Come let us adore Him
The Eight O’Clock
News December 2016
Christ the Lord It’s the Season Maybe this year my family may not celebrate Christmas on the
25th of December. It may be impossible to all get together on that day. However, if we celebrate a few days later, so that we can be together, we may not be too late. Christmas could actually be on June 17th, according to researchers who have tracked the ‘Christmas Star’ followed by the three wise men to find Jesus. Using complex computer software, astronomers have charted the exact positions of celestial bodies and mapped out the night sky as it would have appeared over the Holy Land more than 2000 years ago. A bright star really did appear over Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus—but pinpointed the date in June rather than on December 25th. A magnificent conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter, so closely shining together, may have signalled the sudden appearance of the ‘bright star’. Astronomers confirm that this finding is not an attempt to decry religion but rather to back up that there was really a bright object in the East at that time. So as South Africans, we can then happily change our Christmas cards that feature traditional snowy scenes and rather feature sunny beaches in June—or rather sunny beaches in December! This year, we have decided that it is more important to be together and celebrate the birth of Christ, neither the date nor the season is important. We may get together in December when it should be June, but in both cases it will be summer! Celebration always centres around a feast or festival, with eating, singing and the playing of music. It is highly likely that our celebrations will include feasting on turkey, Christmas pudding and mince pies. But—why not braaivleis under sunny skies? But it's not always been that way—in fact, in years gone by, the make-up of Christmas dinner was very different indeed. In medieval times, the rich would have eaten goose and woodcock for their Christmas dinner and, with the king’s permission, swan. The birds were covered with butter and saffron and then roasted. Venison was also on the menu for the rich and sometimes the poor would be allowed to have the deer’s leftover parts—such as the heart, liver, tongue, ears and brain—known as ‘umbles. Mixed with whatever else a cook could get, they were made into a pie—known as ‘umble pie. Christmas puddings known as frumenty were also made from thick porridge, currants, dried fruit, egg yolk and spices. In Elizabethan times, sugar, which was very expensive at the time, was the key ingredient of most of the elaborate dishes in this socalled sweetmeat course. In the 18th and 19th century, January 5, or Twelfth Night, was one of December 2016 Eight O’Clock News
8 am Service, Christ Church, Kenilworth
the most important dates in the festive calendar—thanks largely to the sweet delicacy known as Twelfth Cake. The dessert was the centre-piece of the Georgian era’s popular Twelfth Night parties which involved eating, drinking and playing games. A forerunner to today’s Christmas cake, Twelfth Cake traditionally contained both a dried bean and a dried pea. The man whose slice contained the bean was elected King for the night; the woman whose slice contained the pea became Queen. When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, few families could afford turkey or chicken for Christmas dinner. In northern England, roast beef was commonly served on Christmas Day while in London and the south of England, goose was a favourite. Those too poor to afford beef or goose made do with rabbit. By the end of the 19th century, most people feasted on turkey for Christmas dinner. During the Second World War, turkey was not available so those families who could afford it, had chicken for Christmas dinner instead. If chicken was not available, then people had to make do with mutton or rabbit. Other foodstuffs now common at Christmas—such as chocolate, fruit, sweets and sherry—were also in short supply due to rationing. So no matter the date, the season or the food—Christmas is a time to be together, to celebrate the birth of our Lord—Immanuel, God with Us, at any time of the year, any season and any circumstance.
- Cheryl Anderson
Advent Advent is a season for waking up to all the ways Christ comes to us. Yes, the themes of Advent help us celebrate and commemorate His first coming in the Incarnation. They encourage us to anticipate His second coming in glory—of course! But there is also such a thing as the third coming of Christ: that is, all the ways in which Jesus comes to us now, bringing light for our darkness, peace for our turmoil, hope for our despair. - Ruth Haley Barton
“God comes to us like the sun in the morning—when it is time.” —Carlo Carretto,
The God Who Comes
Test Your Love for God I feel a bit daunted standing up here in front of you all. It’s not what
I normally do—that’s Jeremy’s calling. But I feel it’s appropriate, this Gift Sunday, as the Treasurer of this church, to share with you some of the journey that I have been on with regards to money and our attitude towards it. I am convinced, that if you ask God to speak to you today, He will—and if you listen to His voice and respond, it will have a significant impact on your life and on those close to you. I haven’t always enjoyed days like today—Gift Sundays. I used to think, “Oh no, here they go again, they’re just after our money” and I’d close my heart, not wanting to let God into that area of my life. I grew up in a middle class family. My dad was an engineer and my mom was a teacher. We didn’t have a huge amount of money, but we certainly weren’t on the border line either. But I remember a few years in my life when my parents fought a lot, and it always seemed to be about money. My father was retrenched twice as I was growing up and I guess it was during these times that stresses about money ran high in my home. And this is not an uncommon phenomenon in a lot of people’s lives. Before Jeremy and I got engaged, we attended a marriage preparation course, and one of the major areas we needed to work through, was in the area of money. I was an accountant; he was, at the time, a teacher—and we had to come to terms with what it would mean for me to be potentially earning more than he would be. Advice we were given before we got married was to ‘look after the pennies and the pounds would look after themselves’. Good advice? Well I found that I was living out that philosophy—that if we were just careful with the money we earned, then we would never be in want. We would be in control—which is something us accountants are quite keen on! But in marrying Jeremy, who had grown up in a clergy home, never having much money, but never lacking for anything, and in many ways, having far more than I ever had growing up in a relatively well off family, I found that God started to challenge my thinking. In his home, there was never really enough money to go around, and yet, his parents tithed faithfully and they are some of the most generous people I know. They seriously don’t have much money but what they do have, they are always giving away! And yet, for example, Jeremy was able to go to an affluent private school in Jo’burg— St John’s, where he received a 50% bursary because his dad was an Anglican priest and a further 50% discount because his dad was an old boy—so he received a private education for free! [As opposed to my government education.] They had countless holidays in amazing places through the generosity of friends, and I started to realise that things work differently in the currency of Heaven. Do you know 16 of the 38 parables Jesus told, those stories that He used to communicate great truths to us, were about money and possessions? While there are 500 verses in the bible about faith and 500 about prayer, both cornerstones of all we do, there are over 2,000 about money and possessions! Why would Jesus’ teaching in this area be any less life-transforming than any other area in which He taught? Over time, and with a serious amount of wrestling with God, I found that my heart was being changed and we started to give more generously—and it opened up huge areas of blessings and opportunities which I could never have anticipated. And I don’t say this lightly—that is what is available to each one of us today. Test your love : 2 Corinthians 8:1-9: The first thing this passage tells us is to test your love for God. To understand this passage, you need to know that everything good in your life is a gift from God—your life, your skill sets and everything December 2016 Eight O’Clock News
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that you hold for a relatively short time while on earth; the finances, the resources which you hold—they are gifts entrusted to you. One of the verses that has significantly impacted me on this money journey, is Psalm 50:9-12: “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” God has no shortage of resources at His disposal. Everything we have, comes from Him. He is generous—the greatest gift He has given is Jesus. The passage says, “Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor.” Jesus came, lived, died and rose so that through His poverty, we might become rich. And I know that, but sometimes I need to ask the Spirit to stir my heart again. Paul is asking the Corinthians to remember, to test their love, to prove it, to demonstrate it. It’s not that he doubts their love. But Paul knows that if love is not demonstrated in action it can grow cold and wither. He doesn’t doubt the sincerity of their love but he wants to test it. And he does this in a strange way. He compares their giving to that of the Macedonian church—look at the Macedonians’ example—he says with love, care and compassion for the Corinthians. Though fierce troubles have come down on them, though in extreme poverty, their understanding of God’s love for them, what has been given to them, means that they overflowed in rich generosity. I remember when we were still students at university—where I met Jeremy. One year, after we had been dating for a while, he wanted to run the Comrades marathon with some of his friends, but really needed a new pair of running shoes to do that and a new pair of good running shoes would cost about R1000— an exhorbitant amount for a poor student in those days! Well, his birthday was coming up and I had been doing some tutoring on the side so I decided to use all the money I’d been saving to buy him the new shoes. It was a huge sacrifice for me, but I was so glad to do it because I loved him and wanted to bless him with something he really wanted. The look on his face when he saw them was well worth the sacrifice—he was speechless! When you love someone, you want to be generous—it’s a joy! So Paul says look at their example. Use it to spur you on, to test your love. Because as you love, so you give. You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving. Giving tests your love. Don’t miss out: But the passage also tells us that Paul is desperate for the Corinthian church not to miss out. He wants to bring out the best in them. He’s encouraging them, he’s pleading with them not to miss out. Why would you miss out? Well, things often get in the way. It’s tempting when you’re just starting out to think, I’ll just wait until I have a real job, or until I get that promotion, or until I’ve paid off my student loan, or got through this difficult season—then I’ll be able to be generous. But we kid ourselves. If we can’t be generous with a little, we won’t be generous with a lot. If you want to know what you
really value, look at your bank statement—it doesn’t lie! Matthew 6:21 says “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” They did some research in the USA and found out that the poorest 20% of the population gave 2½ times more than the richest 20%. I don’t know why that is, but I do know what happened to me. The more money I earned, the harder it was to let go of it. The more I had, the more it shaped me. I found that I was looking to my money and possessions for my significance and safety and I was asking questions like “Do we have enough? Will we be ok? When Jeremy and I felt called to come back and live in South Africa again (we had been living in the UK for 10 years and were quite comfortable there) I found myself gripped with a sense of panic when I looked at the package he was offered by Christ Church. I didn’t know how we were going to come out on it each month and I found myself asking those questions again— Will we have enough? Will we be safe? God spoke to me quite clearly during that period— He reminded me that the safest place for us to be was in the centre of His will. That I couldn’t look to our bank balance or possessions or things I could control, but that I was to keep my eyes on Jesus. He offers us something far greater—complete security. We’re still here, eight years later, and we have never lacked for anything— God has provided our every need and more, every step of the way. I’ve had lots of questions—what’s a generous amount to give? Jeremy always maintained that before we did anything with our money, the first 10% we gave to God. Thereafter, we keep our hearts soft and open to God’s prompting so that we are always open to giving as He prompts us to, beyond our tithing. Tithing is an Old Testament principle where you give the first 10% of your income to God. Malachi 3: 8-11 says “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—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, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. I don’t want to be robbing God! Especially when, as I’ve come to realise, everything we have comes from Him in the first place! God says “Test me in this”. This is the ONLY place in the Bible where God invites us to test Him! I have certainly tested Him in this area. Try it and see what He does! You can never out-give God! I used to think, well, tithing is so complicated, is it before or after tax? Is it on my income or on my capital? Is it in this financial year or this calendar year? Then I realised that when I ask questions like that, what I’m actually asking is, “What’s the least I can give and still appease my conscience?” It kind of misses the point? I’ve also wrestled with why we should give to the church? Aren’t there better places we could give our money to that would make more of a difference in the world around me? Then I realised, the only people who are going to give to this church are you and me. If WE don’t give to this church, our spiritual home, no-one else will! The local church is the hope of the world, God’s appointed agent for the transformation of this city and nation. There is no Plan B! Another excuse I’ve used is to look around the church and think there are so many other people here who have so much more than we do. What difference will our small amount make? As I wrestled with God, He showed me something that has significantly impacted my heart attitude towards giving. God knows our hearts. It’s similar to the way that He commands us to forgive others—not for their December 2016 Eight O’Clock News
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sake, but for ours—to break the hold that unforgiveness has on our hearts, that leads to bitterness and seeks to control us. In the same way, He commands us to tithe and give generously, so that money does not have a hold over us, which leads to greed and selfishness. I sense this is a specific word for some people in this church—you need to know that your financial need to give money to the church, your spiritual need to give, is far greater than the Church’s financial need to receive it. Make an Impact: Finally, this passage encourages us to make an impact. Some of you might be sitting there thinking, ok, I’m with you so far, but if I’m going to be an investor in this church, what’s the growth projection? What’s the return? I find it interesting to note that as Paul is pleading with and encouraging the Corinthians to give, the Macedonian church is pleading with Paul for the opportunity, the privilege, of giving more. “They urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of giving more”. It’s a bit like an investment opportunity— some people are standing on the fringes, they’re not sure, but some people have seen the potential of this opportunity, they know it’s going to take off and they just want to get in for as much as they can. They know the impact of their giving. So, what’s the impact? Giving is good for you: There’s some fascinating research done by a Harvard business professor who was intrigued by the idea that money can’t buy you happiness. He thought, maybe they’re just not spending it right. So he explored the ways in which you could spend money, what you could do with your money to buy happiness. After all his research he concluded that the most effective way to receive happiness by using your money, is to take your money and give it away. So much so, that he worked out that for every £500 you give, it’s the equivalent, in terms of happiness, of receiving £10,000! “Give and it shall be given to you, a full measure running over”. I’ve noticed that when we’ve been faithful with our giving in the times when we’ve really been struggling to make ends meet, God has always met us there, and provided for us—be it with an unexpected tax refund, or a new client for my business or a generous gift from a friend. God is faithful. His resources are unlimited and He knows what we need before we even ask Him. Giving helps us march to the beat of a different drum—God’s. Giving is good for others: By giving, you influence the life of someone else who goes on to impact others. Because of the generosity of this church, we were able to finance a youth worker five years ago. Through Jared’s work and the ministry God gave him, numerous students and young adults have found a spiritual home here and have gone on to have an impact in their spheres of influence. It starts a chain reaction. We have been on the receiving end of much generosity from others and because of that, we try to be generous with what we have. Giving begets giving. One day, on that final day, lots of things that loom so large in our lives at the moment, will fade away like shadows at daybreak, and relatively few things will be significant. We have the opportunity to invest in those things. It might seem sometimes that you’re investing in invisible and insignificant ways, but let me tell you it is invaluable and it is eternal. Will you join with us? - Brenda Jobling [Sermon on Pledge Sunday]
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Round and Round the Ronde Bosch
Engel, whom I see more A few weeks ago, Phil and I became Centenarians, but only via Friends because, since mid-2014, we have been taking part in ParkRun at of Rondebosch Common, although it is more of a Walk Around the Rondebosch Park for us. We are now entitled not only to wear our free orange Common 50-T-shirts, but now our free black 100-T-shirts. As the double (FORC), he circuit encompasses 5 km, we can now claim to have walked over being a 500 km around the Common in the past two or so years. This is Spring nothing to the 800 km walked by Jenny Clampett, a ParkRUNNER Ramble herself with Jeremy, during her epic Camino de Santiago this year Leader on across the Pyrenees from the South of France to the North of flower-walks Spain. [One of the most faithful volunteers for ParkRun and whom I Rondebosch Common is Graham Greathead of CCK.] got to know I have a flimsy link to the foundation-area for ParkRun, namely driving to and from a Cedarberg Men’s Weekend. The tarmac Bushey Park in the West of London, where a Zimbabwean/South perimeter-track itself was built by the City Council after years of African, Tim Sinton-Hewitt, now CBE, started ParkRun about 10 chivvying by the FORC, led, for a remarkable 17 years, by Tim years ago. My sister, Pam, was born in Bushey Hospital, before Jobson of CCK, a fine athlete himself. we emigrated to Northern Ireland, the Free Sate and then the One problem I encountered was that children under 11 must be Western Cape. accompanied by an adult. This is no problem for toddlers with Globally, nearly two million ParkRunners and ParkWalkers take fathers pushing them in joggers, but it is a problem when our part in this free, sponsored, volunteer-run endeavour, from 08h00 visiting 9-year-old grandson, Samuel, runs at twice the speed of his to 09h00 on Saturday mornings. South Africa now has 90 grandfather! I solved the problem, twice, by recruiting CCK ParkRuns across the country, championed by the famous Bruce athletes, Garth Angus and Norman Faull, who run, weekly, as fast Fordyce over the past years. We are not natural athletes as Samuel does. ourselves, like Eric and Mary Bateman of CCK, but the relative I encourage any member of CCK, of any age, gender, size and horizontality of the Common and its proximity to our home, has shape, to join the diverse group of several hundred, come rain or encouraged us to keep going, Saturday by Saturday, for over two shine, that perambulate around Rondebosch Common each years. Saturday morning. You may even bump into the Joblings, who Who takes part? The answer is people of all shapes and sizes, usually run as a family. See you there next Saturday! girls to ladies, boys to men, very young to very old (90-year-olds for - John Rogers example), the fast and the slow. My most poignant moment was being asked to go in front on the day of my 100th ParkRun, hand in Cheryl and Ev wish all our readers a blessed Christmas hand with a plucky, cheerful Down’s Syndrome young man with a and a God-filled 2017. walking difficulty, who was in front for his 50th ParkRun. Thank you for all your We meet up with all sorts of friends and relations, literally, some of contributions and whom we would have seen relatively little of without ParkRun. We fellowship in Jesus. also see several people we know from CCK, for example, Colin were “simply” switched the wrong way around. Although still requiring open heart surgery for him to survive, it was not as complex as the When we found out that our unborn son had a original diagnosis. Liam had his surgery at just complex congenital heart defect I was devastated. six days old. From what could be seen from two scans, both Nothing can prepare one for the machines, arteries were attached on the same side of the tubes and wires surrounding such a tiny body heart, and were reversed in position. He also had post-op. His chest was still open and his heart a hole in his heart (DORV, TGA, VSD). The pumped under a thin bandage. And yet we felt cardiologist was optimistic and encouraging that calm. At night we slept. The peace of God that they would be able to try some surgical surpasses all understanding surrounded us. It intervention. Our expectation was multiple was a Holy moment that changes one forever, surgeries, medication and a heart that would for God is infinitely faithful in our trials. never really work the way it was supposed to. But, Twenty five days after his birth we were able to take home a after a not so good night’s sleep, I awoke feeling refreshed and at perfectly healthy, if a bit skinny, little boy. peace. This sense of peace characterised the remaining four Liam had his 18-month cardiac check-up last month and he is the months of my pregnancy. Our preparation was one of prayer and surrendering to God rather than cots and baby clothes. We felt the picture of health. At home he is extremely affectionate, boisterous power of the prayers of the church and family and friends, and their and adventurous. He loves to get up to mischief and cause trouble with his older sister. He is as tough as nails, barely noticing the churches, carrying us. I knew that it would be tough but that God would see us through, whatever the outcome, and we would endure scraped knees and bumped heads in his quest to climb everything. We feel that he continues to be under the power of the hundreds of any pain for the love of our boy. When Liam was born we started to witness the true power of God prayers said for him before he was even born. - Philippa Versfeld working in the situation. The diagnosis had changed. His arteries
Liam Versfeld
December 2016 Eight O’Clock News
[The initial prayer request went to the Prayer Shield on 9/1/2015. Liam was born in May 2015]
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Enmity When my little six-year-old grandson can’t have something he
really wants, or must have something he doesn’t want, he says: “REELY!??!!”. He manages to imbue it with a nice, intense balance of disbelief and outrage. I mention this because I will be using the word myself quite a few times in the next few minutes. Over the last year or so, I have seen a number of programmes commemorating the centenary of various battles of the First World War. While watching one of these, which was taking place in one of the war cemeteries, and was attended by big-wigs from many of the countries involved in the war, including those who had been enemies of each other, I suddenly heard, in my head, the sound of nine million ghosts saying: “REELY!??!! Now you are all united and friendly, after all the horrors and atrocities you wreaked upon each other! Now you’re united! Couldn’t you have achieved this before we all had to die in mud-drenched, rat-infested trenches and fox holes, surrounded by rotting corpses?! REELY!?!” Over the next weeks it set me thinking about the nature of enmity, what was it, where did it come from, why was it? The scene in the war cemetery, with former enemies standing in unity together, while endless rows of war graves stretched into the distance, couldn’t be dislodged from my mind. So bear with me while we go on a little journey of imagination. Let’s take the concept of enmity down to grass-roots level. Imagine that all the households in your street were at war with each other—it would make life a little complicated, I admit. Can you imagine: “Cover me, I’m going for bread and milk!” However, if things were to change, and the war became between suburbs, then the people in your street who had been quite ready to kill you, or whom you might easily have killed, would suddenly become your allies. You would all be united against those rotters from Claremont or wherever, ready to watch out for and protect each other, possibly even to die for each other! But, if things changed again, and the war became an inter-provincial one, then all the people in Cape Town would be as one against people from other provinces, (Imagine Cape Town in December: “Ha! Gauteng number plate! BOOM!”) All former enmities would once again be forgotten against a wider enemy. And so the progression could go on, as it has, country against country, black against white, different faiths against each other, prepared to kill, and convinced of the rightness of their cause. But, what if the one-eyed, one-armed flying purple people-eaters from Pluto threatened to attack the Earth? Again, the people of Earth would quickly forget every other difference and stand united as one man against this new foe. Heck, why stop there—we’ve all seen Star Wars—if beings from the Zorg Galaxy were ever to attack our galaxy, the purple Plutonians would quickly have to strike people from their menu, wouldn’t they? So what is it all about? Who actually is our enemy? We know enmity. We discover it the first time another toddler at play school bonks us on the head with a plastic hammer. We take enmity for granted. But, to be able to triumph against our enemy, we need to know who he is. If even the purple Plutonians are not necessarily our enemy, who is? Well, it turns out there is good news and bad news. The good news is, we all only have the one enemy—just the one. The bad news is, he is invisible to the naked eye, and his army of minions is everywhere, all around us, all the time. He is, of course, the father of lies, the prince of this world. And, of course, his biggest and best lie is making us believe that other people are our enemies. If we are so busy squabbling amongst ourselves then we won’t notice where the real attack is coming from. Any general worth his salt knows that tricking your enemy into facing in completely the wrong direction while you sneak up and attack him December 2016 Eight O’Clock News
from behind is going to win the battle for you. Knowing your enemy is a twofold exercise—once we know who he is, we need to know as much about him as we can—how he thinks, how he operates, what weapons he uses. Here we have real insider knowledge. All we need to do is study how he works within ourselves to achieve his purposes. This may sound easy, but, in fact, we are usually far too busy watching and condemning how others are letting him use them. So, what do we know about him? We know he is in the luggage-manufacturing business. He will load us with as much of the stuff as he can get us to carry— brief cases of greed and envy, backpacks of resentment and unforgiveness, and then the three biggies, those huge, heavy suitcases (without wheels, of course) of guilt and fear and pride. We drag the whole kaboodle out of the house with us each day, hoick them into cars and onto buses and trains, heave them up to our workplaces and drag them all home again with us. No wonder so many of us are tired and worn out. Contrast this with what Jesus says: “Come unto me all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light!” The enemy’s other great business venture is demolition. Faith, hope, courage, trust, all will have him in there, swinging his demolition ball and sledge hammer with a will if we let him. Then there are the many little ways in which he attacks us personally, feeding on our particular weaknesses, undermining our particular strengths. We do well to study them closely! There is a massive trap here, that can be very easy for us to fall into. It is the one where we say to ourselves: “It’s not my fault— the enemy is causing this—it’s his fault.” Many years ago, back in the days of Springbok Radio, they used to have a comedy slot in the breakfast show each morning. One of the sketches they played was of a woman trying to excuse to her husband the fact that she had bought yet another new dress. He says, “Another new dress! You’ve already got so many!” She says: “I was walking past the dress shop, not intending to go in, when the Devil turned up. He said to me: Look at that lovely dress in the window. It would really suit you. I said: No, Devil, I already have enough dresses. I’m not buying any more! He said: Well just try it on, it can’t hurt. I said: No, Devil, I won’t. He said: Get in that shop and try on that dress! I said: No, Devil, I won’t do that! - and then the devil pulled a gun! I have always felt for that woman—he’s pulled a gun on me a few times in my life! Sadly, of course, this just will not do as an excuse. This is where Paul’s words about putting on the full armour of God come into play. It is our Godexpected responsibility to go into battle against our enemy, to try and try and try again to defeat him at every turn. If we think it isn’t full-on war, we are kidding ourselves. It’s not a battle we need to be fearful of because we know that Jesus overcame him when He died on the cross. In John 16:33 we read: “I have told you these things so that, in Me, you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Now I am aware that I have been somewhat flippant about what is actually a subject of deadly importance, but here is where we get to the nub of the matter. Once we have studied his methods very closely in ourselves, we will then be able to recognise his work in others. The Gospels all tell us that Jesus said we are to love our enemies, and to do good to those who persecute us. When we think about, maybe, the neighbour who is always complaining and who cuts down the tree we love on our combined boundary, its fairly easy to say: “All right Lord, I will smile at him and be friendly next time I see him, I won’t carry a grudge—and I hope you’ll be noticing, Lord!” But when we think of Vladimir Putin, Bob Mugabe, ISIS, drug lords, the Gupta’s— well, all I can say is: “I feel a “REELY!??!!!” coming on! REELY
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Lord, child molesters, my bank manager – REELY???!!! But if we can see that these people themselves are not our enemies, that they too, like us, exist in an ocean of lies, put out by our common enemy, then it makes it a little easier to understand what Jesus meant. If we know that, behind the harsh words we spoke to someone yesterday lay a fear or guilt which we were carrying around with us, then we must be able to recognise the same thing in others as well. Many years ago I watched a movie, which I think was based on a true story, called Paradise Road. It was about a group of women who were unable to escape from Singapore before the Japanese invaded. They were rounded up and marched many miles away to a camp in the middle of nowhere. The camp was ruled by a vicious little Japanese tyrant, who visited many cruelties, deprivations and punishments on the women. The heroine was a feisty lady, who did everything she could, including occasionally confronting the camp commander, to protect and help the women prisoners. She was quietly assisted by another, middle-aged woman who, I think, had been a missionary, and who obviously was a Christian. After one particularly cruel punishment which resulted in the death of one of the prisoners, the heroine was enraged and railed against the commander, but her friend took a much gentler approach. The heroine turned on her and demanded why her friend was not as angry as she was. The woman’s reply I have NEVER forgotten. She said: “The worse he behaves, the sorrier I feel for him.” It socked me in the solar plexus then, and it still does so today. But, if we accept that we only have the one enemy, and that we are all of us struggling in the coil of his lies, then when we see someone behaving atrociously, we should be able to see past their behaviour, to the one standing behind them, deceiving them, stealing their soul’s peace from them, stealing salvation from them, taking them where they should not go, where they were not designed to go. If we could manage to insert that picture between our own hurt or anger, would it not change how we reacted to evil when confronted by it? I always used to think, when Jesus said: “Get thee behind me Satan!” that He was being a little snippy to poor old Peter. (I couldn’t blame Him, because He must have been carrying around a huge, heavy sense of dread, knowing what was coming to Him very soon, and He wouldn’t have welcomed any attempt to weaken His resolve), but now I realise that Jesus wasn’t speaking to Peter at all. He knew exactly who He was talking to. He saw beyond Peter to the one who stood behind him, using his mouth, his well-meant impulsiveness, to tempt Jesus from His ordained purpose. In our country today we are seeing increasing signs of young black people demanding the vengeance against whites which their parents and grandparents chose not to take. Now, more than ever, we need to know, to see with absolute clarity, who our real enemy is. When emotions run high it isn’t easy to remember this, but the good news is that we are given plenty of opportunities on a daily basis to practice. It is not that we have to become naïve pacifists who believe that, if we just love everybody they will love us right back. We all know the truth of the saying that, for evil to triumph, it but takes for good men to do nothing. There will always be times when active and sacrificial intervention will be needed to defeat evil, but we can never afford to lose sight of where that evil is coming from. Paul tells us to put on the whole armour of God, because he knows that we are at war, and when we know our enemy, we can use every part of the armour against him. In these last few weeks, while all the student unrest has been going on, we have seen how God’s people can go to war against the enemy. They have been willing and ready to stand in the gap, becoming justice and peace witnesses and mediators on the campuses, looking for practical ways to help out, being prayers warriors in their homes and churches. In a way, December 2016 Eight O’Clock News
though, it’s almost easier to go to war on the big, clear-cut issues. We also need to apply the same principles to the little things—the driver who rudely cuts us off, the sullen, unhelpful shop assistant, the hurtful remark by a family member. After DDay, when the allies landed on the beaches of France, the war on the Russian front was not going well for Germany, and Italy had changed sides. Everyone knew that the war was basically won, but, if the allied soldiers had said: Ok, the war is won, we don’t need to fight any more. We’re going home.—what would have happened? In Exodus Chapter 17: 8–15 we read of the Israelites’ battle against the Amalekites. As long as Moses kept his arms raised, the Israelites were winning. He stayed like that all day, his arms supported by Aaron and Hur, till the sun went down and the Israelites prevailed. Many years later a little baby was born in a stable, destined to become the Man whose arms would also be lifted up, this time nailed in place on a cross of wood, so that all who looked to Him would have the power to triumph in their battles against their enemy. In the ocean of lies in which we so often flounder, He is the Rock of Truth to which we can cling, on which we can take refuge. We can know that Jesus won the war for us when He died on the cross, even though we still have our daily battles to fight. We are on the winning side, and we can carry that knowledge into battle with us, holding it high like a banner of victory above our heads. This is what we give heartfelt thanks to God for, as we celebrate the birth of His precious Son at Christmas.
- Sally Palmer
HAPPY 25th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY To
Joy and Seung Young Jung (14/12) ...And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is already in the world at this time. You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:3-4 (ESV)
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Celebrations 1) Sheila Scheppening’s PDL group dressed up
in 1946 finery as part of a video made by Sheila’s children for her 70th birthday: Di Hoffa, Sally Palmer, Daphne Burger, Geka Flegg, Ev Els, Sue Lambrecht. [In 1946 German women cleaned the streets in the absence of men after WWII, hence Geka’s outfit.]
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2) Matt (Bushy) and Corina [Spinazzola]Ash set out on their life together after their wedding a few weeks ago. 3) Twins Alison Horsfall & Sheila Scheppening
celebrate their 70th birthday together surrounded by grandchildren and friends. 4) Kerry & Mike Cooper after their wedding and 5) Rod, Sally, Derek Palmer and Kerry Cooper shared breakfast together the morning after Kerry’s wedding.
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December 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Be Still and Know that I am God My previous experience of surgery was a tonsillectomy at the age of 6, so the thought of a knee replacement 62 years later is rather daunting—very different to being a nurse and reassuring others! Once I couldn’t put it off any longer I saw an orthopaedic surgeon in a practice where a good friend of mine is the practice nurse. I knew that to have her prepare me for all that lay ahead would be very reassuring. The specialist was so helpful and I felt confident. I knew that going the private route would be costly, but I had no idea just how costly. The specialist’s fee was only the tip of the iceberg. Our Diocesan Healthcare Fund, while covering some of it, would still leave us with a large amount to pay. Not the way I’d imagined using the savings of a retired clergyman! With only two weeks to my surgery date, I got into a bit of a panic, wondering if I should go to a government hospital where others had had good treatment. The problem was the long waiting list. I didn’t think I could cope much longer with the restricted movement and the pain levels. In her sermon that week Ev Els had used, in relation to God, an Afrikaans word that was new to me. Vertoef: come, abide, linger, stay. I spend two hours a day on the bus, and use the time to read, chat or silently pray. On Wednesday last week, with my mind in turmoil over this issue, I began to start on my lists of requests to God. Then I remembered ‘vertoef’. I decided to just spend time in His presence, being aware of Him—no shopping lists, no pleading. Once at work I deliberately put the whole issue out of my mind, to get on with work demands and just abide in His presence. In her compilation of prayers, ‘One thing needed’, Colleen Sturrock puts it so well. “Keep calling me Lord, when worry wrings me out and discards me shrivelled on the shadowed edge.” On Thursday and Friday I had various pre-op tests done, and the panic levels rose again re the route I should go. On Friday afternoon I had a long chat with a student who is about to graduate—he’d been concerned about his future plans, but had finally decided to just leave it all to God and get on with each day. I shared with him the account of the Entebbe Raid in Uganda in 1976. An Air France flight with many Jewish passengers was hijacked by terrorists—they would be killed if certain terrorists were not freed. In the meantime, in great secrecy, a whole rescue operation was being set up in Israel. The rescue was spectacular. I’ve always felt it to be a picture of how God acts silently behind the scenes in the midst of our panic and disarray. Shortly thereafter I had a call from someone in the healthcare fund, telling me that all I had to do was pay a certain amount of money into a particular trust fund, that my op would be done on Dec 15, that the amount would cover everything and that I would be refunded from the healthcare fund. I was very confused—and then she forwarded an email [which I hadn’t received] while we were talking. I was stunned as I read it. I had been made the patient of a particular trust fund. God had intervened in a way beyond my imagining. He had been silently working on my behalf all along. When I asked a wise friend what I had done to deserve it, she said, “Nothing. He did it to show His love for you”. I went and found the student to tell him how the Entebbe Raid principle had just been enacted in my own life. A few weeks before at our Torah class John Atkinson told us an amazing story. We regularly take up a collection for the car guard who so faithfully protects our cars each week. As John went to give it to him, the guard approached him and said he needed a favour as his wife had to go to Home Affairs and needed to pay R100 which he just didn’t have. He asked to borrow the amount. John was able to tell him that before he’d even asked God had December 2016 Eight O’Clock News
answered his prayer and handed him over R3000! The man fell 8 to the ground in gratitude to God. I felt at the time that God was telling me something! I am so grateful for what has been done for me—more than the money I have learned new things about God, I have experienced the concern, care and prayers of friends in the Christ Church family and elsewhere, I have been greatly enriched in so many ways. Now for my new knee… -Jeanette Harris
For Christmas Day... God of good news, today You begin again to reshape our lives and communities. You do not start from the outside, but from within. You begin in the hidden place. Behind the inn. Before the marriage. At the wrong time. You invite a handful of guests into Your company. Shepherds. Local children perhaps. Maybe some animals. You join the community of invisible ones. The homeless and hopeless. Refugees, fleeing a tyrant king. Later, you find fisherfolk. And a tax collector. More children. The small. The unimportant. The forgotten. The frightened. These are the people You choose, as little by little You start sharing the secrets of a kingdom that will change the whole world. From within. From the hidden place. God of good news: as we celebrate worldwide the tidings of Your birth, as we set the heavens echoing with angel songs, as we contemplate new year and pray for peace on earth... remind us of the hidden places, of the forgotten people, of the starting-points and the time it takes, of the pace of the slowest and the dreams of the children and the human scale and the soul of our towns and the freedom to create secret dens. Remind us that the great joy promised to the whole people Starts with those who need it most, in places where they hide. Remind us, with all our seasonal cheer and tinsel, that some people are left out in the cold; that it is there, with them, that You are being born into the world again; that it is there, through them, that You will change the world. God of good news, help us to find You again in the hidden place. Amen - From Advent Readings from Iona. Sent in by Wendy Gunn Editorial Team Tel/e-mail Ev Els
021 696 0336 emichael@iafrica.com
Cheryl Anderson
083 272 1530 canderson@beckman.com