean you do not love Christ and that you have turned your back on him, it just means that you are struggling and that is ok. Life is difficult sometime. I love the idea of church especially the women auxiliary. When we fall our sisters are there to help us up, to pray with us and to lend a helping hand.

Our little light is our flame for God which is multifaceted. It can be used to shine upon darkness and injustice but it also there to shine light onto our sister’s lives that have become dim. This light can be a practical hand, a phone call or simply a prayer. This is the true work of Christ. Let your little light shine.

Mantra #2: Everything is figure-out-able

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Phil 4v13

I am a massive fan of Marie Forleo, a social and online entrepreneur. She speaks about a simple but quirk mantra that I can adapted into my own life called “Everything is figure-out-able” I know that figure-out-able is not a word in the traditional sense but rather a phrase that means you can figure anything out that comes your way.

2007 was our year of love. We got engaged in January and married in September. Our lives as a united front started to take shape and we were embedded in a love bubble. Our bubble popped when we moved into full time ministry in late December. Unsure about the future we packed our bags and went into the battlefield.

Through our first encounters of Ministry we relied heavy on our faith and the calling we had on our lives. We applied everything is figure-out-able on a moment to moment basis. There were times of great trial and other time of enormous joy and confirmation of our calling. When God calls you the only thing you can do is to follow him. Don’t resist him but be like the disciples and go.

You see when God calls you, he knows what he is doing although you might not understand at the time or you feel that you do not have the right skills, talents or abilities. God will walk with you. Our greatest lessons in life is when we learn in the moment and figure things out as they go along. This is our university to life.

How many of you had to assemble furniture that your dear loved one had lost the instructions too? What did you do? You figured it out.

That is the same is our daily lives. God gives us tasks, instead of saying I don’t know how too… replace it with show me how too… This is an important facet of our relationship with Christ. We are declaring with our word, our action and our soul that we trust in him fully and that no matter what happens we believe that God has actually given us the right tools and abilities for this moment.

We can do all things through Christ even when we simply have to figure things out for ourselves.

Mantra #3: Silence is a gift

Be still, and know that I am God. Ps 46 v 10a

Last year I went through what the medical professional would classify as “major depression episode” or alternatively known as burnout. I had mastered the art of balancing life, work, home, church, studies and everything in between by myself. At one point my body decided to say something and that was arousing STOP.

Being an active and energetic person I didn’t want to listen until I was flat on my back at the end of one of our Sunday services battling to breathe and carried out on a stretcher that I really started to take notice. That was the starting point of my journey into silence.

Silence is a gift. When we quiet ourselves down from the busyness of life we start to see the colours, heard the birds and sounds in our world and feel what it means to be loved not only by your family but by our creature.

Today I would like to encourage you to listen to what God is saying to us. We need to act within our community, get practical and sometime just listen.

Now it’s your turn.

What is your mantra in life? Are you a speaker of justice, someone that shows her gifts in the work she does or do you crave the silence and stillness that brings peace and Grace.

Prayer

Thank You, Father, for Your amazing grace! I receive Your grace – Your power, ability, and help – in every area of my life to accomplish all that I need to accomplish. Your grace strengthens me to stand no matter what comes my way. Your grace is sufficient. It is all I need. It is more than enough!

About the speaker

Robyn Keet is a women who seeks God's call on her life. She is an account manager at Africa Media Online, a student of Psychology and Communication Science at the University of South Africa, a wife, a mother to two beautiful fur-kids and a lover of creation.

Want to hear more from Robyn then follow her on twitter @Robzkeet

PRAYER

2012-02-27T08:46:00.000+02:00

By a dear friend, Anonymous

What do PR, AY and ER all have in common ? They may spell it, but entirely miss the point of PRAYER!

PR is a mélange of attempts at getting someone on board, on your side…and don’t we do that with God? Instead of public relations, PR would be a better named acronym for “personal requests” when it comes to prayer! Treating God as a life coach for better upliftment of our lives – trying to get God on board so that He heads up our “blessing” boat of life. Shaping us to be better liked, better dressed, better housed…better blessed.

And what about the ER prayers? Those hurried, last words offered up in a frantic attempt to bring about some change to a situation, which we find irreconcilable to ourselves…..the “emergency room” prayers – or our “emergency request” prayers. This kind of prayer is particular subjective to bargaining with God – “if you do this for me this one time, then I promise I will (or won’t ever again)…”

And how about AY?...a term used before “me” to express sorrow or regret. Don’t we save a lot of our prayers for times of sorrow, times of regret? “Woe is me” God, “Why me” God? In prayer, AY sits at the centre between PR and ER – and doesn’t it sound a lot like “I”?

Is that what PRAYER is really all about, where “I” is at the centre, straddled by requests central to “my” life?

Have you really thought about the way the Lord’s prayer begins and ends? – Hallowed be Thy name, Thine be the glory.

It is a God-honoring reminder where the focus of our prayers should be – or rather, on Whom! Our prayers should always have, as their centrality, God’s glory, not our own.

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory for ever! Amen

Romans 11v36

To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen

(Romans 16v27)

May He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

(Heb 13v21b)

To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen

(1 Peter 4v11)

To Him be the glory both now and forever! Amen

(2 Peter 3v18)

To the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen

(Judev25)

AMEN indeed!

Is this not how Jesus, our great King, taught us to pray? Genesis to Revelation highlights God’s glory above all else, though Christ Jesus. Yet when we come to our Almighty Father in prayer, so often we replace HIM with “me”.

That doesn’t mean that we can’t pray for things that are relevant to our day-to-day lives or others in our lives, but it does give us some context within which to focus our prayers.

A friend once shared that he prayed for God to take away his anger – it was unsettling him, and it was upsetting others. It seemed like something God should take away for and from him. Instead, he found he was suddenly facing more and more situations that inflamed his anger. He questioned in frustration why his prayers had not been answered for him – in fact, it felt like he had received exactly the opposite of his prayers. His vexation continued until he finally understood the context of GOD being at the centre of his life, instead of himself, and GOD being glorified in the situation. Once he took himself out of the central spot, that is taking what he thought the big issue in his life was, away (his own anger) – and placed what God was interested in (a changed heart imitating Jesus Christ and reflecting God’s glory) – he realised that God had answered his prayers. By placing him in more and more situations where he could practise dealing with his anger, God could truly change his heart in this area. Instead of being further exasperated that he was in difficult circumstances, where his anger would be inflamed, he gave glory to God for each opportunity to shape a changed heart, through Jesus Christ.

How about the rest of us? Where do our prayers stand in the context of God’s glory?

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ…to Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen

(1 Peter 5v10,11)

To worship in Spirit and Truth

2012-01-30T12:57:00.001+02:00

By Kate Hobbs

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4v24

I love song worship. I find it brings me into the Father’s presence easily. I express myself in voice and in sign language, which opens me up to what the Father wants to say to me. Song worship is a part of our lifestyle of worship. It is not the only act of, or demonstration of, worship we offer and we often forget that.

However, there are some songs that we sing that I find very difficult to enter into. If I actually sing the words, it’s usually though gritted teeth. Here is an example of the lyrics that I struggle with:

“I’m giving up my dreams;

I’m laying down my rights.

I’m giving up my pride for the promise of new life.

I surrender ALL to you……”

From “I Surrender” by Marc James

Let’s think about those words for a minute. They look great on the page. They are aspiring words, but can I sing them with all honesty? No. If I sang them, would I be singing the truth? No.

Father wants us to worship Him in Truth. He wants us to mean what we sing. He wants us to live what we sing. If I just look at those lyrics above, I struggle. To be brutally honest I don’t want to let go of my dreams and rights. If I give up my dreams what do I have left? Surely I have rights in this world? It’s something that society insists we have. Everybody has rights; to compensation; to getting what is ‘rightfully’ ours.

I cannot say, truly, at this time, that I surrender everything to Him. What about you?

So, what to do? As I develop my relationship with my Heavenly Father, get to know Him more and allow Him to change me into His likeness, then I will find that my dreams are His dreams. My rights will conform to His Justice and mercy. I will be able to surrender to Him, but not in my own strength. As I ask God to help me in this, He will gently move me to a place of surrender, where I can honestly worship Him in Truth. Then I will be able to sing those words with whole-heartedness – not of my own making, but of His.

The Heart of Worship

2012-01-23T08:30:00.000+02:00

By John van de Laar

Whenever I ask a group of people to define the word ‘worship’ I get a pretty predictable set of responses. Words like ‘praise’, ‘thanksgiving’, ‘glorifying God’ and ‘expressing God’s worth’ tend to come up again and again. These are good ideas, and they are certainly part of worship, but they do not define the heart of worship the way the Bible does. In contrast to the above definitions, the Scriptures use sexual language to speak about our relationship with God. For example:

“And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, ‘The two are united into one.’But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.” (1 Cor. 6:16,17 NLT)

“As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.” (Eph.5:31-32 NLT)

In these passages (and many others), the Bible compares our union with God to a sexual union - to intimacy. Sex is a good metaphor for worship because, as we all know, it is possible to engage in the sexual act without experiencing intimacy. But this is not what sex is intended for. Rather, the sexual union between two people is meant to be the outward, physical expression of the inner, whole-person union of their entire beings. In the same way, it’s possible to sing, pray, clap or raise your hands or receive the sacraments, and experience no intimacy with God. But, this is not what these acts were intended for. Rather, all the things we do when we worship are meant to be the outward, physical expressions of the inner, whole-person of ourselves with God.

Intimacy always has three parts to it. The first is vulnerable sharing, or what I call my story. In order to share intimacy with another person, I must be willing to let them see my true self – my good and bad, successes and failures, hopes and fears. The more honest an vulnerable I am in sharing my ‘story’ the deeper the intimacy goes. The second part of intimacy is attentive listening, or what I call your story. Intimacy is a two-way street, so as much as I share myself, I must be willing to receive your sharing of yourself. Finally, the third part of intimacy is history – the journey of sharing ourselves with each other over time. The longer we continue to share and listen, the deeper the intimacy goes.

Worship works exactly like this. We come to worship to share ourselves with God. That’s why we confess our sin, pray for our needs and share out testimonies. All of these acts are ways of bringing our story to God. We also come to worship to listen to God’s story. This is what we offer praise and thanksgiving, read the Scriptures and share the sacraments. All of these acts are ways of connecting with God’s story. And as we share stories with God, it’s not just information being passed around. God’s Spirit reaches out to our spirits seeking union, even as our spirits seek out God’s. It’s like the Psalmist wrote: “Deep calls to deep” (Psalm 42:7). Then, as we return week after week to continue this journey, we build a history of intimacy with God that goes deeper and deeper, finally leading us into the kind of union with God that the Bible speaks about so beautifully.

When we begin to understand this, we are able to enter worship with passion, with expectation, and with openness to the work of God’s Spirit among us. And, then, as in any genuine encounter with another, we will find ourselves truly transformed. This means that authentic worship always changes us, and then, through us, changes our world, as we take our connection with God with us into every moment, every circumstance and every interaction in our lives.

About the Author: John van de Laar is a Methodist minister and worship leader with over twenty five years experience in a wide variety of church and musical settings. He has been the worship director for three National Conferences of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, and the chief liturgist for the dedication of the new Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary in 2010. He holds a Masters degree in the Theology of Worship Music from UNISA, and he is a published song-writer, musician, and author. He is married to Debbie (also a Methodist minister) for twenty-four years, and we have two young adult sons. Find John's work at www.sacredise.com

Worship? What's that?

2012-01-16T03:00:00.000+02:00

By Robyn Keet

Worship is a very popular word in the religious circles especially for Christians. It’s stated in the bible over 100 times from Genesis to Revelations. Its shows up in songs, poems you name it. It’s there.

What is worship?

Darlene Zschech from Hillsong Australia says “Truthful worship requires us to be willing to get raw, honest and vulnerable before God.” Worship is being real with God on an ongoing basis. It’s expressing our heart to him. This can be in any form or style that express God’s worth to you.

Herbert Carsen also stated “To worship God is to realise the purpose for which God created us.” So that makes sense that the word worship starts in Genesis 1. This was the beginning of a relationship with man and God. To worship God is to have an honest relationship with him. Not once a week when we attend church but every day.

Oswald Chamber states that “Worship is giving God the best that he has given you.” Our worship is also an expressed in our service. When we volunteer to assist in ministry to our community regardless how significant the part is shows an act of worship. It is often said that we are the hands of God. Use your gifts to bring praise to God.

Worship is not contained by one form, shape or size it’s an expression of our heart to God. Our worship is not limited to the three examples I have listed but it is unlimited to our creativity, personality and expression. As Tim Hughes popular song Here I am to worship states “Here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down, Here I am to say that You’re my God” shows us that giving our whole life to God is the ultimate act of worship.

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. Psalm 99 v

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T09:00:00.001+02:00

To all our fans, contributors and supporters,

As we prepare to come and celebrate this Christmas. Lets remember that the ultimate gift we have received is Christ himself. Isn't that an enormous idea to even comprehend? I know it blows my mind every time I think about it. Accept this ultimate gift this Christmas.

Merry Christmas and God Bless
Robyn

GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT IN OUR LIVES

2011-12-19T09:55:00.000+02:00

By Kate Hobbs

I firmly believe that everyone who says “Yes” to Jesus receives the Holy Spirit and, therefore, at least one gift of the Holy Spirit.

There are several references to Spiritual Gifts in the New Testament, but for this post I will limit myself to those listed in 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11. In this passage there is a list of gifts:

Word of Knowledge

Word of Wisdom

The Gift of Faith

The Gift of Healing

Miraculous Powers

Prophecy

Discerning of Spirits

Tongues

Interpretation of Tongues

What we refer to as the spiritual gifts from God are to be used to build up and encourage the Church. They act as signs to unbelievers and to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is vitally important to understand the context of using spiritual gifts. Paul’s teaching comes immediately after his teaching on the Lord’s Supper and the dire warning about taking this meal with judgment in our hearts. In other words, the effectiveness in ministry must flow out of a right relationship, an intimate relationship, with God the Father through Jesus.

In David Pytches’ Book “Come Holy Spirit” he states this:

“The gifts are given to us to use for others. They are developed in a climate of risk-taking and a willingness to fail. They are developed in an atmosphere where others may be observed exercising the gifts. The gifts do not come in an academic setting; they are not a cerebral exercise. They are not discovered through research, but given sovereignly by God’s grace.

The gifts are not trophies dispensed as prizes for faithful or long service, etc. Each believer receives at least one gift, irrespective of his maturity or responsibility in the church.

The gifts are the tools, which enable the believer to effect the ministry required. Spiritual empowering equips the believer for service.

The gifts are not given to us as toys to play with or to bring us prestige or visibility – they are gifts from God to be used, as Paul says, “for the common good”.

I love how The Message words things in 1 Corinthians 12.

“Every person is given something…. Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits.”

Take another look at the list above. Within this list, one stands out for me: Prophecy. We often think that prophecy is linked to telling the future, of warnings, of strange actions and of loneliness. You only have to read the Old Testament to see what prophets did and how they were treated! But if I said to you that prophecy was the encouragement, the comforting and the building up of people, you might think again. That is what prophecy is. So, can you encourage? Can you comfort? Can you build people up (edify)? If you can, you have a Spiritual Gift.

Remember this though. God imparts gifts for a purpose. They are not ours to keep. They are to be used in the service of others. To put it another way, they are to be given away.

How goes it with your Soul?

2011-12-12T09:19:00.001+02:00

By Delme Linscott

“Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” – Joshua 22:5

“You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” – C.S. Lewis

When Nobel prize winner, Isidor Rabi, arrived home after school, his mother would talk to him about his school day. Every day she would ask him, "Isidor, did you ask a good question today?" Rabi concluded that it was the ability to ask the good questions that gave him the passion to become a scientist.

What ‘good questions’ are you asking yourself at the moment? Our Christian journey is filled with many challenges and I believe it would be wise to ask ourselves some tough questions. There is a defining question that John Wesley always asked of his friends and fellow Christians - “How goes it with your soul?”

For Wesley, accountability was the heart of discipleship and so he called Christians together in Class meetings (like the modern Cell groups) to share their faith and to grow in the grace of Christ. These meetings always began with the same question – “How goes it with your soul?” I can just picture our contemporary meetings beginning with this question and having a whole lot of people reply, “I’m fine! I am fine thanks!” John Wesley would not have let us off the hook so easily.

I have come to understand that if we honestly critique how we are doing spiritually, then we can evaluate other areas of our lives. It is possible that if I feel that my soul is in turmoil or distress then my other relationships may also be on fragile ground. Our soul’s feed our hearts; our heart’s feed our minds and our mind’s control our actions.

Wesley’s six word question is more profound than we initially realise. If we all had the courage to ask ourselves this question daily, we may find that the health of our communities and congregations would be better than they often are. The trouble is that we don’t always find people who are willing to keep us accountable in our faith and we wonder whether they could handle the truth if we confessed that all wasn’t well in our spiritual lives.

“How goes it with your soul” actually challenges our call to discipleship in the local Church. Let’s be honest for a moment - most of our Churches need less pew-warmers and more disciples of Christ. Jesus’ last word to his followers (Matthew 28:18-20) was to go out and make ‘disciples’ – people who are willing to do anything to follow in His footsteps. Anyone can speak the name of Jesus, but only those who have committed their lives to Christ are willing to allow the Spirit to move them to live like Jesus.

It doesn’t take a Theological degree to recognise that the word disciple is from the same word for discipline. Being a disciple of Jesus takes disciple and commitment, but sadly ‘discipline’ has become the new swear word of our generation. We can’t discipline our children anymore. We can’t discipline anyone anymore. And so without any discipline our communities, families and churches slowly begin to crumble from the inside. This is all deeply ironic, especially in the light of John Wesley’s great call for discipleship in his ministry. His soul-searching question was about a deeper call to discipleship and less about ‘feeling’ like a Christian.

Reverend Kent Ingram, Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, says: “At the heart of Covenant groups is John Wesley's admonition to "watch over one another in love." These groups are not about power or control. They are about giving ourselves to one another, trusting that together we can become the people, clergy and laity, that God wants us to be.”

When I ask you ‘How goes it with your soul,’ I am committing to watch over you as a fellow Christ-follower. In my heart, I want you to finish the Christian race as much as I do. I choose to give to you as much as I will need from you. Because, when I give you permission to ask me the question, in return, I know that you also care enough about me spiritual well-being to keep me accountable to the Faith.

The Bible is filled with stories of how believers triumphed over adversity, through the strength and grace of God. Adversity strikes all of us and our faith is tested on a daily basis. We need to be prepared for the challenges that will come our way. John Wesley warned, “Do not think that you shall not see war anymore or that you are out of reach of temptation. It still remains for God to prove the grace He has given: you shall be tried as gold in the fire. You shall be tempted not less than they who know not God; perhaps abundantly more. For Satan will not fail to try to the uttermost those whom he is not able to destroy.”

In my experience, asking the tough questions is what counts. When I spend a few days away on a personal retreat, I begin by asking myself John Wesley’s question: “Delme, how goes it with your soul?” I then turn to a few questions that I discovered in Gordon MacDonald’s book, Rebuilding Your Broken World. He asks 26 questions, which are insightful and challenging. Some of these include the following:

1. How is your relationship with God right now?
2. What have you read in the Bible in the past week?
3. What has God said to you in this reading?
4. Where do you find yourself resisting Him these days?
5. What habits intimidate you?

As you finish reading this short article, I challenge you to ask yourself Wesley’s question and then to give someone permission to ask you the same question - How goes it with you Soul?

Come on, I dare you.

Living in Grace

Delme Linscott

A time of advent

2011-12-06T08:02:00.001+02:00

As we move closer to Christmas we need to stop and be reminded of the reason for our celebrations. This month on Moments! we will be preparing you for Christmas. What better way than to kick things off with Advert.

This article is from Our Daily Bread (www.odb.org)

READ: 1 Peter 1:3-5,13-21

Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. —1 Peter 1:13

I believe that all Scripture is related and all Scripture is relevant. Nevertheless, I was surprised when my November reading in the book of 1 Peter touched on all four themes of Advent—that period of time on the church calendar when many Christians prepare to celebrate the first coming of Christ while looking forward to His second coming. During Advent, we emphasize hope, peace, joy, and love, which God sent with Christ.

HOPE. We have an inheritance reserved in heaven, a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-5).

PEACE. We will love life and see good days if we turn from evil and do good and if we seek peace, for the Lord watches over the righteous and hears their prayers (3:10-12).

JOY. We have inexpressible joy even though we have trials because our faith is being tested and proven genuine. The end of this faith is the salvation of our souls (1:6-9).

LOVE. We can love one another with a pure heart because we have been born again through the Word of God which lives and abides forever (1:22-23).

Because Christ came the first time, we can live with hope, peace, joy, and love till He comes again. —Julie Ackerman Link

The hope we have in Jesus Christ
Brings joy into our heart;
And when we know the love of God,
His peace He will impart. —Sper

Janine Turner Story

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000+02:00

More From Janine Turner

Nothing can drive you to your knees like show business, at least in my life.
One rejection after another rejection. People looking at their watches and just going, “Next!”!” Thousands of auditions. Thousands of no’s. “You’re not tall enough.” “You’re not smart enough, thin enough, fat enough.” Whatever it was, it was always something.

I started to drink alcohol to deal with stress of “My ten thousand no’s.” I went through a black hole due to my drinking, but at 23 years old, I got sober. God didn’t give up on me. I believed in the promise that Jesus would not forsake me.

At 27 years old. I hit another low point dealing with rejection. But then I got this call for a little pilot called Northern Exposure. I walk into this audition and the casting director looks at me and says, “I don’t know what the producers are thinking. We saw all of our best talent last week.” After the audition I walked out and started sobbing down the streets of Manhattan. I remember hugging the toilet, having dry heaves, saying “I can’t do it. I can’t do it.”

But I got the job. And it changed my whole life.

You know, we all deal with rejection, no matter what career we’re in, no matter what we do. Now when I look back on all my journeys I understand I only saw the threads. But God saw the whole tapestry, the whole blanket of my life with an eternal perspective and wouldn’t let me quit.

My name is Janine Turner and I am Second.

For more information on becoming second or Iamsecond movement.

Are you stressed?

2011-11-21T08:17:00.001+02:00

by Robyn Keet

“Stress is an emotional response to circumstances and events that threaten us and challenge our coping abilities. It is a physiological response to physical and psychological demands.” *

God knew what he was doing when he created stressors in our bodies. It’s the kick in the pants, the motivation to complete a task and the impulse to flee from danger. It’s how we cope with the stress in our lives that makes the difference in how we reaction to the daily challenges we face. As Christians the bible tells us that we should not be anxious.

So how do we manage our stress? There are many approaches we can adopt. I have listed some common sense ones that you can apply to your life straight away.

1. Prayer and mediation

2. Plan ahead

3. Manage your body with a good diet and exercise.

4. Breathe

5. Rest

6. Ask for help

As we come to the end of yet another year. Stop and think about how God has walked long side you. The moments that we have deemed impossible and hard to handle with, we have survived them. We have managed those challenges with the faith and guidance from our Lord and Saviour regardless if we were aware of him or not.

Take God into your silly season!

^“5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5-7

*K Grieve, V van Deventer, M Mojapelo-Batka “A student’s A-Z of Psychology”.P334. Juta. 2004. South Africa

He will give you the Desires of your Heart.

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000+02:00

by Kate Hobbs

“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this.” Psalms 37v3-5 (NIV UK)

Are you passionate about something? Is there something that you are aching to achieve? Do you nurture that passion? Are your desires ones that will bring wholeness to you and glory to God?

Once you become a Christ-follower the desires of your heart become God-inspired. He places them into your heart.

Steve and I had a desire to spend a significant time in Canada. We knew that each time we returned to the UK we left a little part of us behind. Our desire to be in Canada strengthened over time. Was that our desire? Was it something that we wanted and was it God’s will? I fully believe that it was His desire for us and he placed it into our hearts. The testimony of our new home in Canada speaks of a God-inspired desired that we have managed to fulfil with his guidance.

We have a generous Father who lavishes abundant gifts on us. As any Father, he could just give us our desires but he wants us to share in the receiving of these gifts.

The Psalm say:

“Delight yourself in Him…”
“Commit your way to Him…”
“Trust in Him….”

So how do we delight in Him? Look at the moments you spend with your family. Remember the emotions that you felt. The peace and joy, the excitement, the candour, the honesty, the gratefulness you experienced. In the same way God wants to have a relationship with us. Delighting in him is simply experiencing time spent with him. You can laugh, cry or just be silenced with him as you would with your family.

How do we commit our ways to Him? Simply it’s seeking Him in all things. Before we start that project spend a moment in prayer asking him for guidance, strength and peace. By committing ourselves to him we are allowing him to take the driver’s seat in our lives. Our life’s journey with God is a daily relationship with him. He wants to be part of your whole life. So say a quick hey before you start your day.

The hardest commandment from this psalm is to trust him. I have often found myself waiting for God to act but instead I impatiently act without hearing from him. Have I trusted in Him in thoses times? No but it is in those times I have to prayed “Father, forgive my unbelief.” I am so grateful that God sees my heart and knows my motivations.

What is it that you desire at this time? Do you have a relationship with your Heavenly Father? If not, allow him to come into your heart today. Share your desires with him.

The desire of God’s heart is to know you fully.

Belonging

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000+02:00

By Rev Dr Wessel Bentley

I am a Christian.

This means that I follow Jesus, or I try my best to. Perhaps to say “I am a Christian” is not the most accurate reflection of where I am. It assumes that I have somehow perfected the art, mastered the way of Jesus Christ. Let me rather say that I am “becoming a Christian”, growing in the life that Jesus teaches His followers to live.

My view of Christianity has not always been like this. In the early days of my walk with Jesus, I assumed a radical faith, thinking that I got it all and that it was all up to me to save the world. Although my intentions were noble, my radical approach to try and save others from the impending fires of hell repulsed more people that what it drew to the God of love. I think we all move through these times. Then one starts to realize that you cannot save anyone. “Saving” is God’s job. Being a Christian and standing as the world’s judge is not what God wants of me or of us. Jesus simply said, “Follow me”, He would do the rest.

You see, “being” a Christian can be a very lonely an isolating experience. “Becoming” a Christian speaks of belonging. Let’s explore this. First of all, we belong to God, God doesn’t belong to us. What do I mean by this? Well, God was there before we were, God calls our names, God reveals Godself to us, God makes known God’s desire for the way we express this gift called life. We cannot own God, manipulate God, direct God or contain God. Most of all, we cannot force God on others. God won’t be pushed around. I belong to God because God welcomed me.

But becoming a Christian is not just about me belonging to God. I also belong to the Body of Christ, the community of people who are also becoming Christians by following Jesus. Belonging to the community of faith is important for our spiritual growth and wellbeing. Belonging means that we can share in our journey together, we can give account of where we are at and we can be held accountable by others. Most of all, it is in community that we experience the gift of God’s love and compassion. If you have not done so already, I would like to encourage you to link up with a community where you feel that you belong and where you are made to feel welcome.

Lastly, becoming a Christian is a journey of helping others feel that they belong too. What is so important in Jesus’ teaching that we should visit those in prison, feed the hungry, care for the stranger, the widow and the orphan? Is it just about doing acts of charity? No. It is about something more than that. It is extending the hand of welcome that God first extended, so that those who are marginalised and neglected can know the inclusive and non-discriminatory love of God, which transcends all boundaries.

In a nutshell, becoming a Christian is growing in our sense that we belong to God, that we belong to a community which is charged by the One whom we follow to help others know that they belong both to God and in the family of faith. My prayer is that you will not stop growing in your faith by simply saying, “I am a Christian”. Friend, this is a journey, perhaps the most rewarding, challenging and defining journey we will ever embark on.

New Christian Lifestyle Blog

2011-10-31T12:37:00.000+02:00

Everyone has a different experience once they become a Christian. Some experience a 180 degree turns in their lives, others feel a warming in their hearts and simply, others don’t feel anything at all. The lovely thing about being a Christian is that we are not governed by our emotions but instead we choose to have a relationship with Our God. How awesome is that!

Have you ever asked this question: I am a Christian now....hmmmm Now what?

This blog has been designed to answer all your questions about the Christian faith, how to apply the Bible to our everyday lives and simply how can we connect with God in an intimate level. I must be frank with you. All Christians need fellowship so I encourage you to join in at your local Church. If you need help let me know and I will connect you with one anywhere around the world. My promise!

If you still need to make your connection or commitment with God we have made it easy with our “Become Second” page or simply ask one of our Contributors to assist you.

Each month we will be posting a weekly blog from one of our experienced and committed writers. I would recommend that you subscribe to a weekly reminder or plan to visit us every Monday morning (SAST). There is a schedule list on our “What’s up” page.

I urge you to live your life with God in the driver’s seat and I look forward to your weekly visit.

God Bless

Robyn

http://robzkeet.blogspot.com

ReLaunch date: 31st of October 2011

2011-10-18T15:59:00.000+02:00

We are coming closer to our great reLaunch of our blog, Moments! This portal has been designed to assist Christians with the next step after their commitment. We will simply be looking at how to apply the bible to our everyday lives as well as looking at ways we can make a difference in our communities. We are blessed to have some accomplished writers like Rev Delme Linscott, Rev. Dr Wessel Bentley, Kate Hobbs to name a few.

Do you want to get involved?

We are looking for blog contributors and virtual counsellors.

If you are interest in joining the team please email Robyn at robzkeet@gmail.com for more information.

My big re-Launch....

2011-10-06T15:18:00.000+02:00

This blog was created as an online “safe” place for me to write. After reviewing the comments, personal emails and stats I have decided to re-Launch my blog as an online magazine. I will be featuring a number of articles from all walks of life and issues on a monthly basis to start off with.

I am now looking for contributors who would like to use this portal to publish their work on a regular basis. Please email me at robzkeet@gmail.com and use the reference: Blog Contributor.

Launch date still to be confirmed.

Regards

Robyn

Love Letter

2011-07-19T11:07:00.001+02:00

When I was younger I wrote a list of characteristics of the man that I wanted to marry. It has the usually suspects. He had handsome, wise and good with children but most of all he had to have a heart for God. To my amazement I fell in love and married the one person that I had never guessed would be the perfect partner.

In the beginning of our relationship we began to write our feelings down for each others in our own hand writing. I would re-read each letter that he wrote to me. Every word that fell off the page was another butterfly that did back flips in my stomach.

When you read the book of Solomon (Song of Songs) you see a diary of two lovers.

Song of Solomon 2 v 16 - 17

   She
¹⁶ My beloved is mine and I am his;
   he browses among the lilies.
¹⁷ Until the day breaks
   and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved,
   and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
   on the rugged hills.

When was the last time you wrote a Love letter? Take a couple of minutes and sit down and start to write down a true, deep and honest letter to your loved one. By expressing your deepest feelings you confirm your ongoing commitment to them. If you need some inspiration, just look at the letters from the Book of Solomon.

Re-ignite that passion again.

Chose Life

2011-07-18T16:06:00.000+02:00

I was playing Mah-jong Titans the other days. As I was matching the titles it accord to me that our lives are fairly similar to this game. One false mismatch and you are toast.

In Deuteronomy 30 v 11- 20, God gave Moses and his people a choice.

“¹⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰ and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Do we find ourselves in an element of choice-less-ness? I know that I feel that I don’t have a choice in certain matters but in fact I do. We are so bogged down by the structures of our busy lives that we have forgotten to accept the true elements of LIFE and BLESSING. By evaluating this choice it means that by choosing Life we accept to Love the Lord your God and to walk in his ways. Simply that means that we need to dedicate our lives to him 100%.

Going back to my Mah-jong Titan game, I had to match the same titles that were free so they can be removed from the board. The more titles I matched the emptier my board became until it was completely empty which results in a win. By matching the elements of LIFE and BLESSING we overcome those obstacles within our lives by removing them totally. If we focus on the direction that we need to take we will have a renewed energy to LIVE a life for God.

Spiritual Fibre

2011-07-11T14:56:00.001+02:00

With our recent move (6 months ago) it has given me a slight sense of freedom with my eating habits. This has resulted in me picking up an additional couple of kilograms. Not to my amusements. Once you get into that rut of laziness, pity and of course woe-is-me attitude it's really hard to pick yourself up. If you are anything like me you would comfort your insecurity and pity with food. Emotional eating is a killer for weight lose.

I have read all the blogs, articles and of course all the self help modules that experts in the field have to offer. All of them say that you need to add fibre into your diet to flush out the rubbish that you have subjected it to. Have you every tried All bran flakes and other fibre cereals after a life time of high sugar low fibre intake. It's not easy at all. (And deadly when taking in high qualities at once) It's a discipline you have to get into. It takes small steps which allows you to succeed with your internal spring clean.

On the other hand, as Christians we accept what is feed to us on a weekly bases at church,radio and television. We enjoy to many Amen and HALLELUJAH sermons and we don't practise spiritual disciple. We become spiritually fat. It's time we take our spiritual fibre. Read a little of the Psalms to get your spiritual digestive system working again. Chow, meditate and challenge yourself with the word of the Bible. We are called to be the body of Christ so we need to look after ourselves. A sign of mature is the fruit of being in ship sharp spiritual shape.

Psalms 1 " How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College. ^2-3 Instead you thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom."

God Bless

Robz

Knowledge into Action!

2011-06-22T08:29:00.001+02:00

As a people of the instant culture we gain knowledge as easily as a search in Google but the real question is: What do we do with that knowledge?

I have been on a yoyo journey of losing weight for months now. I have read all the articles and joined all the websites that guarantee successful result but unfortunately the success doesn’t last and even in some instants I don’t even succeed. Why Because I need to put my knowledge to action. Like Ross Olivier says “It’s simple. Eat less, eat well, move more”

That is the same with our relationship with Christ. We know that we should pray, listen and be quiet. We have learnt the techniques of our faith but do we put it into practise? Are we honest with ourselves when we call ourselves true Christ followers? I urge you today to hold your relationship with our Lord accountable. Keep a journal, Make a note do what you need to do to keep your relationship on track and you will see that the road you are journeying on will show you little miracles on the way.

Psalm 128: ^1-2 All you who fear God, how blessed you are! How happily you walk on his smooth straight road! You worked hard and deserve all you've got coming. Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness! (The Message)

God Bless

Robyn

Take the Risk

2011-04-26T10:17:00.002+02:00

I was attending the Design Indaba simulcast in Johannesburg at the beginning of this year. A speaker (whom I can’t remember the name) said something so profound that literally lit a fire under my “dead dreams” to become a photographer. He said “ If you can’t do something meaningful with your life and if you don’t take the risk to get your dreams off the ground. You are no better than the bum that sits on the side of the road looking for hand outs” OMG... That was a little harsh but so needed. Then there was an Standard Bank advert with an South African actor who said around about the same thing. Well that was me. All my dreams and thoughts, ideas and passion flooded into my heart, my mind and my life in a couple of small harsh moments. This is what I needed to do....Take the risk!

Where do you start? So often you hear great business men and woman that have made break thoughts in their lives just say, “It just happened”. My question has always been...How has it happened? Was there a plan or a strategy? Did you hire a guru in the industry or did you simply apply basic physics?

This is how I started....I applied for credit to get my camera. The equipment is important. My next step is to create a portfolio of images of everything I can take an image of....My next step...Well, Watch this space.

If we don’t take the risks within our lives to make our dreams possible then we are no better than the bum on the side of the road hopeless, cold, alone and dreamless.

Regards

Robyn

Posted via email from A view of Robzkeet slice of life

My journey into photography

2011-04-07T11:23:00.002+02:00

2002 I feel in love with the art form of photography. I loved the way that the photographer manipulated the light to capture that special moment, that period of time that can never be replaced. I was very fortunate to have a great mentor and friend, David Weeks, show me the rope. I worked with him over a period of 2 years assisting him at weddings on the weekend. Every time we went out I learnt something new. He sparked a passion in my soul that is only a reality today.

This month I start my own photography career. I am still new at being the one behind the camera but I know that I can put the 9 years of theory into practise.

Here are some shots to start things off.

Your comments would be great!

God Bless

Robyn Keet

Posted via email from A view of Robzkeet slice of life

Our souls gardens

2011-01-29T17:20:00.001+02:00

How often do we find a reminder of what the word holds for us in our daily lives?

A scripture that I have been mediating and encouraging me is the from Luke 8 v 1 – 15 which is the parable of the sower.

Last week Ray and I went to the nursery to purchase some plants as a protective layer for our fence as Roxy, our 8 month old charpei/golden retrieve, has discovered how to jump the fence. I must warn you that I am not an active gardener. I do not like planning or sowing seed or even to get my hands dirty but what I do appreciate is the beauty that comes from placing seeds and plants into dirt.

As we soften and prepare the soil I was reminder of this parable. The seeds of the word are planted in our souls garden on a daily bases. Whenever we attend church, participate in bible studies and even when we sit down for our quiet time we are exposed to the beauty and nurturing of our soul’s gardens.

I encourage you as your garden grows and flourish share it with the rest of the world.

God Bless

Robyn

Posted via email from A view of Robzkeet slice of life

A new chapter: The Keet’s arrive in Carletonville.

2010-12-31T10:22:00.001+02:00

The 14^th of December 2010 was a profound day for Raymond and I. It was the day that a chapter of our lives has closed and a new chapter was about to begin. We were sad to leave behind the friendships, the colleagues and the memories that we have created over the past 2 years in Pietermaritzburg but we were called to be Christ-followers and it was time for us to go.

Upon our arrival at Carletonville we were optimistic of the experience that was waiting for us at our new Church, our new Christian family. The opened arm welcomes and the love we have felt from the first moment that we have arrived has been over whelming. This is a place that God has called us for this chapter of our lives, our ministry.

We do not know what to expect but one thing I do know is that with love, peace, joy and hope in our hearts we can do something that is outstanding for the people of this town and most of all for the glory for our God.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” 1 Timothy 4 v 12 (NIV)

God Bless

Robyn Keet

Posted via email from A view of Robzkeet slice of life