written by Stephan Joubert
God dreams and He dreams big. He dreams about a new world, one where his will prevails. He dreams about a society where hate comes second, and injustice loses. He dreams about poor people having enough food to eat and about the lonely ones being cared for. He dreams about people who live together safely and in love for one another. He dreams about his kingdom spreading across the earth like a runaway bushfire, and billions of people bowing before Jesus. He dreams of people who discover this treasure in a field, like Jesus tells in Matthew 13, and leave everything to get their hands on it.
God dreams new dreams. And the good news — you have a place in God’s dreams. He noticed you when He dreamed big about people and his creation. He wants to use you to make his dreams reality. You should report for duty at once. He’ll take care of the rest. The Lord will use you by causing streams of living water to flow through you. He’ll use you to touch the lives of those around you. He will give his dreams wings in your life. So, what are you waiting for?
written by Stephan Joubert
Experts say that one of the biggest dangers staring modern society in the face is our endless consumer mentality. Too many people are like bottomless pits that need to constantly satisfy the one desire after the other… and then today still. Tomorrow is way too late, because tomorrow there’s already a new CD, cell phone, automobile, or set of clothes that need to be acquired. How true wasn’t this in the festive season just past? It was barely over, and people descended on every possible sale like vultures to buy even more. Our closets are taking strain. Our houses are stacked, and still the end is not in sight!
Tragic that the abundance of things became the measuring stick for success in our day. But the question still remains: When is enough enough? One can walk around in only one set of clothes at a time, and drive around in only one car at a time. Are the lives of consumers truly filled with peace when they have all the right things on their name? No, because I suspect they are still drinking at the wrong well. Living water is found elsewhere — at Jesus’ well of life. His type of water gives life eternally.
written by Stephan Joubert
Once again, it’s the time of new year’s resolutions being made everywhere. Can you believe it?! Well, I also have a couple of set resolutions for the 2010 that’s lying in wait just around the corner… like making more time for silence in my life. God doesn’t compete with all the noise in and around me. I realize that I have to hear Him on his terms, not mine, in the new year. That’s why I would love to be still and quiet more often in the new year, to get to know the Lord better.
Another resolution — I don’t want to send or answer any nasty emails or text messages during 2010. It’s an unnecessary waste of energy to try and argue with those who believe that they know better, or with those who are always the only correct ones. In the new year, I also don’t want to fret about some road users furiously chasing around just to win 2 minutes of saved time, and 2 hours of higher blood pressure as “reward”. Finally, I want to live all of 2010 at the ‘today-speed’ — one day at a time. I reckon that’s just about fast enough.
written by Jacques Bornman
I have a love/hate relationship with golf. I love talking about the shots, the pro’s, the tournaments, the courses and all things golf. I love to spend money on magazines and equipment — all in the hope of improvement. Once, I’ve even been on top of the golfing world. I won tournament after tournament. Competitors crumpled with fear at the sight of my name on the leader board. It was the stuff of legends — a sight to behold. But it wasn’t to last. My career came to an abrupt and tragic end — a power failure forcing me (never a good thing in golf) to abandon the “Tiger Woods for PC” fantasy world.
The hate dimension of the relationship comes into play on the fairways (I wish) and greens. I have been playing golf for more than 10 years now, endured many troubles and toils. Golf is a humbling game — where one day you have the game figured out, and the following day you’re reminded that its math is not that simple, and it doesn’t always add up. One perfectly executed shot though, is enough motivation for rounds on end.
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written by Stephan Joubert
Leonard Sweet showed us in The Gospel according to Starbucks that coffee can be used as an effective metaphor to convey the Good News of Jesus in today’s idiom. However, some people still view coffee as the devil’s beverage. Well, just in case you wondered…
Caffeine (coffee’s main active chemical) does in fact block the chemical known as adenosine, which causes drowsiness. On the other hand, your brain could become hooked on the stimulating effects of all those caffeine boosts. But then new studies show that older women who drink more than 3 cups of coffee per day have better memories than those who drink less coffee. High coffee consumption also helps against depression, because caffeine increases dopamine, that well-known “happy feeling” hormone, in
our brains. At the same time coffee has effective laxative effects. Due to roughly 0.5 grams of cellulose fibre per 100 ml in brewed coffee, it can even help fight cholesterol. But take note that heavy coffee drinking over the long term could lead to a rapid development of osteoporosis.
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written by Stephan Joubert
I have the privilege to write a small column in a daily newspaper every Monday to Friday, entitled Good News. A while ago, I told the story of Ernie in my column. May I share it again here? Good American friends of mine involved Ernie in the youth ministry of their church. Ernie stayed involved there full steam until his death in his nineties. Ernie’s work at the youth ministry was to pack the dishwasher every Wednesday evening after they served a great feast to the younger ones.
One day Ernie told my friends that he asked the Lord the previous night to rather come fetch him. At this stage he was already deaf in both ears and he could no longer bear his deep longing for his late wife. But then he suddenly thought of all the young people that he served unnoticed and wondered who would pack and unpack the dishwasher after they spent time together on Wednesdays. Right there and then Ernie chose to carry on living with a new vigor. He did exactly that untill the end of his life. Ernie knew that once the race was over, Jesus would be waiting for him with the crown of righteousness in his hand (2 Timothy 4:7-8). That’s why he couldn’t stop living or stop running before the race was over.
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written by Stephan Joubert
“They say…” Isn’t it remarkable how often we hear such remarks? The opinions of “them” often determines what “we” or “I” think. Many churches and businesses are even managed based on “their” opinions. Comments like “What would the members say?” or “The opinions of our customers count the most!” are well-known sayings in these circles. People have to be kept happy at all costs, otherwise they might withdraw their loyalty from us. But wait… Do you really want to be a life-long victim of other people’s opinions? Do “they” have to keep you hostage? Is that really what the Lord expects of you? Should you work hard for the favor of others, like some Christians think, or should you trust God to confirm your integrity in front of others in his own way?
If you live for the approval of others, you’re a victim. There’s a better alternative. Strive for God’s approval. Put his kingdom first. Take care to ensure that his approval motivates you. Strive to receive the best compliment ever from the Lord one day: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Then you’ll be free of “them”.
written by Stephan Joubert
The other day I realized a funny thing about myself — I’m better at spotting mistakes in other people than at spotting them in myself. I can also admit their mistakes much easier for them to others, in their absence, than I can admit my own mistakes to God. I’m keen on shifting blame when I encounter dark areas in my own life. When things go wrong, I blame anything — from my circumstances to the fact that God did not intervene early enough. But deep inside I know the truth. It isn’t God or anyone else’s fault that I suffer certain shortcomings. It’s me who allowed these areas of concern a place in my life. It’s me who gives anger and non-fulfillment illegal parking spaces in my life. It’s definitely not God who’s allowing bad things to happen to me. No, it’s the rest of humanity and I who’s constantly causing it by not following God’s directions at every possible moment.
written by Stephan Joubert
The well-known Martin Luther King Jr. once said that even if you have a lowly job you should do it with the same commitment and enthusiasm that Michelangelo relied on when he was sculpting his great works, or that Mozart used in composing his genial music. That’s also what Paul meant when he wrote in Colossians 3 that everything we do and say should glorify God. Put another way, the Lord’s name should preside in CAPITAL LETTERS over every word we speak and everything we do. Like a flashing advertising board, our lives must reflect God’s splendor and importance.
How do we live our lives in the right CAPITAL LETTERS? Well, you invite God humbly to be the Guest of Honor in your life every day. You ensure that He’s the Guest of Honor in every conversation you have. Then your words will be carefully chosen, tasteful and uplifting. Ensure that the Lord is Witness to everything you do. Then your work will be done for Him and not primarily for your boss or company. Then you’ll do your work with pride, thoroughness, and commitment.
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written by Jacques Bornman
I’m a keen musician. No, wait maybe musician is too strong a word. I’m a keen impersonator of a musician. Anyway, it was at the piano, in a dance of black and white keys, that the thought came to me: The heart is a guitar. An instrument of beauty, inspiration and most of all love. Each with its own tone, each responding differently to touch and feel, with the capacity to make soul-music — taking us to places words alone cannot reach.
Music cannot be manufactured. It takes time and discipline. Yes, standard progressions, useful techniques and agreed-upon time signatures all exist. But you cannot prescribe one formula to create and fit all music. The mystery and the attraction of music is that two pieces of music in exactly the same key can sound worlds apart when played in different styles and with different instruments. We often falter here in trying to help others. In an effort to ‘manufacture’ and guarantee growth and life, we reduce it to ‘three easy steps’ and ‘how-to’.
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