When the World forces you to make a judgement, prayer gives you the benefit of the doubt

There is this guy, that comes to the door everyday. Not a beggar and not homeless,  just someone trying to...make ends meet, for lack of a better phrase.  Day by day my mom makes him a sandwich,  and on the odd occasion succumbs to the  request of any loose change.

The reality is that our neighborhood, and avenue in particular, is thoroughfare for often less savoury pedestrian traffic.  There are a few regulars at the door, but this one in particular bothers me. Perhaps it's the way he is getting too comfortable with our dog, or the persistence of his 'visits', but with the already intimidating field across the road we are not to keen on visitors with 'regular' hours. 

It's not his jail tattoos, I come from the rough side of the tracks and melted zombie drawings don't scare me easily,  if anything I'm suprised that I don't have sympathy for the this mature ex-con who may have outgrown his ways but not his connections.

But day by day this man comes, and day by day he leaves with something.  

I yearn for electrical fencing and a gate with no intercom but that would be turning blessings away at the gate. Each time a stranger walks through those posts with more than what he or she came with, this home receives another blessing,  the type that comes with giving because you want to, and for no other reason. 

For every stranger that knocks on the door or rings the bell, a judgement must be made. Honour the request, honour the request within limits (ie a peanut butter sandwich versus a Polony sandwich), deny the request with hopes of no return. The weighing process in South Africa is complex, be nice and maybe they won't break in? Be mean and maybe they will get the picture and never come back. Or maybe they'll get angry and get even.

I've heard that I think too much - this might be true. 

But I have a solution to my turmoil; alas, answers can always be found in God's word. In Matthew 10:40-42, we learn that we will be rewarded for accepting those whom the Lord has sent. The only problem is, that we have no way of knowing who sent who. The Bible teaches us to be alert but the Lord himself tells us that I when I come be ready for me.

We don't know who God will send and we won't know when he will manifest flesh and knock on our door or ring our bell. All we know is that he has taught us to love everyone,  he has given us a spirit of giving,  he has taught us share what we have, and promised to be beside us every step of the way.

When we need to make a 'judgement' we can be sure of the following,  either God has sent you my way, or he will lead you out.  When in doubt pray, and God will lead the way.

http://youtu.be/YhfN0LHVUV4

When the wind blows

It's Sunday night, well, Monday morning 00:12 and I am where I usually am at this hour. Tonight is a little bit worse because the wind is blowing.

Sleep has been coming hard to me lately,  and on nights like these I incorporate the new world with the old, to help me find some peace and sleep. 

Our country is crime ridden and it disturbs me and I fear for the night that I wake up to a stranger in my house. But on these nights I log onto pinterest and search for key words and the little phrases I find do not only help me into the night, they often help me into the next day. 

I will start with the first and most practical scenario:

The method:

...and the rationale:

 

In our lives scripture can remind us about important things. Like that fact that worrying won't make anything better or make anything go away. Faith is our only option as Christ is our saviour if only we'd let it be.

The reality is that things will happen. But we need to remember that God loves us in ways that we cannot fathom and he has plans for every one of us.

At night we must sleep to give tomorrow our very best, as the day thereafter,  and the day after that.  

And then like clockwork the next morning we rise...

I am grateful to God for the gift of my life.
I will praise him, worship him, and give him thanks.

As I close my eyes tonight I will...

Goodnight World <3

Tongues in transmission

I am sitting in church and feeling much like I do in a restaurant: intoxicated by flavour but critical nonetheless.  An unusual post for the first for the year and the first for a while,  but here I am. 

An Anglican in Christ Embassy,  I can be expected to be feeling slightly out of place.  The fact that I am in the service on a mobile device,  and it's okay,  already speaks of world of difference. 

The service started with a prayer. A prayer interceded by no less than 1000 worshippers,  and led by a pastor in tongues. The instruction being,  join in tongues,  and if you do not pray in tongues yet, then do so in whichever language you feel comfortable in. Those are a lot of tongues. That is also a spectacular sight. I rarely see hundreds of people dropping their guards and praying wholeheartedly as if nothing else in this world exists. Amn admirable feat and unfortunately something I am unable to fully describe in words. I have probably already done it a great unjust. 

My concern is that I didn't feel that familiar cold sweat that I associate with the 'Great presence'. That matter I will reserve for another occasion. 

The word lasted for probably a good hour and fifteen minutes,  versus the Anglicans 15 minutes max. The main focus being to remember Lots wife, as well as several other little lessons.  As different as the experience was, and at some stages as condescending as his (the Nigerian pastor projected against the wall in the absence of the resident pastor) attitude was toward other doctrines,  his messages were of good quality and nature.  

I suppose that in the 41000 reported Christian denominations,  there is a place for everyone.  I should be promoting the structuralist Anglican church,  but while that structure is part of what I love,  who are we to try and take that away from anyone else through our judgements. All denominations that I have had the privilege to experience have substantiation for their doctrines,  all found in scripture and understanding (the Christ the mother ideology I came across on campus, admittedly was a bit daunting and largely out of context).  

Additionally,  we all wear different clothes as we were made unique,  we are to use our unique talents to worship God; should we not then allow our individual personalities to worship in the way that fulfills us most and brings us closer to God?

As I write this I'm chiding myself mentally,  what if the happy clappys are absolutely wrong and I get to the pearly gates one day and St Peter tells me that I am not wanted there on account of publishing and publicly condoning incorrect information and doctrines. Or what if we learn that our lifelong rituals were sucked out of somebodys thumb and that it was in fact the Word at its most raw, that was the correct way to receive it?

My puzzler is sore now,  so I will conclude with my usual belief,  I believe that my God is mighty enough (the girl next to me told me that I needed to be born again in order to enter the kingdom of heaven), to know who I am and what my will is. That the road of good intentions does not only lead to he

ll and that my Lord knows that as far as my beliefs may take me and my knowledge support me, I am a child of God to the best of my ability. 

If music be the food of love, play on

The ministry of music is one like no other- it has the ability to turn us all into passionate, heart-wrenched converts. It transcends our mental barriers and Orthodox walls, and reaches right down into our souls with the use of our subconscious.

I have always loved the praise and worship services that came hand in hand with youth ministry,  and the way in which those moments made it feel as though God is so close, so close it makes your heart race and your skin tingle. While 'growing up' has created some distance from those events I have now taken to exploring my options at Musica and Cum books and have come to understand that seek and ye shall find.

The options are really quite plausible as you will find anything from Kirk Franklin and the Winans classic favourites to Hillsongs remakes of popular tracks that will take you back.

Cum books had an awesome disc up for listening (I will have to purchase that next time. I was busy birthday present shopping. Cum is a good place to find prezzies by the way!). The CD was alternative and provided the kind of listening that a younger crowd could and certainly would appreciate. The artists are Jesus Culture and the covers called 'Unstoppable Love', as it is indeed.

Musica will humour you with volumes and box sets that will have you grappling about trying to decide which to buy. I have recently purchased 2 volumes of '16 greats ', which turns out to be from the '90s; it is still under review. 

I've found that Music as a medium can be anything you need it to be. It can be soothing,  healing,  and even exhilarating. As human beings we forget that we thrive on emotion and miss out on the natural high that Music can bring. 

So keep your earphones on hand and learn to open that doorway to your soul.

Corpus Christi

The festival of Corpus Christi,  observed by many nations and also referred to as Corpus Domini,  Celebrates the holy Eucharist and the institution thereof in our church and in our lives.

This festival was only introduced to the Christian church in later years,  after Augustinian nun, St Juliana had a vision about the Eucharist and its reverence.

While the Eucharist and its importance is observed on Maundy Thursday,  in anticipation of Good Friday, St Juliana advocated a sacrament so precious deserved a celebration more fitting,  that the sombre atmosphere of holy week did not sufficiently celebrate the body and the blood and the dynamics around this heavenly sacrifice. To St Juliana, the Eucharist needed to be celebrated with joyful anticipation.

Looking at what this festival reminds us of, there are many, many lessons to be learnt. And as with everything else presented to us from the church,  the bride of Jesus, we may take from it was is suitable to our lives and current situation.

The three important points to take home,  this (and probably every) Corpus Christi :
The challenge of sacrifice
The reward of forgiveness
The joy of new life.

Happy Friday :-)

Hello again, World

Sjoe! In at last. Technical difficulties have kept me from here and now I'm stuck with proverbial cobwebs and metaphorical crickets.

I'm saddened really,  I missed Lent this year, and it is always Lent that brings me back here, but after a fair amount of hacking I am back- and in time for a festival no less!

Tomorrow is Corpus Christi, the Western Orthodox Churches celebration of the institution of the Eucharist- tomorrow we celebrate the body which is given for us, and the blood which is shed for us.

I will try and clean out some of these cobwebs and hopefully tomorrow I will.be able to give an article about Corpus Christi,  the reverence it deserves.

Stay safe - may the Good Lord be with you

This little light of mine... I'm gonna let it shine...

The December 8th entry in my little 'Moments with God' book, takes from Psalm 27vs1:
The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The lord is the strong hold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?

The author then goes further to touch on the battle of dark and light. Reminding us that the Pharisees believed that when there is a battle between dark and light, that dark would win. Also adding that there are churches who discourage involvement with sinners and who stay in their religious shelters and complain about the increasing evils of the world. Indeed as Jesus was not afraid of being around those who were 'unclean' we should also not be afraid. Jesus had no fear of sinners but with his overwhelming faith would and could heal them and help them in the name of is and our holy father.

Often in a society strewn with unjusts, we as overworked people avoid situations of controversy and and prefer to turn a blind eye. But as children of God we cannot do that, blind eyes and deaf ears are what has allowed our world to become what is. People to lazy to influence other people's thinking through their own behaviour or through the handling of a situation. We would rather avoid the annoyances than try to encourage a open minded, loving, courteous state of mind.

This week South Africa and the world mourns the passing of a great man. Madiba was not afraid to fight for a new world, a mind set, and the 'ideal for which he was prepared to die'. He made a difference perhaps more iconic than is fair to expect from everybody, we all excel in our own way, but he is an example to look toward when deciding small things that make a difference. My analogy? You know how good you feel when a stranger performs a gesture than makes you smile to yourself and think, 'there are still good people in this world'? Be that stranger from time to time. Small acts can change the world because small acts of kindness have a ripple effect.

Treat people well, with respect and confidence so that you may instill in them a standard by which they may not previously have thought hey had in them.

Madiba had lots of great quotes, which I am not going to use now (since its all over TV at the moment). It is Albert Einstein that I wish to quote: