Letters To The Editor

LETTERS Letters to the EDITOR

Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to keep letters to 150 words as we have limited space.

I love my JOY! subscription

Thank you so very much for having my JOY! Magazine delivered to my doorstep every month. It is a great blessing to have such a good book – full of such amazing information – that we don’t get anywhere else to read. When I have nished with it, I pass it on to friends. God bless you all for the work that you do.

Yvonne Miles

JOY! MAGAZINE

Real Life Real People Real Christianity

Volume 30 Issue 0 CHOSEN & Finding Your CALLED Identity in Christ

PETER POLLOCK

Cricket Sensationto Godly Dedication

The SILENT TRAGEDYAffecting Today’s Children

TIME TO VOTE

For RighteousServant Leaders

How CANCEL CULTURE& Kingdom Culture Clash

God bless our Healthcare Workers!

JOY! has stood the test of time!

Testimony

A FRONTLINEWORKER’S EXPERIENCETHROUGHOUT COVID

Beonyourguard; Living a Life of Non-Conformismstand rm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13 14 I have been meaning to write this for a few months. So Cover JOY! Nov 2021.indd 9 many magazines have not survived over the last couple of years. JOY! Magazine has not only survived, but has got a lot better. It is also so a ordable. I have been taking out a subscription for years. The best is that the magazine gets delivered on my driveway. I do not even have to go to town to our PO Box to receive it. Many thanks. I have recently used the fun Bible quiz at our fellowship group. The JOY! Magazine is read from cover to cover in our household. Thanks for producing such a wonderful magazine. Just keep on going. God Bless you all. Gil Richmond

November 202121011

35 R34 es R39 50 RSA Other Countr9 771992 199003

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Midgey’s Moments

It’s a brand new calendar year and for many humans, maybe a time to start afresh? But for us doggies, every day is brand new! Life for humans seems so busy, there is so much to do and so many distractions – people try to do what is called ‘multi-tasking’, and in fact it seems to have become quite a catchy word!

Arnie (my Aunty Trish) recently read a quote to me. It is by Og Mandino, an American author who was inspired by the Bible. “It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world.” Also I see Arnie reads this often, “Don’t worry! Just take one step at a time … The Lord will guide you always” – Isaiah 58:11. Maybe that inspired Og?

Us doggies take one day at a time, take one step at a time, and do one thing at a time, so we can do it well!

Thank you Jesus for making doggies’ lives so simple!

Woofs & licks, Midgey

Send your letters to editor@joymag.co.za

Christians and bad conspiracy theories

Thank you for the article that you featured in JOY! Magazine (Volume 30, issue 09) in the Letters to the Editor section. I was able to get the correct information that I have been seeking for so long with regards to the Covid-19 vaccine, as opposed to all the fake news and conspiracy theories that have been doing the rounds – and sadly fooling so many Christians as well. It was like God was actually talking to me, showing and telling me what the right thing to do will be when I am ready to do it. I was actually so overwhelmed and relieved that I could not stop the tears coming. 2021 was a truly awful year for me, as it was for so many others, and this whole media debate and type of brainwashing that is going on has been a real noose around my neck. At least I can now put this whole issue to rest and somehow try and move on. It is sad though that so many of the stories that I have had sent to me are misinterpretations of the Bible and the book of Revelation, but then the events unfolding in the world today can sadly so easily be mistaken or seen in a completely di erent light. I thank you again and look forward to more great stories and messages given.

Justin

an t nd a a ine in our oca store

Hi readers, have you been struggling to nd a copy of the JOY! Magazine at your local supermarket? We have received many complaints from readers lately letting us know that they can’t nd the magazine anywhere! We need your help! We pay to be on all leading supermarket shelves nationwide. When you go to your local store, if you don’t see a copy of the JOY!, please send us a picture of the shelf (without the JOY!) and let us know which store you are in (and in which area). We will then follow up with our distributors! Together we can make the Word of God more accessible to all in our nation. Thank you!

WhatsApp us on +27 66 189 5209 or Email info@joymag.co.za

A salvation prayer for new believers

Because Covid prevented me from running regular Prayer Vigils at my Church, the Lord guided me to send a weekly “Guidance in Prayer” sheet to our Prayer Warriors from the 25th February, 2021. I have found several Salvation Prayers with which I am not happy, but we must remember that in John 3:16 Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” At the back of my NKJV Bible, I found the following prayer, with which I am very happy! This is the most important prayer to ever pray:

“Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your love for me and for Your gift of Your Son Jesus, who died for all who have sinned. I now turn to You, to accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I ask You to forgive me of my sins and give me eternal life. And I pray, dear God, that You will lead me in Your way as I seek Your will for my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

I suggest that new converts read this out aloud, sign and date it, and keep it in their Bible so that they can celebrate the date every year. Do you agree that we should thank our Heavenly Father, because it was His idea? A life that honours God

Shalom – God made people to love Him with all their hearts, minds, and souls and to love each other in the same way as we love ourselves. We were created foremost to bring glory to God, be in the right relationship with Him, and worship Him. We are here on earth to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. For those who are Christians, life means honouring God with your life, your work, and through the enjoyment of God’s presence. God’s presence comes through a personal relationship with Yeshua Messiah. Beyond what you could ever dream or imagine, life’s greatest adventure is to discover God’s exciting plan for your life and to pursue it with a passion.

Jose Anthonii

Greetings from Namibia!

Hi JOY! I’m from Namibia and I absolutely love your magazine. It’s the only magazine I buy and I’m always looking out for it in the few shops that keep it. ank you for the hard work in spreading the Gospel. May God bless your entire team.

LETTERS Letters to the EDITOR

Shocking church banner that was put up by Alan Storey of the Central Methodist Church, Cape Town

The Blood of Jesus

I cannot believe what I read sometimes! The Blood of Jesus is the most powerful force. Nothing is impossible with God. You have to wonder how many unsaved preachers are standing on podiums every Sunday when this is what they can put on a banner outside their church? What does the Lord think about such a banner? To dare to do this is sacrilege. You just want to scream traitor. Go have your vaccination, but it’s nothing when compared to the Blood of the Lord – it’s holy.

Drene Tiessen

to shut his mouth, “Don’t do it, I am an expert. I know what you do not know, just don’t do it. I have spent my entire career researching, it is dangerous.” Who is right Lord, and who is not telling the truth? We handed in our weapons to comply, but it has become clear that we have no protection from the police nor the army. The unrest we faced exposed it. Is it the same? Are we giving up our God‐given ability to ght disease for a man-made army that cannot be trusted, or is this a life boat that You have sent, we are caught in the middle? Some say there is no virus, you all are being fooled. I have lost too many loved ones to believe there is no virus. We have just bured another one last week. I comply with all regulations, as much as I am able to. But it did not help. Many times I have had to be quarantined for being in contact. I have just come out of a 14-day isolation. What is going on? It is by your grace that we were able to recover, the rst time I smelled the food I cooked, I cried like a child and knew that I was on my way to being normal again. How little we appreciate things we think are small, like taste and smell. Father forgive us. My plea is that you expose the lies and let the truth defend itself like a lion. Let the light shine and darkness ee. May the fear of the Lord ll the entire world. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered. Jane Nkau

A heartfelt prayer to overcome this pandemic

Dear God. It’s 2am in the morning and I cannot sleep. Lord, please hear my plea, give ear to my supplication. We as your people are faced with a situation across the world. This is the world you created, a world you loved so much that you sent your Son Jesus to die for. We are caught in the middle. We do not know whether to turn to the right or the left. Daily we are overwhelmed by voices, in battle, but we do not know who or what we are ghting against. So many lies have been told and many lives lost. Who is our enemy? Prophets and politicians, pastors and physicians, we are losing con dence in them. We are caught in the middle. Prophets speak their mind in Your Name, ‘peace, peace’ and leave us confused. Politicians make promises and loot, they boldly make promises during the day, only to break them in the night. Promises never intended to be kept in the rst place. We are hurting. Pastors and physicians are like little children. Their hearts are failing them. They do as they are told. They walk on egg shells, they do not want to lose their livelihood. We are caught in the middle of a battle and we do not know where the battle lines are drawn. Take the jab, it has been tried and tested, it is safe for you, they say? Will it save us? Another voice shouts through the crowd with many hands trying

I once was lost...

I just want to give thanks to JOY! Magazine. Because of your book, I have found the Lord and I am now born-again. Thank you so much. Elphas Mashego

Reader Testimony

Response to your article, “Casting Out a Demon of PTSD”

For as long as I can remember, I have had so-called symptoms of Bi-Polar mood disorder. I can also claim symptoms of PTSD. At risk of giving anything not of God any kind of recognition or sense of pride in itself, I hesitate to write too much about the long years of battling with highs and lows and general sinfulness in my life, interspersed with periods of grace; when through the prayer and assistance of others, I came to know the Bible and learnt to pray. At one point a brave Christian Minister o ered to come to my home and perform an exorcism. My thoughts were: “Okay, I don’t believe in this stu but if it makes him happy I will let him try”. He laid hands on me and prayed powerfully. My husband was by my side, possibly not realising the full power of God’s glory. Suddenly I felt my gut cramping and my whole inside twisting and turning, and then a mighty cough released a sensation of something like a python becoming uncoiled and thrown out of me. To say that I was shocked was an understatement. I also felt clean suddenly.

The CastingOuta Demonof DayDeliveranceCametothe PTSD: PsychWard 50 JOY! MAGAZINE

It seems that as we read New Testament scriptures, Jesus and theearlyChurchcastoutdemonseverywheretheywent.Withregularity,demon power was confronted and driven out of the lives of thepeople. In fact, it is the casting out of demons that is the very rst signwearetoldwouldaccompanythosewhobelieve.Yet,whencomparingthe frequency of deliverance ministry in thegospels and the book of Acts to the modernWestern Church, something seems o . —by Chad MacDonald Oppression in the psych wardA few years ago, I was summoned to ahospital psychiatric oor in order to ministerto an army veteran who was su eringfrom severe PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). He had reportedhearing voices in his head and was having frequent hallucinations,which drove him to suicidal and reckless behaviour.I soon arrived at the hospital, checked into the oor, and wasgranted access to the wing. Immediately, I could sense the demonicoppression on that oor. I proceeded towards the area where I was tomeet with the young man. As I walked down the hallway, I watchedas patients who were clearly tormented by demons darted acrossthe hallway to avoid me. The cosmic powers of darkness knew I hadarrived. Demonic power recognises authority and quickly moves toavoid confrontation with a power with which they cannot contend— the power of God. The moment that I steppedauthority invaded that place. It as demons literally ran for cover. onto sent that oor, anointing and divine shockwaves through that wing I laid my hands on “Do you think I’m crazy?”With tears in his eyes he stared at me, desperate... him ‘Do you think I’m crazy?’Sitting alone at a table, I found the youngveteran awaiting my arrival. He looked atme and said, “Do you think I’m crazy?”Withtears in his eyes he stared at me, desperatefor freedom. “No sir, you are not crazy. Youare being tormented by demons and I havecome today to set you free!” I responded asand commanded those spirits,“Come out.” The power of God Right there in the middle of that conference room in the psychiatricwing of that hospital, the power of God hit that young man. Aclearnesssuddenly ooded hiseyes. Jesus Christ set him free thatdayand delivered him from that horrible, demonic bondage. I went on tolead that man to saving faith in Christ that day. Truly—that day, helllost another one. He was free! Such a powerful change had occurredin this man that the following day, the medical sta immediatelyreleased him to his wife.

Donning the armour of God We need a revival

What came next was a lesson in donning the armour of God, what the various pieces represented, and the necessity of starting every day with this procedure. I kept a drawing of an ancient warrior dressed for battle in full armour next to my bed for years. Perhaps more teaching should have followed after that. But gradually the highs and lows came back; and much more severely. Several times I faced suicide, convinced that I had no value and purpose, and that the world would be a better place without me in it. Yet “something” always stopped me and brought me back. A diagnosis of PTSD was added to the Bi-Polar after gruesome life incidents that followed. Twice I was hospitalised and for years was treated by a psychiatrist whose only solution was a staggering array of drugs. Taking my eyes o God A couple of years ago I was embroiled in the gruelling life events of a friend, the pressure of which drew me down. I had taken my eye o focussing on God, stopped going to church, and was indulging in pop-psychology. Essentially I was trying to help in my own strength instead of calling on the Lord. One night the darkness descended on me, and again I heard the tempting whispers that I was a failure and of no practical use in the world; that if I died it would be doing everyone a favour. I sighed deeply and accepted the fact that the only thing to do would be to relieve the world of my place in it. When SUDDENLY, a voice spoke saying

“You are enough”. I recognised the voice of God. Having no idea what I was “enough” for, I suddenly remembered Rick Warren’s Book, The Purpose Driven Life. The call to re-read it properly as an intended Bible study was so strong that I leapt up and went to the book shelf, thinking that it would take me ages to nd it among the hundreds of books I have accumulated over time. But here is another miracle: There it was, protruding from the shelf as if someone had pulled it out to give it to me. During the forty‐day study prescribed in his book, my life changed. I found a local Spirit‐ lled church and shortly afterwards was water baptised by full immersion. Since then, in close study of the gospels as well as various other parts of the Bible, I began to understand that my problem had been demonic possession. When I feel wobbly I speak aloud in the name of Jesus, telling satan to get out of my home. Regularly I pray the donning of the armour “Several times I faced of God. I don’t need to go into the intense suicide, convinced that prayer, confession, repentance, and absolu-

I had no value...” tion by grace that has been received. The road travelled has had a few minor detours along the way, but my life has certainly been changed for the better and miraculously so. Surely it is obvious that Jesus’ healings and teachings and life work on earth involved an enormous amount of exorcism. The demons ee when they recognise Jesus is there. They know they have already been judged and condemned, but still they try it on with humans who, for one reason or another, are not strong in the Lord. To resolve the increasing worldwide development of mental disorders we need a mighty world-wide revival, and preachers that have the courage to face up to satan and command him to ee from the presence of the Lord. We need counselling for Christians And we as the Body of the Church need to pray always that the work of the Lord’s servants will be strong in this regard with unshakable faith and the ability to pray for God’s help in this work always. We need large scale Christian mental-disorder counselling, involving prayer and Bible teaching and baptism. Name Withheld