JANUARY 2009
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CON T E N T S The editor’s note
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Communic8
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Hayley’s Comment
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God’s riches
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Double take
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8 ways to...
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Testify
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Who’s this God guy anyway?
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Fascin8
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Designed by: Leanne Rhodes illumin8 - Edition 8 - January 2009
EDITOR’S NOTE “Money, money, money, must be funny, in a rich man's world!” Hate ABBA or love them, they hit the nail on the head with that song! Money is not an amusing issue unless you are Richie Rich, and let's face it, very few of us are likely to amass multi-billion dollar fortunes in our life times. The majority of us, if we live as slaves to this world, will spend a fair amount of our time worrying about money: if we'll have enough, where to get more, when the interest rates will go down, if the current good run will end… When I was a student I had a shoestring budget and remember dreaming about all the things I was going to do when I had a job and earned a salary. I've now been in that job, earning that salary for nearly a year and you know what? I still dream about all the things I will do when I get my next increase, or make that promotion. I have discovered that expenses and expenditure have a way of increasing to meet what you are earning. Which makes me wonder, will there ever be enough or are we just chasing the proverbial carrot on a stick? The pursuit of money is a futile one. We live in a society that tells us when we can afford a certain lifestyle we will be happy, or have status. This subtle but continuous bombardment has landed many people in debt and overspending is one of the many factors that has contributed to the global financial crisis we find ourselves in. The problem is that when we reach the next “level of earning” there will always be someone above us who earns more. Well I've now waffled on for half a page and I'm sure you are wondering what on earth The Zoo Issue! Be free! has to do with money. Well aside from the obvious fact that South African bank notes have animals on them, money has a way of trapping us. There are more verses and parables in the bible about money than there are about any other topic. This is hardly surprising, as money, like nothing else, can steal our focus, our goals, our aspirations, our plans and our hearts. But the emphasis of this title is on the second part – be free! As Christians we are called to rely on God and not to worry. As most of us spend a fair amount of energy worrying about money, we thought we'd try and come up with some ways to be free of this draining past time.
...will there ever be enough or are we just chasing the proverbial carrot on a stick?
God’s Riches, our feature article this month is a comprehensive one by a new contributor. For me it broke down some of the misconceptions I had about Christians and how we should handle our finances. Finances are a huge part of all our lives (either in a positive or negative way) and I hope that some of the issues discussed in this article will help release you from whatever cage money may have ensnared you in. If you are on the other side of the fence though and are really struggling financially for whatever reason then I encourage you to read this month's Testify. It tells the amazing story of how God will provide for us if we give him the chance. Obviously it is easier said than done, but perhaps you have nothing left to lose? I pray that 2009 will be a great year for you and that God will help you with whatever financial issues you face at the moment so you are free from worry to serve him better. Have a cha-Ching! January!
Lucy Designed by: Leanne Rhodes illumin8 - Edition 8 - January 2009
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communic8 you said it... I really wanted to thank you for the illumin8 editions. They are brilliant, and real, and they have really encouraged me while I've been in Ghana working on my master's degree. I seriously look forward to receiving them, so thank you, and good job! Sarah Swart I've really enjoyed reading Illumin8 - you're all doing a great job. I find it very helpful and often find it gives a different perspective on something, or else a really practical and helpful tip. Jennie from Cape Town This email was sent to Hayley Brett (of Hayley's Comment) just after we sent out the ad for the very first issue. I find that getting to know God really scares me. I kid you not, 2 hours ago, I took a coffee break and the thought occurred to me that I should look around on the internet for some sort of Christian newsletter for young people so that I can do at least something about learning more, so that I can hear other people's opinions. Well what do you know?! Hayley takes up a job with a Christian column, sends me the link and my search is over before it even had to start! There's a verse in Acts that says "Believe in the Lord and you and your household will be saved." I never truly understood it until my parents rededicated their lives to God. Because of their renewal, I'm more aware of my reticence and I'm making a more concerted effort to change it. So kicking and screaming, with help and opinions from friends and family, if your heart is open, you get yourself dragged into the light. You just, quite unknowingly, joined the few people in my life who are making a difference in my relationship with God!
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Hello! Commuting on the train to work every day I am bombarded with headlines stating the current depressing state of the economy. Terms like 'credit crunch', 'recession' 'budgeting' and 'interest rates' have crept their way into my everyday world. Everyone around me has been affected and friends and colleagues have been made redundant, making it so much more real. Just this morning I read that even Madonna has cancelled a tour to Australia and that the Queen has started recycling her outfits. Now if the world's ultimate Material Girl is downsizing and the richest woman in the world is resorting to 'credit crunch couture', we know this is serious and I reckon the least I can do is save a penny or two. Truth is, not everyone is great with money. Overdue bill here, maxed out credit card there. It's easy to let things get out of control. And I'll be honest – I've never been great with Maths or budgeting so playing the saving game is a full time job with me.
Hayley’s Comment
Imagine my surprise then when the minister's message at church (the wonderfully vibrant Hillsong London) was to 'Give Give Give'. Do Give money, give time, give talents. And once you've not seek what you given, be prepared to receive. And then I realised that should eat or what throughout my life it has only been the times when I have you should drink, nor been generous (be it to the church or the beggar, a child or a friend) I have been blessed. Try it for yourself. Afterall, if have an anxious mind. you have change in your pocket you are in the top 5% of For all these things the the world's population – right up there with Madge and nations of the world seek Queen Liz! When you think about it like that it makes it after, and your Father hard not to give, doesn't it? And while we're on the subject knows that you need these of numbers: from a very non-mathematically minded person, this is by far the best mathematical equation I things. But seek the kingdom have ever seen: of God, and all these things 1 cross + 3 nails -------4 given
shall be added to you (Luke 12:29-31).
Wishing you all love, laughter, happiness and God's richest blessings for 2009.
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bring. Pleasure is God's idea and spending money appropriately on things that we enjoy and that improve our quality of life can be part of the fullness of life that Jesus came to give us.
Designed by: Mari Schoeman
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s Christians we are told to work hard and not to be lazy. The book of Proverbs for example is full of scathing comments regarding those who are lazy and who merely dream without doing some proper work. A consequence of working hard is that we may do well. Generally if we study hard, we get good marks. In the same way, generally if we work hard in the secular workplace we will also be rewarded. Doing well at work may mean that we will be remunerated well. Working hard does not mean that our work must become a stumbling block in itself and being a workaholic at the expense of family life, fellowship, our health and time of worship and daily prayer is not what we are called to do. The Israelites were set free from a life of slavery where their worth was measured by the number of bricks they could produce. In God's eyes, our lives too are worth so much more than what we can produce.
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In Mark 10:17-22 NIV, Mark tells the story of the rich man who seems to turn and walk away from Jesus because he could not do what Jesus is telling him to do, namely give up his great wealth. This is not necessarily a call for us all to give away all our possessions and live a life of ascetism. It is however a call for us all to be prepared to do so if Jesus wants us to do this. We must never let our wealth get in the way of our relationship with Jesus.
Another way to avoid getting caught by our money is to always be aware of the needs of others and to meet these needs – in addition to our tithing. The world is full of poor people in desperate circumstances. While the poor may indeed always be with us, we can make a difference to somebody's life through our generosity. Especially in South Africa where there is such obvious need, as Christians we should always be looking for how we can serve others. Our use of our money is part of our service to God and He has specifically told us to care for the poor. How they became poor is irrelevant.
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Being rich however is not unbiblical. The Bible has a number of examples of people who were rich - Abraham, Job, David and others. However with wealth comes responsibility. Some of the wealthy Biblical characters fell (for example, Solomon). We have been warned that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” and that “some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10 NIV).
God does not need our money. When Jesus needed to pay tax, fish brought him money (see Matthew 17:27 NIV). He seeks our obedience and our faithfulness. Tithing is an expression of our love for him. Quibbling about how much we must tithe defeats the point of tithing. John Wesley apparently said that we must “earn as much as we can, save as much as we can and give as much as we can”. This reflects some of what tithing is all about.
There will be other ways to avoid the trap that money can be. These we can discover as we walk with Jesus. The most important thing to remember is that true riches lie in Jesus. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves to not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV). If we daily spend time with Jesus and listen to His teachings and obey His calling for our lives, earthly treasures quickly lose their lustre and we can be filled with a peace and joy that exceeds all our understanding. At that stage, we come closer to being part of His true riches.
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Equally, while poverty is not part of God's plan, the pursuit of wealth should never be our goal. Our work should be a response to God's calling and He would never call us to dishonest or dishonourable work which is not pleasing to Him, even if this promises great wealth. Our work is primarily a way of using our talents to serve God and His people. Whether we become wealthy or not is irrelevant to God if we are serving Him where He has called us.
How do we do this? At a basic level we must tithe. “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask 'how do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse – the whole nation of you – because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 3:8-10 NIV). Tithing is a basic discipline where we give back to God some of what he has given to us. A basic guide is to give ten percent of what we earn as tithe. How we calculate the ten percent is not the most important thing, ultimately it is how we give that is important.
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Working hard does not mean that our work must become a stumbling block in itself and being a workaholic at the expense of family life, fellowship, our health and time of worship and daily prayer is not what we are called to do.
By ensuring that we give our tithe regularly, always look to the needs of others and enjoy in an appropriate way the pleasures that wealth can allow us to enjoy, hopefully with God's grace we can enjoy the abundant life that relationship with Jesus offers us while being able to walk away from wealth and the material pleasures it can bring if this is what Jesus calls us to do.
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by Bruce Lister
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Anyhing outside God's will is sinful, including the excessive pursuit of material pleasure. This does not mean however that we cannot enjoy some material pleasure. The fact that sex outside marriage is hurtful and harming does not take away from the enormous pleasure that sex within marriage brings. Within God's will, money too can add to our pleasure. God has created a wonderful world and to enjoy exploring its beauty, eating the exciting variety of foods that He has created and enjoying the talents of people who perform beautiful music can all be ways of becoming aware of His splendour and creativity and ultimately giving thanks to Him who created all of this for us to enjoy and revel in, in His love.
Mother Teresa said ““Whoever is dependent on his money or worries about it is truly a poor person. If that person places his money in the service of others, he becomes very rich indeed.” It is in serving others that we put our money to best use. A third way that we can avoid becoming trapped by wealth is to remember the second great commandment where we are told to “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39 NIV). As we look to the needs of others, we must also look to our own needs. We must look after our reasonable material needs and the needs of those who are dependent on us. We can however also enjoy the blessing that material comforts can
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By Leanne Barnard
Scroogeuenza Meaning: A wave of stinginess & greed that inhibits your ability to reach out to others and give for fear that you're depriving yourself of benefits.
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“Bah Humbug!” he exclaimed as he walked past a peasant on the way to the mansion. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man joyfully giving a penny to a hungry woman. He didn't see what reason this poor man had to be happy – after all – he was now even more penniless! “If you have nothing you're not worth anything”, he thought. “So hold tightly onto what you have, work harder to get more and above all keep it. For you will lose out if you don't clutch it close.” Ebenezer Scrooge unlocked the door and for a moment he felt a strange sensation. Did he in fact envy this man?
So the “scrooge” in “scrooguenza” is an iconic reference to the famous character in the Charles Dickens novel “A Christmas Carol”. According to Wikipedia, the word "Scrooge" has since come into general usage as a term for any person who is stingy, antisocial, or lacking in "Christmas spirit." So although the festive season is over this character has traits which we all can relate to and learn from.
illumin8 - Edition 8 - January 2009
Photograph by: Steve Ford Elliott
Designed by: Leanne Rhodes
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Just like influenza invades the body and causes a stuffy head, so stinginess and greed clouds your world and causes you only to see and care about yourself in that situation. You withhold generosity from others so that you can benefit. The problem is that in adopting this mindset you rob yourself of the joy Jesus wants you to have and the more often you choose yourself over others the sicker your soul becomes.
I have never thought of myself as stingy. I love giving and seeing the look on people's faces when you give them something they really need. However, this year, I have struggled more financially and consequently found myself on a very tight budget. Slowly but surely I saw my giving fade as I only focussed on all I needed and wanted. When I did have to give I felt slightly reluctant - almost like a child surrendering their favourite toy. I have seen it in such small ways. I was recently given lots of presents and felt I should give my sister one of the many I had to thank and bless her for the beautiful person she is and all the work she did. However, when it came down to choosing what to give her I felt myself keeping the best for myself and giving her what would least inconvenience me. Then it struck me. I've got the bug!! I then remembered that although I was struggling (In my eyes – it's all so relative) I realised that I had so much more than some others and that there was plenty that I could do. I remembered that even if you don't feel you have much to give to God it's not about how much you give but the heart with which
illumin8 - Edition 8 - January 2009
you give it. So a generous heart was what I wanted to go back to. Having those extra presents in the end didn't add any more to my life whereas, making someone feel appreciated filled me with more joy than I thought possible. Did you know that unlike the flue Scrooguenza has a cure! It's called giving! Giving releases the hold that possessions have on us. It changes our focus from ourselves onto others and God. The Bible says that the world and everything in it belongs to God. When you start realising that all you have is His anyways, the hold our money and possessions have on us completely disappears. It reminds us that it's all about Him. Jesus tells us to “Give, and we will receive. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, running over will be put into your pocket. The standards you use for others will be applied to you” (Luke 6:38). So when we use the excuse that we “don't have” we need to remember that God promises He will look after us and bless us beyond our dreams. This is not purely for our benefit but so we in turn, can bless others again. The cycle of giving and receiving is what will keep you free of the dreadful fever scrooguenza. Where it steals your joy, giving liberates your soul. I encourage you not to hold back when you feel God's promptings but to live a generous life.
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Designed by: Wanja Focaraccio
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GOD (played by Morgan Freeman in the movie Evan Almighty) shares a profound thought: when asking GOD for something, rather than simply giving us that something, He gives us an opportunity to learn it. I have found this to be true in terms of faith – I asked GOD to increase my faith and in my knowledge of Him as my provider. Instead of just giving me these traits He took me on a journey. I pray this story increases your faith in the way that it has mine and helps you to take the leaps He asks of you. For the past 3 years I have had the privilege of being the student pastor at St Wilfrid's Anglican Church. I was hired as a part time employee, just working mornings. However, near the end of last year I felt like I was never able to give enough to the ministry time-wise because financially I needed to supplement my income by tutoring every afternoon. The demands of the church work and the prompting of my heart was telling me that I needed more time to fully do what GOD had called me to in the position. Then I had a crazy (from the world's point of view) thought: maybe I should stop tutoring and work for the church full-time! This would effectively have halved the income on which I was barely making ends meet! Through various confirmations I knew this was a leap I needed to take to learn that it is GOD who provides for my every need – it is not because of my endeavours. I received no promise that everything would be alright, I just knew that it was the obedient step. A couple of months after making this decision – problems started with my car, which all added up to R15 000 in 6 months!!! It was crazy – literally one thing after another. One day, the last blow occurred when my clutch packed up and needed to be fixed. To put it simply – I did not have anything left in my bank account and I felt panicky to say the least. I sat on the side of the road with all my belongings from my car (I had to unpack it to leave it at the garage), and mentally began to fight with GOD with tears streaming down my face. I could not contain it anymore – I know GOD and I know He is faithful but the circumstances just never seemed to turn around and show that faithfulness. I asked Him why it was in my obedience that things were falling apart – I want to see Him as my sole provider and instead my faith was taking serious knocks. As I had this internal fight, I knew that at some point GOD would show that His way is best and that He is my provider but at that point I could not see it and I did not have the strength to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Then things began to turn around and it was in a dramatic way. I had only told my family and close friends about the illumin8 - Edition 8 - January 2009
situation but within 3 days, I had 2 anonymous donations through the church! Then I phoned my parents to tell them the good news and my father said that he had found that he owed me quite a large sum of money. It turned out that not only were my bills covered but I had an excess of R2 000! It was amazing!!
GOD is my provider and although circumstances don't always show it – He calls us to live continuously by faith and not by sight; holding on to what is true beyond what life throws at us during the different seasons. I realised that GOD builds our faith little by little. In a situation He will ask us to step beyond the bounds that our faith has taken us before. This is a scary place to be because we have never witnessed GOD's provision beyond the previous step of faith. But if we trust GOD in what He asks of us, we step off the cliff, even if we don't see where the next step will fall and trust that GOD will catch us in His timing. I pray that each one of us will have the faith to take what feels like the risk of trusting GOD at the edge of the cliff; to take note of the times that GOD catches us; and use those stories to take the next risk when GOD asks it of us.
Testify Suzanne Barret
Designed by: Leanne Rhodes
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Designed by: Katy Breytenbach
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illumin8 - Edition 8 - January 2009
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