The Passionate Believer

"Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command." 1 Chronicles 12 vs 32 (ESV) This was a time when men joined David in the cave at Adullam. These men were gifted in strategic military service. They were almost invincible. But my focus here are the descendents of Issachar. They were gifted with wisdom of understanding the times and knew what must be done. The entire world is experiencing a time of Changing Seasons. It's been one of the toughest years, but for those of us still alive, we have much to be grateful for and still much more work needs to be done. As the new year looms in the not so distant future. In fact it's just a mere 12 hours away(South African time). This is a time that most people will be preparing for celebrations of the coming new year. Others won't be celebrating due to the many difficult circumstances this past year has brought with i...

‘And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”’ [John 14:4-7] The world does not have a short supply of philosophers or religious leaders who for generations before and certainly those to come have spoken or will speak words that motivate many to act them out. Many of these have said things that have become part of many cultures world over but Jesus comes and begins to speak in a way that no one had ever done. While religions have been specific to the local tribes and cultures, Jesus does not speak to the Jewish culture alone. His claims have a bearing on all people on the earth. He is not a tribal deity. Unlike Alexander the great who wanted to have political dominion on all t...

Timothy Keller and John Inazu along with ten other collaborators have produced a work that is hard to find anywhere else on the market. 'Uncommon Ground' searches to find a way to bridge the gap and allowing Christians to work with what they have to propogate the Gospel in truly unconventional ways. Through the personal telling of life experiences, these twelve authors spread themselves bare and show a cetain vulnerability when confronting life issues surrounding race and prejudice. They show how as Christians we can find alternative Gospel-centred solutions to the negativity and all the pushbacks we recieve. Each chapter is by a different author and each one speaks from the perspective of where they are as believers and from the standpoint of their vocations. For example Tim Keller writes personally from the perspective of being a pastor and John Inazu from the standpoint of having been a lawyer and now a teacher of law and religious studies. Sara Groves speaks...

"That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night." - Judges 6 vs 25 - 27 (ESV) Today I want to encourage you all to stand strong and take courage from God's word as we look to the close of one of the toughest years in history and the opening of a new one. In Judges 6, God calls Gideon to deliver his people, the Israelites, from the hands of the Midians. And I'm quite sure we know well how that ended. Gideon won thro...

Jentezen Franklin is a great preacher and a good writer and this book proves that he is. In this book he talks about letting go of the past and allowing God to work in your present and bless your future.  The first four chapters seemed abit slow at first as the author builds his foundation. But it picks up steam from chapters five onwards. Chapters six and nine are my two favourite chapters. Namely, "Maintain Kingdom Focus" and "It's All Relationship." He talks about keeping focus on the right things, Prayer, Praise and Bible study, which is exactly what every Christian needs. I love the way he talks about building a strong relationship with God. He talks about building "Intimacy" and "Dependency" and how these cannot come without "Delight" and "Discipline." All these are necessary for a strong relationship with the Lord. He gives great advice in building a good foundation in the Christian faith. In the final t...

Doreen Virtue used to be one of the biggest names in the New Age movement. She proved to be a force to be reckoned with. And in this book, 'Deceived No More', shows her remarkable journey to Christian conversion. This book is like a semi autobiography in which she speaks about her life, sharing personal experiences but not in too much detail. In it she mentions the belief system she was stuck in for almost her entire life leading up to her conversion. A few things in this book caught my attention. One of those is how New Age practices and lingo has crept into the church probably without anyone even recognizing its actually not christian at all, simply because it sounds so 'Christian-like.' For me personally, it has opened my eyes to see the destruction it's causing so many Christians. She is quite solid in her writing and it shows how much she has grown spiritually. She accomplishes this task by showing the kind of Bible teachers she encounters thr...

Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house” [Genesis 41:51] Life is full of twists and turns and Joseph was one young man who experienced a number of them. He was the youngest then in his father’s household, one who is normally supposed to be the baby of the family, spoilt, loved and protected by everyone, but that was not the case for him. We all know how the story went. He shed a lot of tears and like our Lord, Joseph was acquainted with grief, sorrow and rejection [Isaiah 53:3] yet there came a time in his life when the Lord blessed him with family.  Names have significance in many cultures and many people in Southern Africa can identify with and understand why Joseph called his firstborn son Manasseh which means “causing to forget”. Scriptures say, ‘For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house’ [Genesis 41:51]. Like Job, Joseph was a ri...

"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” - Luke 18 vs 9 - 14, ESV Most of us when looking at this passage can rarely say that we're like the tax collector. We're  more like the Pharisee in many respects. Especially when we think we're 'worshipping' God,...

I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” [John16:33]  If there is anything we all do not like, it is suffering. No one ever votes for it and only a few people wish it even on their worst enemies. But reality is, we were born into a world which is full of suffering and pain and we are not in control of what happens to us or what happens to our loved ones. We may try to control our pain by using medication [thank God for medication and science], exercise or by ignoring the pain. These may work but only for a while but they cannot take away the greatest pain which awaits unregenerate people. Then there is emotional pain which we can also try to mitigate up to a certain level but that pain is really part of our lives. No one ever invites pain and some think it is a “negative” thing to teach about what the Bible teaches about pain and suffering. I was once told that I ...

Joshua chapters  6 - 9 Joshua defeats Jericho with ease but encounters problems along the way when they decide to move against AI. Joshua did not consult with God, therefore he didn't know about Achan's sin until it was too late. We need to prioritize consulting God and seeking His divine will and in doing so we can and will prevent defeat unlike Joshua who was defeated by a small town known as AI. He was also decieved by the Gibeonites (Joshua 9 vs 14) . All this occurred for one simple reason. He did not consult God and he paid the consequences of that decision, as compared to the other times when he did consult God and recieved victory. The same is true for us also. We can choose to seek what God thinks on every matter concerning us and apply His word that will bring us victory or we can be, not just ignorant but arrogant to what God desires and never seek him and be defeated by every circumstance in our lives. One of the things that is so important in seek...

Andrew Wommack is very much motivational in this book. He finds his inspiration from being a part of the charismatic movement and that is clearly seen in his writings. I did enjoy reading it though. Using scripture, he talks about using the power of the imagination. How we think affects our relationships as well as our future. He does inspire the reader to consider his thoughts more carefully.  From that perspective, he shows how the word 'Imagination' itself is used in scripture to express the thoughts and feelings of a person. He's quite strong on the 'If you can see it in your mind, then it's possible', understanding that is backed up by the charismatic movement. While this is not the time to become too theological on the matter, I do believe that understanding how we think does affect how we operate in our daily lives and in ministry too. My favourite two chapters that I found quite interesting were three and Ten, I believe it does some justice to th...