Rejoice, oh my soul, even on a grey Monday morning!

“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

(John 10:3b)

This morning my soul woke up a bit slow and somewhat reluctant to be called out into the Monday and week awaiting. Perhaps as the sunrays just couldn’t break through the grey cloudiness outside, the rays of joy and enthusiasm that usually lifts me up and into the day just couldn’t break through this morning. Oh, there’s nothing seriously wrong. No specific reason. I just somehow lacked the necessary ‘oomph’ for the day. I found myself unwilling to go through my usual Monday morning house sorting, or doing the taxes, cleaning my two canaries’ cages or even joining my husband for breakfast in town.

So after opting for a lower input beauty routine and leaving my hair to dry into its own curliness after a quick shower, I sat myself down with a cup of ginger and lemon rooibos tea, my favorite journal, “The Journey”, my Bible and my Friend.

Reading from John 10, the above words of John 10:3 spoke to my sluggish sole. Yes, Jesus came this morning as He always does and He called me out. ‘Oh Lord, you know that this little sheep was not very enthusiastic about going out today!’ I smilingly acknowledged to Him.

I continued, “But Lord I know that You picked me up and lovingly carried me out in Your arms until I felt better and You could put me down again. And as I started out next to You, soon I once again felt the strength to join the flock out here in the fields.”

Pondering on my lack of zest this morning yet knowing that I am still safe in my Shepherd’s hands, I recognized the beauty of what He gave us. It is so precious and it shines through even the most grey days. Whom of us cannot sing along, even when our souls are a bit slow:

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;

To His feet thy tribute bring;

Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,

Who like thee His praise should sing?

Praise the everlasting King.

Ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven. There it is. Will we ever grasp the full beauty of these truths?

I am ransomed. God has delivered me ‘from the power of darkness’ and has translated me ‘into the kingdom of his dear Son.’ When you listen to the stories of people who have been caught up in Satanism or a life of horror and death and drugs and violence and unforgiveness and anger, you KNOW that the life of love and righteousness gifted us in Christ in the Kingdom of Light is beyond precious.

I am also healed. “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) God did not leave me in my sinful, hopeless condition. He healed my heart! My heart is now filled with love for my Redeemer and I want to live according to His laws which I recognize as good. I may still err, but it brings me no joy to follow my own worldly ways. I find joy in Christ as I learn on a daily basis to walk in His Holy Spirit.

Restored. The truth of this word brings tears to my eyes. I was a sinner and I could have been unable to ever come into the sweet presence of God, but Jesus paid the ransom price and now, because of Him, I have been restored. I am now a dearly loved child of God, included in a kingdom of priests and a bride of Christ! In Christ I have been restored to a position of glory, seated in the heavenly realms. ‘…God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:27.)

Forgiven. I am forgiven. I have been given life in Christ in His Kingdom now and forever.

My soul might wake up on a grey Monday morning, feeling a bit unwilling to be called out into a demanding day, but deep down all is well with my soul because I belong to Christ, the lover of my soul…my Saviour and my life!

Therefore I sing out loud (and may you join me even on a grey Monday in your own life)

“Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.”

 (Psalm 103:1)

God bless,
Lize

The grace and blessing of God

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us…” (Psalm 67:1)

In this time of trouble and drought and insecurities in our country, this is a prayer often prayed out loud as well as in many a heart – Lord please be gracious to us and bless us. It translates to – Lord, please solve our crises: Send us rain, give us financial security, mend marriages…deliver us from our many difficult circumstances.

The good news is that the beautiful prayer in Psalm 67 has been answered in the most awesome way! In fact, God has given us more than we could ever ask for!

Let’s page forward to Ephesians 1:1

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

GOD HAS BLESSED US.

WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING.

WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED IN CHRIST.   

We might well ask ourselves: “What does it mean to have been blessed with every spiritual blessing? It does not mean that I have been delivered from my current or even future difficult circumstances, does it?” No. It means much more. It means we have been delivered from a much greater dilemma. It means that we have been brought out of darkness and into light. It means that we have received life instead of death. It means that we will not face the wrath of God which we deserve, but have received forgiveness for our sins. We have received God’s unmerited favor. We now have peace with God and we can come into His presence as dearly loved children. Even more, we now have in us this treasure which is the Holy Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD who works in us His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We have the precious promise that we are being conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ and that we will share in the inheritance of the righteous – everlasting life in the Kingdom of Light.

There is no spiritual blessing that we have not already received in Christ! Indeed, God has made His face shine upon us! 

I know, what about our needs in this current life? 

Dear friend, in Christ, we also have the richest blessing for this life with its many difficult circumstances. Romans 8:28 reminds us that, IN ALL THINGS, God works for the good of those who love Him. God is for us. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32) Jesus prompts us in Mathew 7:7 – “Ask, and it will be given to you.” 

Do you need wisdom – ask.

Do you need love for your spouse or any other person – ask.

Do you need patience – ask.

Do you need strength to endure – ask.

Do you need to be comforted – ask.

Do you need guidance – ask.

Do you need protection against the evil one – ask.

If we go to our Father and ask Him all that we need to glorify Him in any and every situation, He will provide.

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

(Isaiah 40:28-31)

Praise be to God who has been gracious to us and has blessed us and has made his face shine upon us!

God bless

Lize

Light in your darkness...

"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:4-5)

I know and love and follow Jesus Christ as my Friend and my Savior. I am not perfect in my faith. I am not perfect in my walk. My life is not without its challenges and hardships, defeats and weaknesses. But I say it again, I know and love and follow Jesus Christ as my Friend and my Savior. Today I want to reach out to you and invite and encourage you to reach out to Him, anew or afresh, because He is your Light, our Light. Because His light shines in the darkness, you and I can sing His praises in the morning, throughout the day and on our beds at night. Because of Him, we can have a song in our hearts even when it seems all dark around, because the light penetrates and shines in the darkest corners of our lives.

Have you experienced His light shining in your darkness…

In your moment of anguish and fear and panic

In that secret place of captivity to sin

In the dark of depression when dark seems to become even darker

In that place of isolation and abandonment

In the hopelessness of your situation

In the cries from deep in your heart and soul

In the sorrow that engulfs you, drowns you

In the brokenness of your heart

In the failed relationship, the rejection, the humiliation

In poverty and hardship ripping away your joy to live

In that horrible place of violence

In the day of evil, the onslaught
In the moment of temptation

In your exhaustion?

The light shines IN the DARKNESS. Christ is there IN your DARKNESS and when He is there, the darkness CANNOT overcome. Before the light, darkness HAS to flee.

Throughout the ages, men and women who have cried out to Jesus, the Christ and their Savior, have found that the darkness, their darkness, could not overcome them. No matter the depth of their darkness, no matter the length of their darkness, no matter how many times their souls have fainted…always there came a Savior and His light shone in that darkness, driving it out. Men and women have found that their hearts could sing a new song, a song of jubilation and praise, a song that carried them on, one step at a time out of the darkness and into His Kingdom of Light.  

They have found, also, that His light brings only life and gives of it freely without reproach as James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” The light exposes but does not shame, blame, threaten or bribe. The light, unwavering, comes and brings healing, joy, peace, freedom, love, comfort, meaning, change…life everlasting. You and I are children of the light. 

Jesus my Light.

Jesus your Light.

Jesus our Light.

Come shine in people’s darkness.

Amen.

 

God bless,

Lize

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

This morning when I opened my fridge I was hit in the face with a stuffiness and sultriness that smelt of food and spelt but one thing: The fridge has been off through the night. Our fridge’s thermostat is broken and is yet to be replaced. The makeshift plan for the moment is a timer connected to the power plug ensuring the fridge switches on and off with regular intervals but, with the weight of the timer, every now and then the plug gets pulled out just a little and loses contact. Thus my unpleasant surprise this morning.

 

Getting back into bed for that stolen minute or two before I continue the morning’s rush to get everybody at school on time, I felt a bit like my fridge. My power is off and my mood quite sultry. Moms are like fridges. They are plugged in and they keep the family fresh and going. Every day, day after day, nonstop. We get up, get everybody going, make food, buy food, clean house, drive kids around, do admin, run errands, wait for kids, check homework, prevent or solve arguments, make peace, do some work for the Lord and some more for the school, try and keep ourselves in good shape, go to bed and start all over again tomorrow. Yes, and in the process, the weight of it all pulls us back and we lose contact with the source of our power and we wake up airless.

 

Sometimes we can’t even quite understand why we are so airless. We might have everything going for us – lovely husband, kids, house, help, school, church, bibles and conversations with God. Yet, in spite of all this, everything can simultaneously feel all too much and all too little. Our mundane daily quest to survive overtakes us. 

 

Have you ever at times felt like this? When this feeling hit me this morning, I thought of Psalms 42 and 43. The writer of these two Psalms finds his soul to be downcast because he feels far from God. Scholars believe that he is writing these Psalms from a place of exile far away from Jerusalem where he and his countrymen used to worship God in the temple with joy and thanksgiving and festive throng. But now he finds himself in a foreign place, oppressed by his enemy. 

 

We too, because we are running from morning till evening, day after day, might at times feel far away from God. Though me might have conversations with Him and read our Bibles, we fail to drink deep from the Well that satisfies the soul’s thirst. That might be why we are so airless and it might leave us with the same type of questions in our hearts than that of the writer of these two Psalms:

 

• My soul thirsts for God.
• When can I go and meet with God?
• Where is your God?
• All your waves and breakers have swept over me.
• Why must I go on mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

 

I know that whenever I find myself in this position, I long for a complete time out. I want to pause life for a day and restore order around me and in me and then reconnect with God before pressing the play button again. But that is not truly the answer. Rarely can we press life’s pause button!! The better answer lies within Psalms 42 and 43. The Psalmist told his downcast soul: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Before he did anything else, the Psalmist decided to put and keep his hope in God his Savior and to praise Him. As physical exercise is an anti-depressant to the body, praising God is an anti-depressant to the soul! It lifts the soul’s focus to its Creator and Savior, its Living Hope!

Furthermore, the Psalmist realized an important fact – he didn’t need to be in Jerusalem in the temple - the perfect circumstances - in order for him to be ‘close’ to God and worship Him. No, God came and met him where he was: “By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life”, “Send forth your light and your truth, let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.” God is always with us! His light and His truth is available to us everywhere all the time. Realizing that God is with him always, irrespective of how ‘far’ he was feeling from Him, the Psalmist affirmed – “…God, my joy and my delight.”

About fifteen minutes after I had reconnected the fridge’s power plug this morning, it again had a coolness and a freshness inside when you opened the door. After reconnecting and redirecting my soul to my beautiful Savior, without my daily routine having changed the slightest, my soul again has a freshness and a joy to it that sends me forth on my tasks with a festive song in my heart! 

May you too put your hope in the Savior and praise Him with all your soul and He will not fail you!

God bless,

Lize

When God does not 'rescue' us...

A couple of mornings ago I was reading in a daily devotional about the Israelites being chased by the Egyptian army. They were seemingly trapped between the Red Sea and the mountain and they were in despair and angry at God! Yet Moses told them to be still because God will come through for them…and He did.

Reading this scripture, I felt a pang of rebellion in my heart. I thought of all the situations given us in the Bible where God’s people were in trouble and He rescued them. Far from being comforted thereby, my rebellious heart cried out: But Lord, You do not always rescue. You do not always answer prayer. You do not always heal or keep death at bay and what are we to do then? 

I tried to think of people in the Bible whom God did not rescue…

Job came to mind first. He did lose everything and to me, much worse than his health, he did lose his children and, though God blessed him after his trials and gave him many more children, those he loved and lost could never be brought back. Yet he praised God. Next, I thought of Daniel’s three friends and Habakkuk who all proclaimed that even if God did not help them, they would still praise Him.  

These three instances show a very different attitude in faith than that of the Israelites of old. I could not help to wonder what would cause such a huge paradigm shift in one’s faith and where would I find myself on a scale between the demanding faith of the Israelites and the submissive faith of Job, Daniel’s friends and Habakkuk?

My thoughts further took me to Hebrews 11, also called the ‘hall of faith’. There we find two groups of people mentioned in verses 33-38. The first group was victorious in their trials and their faith. Through faith they “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised.” They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the sword. The verse says their weakness was turned to strength.  But there is also the second group who, though also worthy to be mentioned in Hebrews 11 for their perseverance in faith, did not share the same victory. Rather they were tortured, faced jeers and flogging, were chained and put in prison, stoned, sawed in to and put to death by the sword. They wandered in deserts, mountains, caves and holes in the ground. They did not gain what was promised. Their faith (and God) did not save them from their earthly dilemmas yet, they kept their faith! Two groups of people, two very different circumstances and outcomes but the same strong faith for both groups.

This morning I was again pondering all of life and faith, victory and apparent defeat, God rescuing and God not rescuing and what we are to make of it and where it leaves us in our faith…

“Lord,” I said, “I am trying so hard to perceive the voice of the Holy Spirit, to be filled with Him. I am trying hard to be wise, to understand and to know your truths and to be able to encourage others with it. Yet, for all my efforts, I still have to conclude with Job: “I spoke once, but I have no answer…” (Job 40:5) I do not have the answer for every situation in life and this perilous times we live in or for every issue of faith. 

But, as I acknowledged my frustration before the Lord, I became convinced above all doubt about one thing, the thing it all boils down to:

More than anything else, more than wisdom and understanding and knowledge, you and I need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to communicate with Him on all occasions, giving Him our heart at all times as it is…whether confused or angry or broken or happy and peaceful. It is in the personal relationship with the I AM that we find His sufficient grace enabling us to live on even if He does not and even if we don’t have the answers. It is in this personal relationship that we find He will reveal Himself to us and we will behold Him and we will find Him faithful, beautiful and the sole Lover of our souls.

As I confessed this belief to the Lord and prayed, “Lord help us to have such a relationship with You,” I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit calling out with my own spirit: “Abba Father, I will praise You!”

Amen! I found I could take another step forward into the new day.

Crossing the Sea

Exodus 13:17-22

Having lost a dearly loved family member at the end of 2015 and finding myself at the beginning of another year of which the path is yet unknown, God could not have directed my vulnerable self to a more reassuring Scripture than that of Exodus 13:17-22.

Even the title given to this text could not have been more appropriate to my situation: Crossing the Sea. Indeed 2016 lies ahead of us like a sea to be crossed. Having recently visited the coast, I still have a very vivid picture of the ocean in my mind – masses of deep water as far as the eye can see. If you were given the task of crossing that sea whilst standing on its shore all on your own, you would know that it is an impossible task.

We all have different seas to cross. Our sea could be that impossible situation at work, a broken relationship, a financial crisis, sickness or the loss of a loved one. It could be this day or this year that lies ahead of us. In a way, it could be our whole life here on earth – crossing the sea could be our journey from our earthly birth through this life to reaching the shore of our heavenly home. Whichever one, this we know - it is above our ability.

Therefore I found deep assurance and comfort from the above Scripture. Four aspects stood out for me, reassuring me that indeed I do not have to do it on my own and that I have an almighty, sovereign and loving Father that will keep me on my journey and bring me safely across my sea. Allow me to share these with you:

Firstly, though the Israelites had to be and were armed for battle, the Lord did not prematurely lead them into warfare. Though the road they had to take seemed to be the worse one - a long way through desert country - it was in their best interest and to avoid a sure battle that would have sent them back the way they came. God had a plan and it was a good plan…it was the best plan.

Secondly there is the testimony of Joseph, a man who had a most challenging and difficult life. But, through all the hardship that Joseph had suffered in his life, he had found God to be utterly faithful so that on his death bed, he confidently put forward this request: “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” 

Thirdly, the Lord Himself was with the Israelites and went ahead of them. God was not going to leave His flock to themselves. He was never going to leave them. He was going to guide and lead their every step.

Lastly, the presence of the Lord in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night ensured that the Israelites “could travel by day or night.” From this verse we can gather that, at times, the Israelites would have had to travel by night when it is dark and one cannot see where to put your foot. Yet God provided a light in the darkness…His presence was a lamp to their feet.

As you and I embark on our journey to cross our seas we can be sure that God will also be there for us in the same loving and caring way that He was there for the Israelites. We can go forward with the promise Jesus gave His disciples:

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)

God bless and all the best for 2016
Lize 

When my child is gay

What do we do when our children choose to follow a lifestyle we cannot endorse? What do Christian parents do when their children choose to follow a homosexual lifestyle, a lifestyle of sin according to the Word of God? We live in a time when many Christian parents’ hearts are broken and torn between their love for their gay child and their love for God and His law. 


Jesus said, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother…” (Luke 12:51-53)


When our children choose a path different from the way we showed and taught them according to the Word of God, we are in fact divided. This is heart-breaking to any parent. We cannot stand to be alienated or separated from our children. It is an unbearable situation. Yet, to Christian parents, it is also unthinkable to turn your back on God and His laws. Our children on the one side and God on the other – a real dilemma for many.


Often, parents have one of two reactions. Firstly, many parents do cut off their children. They will not speak to them again. They will not welcome them into their homes and they disown them. The pain that this causes both sides is immense. Secondly, parents often choose to change their interpretation of God’s law. They take the stand that the Bible is wrongly interpreted on the subject of homosexuality and that it is actually acceptable to God. By doing this, they don’t have to be divided against their children or against God anymore, they can be united to their child and to God. But God and His Word is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We cannot change Him or His Word at our whim. His law is eternal. 


Then what is the right thing to do? What can a parent do is such a situation? The truth is that once you have trained your children in the way that they should go, it is up to them to make their own decisions. Proverbs 22:6 says that if we have trained them God’s way, when they are old, they will not turn from it. When it thus seems that our children have chosen against God, we pray and we trust as we continue to live a life of truth and worship God.


Furthermore, Galatians 5:22-23 says this: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Even when a child chooses a path against the law of God, let the Christian parent continue to do those things against which there is no law. Do not withhold love, be ever filled with joy and stay in His perfect peace, show patience, kindness and gentleness. Act with self-control and continue and be faithful in doing good also to your child.


As it is your child's choice to obey God's law or not, it is your own choice to continue to live our the life of holiness and love to which you were called or not. A wrong never rights a wrong but we fight evil with good.


My prayer today is for every parent who finds him or herself in this situation, that God will strengthen you and guide you and cover you in His abundant grace on this difficult road.
God bless

Lize