13 June 2010

“God put us on earth to shine as lights, not to get use to the dark.”Anon

These last two days have been so busy as we prepared to set up all the kit to be able to show the World Cup Football on two big screens. Every night for the next month we will be projecting the 20:30 game and then using the interval to reach out to the fans with the Gospel.

So far we have a had a number of people coming to the viewings. In about a week we will offer a Bible study before the game to those who are interested in learning more about the Gospel.

Today I was given the opportunity to preach at the Baptist Church in Mbala. What a joy! The question I posed was “is there more to life than just living and dying? Did not God create us for something more?” Life’s purpose only really starts when we surrender our lives to God and His will for our lives and then life begins to take on meaning. Romans 12:1-2 shows us this so clearly.

The team from Hilton Baptist Church has started on their journey to us. At the time of writing this they should be on the road somewhere in Botswana. We are looking so forward to them spending 10 days with us.

11 June 2010

“The call to serve Christ includes the call to suffer for Christ.” Anon

Wow these last few days have been a bit hectic. On Wednesday morning I was able to share with the folks at our local World Vision office. The devotion was titled “Who is our Master?” These days the cry of the world is “It Is All About Me!”. This comes out in the music, best selling books and various forms of media. Sadly we find that this understanding has also crept into the Church where we see God as a convenience to just meet our needs. The idea of us being a servant to Him is shifting further and further away from our Christian belief.

This week we were also holding a Bible School here on our College land. What a joy to spend time with folks in discussing the things of God. I learn so much from them!! We discuss a Biblical principle and then see how we can apply that into our lives. So many questions arise of situations that our brothers face in the village. And so based upon the principle we have learnt we discuss a possible solution. Wonderful stuff!!

Through this we had Joel come down with malaria, but he has responded well to the medicines and is recovering well. Last night I was able to show the Jesus Film in Mambwe to the Bible School Students. They loved seeing Jesus speak their mother tongue. Thank you to all those who made this project possible.

Tonight we start a month long outreach with Steve and some local Pastors in screening the World Cup Football games and sharing the Word of God. I hope to post a few pics. We do pray that God will move the hearts of each one that comes so that they may also receive the blessed Saviour and have eternal life.

Just had to post this picture of my sons and our male kitten Massey.

7th June 2010

“God the Father gave us His Spirit to enable us to be like His Son” Anon

What an incredible weekend! I left on Saturday with Joel and Friday (his friend) for a village about 70Km from us called Chimula. About 5 Churches had come together and wanted me to come and teach on Evangelism and to show the Jesus Film. It was a wonderful time of teaching and building relationships. I spoke on Jesus’ last words to His disciples in Acts 1:8. He calls us to be His witnesses. Well what kind of witnesses are we really being?

That night we showed the Jesus in Mambwe. This was the first time I had seen it in Mambwe as we had previously only had the Bemba version. The folks at Chimula are very traditional Mambwe. It was exciting for them to hear Jesus speaking their language!

On Sunday I spoke on Jesus’ first words that He preached, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” Matthew 4:17. What does it really mean to repent? We hear the word so often preached and spoken about. Are we sorry for our sins because it is effecting our lives negatively, or are we sorry because we have sinned against God!

Well we have a Bible School starting where we are expecting 10 folks to come in from the villages for three full days of teaching.

4th June 2010

“Living for Jesus is not a part time job.” Anon

We must remain intense in our desire to please the Lord. Romans 13:11 describes how we need to rise from our slumber. I find so often that the mundane can slowly put us to sleep. It is often then through some circumstance that we are shocked out of this slumber. Everyday we need to do a reality check.

Great run this morning! This morning I had to go out and see Chris again. Took him some medicine as I think he has malaria. It is a wicked disease when you are young, but so much compounded when you are 85 years old.

This afternoon I began preparing to go to the bush tomorrow. I had to put the finishing touches to my screen for the Jesus film and then pack. It is another zonal seminar and a wonderful opportunity to teach and preach to a number of churches that will be attending. I must try and get some pictures.

2nd June 2010

“In prayer, God hears more than just words, He listens to your heart.”Anon

When David prayed it was prayers that were birthed in the heart and not in the mouth. So often our prayers are mere words recited to appease our conscience because that is what we should be doing at that time. Psalm 6 is a cry from the very depths of the person of David. Lord teach me to pray!

This day has been a day behind the computer trying to get our latest newsletter sent and school books ordered, no easy task. I thought computers were suppose to make life easier and free up your time for other things!

This evening the Wednesday night class met and we had a great discussion on being a witness for Christ in word and life. Paul’s words echo in my head, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ” 1 Cor 11:1 What a challenge!

1st June 2010

“ God puts us on earth to shine as lights, not to get use to the dark” Anon.

The day started with the challenge from the Lord, in Matthew 5:13-16,  that we are to live as lights in this world. It was a reminder to me of what I often share with my students:

“Let the greatest message you ever preach be the life that you live.”

It is relatively easy to preach a good message, but a hang of a lot harder to live that message every day. My desire and prayer is that daily I may be a missionary here in Mbala and not just come to do missions, like it is some project. We all need examples to follow and imitate in this life. My desire is that my life may be worth imitating for the Kingdom.

Had a great 5Km run with Steve and then headed off to Pastor’s Fellowship. We had an interesting discussion on whether God’s blessing is conditional or not. Many Pastors are asked to pray for people so that they can be blessed, regardless of their lifestyle and relationship with God. Would God really bless such a person? Are we some “good” witchdoctor that can bless by some magic powers? I think not. So too easily can we fall into similar practises of the world only cloaked in religion. I look forward to another discussion next week.

This evening I met with 2 students. Unfortunately the other three could not be with us. We had a wonderful discussion on the importance of reading and studying God’s Word. Up in our part of the world prayer is very important and many teachings are brought on the subject. Many are urged to pray because there is power in prayer. Yet tonight we discovered that without a sound understanding of God’s Word, how do we know what to pray? How do we begin to understand what the desire and will of God is? So many problems in our Churches would be resolved if we as a Church spent more time reading and studying God’s Word. Now I am not downplaying the importance of prayer but, without knowing God, as revealed in His Word, how do we go about to start to pray in His Name?

Of course I was on my bike today and that calls for a family ride when I get back. Only on the farm so don’t worry!!