written by Stephan Joubert
I once read an interview with the well-known South African boxing referee, Stanley Christodoulou. When asked what the greatest compliment was that he received as a referee, he referred to a world title fight that he handled in the USA. After the fight, he relaxed at the hotel’s restaurant. Someone with whom he struck up a conversation asked whether he watched the fight earlier that evening. For Stanley Christodoulou it was the best compliment imaginable that he as referee was so “invisible” in the ring that this spectator didn’t even recognize him.
I think as followers of Christ we must become just as invisible. People recognize us far too easily on the church foreground. Worse still, we sometimes stand in the way of others so that they can’t see the Lord. Our church infighting, theological debates that’s front page news daily, and our inability to love each other, are sight blockages. Let’s get out of the way.
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written by Stephan Joubert
For some people, finding God is a life-long journey. The good news is that God wants to be found by everyone who sincerely seeks Him. Nobody knocks on his heavenly door in vain. Interesting to note that the bible says He’s also to be found in silence. To be still is to discover the real you. In being still you are confronted by the real you. That self that you sometimes want to avoid and hide at all costs. Learn to be still every day for a short time. No, learn to be still before God. Leave all your many, meaningless words. Leave your verbal torrent in his presence. Just be still — quiet. For once, do not utter a word. “In quietness and confidence is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). Not in all your senseless talking and acting. For a change discover, without words, God’s nearness, dissimilarity, holiness, and beauty.
written by Stephan Joubert
After hearing that S.O.L. (same old line) for the umpteenth time that people are tired, overworked and fed up this time of the year, I catch myself actually believing some of them. Apparently, this silly season also gives people a valid excuse to be rude, ill-mannered, aggressive, insensitive, etc. But then I realize that I’m not really on the moral high-ground here. To be honest, I’m not Mr. Loveable myself. Right now I’m probably just as short-tempered and unfriendly as many others around me. I wish I could explain this strange phenomenon, or conveniently shift the blame somewhere else. But it won’t solve anything. Really, it won’t!
Blame shifting doesn’t work… well at least not since the beginning of time. If you don’t believe me, just ask Adam and Eve. They were the first pro’s who started this highly destructive game. Fortunately, God didn’t buy into their game. God has the full picture. He knows that our lives will have a radically different outcome (here and now, and forever!) when we constantly exercise ourselves in the spiritual discipline of accepting full responsibility for our emotions, words and deeds. Blame shifting seems like an easy way out. It seems so much easier to blame the past, the present, the economy, the government, or the church than to get involved. It seems easier to shift the responsibility to this time of the year than to focus on our inability to deal with stress. But in the end we pay a very high price for all of this. We slowly but surely begin to disconnect from our true self. We deceive the one and only person with whom we share our lives — ourself. What a high price to pay!
written by Stephan Joubert
Depreciation is a problem that affects most items in our homes. At some time or another, the value of all earthly possessions decrease, sometimes so much that they become completely worthless. Take something like a new car. The moment you drive it out of the dealer’s showroom it’s value plummets with thousands of dollars! More sad is that people are also the victims of depreciation. The older we get, the less consumer value we have to the society around us.
Luckily, the same does not apply before God. The bible teaches us that the exact opposite happens. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:16 that even as our bodies are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Followers of Jesus are on an upward-sloping growth curve. Because God’s busy with an appreciation exercise in us, our value and quality increases continually. Day by day, as we grow older, we grow substantially in wisdom and spiritual knowledge concerning our relationship with the Lord. Above all, we move closer to our wonderful final destination. Therefore, we can and must life today, tomorrow, and every other day with joy, even as the pains of old age start affecting us. Yes, even if we feel lonely and rejected we are still valuable in the hands of our God. Our worth increases every day before Him. Appreciation is our new password, not depreciation.
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written by Stephan joubert
“You have no choice but to accept me as I am,” a church council member told me once. “Why?” I inquired. “I have been made and left just like I am,” he replied. “No, you’re wrong,” I said. 2 Corinthians 3:18 teaches me that God’s Spirit transforms us into the likeness of the Lord with ever-increasing glory. We are not victims of ourselves, our education, or our circumstances. We don’t have the “luxury” to stay as we are. Christ gives us the grace and privilege to change and grow.
Too many South African people, black and white alike, are still victims of this guy’s “I can’t change” syndrome. That’s why our deep-rooted prejudices toward each other still run strong, despite 70% of the people in our country saying that they’re Christians. Does this happen since we believe we have the right to think like we always did about things like racial relations? Does it happen because in church we only speak about faith or moral sin while dodging questions about how we need to treat each other across cultural and racial divides? Or maybe because we ourselves are bad examples of true transformation in this area?
