The Eight O’Clock
News March 2016
8 am Service, Christ Church, Kenilworth
It is the purchase of our life from perishing and the pattern of a life of love” (What Jesus Demands from the World, 266).
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Grace is at the heart of the Christian faith. Nowhere is this more
clearly seen than at the cross of Christ. It is grace that the Son of God took on flesh, and grace that He taught us how to live—but it is especially grace that He died on the cross in our place. Since it is difficult to worship what you don’t know—here are five biblical truths about what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
1. The death of Jesus was for His enemies.
God’s love is different from natural human love. God loves us when we’re utterly unlovable. When Jesus died, He died for the ungodly, for sinners, and for His enemies. Paul gets at how contrary this is to human nature when he writes, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare to die, but God shows His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7–8).
2. The death of Jesus purchased a people.
The death of Christ was effective in its purpose, not just to purchase the possibility of salvation, but a people for His own possession. Hear Jesus’s words: “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out… And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:36, 39).
3. The death of Jesus is on our behalf.
Jesus’s death was substitutionary—that is, He died in our place. He died the death that we deserved. He bore the punishment that was justly ours. For everyone who believes in him, Christ took the wrath of God on their behalf. Peter writes, “[Jesus] Himself bore our sin in His body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
4. The death of Jesus defines love.
Jesus’s death wasn’t just an act of love, it is the ultimate example of what love means, and Jesus calls those who follow Him to walk in the same kind of life-laying-down love. John writes, “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16). John Piper explains: “Jesus’s death is both guilt-bearing and guidancegiving. It is a death that forgives sin and a death that models love. March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
5. The death of Jesus reconciles us to God.
Jesus’ death enables us to have a joy-filled relationship with God. Paul writes, “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him” (Colossians 1:21–22).
Five truths about the resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus is foundational to the Christian faith,so important that Paul writes, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). And later he says, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (verse 19). In the hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of this glorious reality, here are five truths about the resurrection.
1) Jesus had a bodily resurrection.
When Jesus was raised from the dead, He didn’t leave His body behind. After His resurrection His scars remained (John 20:27), He ate fish (John 20:12), He bodily ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9), and will bodily come again (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The Son of God will always have a bodily existence. The fact that Jesus still has a body testifies to the dignity of the human body—both the ones that we have and the ones we will have after our resurrection. Matthew Lee Anderson writes, “The resurrection of the body means that to be human with God is to be with Him not as disembodied souls, but as people with noses, faces, arms, and legs that are similar to those we currently have” (Earthen Vessels, 60–61).
2) Jesus had a justifying resurrection.
Paul connects Jesus’s resurrection with His justification. He writes in 1 Timothy 3:16, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” The word that is translated “vindicated” is typically translated “declared righteous” or “justified” elsewhere in the New Testament. As long as [Jesus] remained in a state of death, the righteous character of His work, the efficacy of His obedience unto death remained in question. Consequently, the eradication of death in His resurrection is nothing less than the removal of the verdict of condemnation and the effective affirmation of His righteousness” (Gaffin: Resurrection and Redemption, 121–122).
3) Jesus had a Trinitarian resurrection.
The pattern in the New Testament is to speak of God the Father as the One who does the raising, Jesus as the one who is being raised, and the Spirit as the means the Father used to raise Jesus. This pattern is seen in Romans 8:11: “If the Spirit of him
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who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Here we see not only that God the Father raises Jesus through the Holy Spirit, but our resurrection will be parallel to the resurrection of Jesus—God the Father will raise us through the Spirit.
4) Jesus had a firstfruits resurrection of ours to come.
Paul describes Jesus’s resurrection as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Firstfruits is an agricultural metaphor that points to the initial quality of the harvest. Paul is saying here, the resurrection of Christ and of believers cannot be separated since Christ’s resurrection is the ‘firstfruits’ of the resurrection ‘harvest’ that includes the resurrection of believers: verse 23: ‘Each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ’.
5) In Jesus, believers are already spiritually resurrected.
The resurrection is not only a future event for believers. Those who believe in Christ have already been raised to life with him. Paul writes, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). The resurrection is an already but not-yet reality for the Christian because of our union with Christ. Jesus’s resurrection means that those who have faith in Him have been raised from the dead because they are in Christ, and yet we still await the full experience of the resurrection to come (Romans 8:22–23).
Judaism 101 On Crown Heights, there was a Jew, Yankel, who owned a bakery. He survived the camps. He once said, “You know why it is that I’m alive today? I was a kid, just a teenager at the time. We were on the train, in a boxcar, being taken to Auschwitz. Night came and it was freezing, deathly cold, in that boxcar. The Germans would leave the cars on the side of the tracks overnight, sometimes for days on end without any food, and of course, no blankets to keep us warm,” he said. “Sitting next to me was an older Jew—this beloved elderly Jew—from my hometown I recognized, but I had never seen him like this. He was shivering from head to toe, and looked terrible. So I wrapped my arms around him and began rubbing him, to warm him up. I rubbed his arms, his legs, his face, his neck. I begged him to hang on. All night long; I kept the man warm this way. I was tired, I was freezing cold myself, my fingers were numb, but I didn’t stop rubbing the heat on to this man’s body. Hours and hours went by this way. Finally, night passed, morning came, and the sun began to shine. There was some warmth in the cabin, and then I looked around the car to see some of the other Jews in the car. To my horror, all I could see were frozen bodies, and all I could hear was a deathly silence. Nobody else in that cabin made it through the night—they died from the frost. Only two people survived: the old man and me… The old man survived because somebody kept him warm; I survived because I was warming somebody else…” Let me tell you the secret of Judaism. When you warm other people’s hearts, you remain warm yourself. When you seek to support, encourage and inspire others; then you discover support, encouragement and inspiration in your own life as well. That, my friends, is Judaism 101”.
- Sent in by Jim de Necker
- Joseph Scheuman (article shortened)
Did You Know ?
Large stained-glass windows absorb bass notes, while in a reverberant environment the extreme treble is affected by the atmosphere.
- Extract: Chris Molyneux’s Musings (also for picture of piano below)
The Shape of Things to Come ?
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Cop Pulls Over Five Grandmas Sitting on the side of a highway waiting for speeding motorists to
appear, a State Highway Patrol Officer spots a little car chugging along at 22 mph. He thinks to himself, ‘This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder’, so he pulls the car over. As he approaches the car he notices five elderly ladies inside (three in the back), all shaking and as white as ghosts. The driver is confused: ‘Officer, what is the problem? I was doing the exact speed limit.’ ‘Ma’am’, the Officer replies, ‘you weren’t speeding but you must be aware that going too slowly can also be a problem for other drivers?’ ‘Slower than the speed limit? No, Officer, I was very careful to be exact—22 miles per hour.’ says the driver a little proudly. Trying to contain a chuckle, the Officer explains that 22 was not a speed limit but the Route number. A little embarrassed, the woman grins and thanks the Officer for pointing out her error. ‘But before I let you go, Ma’am, I have to ask if everyone in this car is OK? The ladies in the back seem very shaky and they haven’t muttered a word since you stopped.’ ‘Oh, they’ll be all right in a minute, Officer. We’ve just come off Route 119.’ - Origin unknown, sent in by Alison Kempton Jones
From Battle to Blessing My sudden and somewhat traumatic experience with cancer and what it really means to trust God with all your heart irrespective of where you will be led: In the third week of July last year I broke out into an itchy rash and went to see my GP who took blood tests and soon afterwards I was in Kingsbury Hospital. After examinations, scans and tests, I was found to have a malignant tumour in the bile ducts of my liver and informed that major abdominal surgery would be needed. Over some 6 weeks the surgeon and specialists battled to clear the infections caused by the tumour blocking the bile ducts and tubes and bags were inserted on three occasions under anaesthetic. Eventually I spent 3 hours in the vascular laboratory while the radiologist injected chemicals into my liver to kill off a large part of the liver and so start the process of generating new liver in preparation for surgery. This innovative procedure comes out of Johns Hopkins University. THIS IS WHERE THE BLESSINGS STARTED! One of the very few surgeons in South Africa with the expertise to conduct this particular type of surgery practices at Kingsbury Hospital two kilometres down the road from where we live. On 9 September at 73 years of age I was declared fit enough for surgery and had a 7½ hour operation to remove the tumour. This was followed by 7 days in ICU and another 3 weeks in hospital. Regretfully my extensive wound turned septic in hospital but I was nevertheless discharged with instructions to attend the wound clinic. I had by this time lost 12 kg and the pain and discomfort continued for many weeks. I could not shower in the three months it took the wound to heal and washing yourself daily with a facecloth is not a lot of fun and in my state it was exhausting. Through all of this, there was no certainty of my survival and at times I was very ill but I had my wife especially, friends and family as well as many nurses, doctors, other staff and patients caring for me and about me. Alison Bourne visited Marlene and I often and prayed for me. She was an amazing and welcome encourager and also asked the 8 O’ Clockers for constant prayer and thank you to you all as well as to people like Ev Els, Dareth Wood and others that comforted Marlene at services during this time. In all of this, I came to experience the Grace and Peace of God beyond understanding even when I was wheeled into theatre for surgery. I learnt what it means to trust God in His Son and by his Spirit and always feel Their presence with me. HE HAS NEVER LEFT ME! It has been 6 months of a difficult journey yet the lasting “inner being “experience and testing of my faith is that I was safe in the hands of God whatever happened. It is very personal and on a deep level the most joyful and peaceful experience in the midst of a crisis that I have ever experienced with a deep understanding of “tested faith” (John 14). I am much changed by my experience. On 11 January 2015 I went to see the Oncologists and March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
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had a scan and blood tests to see if I need further treatment. On 19 January 2015 the oncologists personally phoned me to say that I was “CLEAR” and would only need 4-6 monthly check ups. MY joy was complete and my wife Marlene who had endured so much, even more. I now know the meaning of Psalm 100 but more so of Romans 15:13, Proverbs 3, Galatians 6 and Philippians 2 and some understanding of what Job felt and above all what he concluded. I have been blessed! - Monty Poolman
Susan’s Rescue—Helderberg Reserve [The story behind the December story]
I was busy in my office at the Visitor Centre when Susan Mellow’s
distress call came though. Fay, the volunteer on duty at reception, immediately ’phoned 107, the City's Emergency Centre, as recommended by Reserve management. The Centre has radio contact with reserve personnel, who may not be on site at the time, and are able to contact all other emergency services as may be required—mountain rescue, the ambulance, etc. After gathering available information about the situation and a contact number for the person, those on duty at the Centre set the operation in progress and were wonderful in keeping us updated with what was happening. Fay, for her part, handled the situation extremely well, giving assurance where needed. Needless to say we were all very relieved when we heard Susan was back safely. The two hours must have seemed like an eternity to her. We had the advantage of knowing back at base that they were doing all they could—first to establish exactly where Susan was and then to take whatever action was required. As Susan's rescue was the second such incident in a couple of weeks, Owen Wittridge, Reserve Manager included some safety guidelines in his regular letter published in the November Friends Newsletter. He urged would-be hikers and walkers to * Take a jacket along on all walks irrespective of the heat. The weather can change very quickly and some walkers have experienced difficulty. * Carry an extra water bottle along too. The Reserve is very dry and water is not readily available even in Disa Gorge. * Stick to the designated paths and trails. * Do not walk alone. In an emergency, others can assist with contacting emergency services—and provide moral support. * Advise family or friends where you are going and when to expect you back. Never underestimate the dangers that can arise from walking alone. * Save the City’s Emergency Services contact numbers on your ’phones—021 480 7700 from a cell phone; 107 from a landline.
- Mary Birch [NB: Applies to all mountains]
Stained Glass The community life of the 8 am
service is enhanced as we read about the lives of one another in the News. Recently June Martin and Ann MacMillan were featured—they are two thirds of the trio from Pinelands Village who worship with us each Sunday sitting on the left side of the church near the front. The other third is Elizabeth van Lingen. It was my privilege to spend some time with Elizabeth recently and hear about her interesting life which made me think of a stained glass window of many different and beautiful colours. Elizabeth was born into an English-speaking Christian family who lived in the Karoo and worshipped in the local Dutch Reformed Church where she was baptised. Belief in God was as natural as breathing for Elizabeth. But while a boarder at high school in Grahamstown, a missionary from Iona preached and her heart was touched. On her own she made a quiet, personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. This commitment deepened her faith. Life moved on and after completing a secretarial course in Cape Town, Elizabeth followed a romantic interest to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) but her parents arranged for her to stay with her aunt in Bulawayo although her boyfriend was in Salisbury (Harare). (We wondered if any parent could successfully insist on such an arrangement in 2016!) Illness, however, intervened when Elizabeth was diagnosed with TB. Her mother fetched her and took her home to Middelburg. Over a two-year period, nine months of which was extremely strict bed rest, Elizabeth was cared for and nursed by her mother until she recovered completely. A return to Zimbabwe happened, this time to Harare, and life took another direction. The romance ended and very interesting work as private secretary to the Minister of the Southern Rhodesian Treasury proved to be a most fulfilling job. Regular Sunday worship, daily Bible reading and prayer were features of life for Elizabeth even though her church affiliations changed. From an uncomfortable experience in the DRC Sunday School at boarding school in Grahamstown she settled happily into the Presbyterian Church which remained her spiritual home until she met and married John Nicks, who was a man of great faith and a committed Anglican and Elizabeth was confirmed in the Anglican Church. John and Elizabeth settled in a suburb of Salisbury and were both very active in the local church. They had two boys, Simon and Jolyon. Being a mother and housewife in Zimbabwe at that time was relaxed because of the help of servants and as Elizabeth wanted to use her time constructively, she took private lessons and achieved a Licentiate from Trinity College, London, as a Speech & Drama teacher. This led to adjudicating at public speaking contests and teaching. At the same time her spiritual life was developing through the ministry of various church leaders, the charismatic movement in her church, attending Bible Studies and doing a course run by Africa Enterprise called “Discipline & Discovery”. She became more aware of the person of the Holy Spirit, prayer times became more meaningful and reading the Bible became an exciting way to hear God speak to her personally. And then there was a watershed experience! In spite of a fulfilling life in which her gifts and skills were being used, Elizabeth often felt inadequate and nervous. To help her when in “up front” situations her Doctor recommended a mild anxiety suppressant to be taken March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
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when necessary. On one occasion when Elizabeth was praying about a really difficult situation she was facing, she sensed God calling her to put her trust completely in Him and to forego this mild medication. Although very conscious of tension, she obeyed this call, didn’t take the medication and, Praise the Lord, handled the situation surprisingly well. She has never taken a tranquillizer again. From then Elizabeth found that her enemies of fear and anxiety were largely overcome and also, her emotions—which tended to be quite tempestuous—were under better control. This experiential knowledge of the power of The Holy Spirit was and still is a source of great strength to her. In 1982, her sons were students at UCT when her husband died most unexpectedly leaving a vast gap in Elizabeth’s life. She decided to return to South Africa and, in particular, to Middelburg where she settled into Karoo life and found her niche in St Barnabas Anglican Church. Here too Elizabeth recalls with great thankfulness the ministry of various church leaders. Through them she was challenged about fellowship, prayer and church unity and was drawn into serving the Lord in many ways including being licensed as a Lay Minister to preach and take funerals. A favourite task was establishing the St Barnabas Parish Magazine aptly named, “The Encourager”. And then another John came into Elizabeth’s life. He was a farmer in the area and they decided to marry. Although her husband was not a committed churchgoer he was delighted for her to continue her Christian involvements. As she signed the register at their wedding, from being a mother with two sons, overnight Elizabeth acquired six new children, five of them married, and nine grandchildren. At the stroke of a pen her family had grown from three to 24! She now had a HUGE family and had to adapt to a new way of living. After being the only woman in the family, she now had five daughters and a daughter-in-law. Happily, good relationships developed between Elizabeth and her step-family and, although John has died, these relationships are successfully maintained. Now, with nine grandchildren married and 10 greatgrandchildren, the family numbers 51, with two babies expected during this year. No family, however, is without its deep sorrow, and in 2005 John’s daughter, Gill, succumbed to cancer; John himself died in 2008—also cancer; and then, just two years ago granddaughter, Sarah Stuart, tragically died of aplastic anaemia, leaving her husband and two baby boys. The beautiful memorial service was held at Christ Church. When Elizabeth moved back to Middelburg in 1983, although church life was active, there was very little connection between the churches. For example: although three churches combined for a service on the Women’s World Day of Prayer, three other churches held separate services; a bi-annual Flower Festival was held alternately in the Anglican and Methodist churches but no other churches were involved. This “separateness” became a concern to the Anglican Women’s Association of which Elizabeth was a member and led them to invite women to an Interdenominational Luncheon. Eventually, as women gradually got to know one another, a combined WWD of P service, hosted by a different church each year, became the pattern in Middelburg. The Flower Festival too became an annual event, hosted in a different church each year and a great spirit of koinonia developed between the women of the town. This was underpinned by an Interdenominational Prayer Group, The Esthers, which came into being. Elizabeth has heady and joyful memories of that time, not only because of the inter-church unity expressed but also because the Flower Festival developed a more spiritual focus. She rejoices in the memory of piano music quietly played during the festival giving
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way, during the lunch hour, to a worship service—a festival of spiritual readings, poems, songs and a meaningful message by the minister. In a small town one learns to fill the gaps! When the excellent organist/pianist of St Barnabas retired to Port Elizabeth, the congregation was bereft and struggled to sing the hymns so Elizabeth took refresher piano lessons and led the singing, even producing a carol concert one Christmas before an accomplished musician settled in the district and was able to take over. Elizabeth’s younger son, Jolyon, lives near London with his wife, Gailynn. Their younger daughter, Leonie, is also in England, while Amy, is married to Tom and they live in Sydney. Elizabeth’s elder son, Simon, with his wife, Charmaine, and their three daughters, Angela, Catherine and Samantha, live in Cape Town. So, after John’s death, Elizabeth aged 76, made another major move and came to live in Cape Town. Many Middelburg connections—Revd Lawrie Wilmot, Christine and Mick Milligan (who used to farm in the district), Bishop Bruce and Joan Evans—and the fact that Simon and Charmaine were married here, drew Elizabeth to Christ Church where she had, in fact, worshipped whenever visiting Cape Town. She moved into Pinewood Village and joined the 8 am congregation. And then she looked for things to do as “I feel strongly that to have a sense of belonging one must have involvements in church life”. She joined the 8 am Breakfast Team, the Tuesday morning Bible Study group, the Reading Roster and, later, agreed to be a Lay Minister. After two years she took over the leadership of the Bible Study Group from Melissa Sutherland. She has laid aside these responsibilities as “I am moving on in years and younger people are needed” but remains on the Readers’ Roster. The Bible Study group is now led by Verna Baguley who hosts it in her home while Elizabeth, still a member, relaxes into “the autumn of my life”. Not that this autumn is without action but it is different. Elizabeth has heard God call her out of busy church-related activities and into a space of gentle activity. She is sorting through her large collection of gems—poems, quotes, journal entries, meditations etc. and is putting the best of them into a book complete with illustrations and reflections. The book is called Autumn Harvest and will give a taste of her life and spiritual journey for her children and grandchildren to enjoy. Two passions of Elizabeth’s life are church unity and prayer. About church unity she quotes: “Unity is expressed by believing in deity and humanity, practising holiness, truth and mission”. About prayer she says: “I don’t believe I could have grown in faith without a regular, daily, early morning practice of prayer”. Hearing of Elizabeth’s life gave me a deep appreciation of how blessed it is to live life in step with God’s rhythm, to rejoice in the gifts we are given, to be ready to serve and to be prepared to change direction when guided by the Holy Spirit. All the facets of Elizabeth’s life do form a glorious whole as in a beautiful stained glass window. We praise God for her and her fellowship with us. - Denise Wood
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Inventions by Women
1) The electric
refrigerator was invented by Florence Parpart in 1914. 2) Ada Lovelace (R) is essentially the first computer programmer due to her work with Charles Babbage at the University of London in 1842. Her notes were an essential key to helping Alan Turing’s work on the first modern computers in the 1940s. 3) Solar heating for residential housing was invented by Dr Maria Telkes (L) in 1947. Dr. Telkes was also a Psychiatrist.
4) Marie Van Brittan Brown (R)
invented CCTV because of the slow response of police officers in 1969 to help people ensure their own security. This invention influenced modern CCTV systems used for home security and police work today. 5) Hedy Lamarr (L), a world famous film star, invented a secret communications system during World War II for radio-controlling torpedoes. This Technology also paved the way for everything from Wi-Fi to GPS. - Sent in by Alison Kempton Jones
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100 Years and Counting…
Lorna Thompson celebrates her centenary at the Wednesday service, flanked by Mike Keggie and Rob Taylor. [Photograph courtesy of Alison Bourne]
A Hare-Raising Wedding Fiona Hare married Andrew Black on 6 February at Monkey Valley, Noordhoek. Proud Papa Willie and Proud Mama Margie were on hand to enjoy the celebration. Fi’s dress had antique (pre-1880) lace from Willie’s family, some of which was part of Margie’s veil when they were married in 1975!
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
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Another Year Wherever You lead I’ll follow. Whatever the New Year brings, Teach me Lord to trust You Your praises, Lord, to sing. The pathway may be rough Thorny bushes on the way, However, Lord, You’re with me Every moment of the day. So I put my hand in Yours I trust You through the storm, Your Presence ever with me, Whether rough or whether calm. I need not fear the morrow When You are by my side, My blessed Lord and Saviour In Your shadow would I hide.
Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard
- Judy Jenkins [Mattew 14 v 22]
John Ortberg wrote a book called Soul-Keeping which is seen by some as a tribute to the Christian writer, Dallas Willard. This inspired me to read a book by Willard which I hadn't yet done. So I'm reading, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. Though it is a slow read, I am very greatful for this opportunity. I don't think it's necessary to read the whole book at once—it is a book you can open where you left off and carry on reading meditatively. Self-help books are everywhere—there are Christian self-help books too, some of which are a bit dodgy. They promise to make you the person you want to be which turn out to be hollow promises. So when Willard spoke about the development of the Christian mind, I was interested as his writing is well respected. He suggests that as Christians we try to change our actions to be more in line with Christ, but it is our hearts we need to change first and then bring our behaviour into line with our hearts. We do this by changing our thoughts. As superior beings in creation we are able to a certain degree to control our thoughts. And Willard guides us as we try. Our thoughts are part of our inner world which, Dallas says, is what we keep when we die. And as our thoughts draw near to God, our behaviour reflects His too—a wonderful process of which to be part. - Theresa Keay (Resource Centre Librarian)
Romans 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Lynx Babies Last year Cheryl Anderson’s niece (who farms in Graaff
Reinet) found two abandoned babies (above). Sadly, one died but the other has grown up to be a very happy and beautiful house-cat.
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The Joy Seed A seek of joy lay waiting In the deep soil of my soul. Nurtured by God’s living stream And compost of His love. The warmth of spring prepared the earth And seeds of joy swelled up, gave birth A human voice responded, ‘yes’, Welcome new joy, come out and bless. New joy came, Surging, emerging, Glowing, flowing, Smiling, singing, Skipping, dancing, Love enhancing, Joyful sharing, Jesus blessing, Great rejoicing, Thank You, Thank You, Lord.
Helping Dad to Pray
– Helen Myburgh
God’s Palms See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands. Isaiah 49:16
What matters supremely is not the fact that I know God but the larger fact that underlies it—the fact that He knows me. I am graven on the palms of His hands. I am never out of His mind. All my knowledge of Him depends on His sustained initiative in knowing me. I know Him because He first knew me and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me. There is no moment when His eye is off me or His attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when His care falters. This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort—the sort of comfort that energizes, not enervates—in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. Reflect: What comfort do you take from knowing this? - JI Packer: Knowing God through the year Editorial Team Tel. e-mail
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Ev Els
021 696 0336 emichael@iafrica.com
Cheryl Anderson
083 272 1530 canderson@beckman.com