HIDE ME BEHIND THE CROSS

HIDE ME BEHIND THE CROSS
(Gold City song)
Lord as I seek to serve You
May you find in me what’s pleasing to Your heart
I leave my will at Calvary
Taking on a nature, humbled by Your scars (read on...)

Are the SHARKS going to win?

We have a rugby team called the SHARKS - today is Curry Cup finals, between the Sharks and Western Province ... anybody's guess who the winner wil be....

Halloween - Not for Christians!

Why? October 31st holiday that we today know as Halloween has strong roots in paganism and is closely connected with worship of the enemy of this world, Satan. It is a holiday that generally glorifies the dark things of this world, rather than the light of Jesus Christ, The Truth.

How God loves us

But God will look to every soul like its first love because HE is its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it—made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand. CS lewis

"Even so I send you...” (John 20:21)

“The WHOLE church takes the WHOLE gospel to the WHOLE world"

– Motto of Lausanne I, 1974

The heart of evangelism

The heart of evangelism is loving people into the kingdom through genuine friendships where God’s grace is exemplified through our lives - Chris Smith (read more here: www.byhisgrace.cc/harvest)

“Life is real! Life is earnest!”

Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

(Read the whole poem by H W Longfellow under “Poetry”)

Chilean miner’s T-shirt

When Alex Vega, Bible in hand, emerged from the capsule, he proudly displayed his shirt . In front was the phrase "¡Gracias Señor! Thank you Lord.“ phrase "¡Gracias Señor! Thank you Lord.“ On the back it reads another sentence that says: “In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him… For Him is the honor and glory", which corresponds to verse 4 of Psalm 95. (Read on and read the whole story here: http://www.immanuelsda.org/article.php?id=105 )

How God reveals Himself

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deutr 29:29)
According to the Bible, there are a number of ways through which God has revealed Himself to man through the ages, e.g. by speaking directly (like to Noah and Abraham), dreams (like Jacob) by telling people to write down His words as a general message (the prophets) and also through nature (Ps 19). In “reformed speak”, we usually talk about general (through nature) and specific revelation (the Bible). What has struck me about the quoted verse, is that some things are revealed, and some not and also that there is purpose in the revelation. How privileged we are, to have such intimate knowledge about the Living God!

"The greatest disgrace in Christian history?"

"The Episcopal Church is the greatest disgrace in Christian history and it is being led down the path by so called Christian leadership." (
Lausanne III conference, read more under comments, and also read here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=13415 )

Arabic algorhythms

Did YOU know this? “Called the Hindu-Arabic numerals, the numbers were first invented by the Indian mathematicians, subsequently, the numerals were adopted by the Persian mathematicians in India, and passed on to the Arabs further west. From there they were transmitted to Europe in the Middle Ages. The use of Arabic numerals spread around the world through European trade, books and colonialism. Today they are the most common symbolic representation of numbers in the world.”
Read more here:
http://www.shirleyshannon.com/Blog/2010/06/the-beauty-and-intelligence-of-arabic-algorithms/

Lausanne III – massive congress on evangelism in SA

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA—The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism, Cape Town 2010, began on Sunday evening with a multimedia, music, and dance presentation welcoming the 4,000 participants from 198 nations to Africa.

Keep track here: http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010

“He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother...”

In an 1918 publication by Ralph Waldo Trine titled "The Higher Powers of Mind and Spirit" he relates the following anecdote: "Do you know that incident in connection with the little Scottish girl? She was trudging along, carrying as best she could a boy younger, but it seemed almost as big as she herself, when one remarked to her how heavy he must be for her to carry, when instantly came the reply: 'He's na heavy. He's mi brither.'" (Read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Ain't_Heavy,_He's_My_Brother) The Hollies lyrics under comments

Theological implications of human evolution

(From BYLOGOS, here: http://bylogos.blogspot.com/2010/10/evolution-of-calvin-college.html )

"Following mainstream science, Drs. Harlow and Schneider presume that humans did not originate from a single pair 6000 years ago but, rather, from a population of about 10,000 interbreeding individuals living in Africa about 150,000 years ago. Consequently, Dr. Harlow (and Dr. Schneider) favour the view that "Adam and Eve are strictly literary figures—characters in a divinely inspired story about the imagined past that intends to teach primarily theological, not historical, truths about God, creation, and humanity." (read on... )

Saved! Gered!

Praise the Lord, o my soul.. the first mineworker is rescued... tears are streaming down my cheeks as I recall the little boy clutching his father’s legs... it must be old age that I am so moved by something happening on the other side of the earth....

Loof die Here, o my siel.... die eerste mynwerker is gered! Trane stroom oor my wange - ek sien die hele tyd die huilende seuntjie wat sy pappa se bene vasklou.. ai, moet die ouderdom wees , dat iets aan die anderkant van die aarde my so diep raak.....

"Teleportation"

I learned a new word today, thanks to a friend, Yf, who is part of our team on another blog. If we become too many on planet Earth, he suggested that we could "teleport" some to Goldilocks, the newly discovered planet which looks as if it could support life.

According to Wikipedia (here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleportation) ‘Teleportation' is the transfer of matter from one point to another, more or less instantaneously. Teleportation has been widely utilized in works of science fiction and fantasy.

Proudly South African! SA’s role in Chilean rescue

S-Africans, buy today’s Citizen and share my pride and joy – “we” played an important role in the rescue of the mine workers: Murray and Roberts, a mining engineering company played a large role (and continues playing a role) in the rescue of the 33 trapped miners ... also mentioned in the editorial....

Read full story here: http://www.citizen.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131992&catid=80:breaking-news&Itemid=132

Einstein and evolution

Albert Einstein, Jewish mastermind who endowed science with the theory of relativity, when asked whether there was a Creator or not, responded with this reply, "For every design, there is a Designer"

Albert was not extremely religious, but even he could not reject the fact that our universe could not have come to existence without intelligent design. Could it be that his reason for this stance was because he fully understood the complexity of our universe?

"Los Heroes de Chile”

According to the Mirror: “The 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for two months could be freed within 10 days, the country's president said yesterday. Rescuers estimate a relief tunnel could reach the men, trapped 2,300ft beneath the Atacama desert, within the next two days. They have been there since August 5. President Sebastian Pinera said his government is "very close" to freeing the miners and he hopes to be there to see the rescue before leaving on a trip to Europe” - - this would be an answer to many prayers!!!
(Read more here:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/10/06/chile-miners-33-trapped-workers-free-in-10-days-115875-22612301/)

Is there life on other planets?

The newly discovered “Goldilocks” , a planet which may support some or other form of life, has revived this age-old question. It is also addressed under the topic “Aliens and Christians” by Prof. Dr John Bijl here: http://bylogos.blogspot.com/2010/10/aliens-and-christians.html
(Read on)

A Forest Hymn

( poem by William Cullen Bryant )


The groves were God's first temples.
Ere man learned
To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave,
And spread the roof above them,---ere he framed
The lofty vault, to gather and roll back
The sound of anthems; in the darkling wood,
Amidst the cool and silence, he knelt down,
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks
And supplication. For his simple heart
Might not resist the sacred influences,
Which, from the stilly twilight of the place,
And from the gray old trunks that high in heaven
Mingled their mossy boughs, and from the sound
Of the invisible breath that swayed at once
All their green tops, stole over him, and bowed
His spirit with the thought of boundless power
And inaccessible majesty. (Read on under comments)

Christian Poetry/ Christelike Poësie

If You Think You are Beaten

(By:Walter D. Wintle
If you think you are beaten, you are.If you think you dare not, you don't.If you'd like to win but think you can't,It's almost certain you won't.Life's battles don't always goTo the stronger or faster man,But sooner or later, the man who winsIs the man who thinks he can.

Are you suffering from affluenza?

The term is said to have been coined by Oliver James (born 1953) is a clinical psychologist.
According to Wikipedia (here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluenza) it is an “illness” with the following symptoms:
1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses
2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by the pursuit of the American Dream
3. An unsustainable addiciton to to economic growth.