Category: Never Alone

Two Christian executives met in town and decided to chat over a cup of tea.

“Charley, it’s so great meeting you after what seems like decades. How are you?”

“Jim, I wish I could tell you everything is fine but it seems everything has turned against me recently. My wife and I are barely holding on to our marriage and my business has reached a point of no return. There is no return on the money we have invested and it is spiralling downwards with little chance of recovery.”

“Wow, Charley, I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you,” Charley replied. “It seems that either Jesus has forgotten us or we have done something terrible. We keep on asking but nothing happens, in fact it seems worse every day. We have had meetings with bank managers, business advisers and of course marriage councillors and all to no avail.”

Jim noticed that Charley seemed drained. “Charley, we also had our share of problems in the past, but praise Jesus, He taught us to walk on water.”

Jim continued. “Let me explain. Thousands of years after God showed Moses how to walk through the Red Sea, Jesus showed them it is possible to walk on water. The descendants of Moses are living in Israel today surrounded by enemies filled with hatred and trying to destroy them. With their backs against the sea they had, and still have, no-one to help them but God.”

“People always joked that Moses took the ‘wrong’ turn leading them to the desert while all the Arabs got the oil. Looking at Israel today the opposite proves to be true because they are living in a “desert” filled with milk and honey. Recently they have discovered so much oil in the sea bordering Israel, making them independent of oil imports and all the Arabs green with jealousy.”

“The point is, Charley, when they realised they were surrounded by nothing but enemies, they were forced to keep holding on to the hand of God. Israel is a living witness that God is good, that He keeps His side of the covenant with His people.

“Do not rely on banks or bank managers or councillors for worldly advice. It was in times like these that my wife and I were tested too and had nothing left but Jesus. Charley, He is real!”

“Hold on to His hand, but do not just ask Him to rescue you, ask Him to be glorified by the circumstances that you find yourself in. Honour Him, love Him and surrender into His hands not because you need Him, but because you love Him with your whole body, soul and spirit. It is all you need in order to start walking on water.”

Donny and Monique met in College. They instantly fell in love and if their eyes could talk, words of pure adoration and awe would be heard for what they saw in each other.

Their wedding was a feast and for them everything came to a complete standstill on that day. People couldn’t stop talking about the love this modern-day Romeo and Juliet bore each other.

Soon, however, the honeymoon was over and 10 years later they blended into the common scene of married couples living in this world making a living, bringing up kids, making love now and then and then making a living once again.

Romeo and Juliet eventually became only Donny and Monique. Suddenly their married life seemed to have reached a dead end. They argued about every minor incident and they seriously considered whether they should rather separate or keep on living in misery.

“Jesus, how is it possible that this could happen to us?” Donny prayed. “Instead of happy memories I am remembering only the sad days of us hurting each other with vicious words of insult, blame and shame! Why are we doing this?”

“I know I still love her, Lord, but lately it feels I have been misled by my heart. Perhaps I don’t love her after all.”

Donny listened as the words of Jesus fell into his heart. “Donny, how have you become a child of God?”

“I accepted You as my Lord and Saviour, Lord Jesus, and you forgave me every bad thing I did. You wiped my slate clean.”

“I want you to do the same, Donny. Go to Monique and ask her to forgive you for every wrong and hurtful thing you caused her to suffer, but before you speak to her, before you even go to her, forgive her for everything she did to hurt you. Before you came to Me, I saw your heart and I forgave you all that you had done, otherwise I would not have listened to you and I love you too much for that.”

“Once you’ve done that, be re-united in your marriage but this time, be united with Me too. To be a Christian couple means more than separate prayers or occasionally going to church together. I always desire to be involved in your relationship on a daily basis.

“She loves you, Donny, even more than before the wedding. She was too proud to just forget about your mistakes and you were too stubborn to apologise, but I spoke to her too, she will forgive you now.”

She knows you’re not perfect but she still thinks you’re amazing. She is not perfect either, but with your hands in Mine, your marriage will be perfect.”

“Thank You, Jesus!”

Tim Tebow is a well-known American Quarterback for the New York Jets of the NFL. This football player achieved 47 statistical records at the end of his college career and some more.

His greatest goal however, is working for Jesus. Having grown up in a Christian home, Tim started following Jesus from an early age. He wore Bible texts on his eye black on the field.

In 2009 he wore the text John 3:16, resulting in the highest Google search for the next 24 hours since it was displayed on TV. It generated 90 million searches. Unfortunately, the NFL made a new rule, called the “Tebow Rule”, prohibiting players to wear messages on the eye black.

Tim was also responsible for a brand new word in the dictionary – “tebowing”. This word derived from Tim, kneeling down at the side of the field on one knee to pray. A fan of Tim’s posted this picture on his website and in 75 days received 20,000 photograph submissions from all 7 continents in over 20 million page views.

This quarterback is involved in orphanages, hospitals, evangelism, spreading the Word of Jesus Christ. He was called to follow Jesus and he is doing it very successfully while playing football.

A man called Angus Buchan, had to move his family from Zambia to South Africa due to political unrest. He is a maize and cattle farmer who became a Christian and started following Jesus Christ.

Angus wrote a book about his life, called “Faith like potatoes” which was filmed in 2006. He and his wife are involved in Shalom Ministries as well as an orphanage and a Christian farm school. Angus held the very popular “Mighty Men Conferences” and over 400,000 people attended the last conference. He is also involved in Christian television.

Two people, a football player and a maize farmer were called by Jesus and both are very successful in their ministries by following Jesus right where they are.

Why does it happen so often that when a person is called to work for the Lord, he follows the path laid down by the institutions? We operate like sheep many times by following the one in front, thinking he knows where we need to go, while he may not even have any idea where he is heading himself and more importantly, where we are supposed to be.

When a person realises he is called to work for the Lord, the first advice he receives is to go to college, get a degree and then become a minister of a church. Our stereotyped society knows only one way and that person is consequently pushed in that direction.

Tim and Angus proved the customary way completely wrong. They started at home, the place they earned their living and started working for Jesus from their normal environment.

They expanded the horison and just lived for Jesus from where they were and they are making a huge difference.

Likewise, we should follow suit and follow Jesus where we are. If someone desires to become a minister it is fine, if he desires to stay in his job while working for Jesus, it is just as fine. As Christians, we are all called.

Gabriel called one of the angels. “Billy, I want you to go to the Christians on earth and see of you could determine how they are spending their time. They are not spending it with God as they are supposed to do.”

Billy did as he was told and after his mission, reported back to Gabriel.

“I am so concerned,” Billy said. “Many Christians have been hijacked by some mighty and evil force, and it seems that many are actually working for this force. Every day begins in a completely normal way with everyone getting up. Some leave for work, others stay at home, but during the day all seem to be occupied to a certain extent in the same way.

“There is a square screen that comes in different sizes, extremely dangerous and highly addictive. Apparently, it controls their whole existence. They position themselves in front of these squares and spend their whole day staring into this screen while their fingers run across, what they call, a keyboard. It seems the square controls the very movement of their fingers.”

“I am hesitant to tell you this because you would not believe me, but there is a smaller unit they carry around. This thing calls them and then they talk to it! I’m not making this up……”

“Others visit a big hall where they pay an entrance fee to watch a huge square for hours in the dark. Sometimes they laugh, sometimes they cry, sometimes they seem afraid but mostly they have these expressions of adoration on their faces.”

“When they get home in the evening, they cannot finish dinner fast enough to gather once again, in front of another square box for hours. When they finally go to bed, they complain about the busy day they have had and how tired they are. Sadly, only a few have time left to spend with God.”

“Gabriel, how is it possible that an evil force became so powerful that the people haven’t got time left to spend with their families or with God anymore?”

“The tragedy is, Billy, the people made this thing and they manage it too. Some are using it for work, which is fine. Some are earning millions inventing imaginary, unreal, and get this, completely untrue stories most of the time to captivate and occupy the minds of the people watching the stories unfold on these screens.”

“Most tragic is the fact that people choose to be controlled by these square devices. They have successfully hijacked themselves to a useless, make-believe life of sitting and staring at square spaces. What a waste of time!”

“God said not all of this is bad, but the people should consider how they spend their time because for many of them it is running out faster than they think.”

A beautiful and talented young violinist ended her life recently. The first question that comes to mind, is: “Why?”

Although someone answered the question with “depression,” the question remains, “Why did she decide to step out of life?”

Depression is something that I had never experienced until a few months ago when I tasted it myself. I awoke one morning filled with normal cheerfulness. However, only a few minutes into that beautiful day, I experienced a bad incident, which caused my whole life to make an about turn towards the most negative darkness covering that bright, sunshiny day.

Instantly I realised it was what the world calls “depression,” and although I did not like it, I did not care at all. Every inch of hope, joy and positive sensation was suddenly replaced by an intense feeling of loneliness, sadness, helplessness and the biggest one of all, a feeling of failure. Failure in what I had missed to accomplish, not only the failures of tasks but also the failure to experience joy and happiness in life and that the time to change it was running out. This debilitating feeling of failure filled me from top to bottom and then it became me – I became the failure.

Jesus changed everything almost 30 hours later. Although He died for me many years ago, He did not tell me that He died for failures and that I was one of them. He also did not tell me that if I kept on feeling so depressingly unthankful for being alive, He was going to turn His back on me. He did not tell me that I was so infuriatingly stubborn because I flatly refused to notice His love for me.

With a silent and tender touch, He showed me how precious I was to my wife and children and that He was so proud of my family and me. I saw myself through His eyes. At first, I could not focus clearly, because His eyes were filled with tears. Only when I wiped the tears from His eyes by loving Him back, I could see how deeply He really loves me. Jesus loves people like us too, people who feel they are out of step.

My innermost desire since that day has become to touch every disheartened person in the world asking them to take a look at themselves through the eyes of their family and friends by looking through the eyes of Jesus. It is not easy but I am sure that if that young violinist could see herself through those eyes she would still be alive today.

If that is where you are now, while reading this, in some dark hole of depression, would you please contact me. I know you don’t feel like it and honestly I do not want you to think that I have the answer, because I don’t. The least I could do, would be to hold your hand in prayer.

You are precious!

Joseph closed the gate in the fence and walked slowly back towards the kitchen door. Apart from a thin ray of light shining through the kitchen window, the backyard was engulfed in darkness. When he opened the back door, he noticed a pair of eyes shining back at him in the dim light of the kitchen. The black dog lay almost unnoticed in the gloomy darkness outside.

“It’s fine, my dog”, Joseph said as he stroked his head. “Tomorrow you will feel much better”. He noticed a weak movement of what seemed like an effort to wag his tail.”

He returned Blackie form the vet an hour or two ago and put him on the old sofa on the back porch. “It is tick fever”, the vet said. “Nothing much I can do apart from an injection and some pills. The dog needs a blood transfusion but I do not have a suitable donor at this stage. I have to warn you, his chances of survival are slim”.

Joseph was still stroking the dog’s head when he decided to pray for him and he knelt down beside him. “Lord Jesus, I assume it would be fine to pray for Blackie. I mean, although he is an animal, I love him very much and he has no one but me to assist him, and I have You Lord!”

Words started flowing over his lips like water bursting from a broken dam. He prayed for Blackie first and then continued praying for his wife and children, the rest of his family. Suddenly he realised how he had neglected his prayer time.

Joseph continued praying for his country, his government, other countries, other people, whether he knew them or not. It seemed that as soon as he had finished praying for one subject, Jesus showed him something else to pray for.

He kept on praying until he felt the wet tongue of Blackie on his hands. He instantly knew the dog would get well soon.

Before Joseph went to sleep that night, he knelt once again at the side of his bed to thank Jesus for the breath of prayers and for miracles.

“Yes”, Jesus replied, “prayers are like the air that you breathe, Joseph. The more you use it, the better you are. Prayers are free and available in abundance, something that can never be exhausted. It may be used over and over again, followed by the grace of answered prayers rolling in, and at the same time showing the inexhaustible stock of unused prayers still available for anyone to take.”

“It is sad to notice the billions of people in need and at the same time the abundance of miracles and prayer time available to them…… and yet, only a few are taking it”.

“Countries are filled with desperate leaders, shaky businesses and billions of people who are all suffocating in need due to a lack of prayers. All of this is taking place while My church who has the abundance of My power and grace to change the world available to them, do nothing but sulk in silence.”

“Keep on breathing My grace of power in prayer and use it continually, it is indeed inexhaustible.”

I grew up on a farm in The Orange Free State, a province in the middle of South Africa. Being Afrikaans-speaking, I regarded English as a foreign language. Fortunately, for me, my parents had English-speaking friends and I picked up on English through their kids, although we almost never spoke English when we were together.

One day my sister and I had to explain to our English friends, who saw a grasshopper for the first time, what it was, and we translated it directly from Afrikaans as – “springcan”.

It did not stop there. One day an English speaking salesperson visited us. They often visited the farms selling anything from oil paintings to fertiliser. I was about 4 or 5 years of age.

When the man knocked on the door, I ran to open it and said, “Hello”. He replied, “Hi, hello young man, tell me, is your mom or dad at home?”

“Yes,” I said and he continued, “May I come in?” “Yes,” I replied and opened the door wider for him to enter.

“Now tell me,” he said. “What is your name?” “Yes,” I answered. At that point, my mom arrived and continued the conversation in this foreign language.

Sometimes I think we treat Jesus as if He is speaking a foreign language. We often say yes, without even knowing what it really means.

When Jesus says, “I love you so much!”, we have no idea what He actually says. “Jesus, I am not like other people. I have issues that nobody would understand and You cannot even imagine how pitiful I really am.”

“Pitiful, oh really, My child?”

We sometimes think Jesus’ suffering ended on the cross. What we do not comprehend, is that Jesus’ love is much bigger, wider, and deeper than ours, causing pain and suffering in the heart of Jesus, far more intense than what we could ever imagine, and that over our circumstances.

When we hurt, He experiences the pain too, only a little more intense. Nobody around us may even notice we exist but He feels our innermost pain 24 hours every day.

He hears in our language of thought, the “words” we use when we feel miserable or the words of doubt when we think He is not near, and the most awfully false accusations of thinking He has forgotten about us.

It could be that when the Bible says that there will be no more tears in heaven one day, is meant the tears of Jesus…. flowing for our lack of completely surrendering into His arms while living on earth. (Rev 21:4)

Do we really know what Jesus meant when He said, “Follow Me, believe in Me,” or, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”? The love and care of Jesus is one language we should spend more time on getting ourselves acquainted with.

Jane looks at the book in her hands. Her finger trembles as she turns another page. The title of the book is “Jane”, and it tells her story, it is her autobiography. It accurately describes every little detail about her life since the day she was born until the day her life on earth ends.

She has started reading from Chapter 1 and finally, only the last chapter remains, but now suddenly she discovers that most of the last chapter consists of blank pages.

She wants to read a lot more but the book seems so very thin. She quickly pages to the very end to see if anything more was written down, but only blank pages stare back at her until the very last page which has bold letters written across the middle in someone else’s handwriting – The End.

“Why is the last chapter still incomplete, Lord?” Jane asks.

“Because this is your life, Jane, and you are still alive, meaning that you are still busy writing your last chapter.”

“What would happen if I don’t want to live another page, and stop writing today, Lord?” She asks Jesus.

“Nothing much, Jane, except that the last chapter would not be sweet, only very, very short with the following words, ‘Today Jane quit life and stopped writing’ – The End.”

“Lord, You make it sound as if my life depends only on me.”

“Ah, but indeed it does depend on you, Jane. I am not writing your book, you are. All I do is to clean the dirty pages and mend those that you tore, and of course, to keep the ink flowing from your pen. I also guide you with possible material for your next page, but… only if you ask Me to.”

“If you look closely, you will find that the first blank page is the rest of today. Decide what you want to do, how you want to do it and then start writing.”

“The end would follow after this chapter but remember that this might well be the longest chapter of them all, the most beautiful one of the entire book. You also have to decide if I would be the leading Character in this chapter or not.”

“Whatever you decide, this chapter would determine whether this book will be your best seller. Just make sure that you don’t write Me out, I love you too much to accept that.”

“Keep on writing! So far, I love the book because I love you!”

The Cape Argus Pick and Pay Cycle Tour is a gruelling 109 kilometers of scenic road running adjacent to the sea. With some steep climbs, it is not an easy cycling tour at all.

During the recent tour that took place last Sunday, several people had to stop at the side of the road due to muscle cramps. Many could not finish due to heat exhaustion. Accidents were common and when one person fell, a huge number of cyclists bumped into the unfortunate cyclist from behind, sending all of them down onto the hot tarmac.

Philip took part in this event. He was not involved in any accident but he passed several cyclists who were. He dreamed about winning but the mere fact that he reached the finishing line is winning enough in his book. When 35,000 cyclists compete, the place they finish in the race becomes irrelevant for most of them.

He got off his bike just after he crossed the finishing line. As he sat down at the side of the road, he said, “I don’t care how many people have reached this line before me, I have finished the race and therefore I know I have won!”

“No, you did not.”

“Excuse me, Lord, why do you say that I did not win?”

“What was your goal, Philip, to come first or fifteen thousandth or just to complete the course regardless of what? In that case I would agree, you have won.”

“Look at the lady who has just crossed the line. She stopped seven times along the road to assist other people. See that man approaching the finishing line right now. He was way up in front among the first 40 cyclists when he noticed a group that fell. He stopped, turned around and assisted them. He did not carry on until he was sure everyone was fine. They are winners!”

“Everyday life is very similar, Philip. There are so many people needing something, whether it is kindness, comfort, assurance, support and most of all only a little love and attention. So many people run their race in life with their eyes fixed on their personal goals so intently that they pass thousands of people with equally important goals, without noticing one of them.”

“On their journey through life, so many have passed their parents…. their husbands…. wives…. children….. friends or unknown people in need, without noticing them at all. They did not even bother to find out how they were. They will all reach the end of the line but winning, I’m afraid will not be accredited to them.”

“However, I still love all of them. But please, take care how you take part and remember life is not a race but a journey through a scenic garden route of souls.”

Thinking outside the box is often seen as boxing outside the ring. Thinking outside the box is however not about fighting or rebelling against the status quo in any way.

God assisted humankind since creation but every time man tried to crawl back into a box somewhere. When Adam and Eve sinned, they looked for a box to hide themselves in. God took them out of the garden, which was not a box and then He put them in the open world, but He never left them nor forsake them and He never boxed them.

We often feel lost in the world and manage to build boxes around us with man-made rules. You must do this in this way in this place at this specific time in order to achieve that and if you don’t like that, sorry, the box rules.

Jesus took us out of the “you must” box for good. We are free to worship Him every second, everywhere, anytime while trusting in His presence all the time.

Often we tend to move back into the old box again. “I have sinned and need redemption all over again. I need money and need to sow the little I have in order to get more. I need wisdom and need to speak to my minister about it and ask his advice.”

Jesus took us out and then He burned the box. “I am with you, I have paid for all your sins. I will tell you what to do and even what to say. Just speak to Me and listen to Me.”

“Burn your box. You are free to live a new life in My presence. Trust in Me and when you talk to Me, stop starting your sentences with ‘but’.”

“Surrender to Me. Breathe and feel free to walk back to Me, back to where you left My hand when you fixed your eyes on your problems around you. Don’t you know that I see them too?”

“Now get out of the box and start being you, the beautiful human being you. Human being means you are be-ing, you are alive. I did not stay in the tomb, I am alive. However, I cannot share My being with you if you prefer your box, being on your own instead.”

“Live in this world without the wearisome, manufactured achievements, borrowed solutions, second-hand subjective wisdom, temporary safety and false insurance. I am all you need because I am. All I ask of you is to be box free. Believe in Me!”